Chris FrazierN.C. Central University Police unveiled a new EOL site that empowers students to keep each other safe while the Fall semester begins.
“Barring Notices” is a site that shows everyone who is banned from campus. Each profile features a picture of the assailant, their name, age, gender, and the length of their ban.
According to Damon Williams, NCCU’s chief of police, this site went live at the beginning of the academic year and before Student Orientation, Advising, and Registration (SOAR), the sessions freshmen and transfers have before their first semester.
“It took us a while. The cyberintrusion did slow us down,” Williams said. “But we’ve been working on this since last year.”
The idea for the site came when NCCU police noticed that most of the trespassers were repeat offenders. As these arrests continued, they began to ask how “they felt comfortable enough to come back.”
“You felt that way because you figured you could avoid us (police). Now you can’t avoid 8,000 people,” Williams said. “If they (students) see you, they’re gonna call, and we’re going to come and get you.”
NCCU’s Barring Notices stand alone as a student resource for seeing banned individuals. The Campus Echo reached out to N.C. Agricultural and Technical University Police and learned that although they used a “banned list,” they didn’t make it accessible to students. The Echo also contacted Shaw University, Elizabeth State University, and St. Augustine University.
On the sloping hills and verdant green, differing opinions on the site persist.
“I think it’s good that campus has this so we know who to look out for,” Nolan Frazier, a recreation administration junior said. “And if you see these people around campus, always make that call.”
A fellow Eagle disagreed and said the site acts as an “element of fear.”
“It implies that campus isn’t safe,” he said.
Another point of contention is the makeup of Barring Notices: the individual’s charge or reason for being banned is not listed on the site.
Williams said that anonymity limits any harm to ongoing investigations and prevents any slander from arising.
“If you don’t know what happened and how they got on the list, you can’t make up a story,” Williams said. “We just want you to know this person should not be on campus.”
Ashley Kamau, a biology freshman, said NCCU Police made the right choice to keep that information off.
“It keeps you neutral and helps you stay aware,” Kamau said.
Calaysia Carter, a video and photography freshman, said students should know why they’re banned.
“It would be good. People could know what they did and watch their backs,” Carter said.
Another Eagle said it should depend on the case: the minor crimes should remain anonymous while the more dangerous individuals should be made public.
According to NCCU Police, the crimes of the people on the site can vary from committing property damage to domestic violence. Time will determine how beneficial Barring Notices become, but WIlliams said he has spotted a difference since its arrival.
“There is one person on the list who was a repeat offender,” Williams said. “And since we went live with his picture … we haven’t seen him since.”
