In the wake of two sexual assault cases at Williams Hall, residence hall officials are urging students to lock their doors. The problem for many is there aren’t any locks to use.
An unidentified man entered a bathroom in the dorm about 9:30 p.m. Aug. 26 - before the hall was locked to the outside - and peeked into stalls of showering men. Later that night the same man is believed to have walked into a room and tried to grab a resident’s genitalia.
Williams Hall staff have urged residents to keep the front doors shut at night and interior rooms - including bathrooms and dorm rooms - locked. But in most of the hall’s bathrooms there are no locks at all. And there are often no night receptionists to let students in after midnight, leading residents to prop exterior doors open.
The solution for the latter problem forces late arrivals to go to Yakeley Hall and get the receptionist there to close their desk momentarily to unlock Williams. It’s no surprise students prefer to prop the doors open instead of having to make the extra trip.
When it comes to the bathrooms, however, the situation stands at an impasse. Officials claim there are no locks on the bathroom doors to provide easy access to guests and because the shower and bathroom areas are connected. Yet this is not a common factor in every hall. In many other dorms with common restrooms and shower areas, the doors are locked.
University Housing officials said the decision to put locks on a community bathroom is done on a per-building basis, through a majority decision made by the residents. Each year the number of buildings with locked bathrooms varies as each dorm sets different standards.
Instead, housing officials urge students to keep their own doors locked as well as the front doors, claiming this will eliminate most safety issues that arise.
Calling door propping a top priority while ignoring the other issues, as housing officials seem to want to do, is a foolish standpoint. While it certainly alleviates some risks from the outside, there is the chance of malicious behavior from people on the inside of residence halls.
This is not to say that every residence hall has a “bad” element that community members need to look out for or be afraid of, but there is as much risk for something to happen if an unwanted person gets inside before the nightly lockdown.
Blaming students for the open doors and windows is a cop-out and an irresponsible shift of accountability. Putting locks on the community bathrooms on campus would simply add another measure of security to protect residents. It would be a inexpensive procedure that would prevent many future incidents.
If MSU doesn’t take action, students need to bring the matter up on their floor or in community standards meetings. Another lock might not be as convenient, but it’s the key to personal safety.
