2008 Woodie Awards
Middlebury's access card system is overkill
Sarah McCabe '04
Issue date: 2/17/05 Section: Opinions
I'm standing outside my dorm in the freezing cold, staring at the red light that politely informs me I am locked out. I lost my access card and this has become a regular routine on late library nights. I've tried all the other doors, pulled as hard as I can, and fired a few snowballs at my suitemate's window. Things are looking desperate. Question: Do you think I'll get in?
Apparently, the administration thinks that the answer is no. But ask any student, and they would - after likely empathizing with my situation - probably reply yes. As the cliché goes, "Where there's a will, there's a way." Getting past the access card system is not rocket-science. Sometimes it means wandering around the building to find a door that someone has propped open so as to make sure they are no longer barred from their own residence. Often it means just waiting until someone enters or exits and then sneaking in behind them. If you're committed, you'll make it in eventually. So why do we think that switching to the 24-hour access card entry system is going to bar any potential intruders who have some degree of "will" to get inside?
If we lived in the inner city, then perhaps this change would be justifiable. If we lived somewhere warm, then perhaps this change would be tolerable. If we had some record of dangerous incidents or thefts then perhaps this change would be sensible. None of these scenarios is the case. We live between two farms with - lucky for us - non-threatening livestock. The average temperature in the month of January, with windchill, was negative. And the extent of our on-campus record of "break-ins" have not only become running jokes - Who IS the Jangaler? - but they all could easily have been prevented by...wait for it...locking your own door.
This 24-hour a day idea is not only unreasonable, but it's completely deaf to the wants and needs of the student. We want high security on campus, but we NEED to be able to get in to our dorms when we forgot our access cards and its -15 degrees out. Sure, we need to feel safe, but we want to be made to feel safe by a system that works. The access card system does not work; in fact, it's a joke - much like the Jangaler.
Apparently, the administration thinks that the answer is no. But ask any student, and they would - after likely empathizing with my situation - probably reply yes. As the cliché goes, "Where there's a will, there's a way." Getting past the access card system is not rocket-science. Sometimes it means wandering around the building to find a door that someone has propped open so as to make sure they are no longer barred from their own residence. Often it means just waiting until someone enters or exits and then sneaking in behind them. If you're committed, you'll make it in eventually. So why do we think that switching to the 24-hour access card entry system is going to bar any potential intruders who have some degree of "will" to get inside?
If we lived in the inner city, then perhaps this change would be justifiable. If we lived somewhere warm, then perhaps this change would be tolerable. If we had some record of dangerous incidents or thefts then perhaps this change would be sensible. None of these scenarios is the case. We live between two farms with - lucky for us - non-threatening livestock. The average temperature in the month of January, with windchill, was negative. And the extent of our on-campus record of "break-ins" have not only become running jokes - Who IS the Jangaler? - but they all could easily have been prevented by...wait for it...locking your own door.
This 24-hour a day idea is not only unreasonable, but it's completely deaf to the wants and needs of the student. We want high security on campus, but we NEED to be able to get in to our dorms when we forgot our access cards and its -15 degrees out. Sure, we need to feel safe, but we want to be made to feel safe by a system that works. The access card system does not work; in fact, it's a joke - much like the Jangaler.