Security is tightening at the University as residence halls are changing their policy toward building entrances and exits.
Some halls, such as Founders and Offenhauer, allow students to come in and out through any door they choose. This will change once the Single Point of Entry policy, which states students can only enter and exit residence halls through one door, goes into effect.
“The reason for this new policy is for safety and security reasons. Everyone who comes and goes will have to pass by the front desk, which has a RA sitting there 24/7,” said Sarah Waters, director of Residence Life.
The policy was meant to go into effect for all residence halls at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year, but there were some complications during renovations.
“We’re trying to make it so the traditional halls mirror Centennial Hall and Falcon Heights, which are currently the only halls with the single point of entry,” Waters said.
However, the upgrades became drawn out because the wiring was not correct in the older buildings for the installation of equipment, such as security cameras, Waters said.
“It needed to be re-evaluated and re-planned.” Waters said.
By the time the older buildings were ready, school had started and the project had to be pushed back to the beginning of fall 2013.
Systems will be updated, exit doors will be alarmed and security cameras will be installed, forcing the use of single point entry in all residence halls.
With the future changes originally scheduled for this fall, Waters expected a lot of questions from students, especially from those who are returning to campus after not having the single point of entry policy.
Dominic Serini, a freshman that currently lives in Centennial with the policy, said, “It’s a necessary thing to have, but it’s inconvenient.”
Sophomores Amber Dudley and Alli Brown, who live in Conklin and Founders Hall, agree with Serini about the policy.
“I like being able to go in the door that leads right to my room,” Brown said.
“It’s good to have other exits for safety reasons, if you’re running late to class, to keep other exits from crowding and stuff like that,” Dudley added. “But there are advantages to it like safety.”
While some students seem opposed to the new policy, mainly because of inconvenience, Residence Life is taking all student concerns into consideration.
“Convenience is important,” said Waters, “and we’re trying to take everything into consideration for students.”
