Questions and concerns surrounding safety at Baldwin Wallace University arise after a student’s car was broken into on campus grounds.
“They stole my Kate Spade purse, wallet, ID, insurance card, one credit card, two debit cards, a bunch of gift cards and about 200 dollars in cash.” Mady Nathaniel, a senior at BW, said when she discovered that someone had stolen items from her car.
Nathaniel found the door to the driver’s side unlocked. Items in her car were tossed around, and the backseat of her car was ruffled through. Her wallet and her purse were gone. This event occurred when her car was parked down at the parking lot for the Front Street dorm’s residents.
“I called Safety and Security, and they told me to come down to their office to make a report,” Nathaniel said.
Nathaniel said that they [Safety and Security] would look at the footage from the security cameras and give her a call back. In addition to making the report with BW’s Safety and Security team, she also made a police report.
Safety and Security told her Nathaniel that they did not see anything on the cameras.
Gary Black, director of Safety and Security at BW, said that the cameras are partially motion detected, but not all of them are and that the security camera “can’t all be constantly recording” because of how much computer power that would use.
Black said that the security cameras used on BW’s campus have multiple lenses.
Black said that if you leave the Front Street dorms and walk down to the parking lot, you will be seen by the camera for the entire walk. Additionally, that specific parking lot has “views” from the cameras. While the cameras have a spacious view of the area, they will “always have limitations.”
While the parking lot used by Front Street residents is relatively safe, similar incidents, like the one against Nathaniel, have occurred in the past.
To ensure the safety of students in the lot and prevent instances like the one Nathaniel experienced, Berea Police and Campus Patrol patrol the area.
Black said that in the past two years, only four incidents have been reported in the Front Street parking lot.
In 2022, one year before cameras were installed in the lot, there were calls of a suspicious person. In 2022, there was a report of damage to property. In 2023, there was a report of a suspicious person in the lot, however nothing occurred outside of the sighting. In 2024, Nathaniel’s car was reported as being broken into.
As for how students can be safe in the parking lot and in other areas, Black said to always be aware of your surroundings, and to stay off your phone.
It is “not a very effective way to ensure your safety” if you’re distracted on your phone.
Black also said that Safety and Security does have escorts that are always available to those Baldwin Wallace community members at all times.
The main line for Safety and Security is 440-826-2000. If an immediate danger or emergency occurs, always call 911.
