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Warmth or safety: digging through Carleton’s tunnels
By Nicole Rutherford
An intersection of the tunnel system at Carleton University.
To combat the cold, Carleton’s students are starting to head underground into the labyrinth of tunnels that connect the campus—but for some students warmth often takes priority over safety.
“I don’t feel safe, and as a matter of fact I found myself looking for cameras,” said June Cummings, a frequent tunnel traveller. “We’ve always commented about being alone as women.”
In the several kilometres of underground pathways, there are only seven security cameras and other minimal security features. This was revealed after July’s incident of an unidentified man posting a video to YouTube riding a motorcycle through the tunnels. At the time of publication, the university’s director of security, Allan Burns, had not confirmed whether the culprit had ever been identified.
Burns responded to questions by email about security measures and why there are only seven cameras in the tunnels. “We are constantly assessing our physical security requirements to ensure we are meeting the needs of the community and are reviewing camera requirements in the tunnels as part of the assessment.”
Other security features in the tunnels include mirrors for going around corners and assistant telephones—free phones located throughout the tunnels that call campus security.
Carleton student Mack Holliday feels that these phones are more than enough to feel safe. “They’re more secure. I’m usually with a friend in the tunnel. I’m also a bigger guy, so I’m not really that worried.”
In general, female students were not so certain.
“It would probably make me feel more at ease if you would see a security guard come by every once in a while, especially when 9 o’clock classes let out,” said student Jessica Ranieri.
In his email, Burns wrote that security “officers patrol the tunnels on a regular basis and we’ve increased the number of patrols in the last year.”
This increase may be due to the campus’s sexual assault history: in 2011, there was a string of sexual assaults on campus from November to February; this past September, a 26-year-old man was banned from campus on three accounts of sexual assault.
Some students interviewed said another hazard in the tunnels is the maintenance carts that workers use to get around.
Maintenance carts in the tunnels of Carleton University
“The carts go pretty fast. When I have my headphones in and I’m walking, they come pretty close when they’re flying by you,” said post-graduate student Paden Shorey. “A lot of the time they will honk their horn, but if they don’t it’s kind of scary.”
“It’s all about the mutual respect,” said Kevin Gallinger, assistant director of maintenance services at Carleton. He said that cart drivers need to slow down and students need to move to the right to let them pass.
Everything from the lighting, heating and cleaning of the tunnels is also maintained. The school has done studies on these features in order to improve the safety of the tunnels, Gallinger said.
“I would deem them to be safe,” said Gallinger. “We’re conscious of the lighting levels, we’re conscious of what’s down there.”
While some students have safety concerns about the tunnels, they all seem to appreciate the shelter they provide against the winter weather.
Jean Yen, a post-graduate student who admitted to being less comfortable in the tunnels when they weren’t busy, said she appreciated the tunnels when there’s a lot of snow outside.
“When you want to stay inside and stay dry, the tunnels are really good.”
For more interviews and a virtual tour of the Carleton University tunnel system, please see below.
