Megan Ventriss, a preveterinary medicine sophomore living in Emmons Hall, leaned with her weight against the door that leads down to the first-floor living area, waiting patiently for her friend to visit from neighboring Bailey Hall.
Ventriss doesn't like the ID card reader Emmons Hall has. The two main doors are unlocked from 7 a.m. until midnight, but she's required to swipe her student ID to pass through the doors leading into the living areas and other doors to the outside.
Desk receptionists are alerted if the doors are propped open for more than 15 seconds.
"It doesn't make me feel any safer. It's more of a hassle because when you have a lot of stuff and try to come in, it's a pain," Ventriss said.
Despite Ventriss' feelings, additional MSU students will be searching for their IDs before entering their buildings or floors, said Dick Sigelko, housing and food services system manager.
"At this time, we're installing those security readers in the new University Village apartments that are being built on Kalamazoo on the front door and back door of each of the buildings," he said.
"We're going to be installing them on the new area of Snyder-Phillips, too. We won't have them on the front doors or exit doors, but we'll have them in the new area to prevent the passing through of living areas by nonstudents and nonresidents."
Sigelko added that renovations in the future most likely will include updating the locks.
Emmons Hall was fitted for the locks two years ago, but some students say strangers are still able to slip into the halls.
Mathematics sophomore Jamie Pinkelman said she feels more secure with the locks, but knows people are still allowed in without showing their IDs.
"It's not going to prevent everyone from coming in, but this way, people are always going to see who's coming," she said, indicating how an Emmons Hall resident must let someone into the building if the person has no ID.
Pinkelman said the university should expand the concept to include more residence halls.
"It's not a bad idea — then more than just 2,400 students can have the option of living in a dorm with ID locks," she said.
MSU is joining other Big Ten schools, such as University of Michigan and The Ohio State University, by steadily implementing the locks, Sigelko said. Although he couldn't name the cost of installing the locks, he said the ongoing maintenance fees are low.
"The ongoing cost is just maintaining the system if it breaks, and we really haven't had a lot of problems with them at all," he said.
Premedical freshman Nick Vanderlaan agrees with Ventriss — the doors are a hassle.
"I like the Emmons (Hall) area, but I really don't like the locks," he said. "I'm not really scared of anyone coming to my floor or anything. I lock my door, so there's not really anything for me to worry about."
