Temple University student Alyssa Mancuso told us she used a Target gift card to gain access into several buildings on Temple’s campus.
In order for students to gain entry into buildings at Temple, they need to show their student ID. Alyssa Mancuso said she got into places like Weiss, Alter, and Gladfelter Hall, the Tech Center, and Tyler School of Art. The idea for this stunt came from her editor at another on campus news organization, who wanted someone to pick up the story. As a freshman, having written only one other article, Mancuso thought this was an interesting story to investigate.
She also said her main purpose for taking on the experiment was to create an awareness of campus safety. She said, “Maybe Temple security would get more strict and talk to security to see what the issues are.”
Some students on campus had similar thoughts in noticing security behavior. Temple student Elisabeth Costano said, “I go into all the buildings, say good morning say hello and sometimes they don’t even look up or respond or anything.”
Student Husnan Chaudhry said, “They’re on their phones sometimes… which Is kinda annoying. I get it’s a boring job but you’re on the clock.”
After discovering the gift card experiment in the article written by Mancuso, Captain of Security Operations Jeffrey Chapman said there were measures that would be taken to ensure the ID policy was enforced on campus. He said, “We’ve put stanchions in some buildings to sort of cattle shoot students and make sure they pass security without being 6 or 8 yards from them just flashing their card.”
And Chapman understood the issues from both the students and the faculty. He knows it easy to relax look at a phone during downtime, but that it’s different for people in this field. He said, “You know we’re under the spotlight… we have to find a way to keep security guards alert and attentive at all times.” He also understood the issue of inconvenience if students forget their ID. He said, “There needs to be another means of identification, like have an app in Temple’s self service banner. If you don’t have your ID, bring a driver’s license.” But he’s confident that with help from both the guard’s awareness and student’s having their ID card ready and in hand, the ID policy will be fully enforced.
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