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Where is our new ATM?

Students at VSU may find themselves suffering from a lack of withdrawals−in this case, ATM withdrawals.

VSU President,  Dr. William McKinney first announced his decision to install an ATM in the Student Union during a Student Faculty Senate meeting held on Oct. 17, 2013.

What prompted this decision was a robbery incident that occurred at the University Center ATM. On Oct. 3, 2013, a student was held at gunpoint and forced to withdraw $1,000 from his account.

“An ATM should be in the Student Union,” Dr. McKinney said during the Oct. 17, 2013  Faculty Senate meeting. “It’s more well-lit, there’s more student traffic. That ATM is not in a safe and ideal location; that ATM is going to be moved.”

Dr. McKinney’s original intention was to remove the ATM from the University Center because of the increased number of incidences occurring at that location; however, at the Feb. 20 Faculty Senate meeting, another solution was raised.

According to the report made by the Special Committee on Safety and Security at VSU, “some favor leaving the ATM machine at its location (the UC), so visitors to football games can use it, (but) we also need an ATM machine at a safer location, possibly the Student Union.”

Nearly five months after Dr. McKinney’s original decision, the relocation has yet to happen.

On Wednesday, Dr. McKinney said the plan was moving forward but did not offer a specific timeline for completion.

“We are in the final stages required to actually remove the ATM from the UC and replace it with one in the Student Union,” Dr. McKinney said. “I plan to discuss the matter with the SGA before final arrangements are made.”

While this is encouraging, we at the Spectator feel it’s time for definitive action.

ATMs appear to be everywhere−in convenience stores, on street corners−so it seems like it shouldn’t be a year-long project to install more around campus.

We believe that it has taken the administration entirely too long to install the new ATM in a safer location.

The VSU administration has a responsibility to its students. By neglecting to promptly install an ATM in a safer, more accessible location, they are putting students at risk and are encouraging more crime to take place in an area that has already proven to be dangerous.

The administration’s lack of activity regarding this matter is unacceptable. It appears that those in power want to have the correct plan in place but have failed to execute it in a timely fashion.

Students and faculty should email VSU President William McKinney at wmckinney@valdosta.edu and request that an ATM be installed in the Student Union as soon as possible in the name of safety.

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