The below message was sent to faculty, staff, and students on November 21, 2025.
Dear Bryn Mawr Community,
We are writing to provide updates on the work being conducted across campus to improve the safety of our campus for students, faculty, and staff. We shared the general plan for this work on September 4th in this Lantern newsletter announcement, and our collective goal is to create a safer environment for everyone on campus.
Since September, we have made progress on several key initiatives:
- Blue Light Emergency Phones: We are replacing and upgrading our emergency phones across campus. Blue light phones are designed to provide immediate, direct access to campus security in an emergency, with the phone's location automatically transmitted to dispatchers. Additionally, the phone's technology will also help increase campus Wi-Fi connectivity for our community. One-button access will allow you to call our Office of Campus Safety for support 24 hours a day, in any emergency. Phone replacements will continue into the spring semester.
Security cameras: We are adding, replacing, and upgrading security cameras across campus. They are a standard and long-established practice at colleges and universities, including our neighboring peers like Haverford and Swarthmore. These upgrades serve two key purposes:
- Safety and Prevention: The presence of modern, well-placed cameras improves campus safety and helps discourage property crime on campus.
- Timely and Consistent Response: In the rare event an incident occurs, the footage is a critical resource for Campus Safety to respond and conduct thorough investigations, ensuring fairness and helping us resolve situations quickly.
Our security cameras do not monitor classrooms, residential halls, or sensitive spaces. Footage is only accessed and reviewed by a small, authorized group of people when necessary to investigate reported incidents that impact campus safety or property. This initiative responds to concerns voiced by students regarding campus security, particularly after dark.
- Card-Only Access: We are also working on instituting card-only access for additional buildings on campus to better manage access, particularly for people who are not members of our community. We will share additional information next month about this topic.
We have heard a lot of questions about these topics in recent days. If you have concerns, questions, or suggestions, please contact our Office of Campus Safety directly. We are committed to working together to make Bryn Mawr a safe place for all.
Sincerely,
Samir Datta
Vice President for Finance and Administration
Tomiko Jenkins
Interim Dean of the Undergraduate College
David Karen
Interim Provost and Professor of Sociology
