On Oct. 14, SGA approved $3,000 to install new cameras in the Elizabeth Huth Coates Library as they trial run opening the library 24 hours during finals. The senate also approved an additional $2,000 to go towards incentivizing student participation in the trials.
Benjamin Harris, dean of the library, said in an email that the interest in increased library security came from the addition of an entrance connecting the Welcome Center and Event Hall as well as the upcoming trials.
The funds for the cameras came from the Student Activity Fund, and River Rocha, senior history major and SGA vice president, said that while funding requests from non-student entities are rare, SGA believed that contributing funds to the cameras, and thus helping provide the security required for extended library hours, is an initiative aligned with student interest and something that benefits the broader Trinity University campus rather than a singular department.
“This was an opportunity that the senate felt that it’s not really funding for one specific thing, it’s funding for something that everyone on campus can really see,” Rocha said.
Senator David Nilsen, senior political science major, agreed, saying...