Editor’s Note: The accompanying video demonstrating dorm security will posted Saturday.
There are hundreds of people staying in the dormitories at any given moment.
Their lives are put at risk whenever Loyola doesn’t fully protect the entrances to its dorms – and right now, that’s happening much too often.
In groups of two and of three, during two separate attempts, The Maroon successfully infiltrated the dorms. Maroon staff members went to all the main campus dorms without anyone stopping or asking us for identification, while desk assistants were on duty.
This is in the wake of two intrusions this semester, both of which resulted in property being stolen, not to mention the multiple BOLOs released each week.
Only one of those incidents led to an arrest, but it shouldn’t have even come to the point where an arrest was needed. Those people living in the dorms are entrusting their safety to Loyola and the utmost protection should be maintained at all times.
There are a multitude of ways someone looking to get into the building can abuse the system: there’s piggybacking behind someone else when they enter the building; then there’s the option of filling your arms with stuff to solicit the sympathy of a desk assistant, who will more likely than not wave you through. Or, if you get caught up talking on the phone the desk assistant might also let you go. An intruder can also just wait until the desk assistants have left for the night and then follow a resident into the building.
Simply put, extensive measures need to be taken so that access is not as easily attained.
Loyola should take more steps to ensure the safety of the students, either by employing more desk assistants or installing further security devices.
We applaud the school for installing video cameras last semester, but the two intrusions this semester are proof that it is not enough. If anyone is capable of breaking in, that means the students are at risk.
This must be stopped before bodily harm is done to one of Loyola’s students.
What would happen if a student on his or her way to the bathroom stumbled upon an intruder? It is plausible that the student would be harmed as the intruder tried to escape, or that the person could even be robbed on the spot.
Granted, students are responsible for locking their own doors, but they shouldn’t have to worry about the possibility that a stranger can get into their rooms simply because the desk attendant wasn’t doing his job properly.
Students are putting their lives in Loyola’s hands when they register for residency at the dorms. The fact that it is now required for non-commuter students to live on campus until their junior year is even more reason for added security. If the school is going to require students to live on campus, students need to require that the school go to all possible lengths to ensure their safety.
