Student Referendum Results Spur Revised 'Lockdown' Hours

Author: Elizabeth Logue

Middlebury College students were informed by e-mail last Friday of a revised locking schedule for the exterior entrances to traditional residence halls. Side doors of dormitories will remain unlocked until 11 p.m. and the main entrances — outlined by Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Director of Public Safety Lisa Boudah — will remain unlocked until 1 a.m.

The decision to change the locking hours, which originally called for the locking of all exterior residence hall doors beginning at 11 p.m., was made after Student Government Association (SGA) President Brian Elworthy '02.5 requested that residence halls remain open until 2 a.m.

An online student referendum conducted by the SGA revealed that 93 percent of the student body did not support the locking of residence halls. Prior to the referendum, the Jan. 16 edition of The Middlebury Campus reported that President John McCardell had declared that "locking the residence halls is a prudent precaution that must be part of any long-term safety policy."

Elworthy said that since the Community Council subcommittee on safety had been charged with the task of brainstorming long-term solutions for securing residence halls, the goal of the SGA subcommittee — which had initially questioned the necessity for the locking of residence halls at any hour — is to devise more immediate solutions to the students' opposition to the lockdown, which included the request to keep residence halls open until 2 a.m.

Elworthy expressed approval of the compromise struck with Boudah and the Department of Public Safety, particularly since it "signals to students that the administration can work well with student representatives."

Boudah said in an interview with The Campus, "We took a year-long sampling of … reports [of burglary and assault] and found that most of these incidences occur after 1 a.m.," she said.

By locking side entrances starting at 11 p.m., "we begin channeling more people through these doors. It puts people together," which, in Boudah's view, deters potential trespassers from entering residence halls.

Mike Schoenfeld, dean of enrollment planning and a member of the Community Council subcommittee, cited balancing security and accessibility as the goal of Community Council.

In addition, McCardell has requested that Community Council complete a "thorough assessment of campus security … and incidents of campus crime committed by both community and non-community members." Elworthy hopes that by next academic year, a swipe card system will be implemented in all residence halls under the current locking hours.

The proposed system would allow students to walk by a scanner installed at residence hall entrances that would automatically unlock the door.

"It's a good system because it will achieve the students' objective of keeping the campus open for everyone," he said, adding that he hopes students "will not [be required to carry] proximity cards during any daytime hours."

Both Boudah and Schoenfeld acknowledged the feasibility of such a system, but said that Community Council and Public Safety are in the preliminary stages of exploring such options.

For the immediate future, the possibility of night watchmen — who currently patrol the campus through the night — assisting Public Safety officers with locking of residence halls is at the forefront of the discussion.

Night watchmen are currently directed to secure several academic and administrative buildings on campus, and so, according to Boudah, adding residence halls to their route is a viable option.

Boudah added that if night watchmen were delegated the responsibility of locking residence halls, Facilities Management employees could assist in unlocking the doors beginning at 7 a.m. Boudah stated, however, that Public Safety officers would continue to be accountable for locking residence halls at the designated times.