Despite mixed reactions from residents about the double-barrier security system installed in Letts Hall over winter break, Director of Housing and Dining Programs Chris Moody said his team wants to expand the security system to the rest of the residence halls within the next few years.
Until this semester, Letts residents only had to use swipe access once when they entered the building - at the front door, with an AU identification card. That is the same system used in all other dorms on campus, except Nebraska Hall. Moody said the double-barrier system adds another layer of security to Letts, where students must swipe their IDs again to get through the doors that lead to the residential part of the building.
While the second barrier is already installed, it is not yet turned on, according to several Letts residents.
"I'm hoping people will understand that we're doing this for student protection and for no other reason," he said.
Carter Gibson, vice president of advocacy for Letts and a freshman in the School of Communication and Kogod School of Business, said he doesn't think the double-barrier system is worth the money.
"The principle of it is sound, even though it doesn't actually increase security in my opinion, it does because of the idea of it," he said. "I'm not opposed to it, but I'm also not for it. I just don't see what it's doing."
Layal Brown, a sophomore in SOC who lives in Letts, said she was not aware of the double-barrier system. She said she did not really care if the measure was used.
"It's good for extra security, but if you forget your ID and there's no one else to swipe you in, then you're kind of screwed getting in through the second set of doors," Brown said.
Since the residence halls are also home to organizations and administrative offices, such as Housing and Dining and the Residence Hall Association in Anderson Hall, the double-barrier system will increase accessibility for non-residents, Moody said.
Anyone would be able to access the first entry to a dorm during regular business hours with any AU ID, according to Moody. The second layer of security would be resident-only, as students would need to swipe an ID card to access the stairs or elevator to get to their rooms, he said.
"It will make a difference in making it harder for people who don't belong to move freely around the residence hall once they have piggy backed in the front door," Public Safety Chief Michael McNair said in an e-mail.
Moody said he anticipates that residents will not be fans of the double-barrier system, but added that students living in Nebraska hall have been living with the system and do not have issues with the measure anymore.
"You learn, you adapt to whatever your [living] circumstance is," he said. "And because of that, it's kind of shown us that people can adjust to this, they can get used to it. It's just going to be a rolling effect of people doing that, and the price of some frustration I think is worth the security that's added."
Housing and Dining had been considering the double-barrier system for the last six to seven years, according to Moody, but the project had to be postponed due to lack of funding. When Housing and Dining received adequate funding two years ago, they worked closely with Facilities Management and Public Safety to plan the project, according to Moody.
"We provided [Housing and Dining] with the blueprint on how to make the double-barrier entry system work seamlessly with existing security hardware and software," McNair said in the e-mail. "These recommendations include, but were not limited to, card reader model and type and the placement of the readers so that they would be the most effective."
Housing and Dining plans to install the double-barrier system into all of the other residence halls during each building's renovation. The system will be in place in Anderson Hall by summer 2010, McDowell in 2011 and Hughes in 2012, Moody said.
Gibson said he thinks the system is too easy to get around.
"If someone gets in without an ID [behind] someone else who comes in, and they go to the other doors, they just wait there until someone else opens the door for them," Gibson said. "So it seems pretty ineffective right now."
Moody and McNair said they know there will be a learning curve as students sneak through the second barrier.
"It isn't foolproof, but then no system is," McNair said in the e-mail.
You can reach this staff writer at thallerman@theeagleonline.com.
