No new measures have been put into place since the incident in Armstrong Hall, but Frewen said RHS plans to have a card-swiping security system installed and fully operational in all the residence halls by summer 2012.

Some residence halls, such as Hubbard Hall, already require students to scan their student IDs to enter through side doors during the day or to gain access to stairwells and elevators at all hours. Armstrong Hall does not have such a system in place yet.

One of the issues MSU faces is securing the residence halls while maintaining a level of openness for classrooms and cafeterias, Frewen said.

“(The residence halls) are relatively open throughout the day because many faculty and staff have to get to classrooms, as do students who don’t necessarily live in the halls where they take classes,” Frewen said. “It does provide access issues that we have to manage.”

RHS also has to balance the students’ right to privacy, preventing the use of certain security measures such as surveillance cameras on residential floors.

Global and area studies sophomore Haley Rademacher said despite the recent incidents, she is satisfied with the level of security on campus.

Rademacher lives in Snyder Hall, which is home to numerous classrooms for the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities as well as the Gallery cafeteria, making it one of the busier residence halls on campus.

Even with the high levels of traffic, Rademacher said she is not concerned for her safety.
“(The university) does a lot as it is, and I don’t really know how (security) could be improved,” she said. “As far as people letting people in through the side (door), I don’t think they can do anything to prevent that.”

Assistant vice president for the Division of Residential and Hospitality Services Vennie Gore said the university always is taking safety into consideration when making renovations — increasing lighting and adding sprinkler systems.

But Gore said security needs to be more of a community effort, with students and faculty members being mindful of their surroundings and taking responsibility for their own safety.

“As a community, we need to be aware that we shouldn’t be propping doors open because we know that could allow someone to enter a building who shouldn’t,” he said. “If it’s someone you don’t feel should be here, alert a staff member. Use your own radar in your head. You know when someone doesn’t belong. Those are the kind of things where everyone is responsible.”

Human biology senior Olivia Glidden said many students are preoccupied with other concerns and don’t take their security into consideration as often as they should.

With concerns such as academics and maintaining a social life, the residents should not have sole responsibility for maintaining security in the residence halls, Glidden said.

“There are so many factors in college,” she said. “Normally, I would say it’s a hundred percent a resident’s responsibility, but we’re all in college. … You’re not thinking ‘Oh I have to be on my toes,’ you’re so preoccupied with other stuff going on.”