Security candidate visits and talks with students

Comm. passes decision to Dean, final choice soon

The search committee deliberated between Frank Wiley and Keith James, the two candidates for the director of security, on Thursday. Their recommendation was passed on to final approval by Dean of Student Life & Services, Charlene Cole-Newkirk. The decision will be announced within a week, said Cole.

The second of two candidates for director of security, Wiley, visited campus this week.

Wiley, who served as chief of police at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Baltimore County, and on the Baltimore police force, met with students, faculty and staff Tuesday.

James, the first candidate, visited the campus last week. Both Wiley and James were required to make presentations concerning the role of Security in addressing sexual assault on campus.

The audience was mainly composed of campus security representatives and the Student Life and Services search committee. Only two students attended.

Wiley opened the meeting with his presentation on sexual assault. He said the main tactics he would employ against sexual assault are prevention, intervention and post-incidence activity.

Following his presentation, the audience asked Wiley questions concerning security issues.

Wiley said prevention of sexual assault includes educating students, by means of flyers and other forms of communication, about the safety precautions they should take to avoid assault. He said that education could prevent some students from becoming victims, and, by making students sensitive to victims' issues, deter some people from committing sexual assault.

"Naturally a proactive approach stresses prevention," said Wiley. "If we are able to prevent the occurrence of the [crime], it's so much better than trying to recover after it occurs."

According to Wiley, frequent security patrols and surveys of dangerous areas are also effective preventive measures.

Audience members asked Wiley how he would make use of security at Oberlin. Wiley said he would prefer to avoid aggravated confrontation whenever possible, and advocated equal treatment of all students under the law.

Wiley said that violent force should be used only under the most appropriate circumstances, such as self defense.

He also said that he would want students to interact with administration on Security issues, that the role of Security must be clear to the community and that Security is a cooperative effort between Security and the community. "[Security's] purpose is to serve the constituency," Wiley said.

"If I'm the person you hire, there's a couple of things you'll discover about me," Wiley said. "You'll see me a lot, because I believe management is best done by walking around. It's much better done by being available."

One audience member asked Wiley how much he thought students' rights should be respected in security procedures. Wiley said students should not get any special treatment if it means obstruction of justice, but added that students do have rights that must be respected.

"My issue is not to criminalize people for doing a lot of things in this world," said Wiley, saying he preferred advocacy to arrest. "But some of that is also responsibility of the student, because if you place yourself at an unnecessary risk, something could happen to you," Wiley said.

Audience members also asked about how Wiley would adapt to the Oberlin community. Wiley said he was attracted to Oberlin because of its reputation as an institution and its reputation for having a diverse student body.

Wiley said that despite Oberlin's uniqueness, he believes it is enough like other colleges for his security ideas to be successful here. He said that if there were any problems, he would be able to adjust.

When one audience member asked Wiley what he likes about college students, Wiley answered that he likes college students because they are "enthusiastic, idealistic and raise issues that require thought on the part of administration."

When asked why he thinks he should be selected as director of security, Wiley said, "I think that I have the requisite combination of skills and abilities consistent with the admission of [Oberlin], and the organizational skills necessary to meet the challenges presented by the Oberlin security force."