Nature preserve a security liability

By: Jorge Valens/Columnist

The University’s nature preserve  at the Modesto Maidique Campus is a valuable part of our community.

It is a close place to conduct research, a final bastion for nature surrounded by a concrete jungle. But, I think it is time to seriously address its security concerns.

Aside from a place of research, it has also become a dark, thorny refuge for criminals on the run from police.

During my time at FIU Student Media, I remember a few instances where the nature preserve and its surrounding area played a role in criminal activity. The most recent incident  happened on Oct. 7, where a suspect was able to elude police.

At night, the nature preserve is uncomfortably dark. It is a pitch-black mass without a well-defined entrance or any sort of lighting system.  The light posts are far from the preserve, which is understandable, considering that they are intended to light the road and the path around it.

The preserve is located in the middle of a rather highly populated part of campus, though one wouldn’t notice that being stuck in the Graham Center all day.

To the North, the College of Law, the U.S. Century Bank Arena, and the Recreation Center border the preserve, the latter being one of the most used buildings on campus. South of the preserve is the football stadium.

More importantly, Panther Hall sits to the east of the preserve. Students live here; they park their cars in the parking lot that faces the preserve. I have also seen a number of students jogging on the sidewalk and grassy areas that surround it.

A pretty brazen criminal can strike in any of these areas and disappear in the nature preserve, coming out on the other side.

Its proximity to high traffic areas would also test the response time of the University’s police. A criminal operating in this area could strike and get away very quickly.

The nature preserve has been a point of debate at the University for some time. Rumors circulated in late 2010 that it would be demolished as part of the University’s plan to expand its footprint.

Those rumors resulted in students marching to University President Mark Rosenberg’s office on Dec. 1, 2010, upon hearing that the University allegedly hired inspectors to audit which parts could be torn down.

I am not saying that the nature preserve should be bulldozed in favor of new buildings or Greek housing. This place is still important to several departments and academic programs.

On the University’s online campus map, most everything is painstakingly pointed out, with the exception of the nature preserve. Students should know the location and the hours of operation of the preserve.

The University needs to define the nature preserve’s boundaries and exit and entrance points. It needs walking paths that direct people around the preserve, while not hindering research efforts.

Clearly defined entrances would allow University police to close it quickly, and students who wish to conduct research at night can do so with special permissions.

Lighting the preserve would be difficult, considering the affect lights can have on the wildlife within. Proper security would do away with the need for a fully lit preserve.

In an effort to leave the patch of land to nature, we have forgotten that just as we have an affect on it, it can also have an affect on us.

I think with a little compromise and input from all those involved, the University can have a safe preserve.