By Michael GsovskiThe Daily Northwestern
Administrators announced last week that 14 fire doors in residence halls and residential colleges will no longer be alarmed 24 hours a day, but gave no indication as to when the policy would take effect.
University Police Assistant Chief Dan McAleer said dorm leaders made 39 requests for exemptions this quarter, 25 of which were denied.
Foster-Walker Complex was granted the most exemptions, receiving all six it requested. The exempted doors all lead from stairwells to the exterior of the building.
Foster-Walker President and Weinberg junior Eric Parker said he believed the exemptions would make the building safer. He said reducing traffic through the dorm’s main doors would reduce tailgating – when somebody who doesn’t have a key follows a resident who unlocks a door.
“So many people were upset about the policy, I was pretty sure we would get a few exemptions,” Parker said. “We requested exemptions for a purpose, and it feels good when they listen to what we ask.”
Parker said that he did not know when the exemptions would take effect or if they would keep the doors unalarmed from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., as he requested. Dorm presidents received e-mails Wednesday from UP informing them of the decisions.
“The e-mail that I got said nothing about when it will happen,” Parker said. “Just that it will happen.”
Willard Residential College received the one exemption it requested for the fire door near its dining hall. Willard President and Weinberg freshman Stuart Anderson said he requested the exemption because the alarm was constantly being triggered.
“It would go off maybe 20 times a day, ” Anderson said. “No one responded to the alarm anymore. It made everyone immune to the warning that it was supposed to provide.”
The controversy surrounding the dorm security policy began March 27, when all secondary doors in dorms were equipped with 24-hour fire alarms. The policy was implemented despite student protest in order to prevent non-residents from entering the buildings after nine dorm intrusions last year. But in recent weeks, dorm presidents met with administrators to protest the policy and apply for exemptions.
No explanation was given to the dorms that had exemption requests denied – such as a door facing the intersection of Sheridan Road and Hinman Avenue at 1835 Hinman.
Slivka Residential College of Science and Engineering President and McCormick sophomore Erick Bennett requested two exemptions: one for a door to Slivka’s bike room and another for a door that faces Ayers College of Commerce and Industry. The request for the bike room door was approved, but the door facing CCI will remain alarmed.
“They just kind of checked the box on the e-mail, and at the bottom of the e-mail it said that ‘this decision is final,'” Bennett said.
Bennett said he did not receive any information on when and how the exemption would be implemented, but he was able to access the bike room last week, even though signs saying the door was alarmed were still up.
Bennett said he didn’t understand the decision to keep the door facing CCI alarmed, because having to walk around the building to get to the main entrance would increase the time one is potentially exposed to harm. The door facing CCI is near the drop-off point for SafeRide and is usually where food deliveries are taken.
“The CCI door was actually the door we thought had the stronger argument, in terms of it being a safety hazard for our residents,” Bennett said.
Reach Michael Gsovski at [email protected].
