At the beginning of this school year, a new ID system was implemented in all resident halls. The new system prohibits students from scanning their ID cards to get into a building they do not live in. On top of this, students can only enter through the main entrance of the building. For example, if a student lives in Seneca Hall, that student can only scan their ID to get into Seneca Hall. The student’s ID would not scan if they tried to get into Cayuga Hall, just next door.

In the past, students were allowed to scan their ID to get into any resident hall before 11 p.m. It was only after 11 p.m. that the student could only scan their ID to get into the building they live in. 

An online petition has been started on change.org for the school to change things back to the way they used to be, which is to let students have access to all resident halls before 11 p.m. The petition has over 1,200 signatures. 

While the school most likely created this new system because of potential safety concerns, the new system seems like more of a nuisance than anything else. Campus police have already had trouble getting into Riggs Hall because their IDs would not work. If police could not get into the building during an emergency, then the system should not have been changed in the first place. 

 In the case of an active shooter or severe weather, the priority should be getting inside the building you are closest to. What if you are a student that lives in Onondaga Hall, but you are near Waterbury Hall, on the other side of campus? This new system prevents students from getting inside the building they are closest to in many cases. This further proves the point that this new system was an unnecessary change. 

The online petition actually lists some specific student concerns as well. Some of the concerns from students are about the use of tunnels that connect buildings. The tunnels to Pathfinder and Littlepage dining halls become exclusive to the students living in the connecting buildings. This becomes an issue for students who want to go to late night on West Campus. Late night is only served in Littlepage dining hall on West Campus, which connects to Onondaga Hall and Oneida Hall. This creates an unnecessary inconvenience for at least half of the students that live on west campus, in Seneca and Cayuga Halls. Also, the tunnel on Lakeside that connects Lakeside dining hall to Riggs Hall is now only accessible to students who live in Riggs. Students living in the three other resident halls on lakeside no longer have the convenience of using the tunnel to avoid the snow. That will really become a problem during Oswego’s brutal winter when it would be safer and easier for students to avoid at least a portion of the walk outside. 

Just like the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Photo by: Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian