Officials work to keep residence halls secure

A student allows an individual into a dormitory without asking for proper identification. Students being too kind to strangers outside of the dorms is one of the biggest security issues, said Kevin Jacques, director of residence life.

With modern technology like key-card access to enter buildings, the residence halls are considered sufficiently safe and secure. Still, threats such as unaccompanied or unwelcome guests wandering the halls can be frightening. We at The Flor-Ala thought it would be interesting to test the reality of this threat.

In order to see just how easy it is to get into residence halls that we don’t live in, another student and I timed ourselves entering both Rice and Rivers residence halls. In both instances we were let in, either by knocking or waiting until someone else opened a door, by students that we didn’t recognize.

It took only 10 seconds for me to gain entrance to Rice and 33 seconds to enter Rivers. In retrospect, it took 14 seconds for the other student to enter Rice, and 26 seconds to enter Rivers.

UNA takes many precautions to keep the residence halls safe from outsiders, said Kevin Jacques, director of residence life.

“We’ve got signs posted on every one of our doors that state that you must either be a resident of that building or be escorted by a resident of that building,” Jacques said. “We also have doors that are on mane card access for 24 hours a day, so only the people that live within that building and staff of the residence halls, whether it’s housing, residence life or UNA police, have access to those buildings. We try to do our best from having multiple layers of security and then also having cameras in the main lobby areas as well.”

Clay Oden, sophomore, admits to letting people into his residence hall that he doesn’t know, Oden said.

“I do it to feel polite,” Oden said. “Sometimes I know they live there, but sometimes I don’t. It would be impolite not to hold the door for others.”

Students have to play their part in keeping the residence safe, Jacques said.

“We try to educate the students greatly from the standpoint of being mindful of your surroundings, but that also doesn’t mean that someone can just hold a door open,” Jacques said. “As with every residence hall on every college campus, safety starts with the student. From that standpoint, if a student is letting someone in, then they’re the ones that are putting a residence hall at risk of any potential issue.”

One of the biggest security issues results from students being too kind, Jacques said.

“Students need to take precautions just as they would at they’re own house,” Jacques said. “Don’t let someone into the building that you don’t know. It may seem like it’s rude, but that perceived rudeness helps prevent something bad from happening.”

Oden believes the residence halls might be unsafe for other reasons, he said.

“I don’t really think Rivers is safe, just from living there last year,” Oden said. “There’s a lot more going on in Rivers, like drinking, and the freshmen don’t really know how to take care of themselves. I haven’t seen a fight in Rice, but last year there were fights in Rivers, which makes it seem more hostile.”

Some students like Tyia Wilson, a freshman, are bothered when strangers enter the residence hall without accompaniment.

“It looks kind of weird for boys who aren’t with someone to walk through (LaGrange) alone when it’s an all-female dorm,” Wilson said. “You never know what they could be in here for. You could let them in thinking that they are going up to see one if their friends when they could be coming for the wrong reasons.”

She usually makes sure to follow the residence hall rules when allowing people in and out of the building, Wilson said.

“I only hold doors open for people that I know,” Wilson said. “If I see someone walking towards the door with their key out, and I’m standing by the door, I’ll hold it open then, too. I never let people in that I don’t know.”

Editor’s note: To learn more about the Department of Housing’s policies on security, please visit http://www.una.edu/housing/mission-vision.html.