The Doyle Library in Santa Rosa is a hub of student activity on campus. Students can meet in the study rooms, lounge on the couches or access the Internet on one of the many library computers. Unfortunately, not all visitors to the library behave respectfully.
Posted throughout the building is a list of rules for students to follow. Basic things, such as “Set cell phones to silent mode” or “use library materials and facilities with respect.”
There have been instances of students or visitors using library computers to look at pornographic material on the Internet. This is both disturbing, and a good way to get suspended or expelled. The IT department at the JC is planning ways to reduce this misuse, as well as preserve the majority of computers for students, not random people.
“The IT staff have been working on a solution we are planning to roll out next fall that will require all library and open lab computer users to log-in with their student ID and password to access the internet,” Scott Conrad, director of information technology said. This system will require “re-imaging” the computers, a process performed every summer that will include an upgrade to Windows 7 and other necessary software upgrades, including the new log-in system.
The list of rules in the library states at the end that failure to comply to the rules can result in being asked to leave and in certain circumstances the police will be called. “The Police Department has the authority to take enforcement action in criminal matters,” Sergeant David Willat of the SRJC PD said. “A crime is defined in Penal Code section 19 and if you read that section you will see that there has to a punishment attached to the prohibited activity.”
Many disturbances about campus are not criminal activity, and the police department often refers those non-criminal violations to Vice President of Student Services Ricardo Navarrette who is responsible for determining punishment for students.
“If we do not have a legal right to detain or arrest someone for suspected criminal activity, there is the risk of being charged with false imprisonment,” Willat said.
