I was born and raised in Brooklyn, so by nature I tend to be a little more aware of my surroundings than most people I know. I lock my door every time I leave the room and whenever I'm asleep, I always look over my shoulder whenever I walk alone at night, I carry a fully charged cell phone on me at all times, and I can't help but be wary of unfamiliar people. I'm not paranoid. But I am more aware of potential danger.

I would say, however, that being at Brandeis has "dulled" my senses. Although I am still constantly aware of my surroundings, I feel far more at ease walking around campus at night than I would at home. And I don't panic when on occasion I realize that I forgot to lock my door. Something about being on a small campus where I recognize almost everyone just makes me feel more comfortable.

Yet when I read about things like the man exposing himself in Harlan Chapel and the thefts in Usen Castle, I am reminded that, contrary to popular belief, the University is not a bubble. It is for this reason that I believe it needs to do more to enhance security. Fortunately, we have an amazing culture of honesty and integrity here, and over the 60 or so years that our university has been in existence, we've been relatively lucky. But despite those things, we can't forget that our campus exists in the real world, and the risk of crime-whether from outsiders or from our own students-will always be present.

It's true that our campus is enclosed, unlike most colleges, so we don't have the same security concerns as a school such as Boston University, which is spread throughout a city. However, our campus is still open and easily accessible to outsiders. There are many ways to get on campus without using the main entrance. And even the main entrance is insecure. Anyone could potentially drive or walk onto campus without being stopped.

Additionally, our residence halls are particularly vulnerable to crime. Though all the buildings are locked, any outsider who wants to get in could easily wait for someone to let him or her in. The Department of Public Safety cautions us not to let unknown people into the residence halls, but most of us are probably guilty of letting someone we don't know into our building. This is a big risk since there are no security guards at the entrances to the buildings to check unknown visitors.

There are a number of video monitors around campus, but in an e-mail to the Justice, Ed Callahan, the director of Public Safety, stated that he could not release information about the number of cameras or the areas they cover. In the e-mail, he assured me that Public Safety is committed to keeping the community safe, but it seems to me, in light of the recent thefts, that a declared commitment to safety alone is not enough.

I am not raising these points to be alarmist. Comparatively speaking, this is a very safe campus, and our culture of honesty and integrity creates an amazing atmosphere that probably can't be found a lot of other places. But I do think that our relative lack of security on campus is an issue that needs attention. Yes, the budget is tight right now, but there are too many holes in campus security that need to be closed up.

The University should install more cameras in and around the residence halls as well as by the various entrances to campus to keep a better watch for outsiders who shouldn't be here. Perhaps the University should also hire more staff for Public Safety. According to the Brandeis website, we only have 15 police officers and two security guards. The campus is small, but it's hard for a small squad to be everywhere at once. Campus police may be able to respond to reports of crime quickly, but a slightly larger squad might be more effective at deterring crimes before they happen. We should also consider installing a security guard at the front gate to monitor comings and goings at night. The guard wouldn't necessarily have to stop everyone who came onto campus. However, he or she would be an extra pair of eyes, and an occupied, lighted guard booth would be a bigger deterrent to potential criminals than a vacant, dark one. Such simple additions to campus security could make a huge difference in keeping us safe.

We shouldn't delude ourselves into thinking that we're out of harm's way because we live inside the Brandeis "bubble." The sexual assault in the Village and intrusions by the same perpetrator in Shapiro Residence Hall in 2005, last week's thefts in the castle, last year's thefts of a student's laptop from Reitman Residence Hall and another student's $550 bicycle from Ridgewood-these may all be isolated incidents, but they are all reminders that we are never immune to crime, not even at Brandeis.

I don't believe that our culture of honesty and integrity should change. I do believe that despite that honesty and integrity, we all need to be a little more vigilant about safety. We should not take Public Safety's advice about locking our doors and not letting unknown persons into the residence halls lightly. However, there is only so much that we as students can do. The University has a responsibility to keep us safe and needs to start closing the gaps in campus security in order to do so.