Katy Thompson

Review staff writer

Linfield Campus Safety made a cross-campus move from Keck Campus to Cozine Hall last week.

Director of Campus Safety Mike Dressel said the move was sparked by student complaints about the distance to the LCS offices from the main hub of campus.

 “The idea to move was discussed on a lot of levels,” he said. “It was discussed with the president’s cabinet, and then the recommendations that came from that conversation were discussed with Glenn Ford. He’s my ultimate boss.”

Dressel said the biggest factor for the move was not the large amounts of complaints the office  received, but the officers’ likelihood of being on scene in a timely manner.

“Our response times were [slow],” he said. “We would receive calls for assistance and not be able to get over to the student in an efficient manner. This was preventing us from doing our best job of protecting the students.”

The move was authorized by President Thomas Hellie. Hellie’s decision was made on the basis that the move could serve students better because LCS would be more accessible to them.

“This was not a move to make us more comfortable; we are in the same amount of space as before, but it was a move to make us more accessible, more user-friendly,” Dressel said.

LCS now has control of  the production of student identification cards and the operation of the switchboard. In addition, LCS deals with vehicle registration and the final approval of student body card authorization, which permits the entry of students into campus buildings.

“We now offer a one-stop-shopping approach for the students,” Dressel said. “Any problem that is access-related comes here now.”

This is a major advantage to students because it eliminates the typical problems that used to plague students when seeking help with their ID cards.

“I used to have to go all the way out to the boonies to figure out what was wrong with my ID card at the beginning of each year,” junior Bryce Madison said. “That was one long walk I didn’t want to make, but now it will be so much easier to get my questions answered with them being close to the rest of the academic offices.”

Dressel said he was unsure about the fate of the old LCS office, but he was confident that Hellie will choose the best use of space for the greater benefit of those involved within the Linfield community.

LCS can still be contacted by dialing 503-883-7233.