Lockdown Sparks Student Dissatisfaction SGA Calls 'Emergency' Meeting to Address Grievances

Author: Claire Bourne News Editor

The Student Government Association (SGA) Senate will convene in an "emergency" session tentatively scheduled for Thursday at 9 p.m. in the Robert A. Jones '59 Seminar Room to discuss the College's decision to lock all residence halls.

The meeting, which is open to the College community, was called in response to an all-student e-mail sent late yesterday afternoon by Director of Public Safety Elizabeth Boudah, in which she wrote, "I fully understand that this change imposes an inconvenience on dormitory residents, but the seriousness of this criminal activity requires that we impose this policy in order to enhance the safety of the Middlebury campus community."

Senior Senators Kevin King and Nina Kieves will present to class and commons representatives the Dormitory Safety Program and Resolution, in which they "insist that the Department of Public Safety rescind its policy of locking dormitories effective immediately." The proposal also recommends that the Department of Public Safety "consult student government or appropriate branches thereof in advance of all cases where policy changes concerning student safety are made" and that the SGA should "hold an extensive and well-researched examination of current campus safety policies." Such discussion, the proposal continues, will occur no later than the second Senate meeting of Winter Term.

The resolution also announces the creation of an ad hoc committee on Student Safety Policy comprised of two senators, the Student-Public Safety Liaison and members of the student body at large.

Boudah said in an interview with The Middlebury Campus that the decision to lock all dormitories was reached at yesterday morning's Executive Council meeting and that the College was "not quite sure" how long this safety measure would be in effect.

"We want to serve students here," said King in a phone interview with The Campus last night. "There is no core consensus among students about what they do want [concerning safety], but there is a consensus about what they don't want," he continued. SGA President Brian Elworthy '02.5 informed The Campus late last night that he had already received between 20 and 30 e-mails from students expressing concern over Boudah's earlier correspondence. "The response is overwhelming," he remarked. "Students want their voices to be heard, and I'm glad they're directing their comments to the SGA."

"I would like to provide a forum for students to discuss the locking of our homes on campus," Elworthy said in an all-student e-mail, referring to Thursday's session.

The "emergency" meeting, King elucidated, will address "the lockdown only" and not "a broad discussion of security issues."

Boudah affirmed that students would be consulted in days to come as the administration formulates a more comprehensive security plan.