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Fencing

By Kerri Provost

April 13, 2012

Even if the Board of Trustees wanted to fence off Trinity, President Jones said, it is not going to happen. Jones described fencing as physically impossible, noting that the Allen and Summit are City streets, and not privately-owned by the college.

This was the message he gave to the approximately 30 people — mostly politicians and community activists — at a breakfast held at the Studio at Billings Forge yesterday morning. Media had been given the message that they were unwelcome at this event; the general public was not given notification of this meeting.

Several in attendance described Jones as seeming nervous, but honest. He admitted that communication between Trinity and Hartford could be better.

In a message that Jones wrote for the Trinity community as recent as last Friday, it sounded like the possibility of fencing the campus was still being entertained:

We anticipate that Margolis will use an approach called Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), which can involve using a variety of approaches, including landscaping, lighting, fencing, and other devices to help manage campus access. This firm will also assess campus lighting, security cameras, frequency and styles of patrols, and the full range of campus safety techniques that characterize campus communities that are safe and secure.

There was no explanation given about this apparent inconsistency; there was no mention of whether or not the new interim director of campus safety had an impact on Trinity’s decision regarding fencing. Did the administration’s stance toward fencing evolve in a week’s time, or are two different communities being told different stories?