Letter: A lapse in security

I am writing this to bring forth an issue I have encountered with the university's dorm security. I currently live in Noehren and frequently use the skywalk connecting Redeker Center and Noehren to avoid walking outside. Over the past several months of my first semester on campus and now at the beginning of my second, I have noticed that the skywalk is not locked at 9 p.m. like the rest of Noehren and all other residential buildings on campus. This may sound like a silly thing to be concerned with, but if the Department of Residence takes pride in the housing options on campus and uses the security of them as a confidence-builder for concerned parents, then an effort should be made to lock these access points into the dorms as well.

On any other occasion when trying to enter Noehren from the outside, I am forced to pull out my keys and use them to unlock the doors, verifying that I live in that dorm. This should apply to the skywalk as well. Anybody, from students attending the university to complete strangers walking off the street, can access Noehren Hall. Walking through the doors of the Redeker Center, up the steps on the south side of the building, and right across the skywalk allows anybody access to the building after hours.

The skywalk access to Noehren Hall needs to be locked after 9 p.m. nightly. I could outline a horror story of what could happen, but I think we can all imagine the potential consequences here. I just hope that something can be done to change this lapse in university security before such a story becomes reality.

Daniel Vorwerk

Freshman, social science education