The Case for DPS Modernization

       In 1996, while President William Jefferson Clinton was campaigning around the country for re-election, he would often ask his audience to join him by helping to “build a bridge to the 21st Century.” Admittedly – I am no Bill Clinton. Yet, the help I am seeking from you is not dissimilar.

      Currently, our Department of Public Safety runs on paper. Our officers punch in on paper time clocks; they fill out paper parking ticket violations, and they fill out paper incident reports. This practice, while giving the appearance of efficiency on the outside, does not allow for the proper turning of gears one on the inside. Yes, we have made some advances with DPS. In the past two years alone, the Student Government Association has successfully advocated for longer and more advanced training for our DPS officers, as well as an increase to the amount of firearms that DPS has at their disposal, and a push to give more DPS officers the proper training to use those firearms in a life or death situation. Yet, this is not enough, not nearly enough. We, as students, get out of DPS what we give into it. We need to give our Department of Public Safety all the necessary tools for our mutual success. We do this with something my father (who served 22 years as a Rhode Island State Trooper) calls a “Help Me, Help You” Policy. Our goal is making the Department of Public Safety 100% paperless within the next 7 years, and we must give them the tools to make this a reality.

      The Mackisey-Harrington plan fixes current issues with DPS. It cracks down on those who use parking pass loopholes to their advantage. But, it also motivates them to buy the parking pass, to follow the rules, and to alleviate the burden on their wallet. We can streamline our DPS, and at the same time, make it less costly for the average student to have a car on campus.

      At a time when our University is facing budget cuts due to losses in bad financial investments and low admission rates, it is up to all of us to find ways to help. Our plan not only fixes problems in our Department of Public Safety but also is a more cost effective alternative to save money over time without having to make large sweeping budget cuts into critical student resources.

      We, as students, always need to remember one thing: we pay to attend this University. We are the customer. If we are not satisfied with the quality of service we are getting, it is our job to say something. We get as much out of our four years here as we put into it. I encourage everyone to go to www.yourvoiceyourcua.com/dps to read our comprehensive plan on how to modernize our Department of Public Safety at CUA.

      We, as students, always need to remember one thing: we pay to attend this University. We are the customer. If we are not satisfied with the quality of service we are getting, it is our job to say something. We get as much out of our four years here as we put into it. I encourage everyone to go to www.yourvoiceyourcua.com/dps to read our comprehensive plan on how to modernize our Department of Public Safety at CUA.