UW-Madison has a nuclear reactor. Biochemical and animal labs line the west side of campus. UW extension classes educate over 100,000 non-UW students every year. But even in the midst of the U.S. government drastically strengthening national transportation, communication and building security, UW officials are not making any drastic changes in security procedures.

Looking at UW's founding philosophy, this makes sense. More than a century ago, UW President Charles Van Hise first voiced the Wisconsin Idea: that the boundaries of the university should extent to the borders of the state. UW's founders thought higher education should be available to all citizens, and today's administration stands by that conviction.

“Our No. 1 goal regarding security right now is to be certain we won't do anything to compromise our national interest of being an open institution,” said university spokesman Terry Devitt.

Devitt's description of UW as an “open institution” draws directly from the phrasing “free and open exchange of ideas” the university is continuing to champion. Instead of heightening security or subjecting students, staff or visitors to background checks — which UW communications said are limited to academic background — Chancellor John Wiley responded to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks by encouraging students to “help us fight the darkening forces of terror by exercising our most basic freedom: to talk and to listen.”

UW chemistry professor John Moore said implementing security measures is dangerous because it could impede personal freedom.

“Certainly in this war, free speech is being threatened,” Moore said. “I don't see it happening at the university level right now, but it could conceivably happen. One can always imagine laws restricting freedom.”

Actions and statements coming out of the White House have sparked a national debate over whether restrictions on civil liberties are justified by the security they seek to provide. When White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said “people have to watch what they say and watch what they do” during the newly declared war effort, eyebrows raised.

In light of that same concern, UW officials are shying away from making security measures that could invade the campus community's freedom of expression or civil liberties to any extent. And most officials say campus facilities already have adequate security in place.

“My office is in the biotech building, where there are occasionally security issues where some access to the building is restricted,” said UW outreach program manager of biological sciences Robert Bohanan.

Especially in the spotlight of recent anthrax scares and infections sheds, no one will deny that potentially dangerous chemicals and biological technology exist on campus. Bohanan said the biotechnology building houses both complex technology and lethal chemicals. He said the potential dangers are adequately safeguarded now as much as ever — but certainly not at a heightened level.

“My experience has been that there has always been a security system in place,” he said. “I feel like any change in the system would only come after a dialogue with the constituents.”

Although most students and professors feel secure in their science posts at UW, one chemistry professor said the size of the department and extent of research would warrant heightened security if UW stood out as a bolder terrorist target.

“We are a big department,” he said. “We have a lot of students coming and going. We aren't a high-security place. The campus isn't a high-security institution, and they haven't posted guards at the building because it would have a severe impact on the university community.”

On UW communications' web page, the links to “security” all have to do with the university's conscious effort not to impose restrictions or show the Madison Police Department precaution lists.

UW facilities are abiding by standards and recommendations set by the MPD, including the following:

-Don't prop open or compromise building/residence hall entrance doors or windows.

-Account for and secure keys; don't leave them unattended or give to unauthorized persons.

-Be aware of unfamiliar persons.

UW also sent an e-mail notification of the United States Postal Inspection Service's tip sheet of how to deal with “suspicious parcels” and anthrax. The e-mail message answered the questions “What should I do if I receive an anthrax threat by mail?”, “What constitutes a "suspicious parcel'?” and “What should I do if I've received a suspicious parcel in the mail?”. Professors in the physics, chemistry and engineering departments received the e-mail message, but those interviewed by The Badger Herald said they did not bother to read the bulleted list, but just forwarded it to the person who deals with the mail.

Matt Sanders, executive director of the chemistry department, received the aforementioned directions from UW. He said he is not afraid to open his own mail.
“We have a nuclear reactor on campus,” Sanders said. “If anyone might think about heightened security, it would be them.”

Devitt said several of UW's science facilities, such as Engineering Research, which houses the nuclear reactor, are undergoing police audits to fully examine security strengths and weaknesses. Updates will be made if necessary, he said.
As part of the $650 million per year UW devotes to scientific research, lethal chemicals are also present on campus; research and chemical development use substances that can be classified as dangerous, but the university said it does not see harm in possessing the chemicals because they can all be “somewhat readily” obtained elsewhere.

For example, UW conducts vital anthrax research without access to the substance. Technological equipment allows students and researchers to study anthrax genes without having the actual organism here, Devitt said.

In a study to be published Nov. 8 in the journal Nature, released online Tuesday, UW and Harvard University scientists pinpointed how anthrax toxins enter cells and made a decoy to divert anthrax from attacking cells. Vital research is conducted under top security.

Another facet of UW science that is drawing concern is extension services for continuing education. Courses — most at a cost, some for course credit, some free seminars for a family audience — are taught all over the state, and extension classes often collaborate with universities all across the United States and even abroad. These courses have a less restrictive application process than UW does for students; some seminars only have registration the morning of the event.

“We don't really know who we could be educating, but I can't think of any of our classes that we'd have to worry about terrorists being attracted to,” said Judy Reed, director of the program information division on UW's division of continuing studies, a widespread network of statewide professional and supplemental courses.

Reed said she has had fleeting concerns for the program's security, but they are not well grounded.

“I was just thinking the other day, "At least we don't teach flight school or any major chemistry courses,” she said. “We feel pretty secure. The news of today seems to be related to political centers, not Madison.”

Janette Randall, the front desk coordinator for UW's Pyle Center, the conference center for continuing studies and outreach courses, said employees follow security measures but are not more cautious now than two months ago.

“Although we see tons of international visitors, and lots of people come through here every day, everyone is pre-registered, and we still check suspicious people and packages. I'm no more worried than usual — I have a panic button right under the counter.”

Other universities across the United States are wrestling with the balance between students' civil liberties and school security. Kathleen McCann, spokeswoman for Milwaukee School of Engineering, said students and staff are concerned about the mail systems and terrorism, but like UW, MSOE would not implement background checks as a safety precaution.

“I think people are definitely starting to think more about security, but background checks? No, how would you even do that?” McCann said.

UW physiology professor Peter Lalley said background checks beyond the academic level are “not at all necessary.” Terrorism may have made officials and UW students more aware of existing security and their surroundings, though it has not justified a potentially harmful change in policy, he said.

“Our students coming here from abroad or from all over the country are good people who want to do well,” he said. “But all of us, our thinking has changed. The United States is not an island; we are not impregnable.”