Public safety ups dorm security Dorms on new locking schedule

Author: Katie Flagg

Students across campus are fumbling in their pockets for cards after a Feb. 5 announcement from the Department of Public Safety unveiling a new schedule for the residence hall locking system. As of Sunday, all residence halls have been locked at nine o'clock at night, and dormitories are not accessible without a Middlebury College proximate access card until seven a.m. Prior to this announcement, residence halls locked at 11 p.m.

The announcement and change in policy follow another intrusion in the Ross Commons complex. On Jan. 30, Public Safety released a Community Safety Alert, addressing an intrusion in LaForce Hall. At approximately six a.m., a student on the third floor of LaForce found a male lying on the floor next to the bed. The resident confronted the male, but the suspect left the room before the student could identify the intruder.

The crime alert described the suspect as a black male with a light complexion between 18 and 19 years old. The suspect is 5'10" or 5'11" with dark hair between one and two inches long. At the time of the intrusion he was wearing a reddish shirt and unknown pants and shoes.

Students have already expressed general dissatisfaction with the new locking schedule. "It's a pain in the butt to have the doors locked at 9 o'clock at night," said Haylee Freeman '06.5.

At the heart of student annoyance with the new locking schedule is the widespread belief that intrusions are not serious offenses. Students have been less than thrilled by the influx of Community Safety Alerts, and many now view the occurrences as laughable.

"There's a lot of [crime alerts], which is not a good sign, but on the other hand it seems like after the first couple of times it became sort of a joke," said Jen Williams '07.

In less extreme circumstances, students simply delete the recurring Public Safety announcements, writing intrusions off as drunken mistakes.

"It's a Saturday night and there are going to be drunk people around on campus; you should lock your doors if you're going to sleep," said Freeman.

In defense of the lockdown, Public Safety reasserted the gravity of the intrusions. While the crime alerts now seem routine to many students, the incidents, according to Public Safety, are fairly unique to this year.

"As far as I know, these kinds of things haven't been happening before," said Lisa Boudah, director of Public Safety. The recent events have been particularly distressing to Public Safety because victims describe purposeful entries - intruders have been careful to keep doors from swinging shut behind them when entering rooms, have lurked quietly in the dark and have made quick exits after being noticed.

"[Intruders] are taking advantage of a time when most people are going to be asleep and would be confused when they wake up and would have trouble shaping the memory," Boudah said. "There is a conscious move to be in the room at that time."

Boudah was quick to differentiate recent intrusions from the actions of intoxicated students. "I have heard of [drunken intrusions] in the past," she said, and acknowledged that such events could be a possibility.

"But in these instances," she continued, "the victim has not been able to say, 'Oh, the intruder was totally out of it,' which has been reported in the past." Information from victims does not suggest that drunkenness is a key factor in intrusions.

"Whatever is going on is definitely not right and the people know it is not right [and, go away], which is another way we can tell its not a drunken mistake," said Boudah.

"I don't think in all the alerts we've put out we've said anything to indicated it was a drunken mistake. The actions of the people would lead [the victims] to believe they were drunk."

In addition to stressing the severity of the intrusions, Boudah also defended the frequent e-mail alerts to the community. "Because of the crime alerts we've received more information," she said, explaining that the crime alerts are not meant to generate fear.

"We wouldn't send out the crime alert if we didn't think it was important," Boudah said.

The new locking schedule, according to Public Safety officials, is designed to foster student awareness of safety concerns and encourage students to lock their own doors. The schedule also sends a message to the community that Public Safety is taking a stronger stance on residential security.

Ross Commons first requested heightened security measures in November. On Nov. 19, Public Safety announced new protocol for the Commons complex - Ross dormitories were permanently locked and accessible only with identification access cards. Public Safety and the College administration designed the campus-wide security measures, and the events are "starting to be distressing to people," according to Boudah, making the lockdown an appropriate step.

Public Safety does not know how long the campus-wide lockdowns will remain in effect.

"The main thing is to provide students with information about locking their own doors," said Boudah, "and encourage students with information to provide public safety with information.

"Even though there is a lot of information to suggest that [the intruder] is someone within the halls, we don't know that yet and that's what's troubling for us," said Boudah.

But despite arguments from Public Safety, many students still doubt the effectiveness of the new locking schedule.

"If someone wants into the building, they're going to find a way into the building," said Sarah Jones '07. "I'm always without my access card and I always find a way to get into the building, no matter what time it is. So I don't feel like that's a viable way of dealing with the problem."