2008 Woodie Awards
Village Entrance Remains Campus Safety Concern
Cherilyn Sajorda
Issue date: 9/23/04 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Over one year after The Village apartments first opened, the residence halls continue to experience security breaches with faulty entrance doors. An increase in vandalism and damages to the apartment buildings last spring prompted Residence Life to implement and research various security preventatives including additional police patrols.
According to Christina Remilev, a senior early childhood education major, and The Village resident, the system should work by flashing the resident's proxy card in front of an electronic box connected to the door frame to unlock the door. According to students, there have been problems with the door frame system.
Remiev, an Alice Paul Hall resident said, "The door is never locked; I've never had to use my proxy card to get into my apartment building."
"Here, in my second year living at The Village I have never had a problem getting into any of the buildings from either side," Basie resident Brian Bakes, a senior English major said.
According to Regina Sargent, Director of Residence Life, the security problems concerning The Village apartments have not necessarily been a result of the system, but rather from faulty door frames.
In a collaborative effort with University Police, the Physical Plant and the Department of Architectural and Engineering, Residence Life is working to fix the proximity card readers at each of The Village residence halls.
Sargent said that Residence Life is presently looking into the possibility of putting cameras on the first floor lobbies of The Village apartments, in addition to working with students to better inform them on preventative security measures.
"This is not just a Residence Life issue, but a campus issue," Sargent said. "We want to work on promoting with residents to know who's in their buildings."
Yet, not all residents have had a negative experience with the faulty security system at The Village.
"I don't really feel like I'm unsafe because the doors don't lock, but I think that some of the new policies are putting too much responsibility on the students to stop incidents from happening because the doors are unlocked," Paul resident Anna Einspahr, a senior criminal justice major said.
Earlier attempts to ensure safety and security of residents at The Village took place in September 2004 when MSU hired security guards to sit at the front desks of each of the four Village buildings to ensure each person entering was a resident of the building and authorized to enter. That same week guards were caught sleeping on duty and allowing entrance to individuals who did not live there.
"I think if they're concerned with vandalism or safety, the first thing they would fix would be the locks, but they haven't done that, and so they obviously aren't concerned
According to Christina Remilev, a senior early childhood education major, and The Village resident, the system should work by flashing the resident's proxy card in front of an electronic box connected to the door frame to unlock the door. According to students, there have been problems with the door frame system.
Remiev, an Alice Paul Hall resident said, "The door is never locked; I've never had to use my proxy card to get into my apartment building."
"Here, in my second year living at The Village I have never had a problem getting into any of the buildings from either side," Basie resident Brian Bakes, a senior English major said.
According to Regina Sargent, Director of Residence Life, the security problems concerning The Village apartments have not necessarily been a result of the system, but rather from faulty door frames.
In a collaborative effort with University Police, the Physical Plant and the Department of Architectural and Engineering, Residence Life is working to fix the proximity card readers at each of The Village residence halls.
Sargent said that Residence Life is presently looking into the possibility of putting cameras on the first floor lobbies of The Village apartments, in addition to working with students to better inform them on preventative security measures.
"This is not just a Residence Life issue, but a campus issue," Sargent said. "We want to work on promoting with residents to know who's in their buildings."
Yet, not all residents have had a negative experience with the faulty security system at The Village.
"I don't really feel like I'm unsafe because the doors don't lock, but I think that some of the new policies are putting too much responsibility on the students to stop incidents from happening because the doors are unlocked," Paul resident Anna Einspahr, a senior criminal justice major said.
Earlier attempts to ensure safety and security of residents at The Village took place in September 2004 when MSU hired security guards to sit at the front desks of each of the four Village buildings to ensure each person entering was a resident of the building and authorized to enter. That same week guards were caught sleeping on duty and allowing entrance to individuals who did not live there.
"I think if they're concerned with vandalism or safety, the first thing they would fix would be the locks, but they haven't done that, and so they obviously aren't concerned