Editorial
Safety and security should prevail over common generosity
March 2, 2007
With the recent incidents involving males, who were not students, in women’s restrooms in multiple residence halls on campus, fingers have been pointed, reasons of how it happened have escalated and solutions have been made.
However, the responsibility still lies with each resident living in the building. No fingers being pointed here, yet the safety needs to start at the source. Students who are residents need to be actively involved with the safety of their temporary home - their dorm room. It is like a home away from home, so treat it that way and protect yourselves and the students around you.
At home, you would not let a stranger get in the house behind you. Your intuition would make you think twice about their intentions. The residence halls need to be thought of the same way.
To build a strong, secure environment, the residents need to start with themselves and never allow a person in behind them, hold the door for someone or open a door while passing by. Of course, there are and will always be exceptions for the people who are known and expected guests.
It is advised by Public Safety to direct any questionable person, attempting to enter a residence hall, to use every front entrance, which is equipped with a telephone to contact an on-call staff member. They are capable to deal with any situation like this because they are trained to protect their residents. Other residents should keep in mind their fellow students and themselves in situations like this. Safety and security should always prevail over convenience and avoidance of confrontation.
Even though it is impossible to believe that every student will comply with safety rules, every little bit helps.
A good rule of thumb is to question everything being observed while walking to a residence hall and opening that door. Be suspicious about someone asking for the door being held because it might be regretted down the road.
By being vigorous and prompt, safety and security can be improved dramatically within the few seconds used to hold open a door.
Residence Assistants, hall staff, roommates, administration and the Student Voice are all outlets for students to utilize with ideas about becoming a safer community at UW-River Falls.
No one wants to see the worse case scenario happen, so voice your ideas to make security a number one priority. Be heard and be seen to protect your home and UWRF.