{"id":6000,"date":"2015-11-24T10:58:24","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T09:58:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2015\/11\/24\/campus-talk-moet-de-campus-beter-beveiligd-worden\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:20","slug":"campus-talk-moet-de-campus-beter-beveiligd-worden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2015\/11\/24\/campus-talk-moet-de-campus-beter-beveiligd-worden\/","title":{"rendered":"Campus Talk: Is our campus in need of better security?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJob Zomerplaag<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

According to the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism, there is a \u2018substantial\u2019 risk of terrorist attacks in the Netherlands at present, which is the second-highest threat level. Due to the recent Paris attacks, security services have been on high alert. Among other things, this has resulted in the arrest of the persons sitting inside a white Mercedes-Benz which was parked in the streets of Rotterdam, and in the evacuation of a synagogue in North Rotterdam.\u00a0EM<\/em>\u00a0polled students on their sense of security. Should we have heavier security on campus following the recent Paris attacks?<\/p>\n

Tadek Badura, 23, Dutch History student<\/h3>
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\u201cI really do believe campus security needs to change. A few weeks ago a refugee begging for money grabbed me by my coat while I was on my way to a lecture. That\u2019s when I realised security leaves a lot to be desired at the university. Having a refugee haunting your corridors is odd, but it\u2019s harmless as things go. I\u2019d like the university to restrict access to its buildings, allowing only people carrying student cards to enter, because next time the intruder might be a man carrying a Kalashnikov rather than a refugee, in which case I\u2019ll be on the floor bleeding before I\u2019ll get a chance to alert Security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lara Prins, 23, Dutch-German Health, Economics, Policy and Law master student<\/h3>
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\u201cAttacks can take place anywhere, anytime. No matter how heavy the security, if someone wishes to carry out an attack, it will be hard to stop him. I understand that people are scared now that we\u2019ve had these attacks in Paris and the bomb threats at major sporting events, but we shouldn\u2019t panic. If you visit a mass event in the USA, you will be searched from head to toe and have your bags checked. If we were to get a high-security campus with similar measures implemented, my freedom would be compromised, which flies in the face of everything I believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nikita Reshetnikov, 19, Russian IBA student<\/h3>
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\u201cIt\u2019s strange to me that anyone can enter these buildings, but erecting a huge fence around the campus would be ridiculous. We don\u2019t need heavy security here, and it would only make us feel less safe. I do think, though, that the university should provide its students with more information on how and where to report suspicious items and how to evacuate the premises in the event of an attack. Ever since the Paris attacks, I\u2019ve felt that terror is hitting much closer to home. I\u2019ve been told that Rotterdam is on a list of future attack targets, but I think that\u2019s no more than a rumour spread by scared people.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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According to an EUR spokesperson, the university is in close contact with the authorities regarding the security of its campus. \u201cWe are always on alert, not just after attacks like the Paris ones. We\u2019d like to ask our students and staff to report anything that strikes them as being out of the ordinary to Security. If the need arises, the university will take appropriate measures, in consultation with the relevant authorities. Needless to say, we will not go into detail on the nature of those measures,\u201d said the spokesperson.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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