The University is considering installing push-button locks on restrooms in South Hall after numerous reports of "suspicious persons" peering into resident showers over the past several years. The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate has asked Facilities Director Ron Esposito to investigate installing the locks in the residence hall's 60-odd restrooms - a project which could cost over $6,000.
A TCU Senate survey of over 100 South Hall residents found that an overwhelming majority of respondents, both male and female, were in favor of the proposal. While some supporters opted for standard key locks, most preferred push-button locks that could be operated from the inside. According to Esposito, such locks might also mandate the installation of "panic buttons" in the restrooms so that injured residents could call for help from inside.
Once locked, the only way to gain entrance to the bathroom would be through special keys issued to Resident Assistant (RA)s, Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) officers, and facilities workers.
"I have student senators coming to me and saying that we have a problem," Esposito said. "I'm doing what I can to help the students, and I am going to look at the cost of installing panic buttons."
South Hall is among a minority of dormitories that have "one person" bathrooms with a single shower and stall. As a result, the restrooms lend themselves to locks more than larger, multi-stall bathrooms.
"If it were a situation where you had a number of stalls and showers, we would never put on a lock," Esposito said. "Because it is a situation where one person would use the bathroom, it would be a lock that you could use from the inside and only open from the outside with a key."
While the problem has affected women's bathrooms only so far, the University would require men's bathrooms to be outfitted as well considering a given restroom's gender designation can change from year to year.
Sophomore Senator Melissa Carson, who is working with Facilities on the initiative, said that push-button locks are the best option since they do not pose the inconveniences of key locks.
"I want to make sure that, if people don't feel safe, they can protect themselves," she said. "With these locks, no one would be forced to use it, but they could always lock it if they wanted to... and nobody has to carry a key."
Freshman Senator Ed Schwehm initially presented the issue to the Senate after he discussed the problem with South Hall residents during a routine soap and paper towel check this fall. As he exited a women's restroom after completing his inspection, inadvertently frightening two suspicious residents, he discovered that reports of men spying in women's bathrooms had been circulating the dorm for several months.
"Two girls came up to me as I exited their bathroom, and they told me about a situation where one of their friends had been spied on by a guy standing on the sink and looking over the shower stall door," Schwehm said. "People said that this had happened before in the past."
South Hall RA senior Choo Pin Ang said that many of his residents were aware of the reports, and voiced support for the proposal. "If it makes people feel safe, then I'm very in favor of it," he said. "I think it's a very good measure."
South Hall resident freshman Carmen Aranda agreed. "I've heard about it and I know some people that it has happened to," she said. "I think it is better with locks."
The TUPD has investigated the reports, but has yet to name any suspects.
