Electronic Locks Finally comes to BSU

Residence Halls take a Further Step to Increase Safety for Students

By Max Hodgdon and Tony Barber

A few months ago, two separate security incidents where two different male students exposed themselves to the public in Oak Hall and A.C. Clark Library respectively. BSU security documented these incidents and posted warnings on fliers around campus. As a result, all residence halls are locked 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This is an example of how the BSU campus is vulnerable to crime. The electronic locks help security during times when the external doors are locked. Security is able to know who is using the 200 + doors they monitor at all times.

With electronic locks all security has to do is push a button and these doors automatically lock. Security is alerted every time a door opens and will always send a security guard to the specific location if the door remains open for 15 seconds or longer.

BSU Residential Life has been considering updating locks on campus for years. The project finally got started in January. According to Ludeman, The project was delayed due to several student surveys about safety and convenience in residence halls. Students responded to the surveys given that they felt safe and all accommodations were convenient.

The half million-dollar project is determined to be necessary by BSU officials. “We know the residence halls are vulnerable,” said Ludeman. “There is a lot of activity, and there are a lot of people who come to visit.” Because of a lot of activity, monitoring student safety becomes difficult. The academic buildings have had the keyless locks for approximately two years.

There are many benefits in using the electronic locks, according to the Director of Public safety, Casey McCarthy. The campus security office is able to monitor all doors on campus that have an electronic lock installed.

The system allows security to investigate a potential problem if they notice a door that is propped open longer than it should be. The electronic key cards are linked to a specific person on campus. Security then can narrow possible suspects to suspicious activities through out campus, and respond to an incident faster.

Traditional keys can break in the keyhole, and they have access until the locks are changed. “ If someone loses their card you go in and report it and it is deactivated,” said McCarthy. Deactivated keys are more cost efficient than re-coring every door and distributing new keys.

“I would classify the university behind the times,” said McCarthy. Most major public buildings have been equipped with card entry for some time. BSU was unable to make this transition due to lack of funding for this kind of project. Residential Life made the decision that student safety was a big enough concern that the change had to be done immediately.

Even though the decision was made to go forward with this project there were significant delays. The project was put on hold for a semester due to supplies being back-ordered. The university made an effort to save money by waiting to renovate the campus with new facilities rather than to retrofit all the old doors. “The cost of the new doors was approximately $1,000 per door,” said Jeff Sande the Physical Plant manager, “it cost $1,500 to retrofit the old doors.” The total approximate cost of the exterior locks was about a half-million dollars according to Ludeman.

According to the VP of Finance and Administration Bill Maki, the money came from a fund that residential life set aside for maintenance. The money for this fund comes from student room and board fees. There are no other major projects planned for the near future. The cost of the locks is being paid for with the surplus money from room and board and will not take away from everyday life in the dorms. The amount taken depends on the square footage of residential buildings in use; this works out to be about three dollars per square foot.

Students in Oak and Tamarack Halls will be required to use two keys to get into their room. The electronic card key will allow students to get into their perspective buildings, but the traditional key will still have to be used for people to get into their rooms.

The electronic card reader that students must use to enter residents halls 

Photo by Tony Barber 

 Student using the new keyless entry system in Linden Hall 

Photo by Tony Barber