Locking down doors for a safter campus

As most of us already know, the campus is on 24-hour, seven days a week lockdown.

The reason for this new action on campus is to keep everyone as safe as possible while they live on the Buena Vista University (BVU) campus during the school year.

I can see why the school has implemented this new policy - I mean they are trying to make students feel comfortable while they stay here.

I think it is a wise idea to make people feel like they are secure, but I do not know how safe students really feel.

I mean, people can still get from dorm to dorm, which really doesn't help vandalism and thefts from continuing all over campus.

I do not see how this makes much of an improvement because people still go where they want to go.

However, I do see it is important for our campus to make sure people from the outside community cannot run through our dorms unchecked.

To top it all off, sometimes when the door has the red light, which signifies the door is locked, and you need to use your card, it is not locked.

Then, when you open the door, it beeps loudly and then nothing happens after that.

No one comes to see if something is wrong since the door had been beeping. It is open like this at random times, most often during the daytime hours.

How does this help our community stay safe if the doors aren't actually locked?

If we have this new lockdown system to help keep everyone safe, then why can we still open the doors without our cards at various times in the day?

Another problem is, people are forgetful and it is bound to happen when sometimes people aren't going to have either their ID or cell phone on them.

Thankfully, there are phones outside each of the buildings which allow anyone who is locked out of the building to call a resident advisor, or the person they are visiting or maybe even campus security, to let them in.

I see both sides of the issue. I do see why some students are frustrated and I can see why people want to feel safe while here on campus.

Looking across the entire country, I also understand why BVU decided to go to this policy. With all of the different tragedies which have happened, like Virginia Tech, many students and parents are concerned for the safety of themselves and others.

On top of that, Storm Lake has had a huge increase in the number of gangs in the community. This is just one more reason for BVU to increase the level of security on campus to keep students safe.

Even though we are such a small campus, and word gets around like a wildfire in California, it is still imperative for the BVU to ensure our students are safe and at ease.

Looking at both sides, safety and security versus free reign, this may be an inconvenience, but it is one which will ensure our safety - which is way more important.

I would rather be alive and carrying my ID card than dead.