Dormitory locks in Houston Hall were replaced last Friday by University Facilities after a master key was found missing from the security box near the building's entrance. The absence, while not officially considered a theft, is being investigated by the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD).
The master key's disappearance was first noticed on Thursday by a trade supervisor investigating the security of rooftop access to Houston. The gray security box located near the door showed no signs of damage, so investigators believe the perpetrators likely had a copy of the key to open the outer box.
Inside the box, master keys are held in locked "cores," which require a second key - known as a sequence key - to open. One of the cores is missing its keys and has a broken key lodged inside.
According to TUPD Captain Mark Keith, all sequence keys issued to Facilities workers were accounted for. The broken key is most likely a copy of an original, he said.
Facilities replaced all Houston locks and keys in response, including the sequence keys used by facilities workers.
Students received notice of the change from flyers posted around the dorm on Thursday night. New keys were distributed when the locks were changed on Friday, either directly to residents who were home at the time or via a pickup table set up in the lobby from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Investigators are worried that the sequence key lodged inside the core might be from another dorm. They will also change all sequence key locks in other dorms as soon as possible.
Houston residents say they experienced minimal inconvenience from the change. Freshman Alana van der Mude was in her room when the lock was changed. "It was a little crazy when [locksmiths] came barreling in," she said. "At first I was overwhelmed, but they were very polite."
Houston resident James Gronek said he hardly noticed the change.
"It was easy," he said. "I was out all day, then I came back and picked up my new key."
A team of three people from a private lock company conducted the lock and key replacement, which was finished by late afternoon. Two people changed the locks while the third distributed new keys.
Workers stated "security concerns" as the reason for the change, but rumors about forced entry circulated the dorm. "It was a little frightening," van der Mude said. Some believed a student had stolen the key to gain access to the roof, which students have sometimes used against University regulations.
The master key did not unlock roof exits, Keith said.
The security box master key system was installed in all dorms in 1993. Prior to the boxes, master keys were distributed directly to all Facilities workers.
This is the first problem facilities has had with key security since the boxes were installed, Keith said. He expressed confidence in the key storage method. "You do one dorm and everything is secure," he said. "It's a much better system."
The missing master key, which provided access to all rooms in Houston, will no longer work if found. There are currently no suspects in the case.
