Recently students may have found entering a residence hall to be more tedious. The Department of Residence Life has recently created new policies for desk workers admitting students.
This has been the result of students scanning the University identification cards on their home computers, then giving the replication to a friend. This practice, along with a recent break in at DeMattias Hall, have led to stricter regulations when entering a residence hall.
Since fall break, desk workers in all Saint Louis University residence halls are enforcing new rules and policies issued by Residence Life. “The new rules are in place to keep the students safe,” said Sean Swinnigan, director of Residence Life.
One of these new rules is that students must now take out their student IDs and hand them to the desk worker. This is the result of two conditions: The threat of fake IDs, and a policy found on page 50 of the student handbook which states, “a student must show his/her student ID to the desk worker in a manner that allows the desk worker to verify the picture and building on the ID.”
“We want to slow people down to get a good look at the IDs,” said Swinnigan. In the past students had the luxury of just flashing their wallet at the desks, and being allowed in the buildings. Officials complain that this system is too relaxed and that it resulted in many holes. “Students get too comfortable,” said Swinnigan. “We need students to stop at the desks.”
Other security measures put into place at DeMattias Hall as a result of the break in are that students must stop at the window near the entrance to flash their IDs, and the second entrance door is now kept locked at all times.
Even though these new regulations have been put into place, Swinnigan reminds students that it is still important to lock their rooms when they are not there. “Students need to remember to lock their doors when they are not there,” said Swinnigan.
There have been no problems concerning the new rules reported by desk workers since the new policies have been enacted.
