A universal fob system in the works

Students may soon be able to enter dorms all over campus without help from their friends.

"I think a lot of people agree that this would open up community on campus," Tufts Community Union (TCU) freshman senator Andrew Caplan said.

The idea of a universal fob system had been discussed in the TCU Senate for a few years, he said. Caplan decided to pursue the project earlier this year and met with Director of Public Safety John King and Director of Residential Life & Learning (ResLife) Yolanda King.

"Neither were about ready to endorse the program immediately, but [said] it was potentially feasible," Caplan said.

The TCU senate then included a question about the universal fob on its Senate survey to find out whether on-campus students would be in support of the change. An overwhelming 81 percent of the approximately 1250 polled students supported the idea.

"Students would be able to have visitors, and residence halls also [routinely] have functions and meetings," Mr. King said. "It's a matter of convenience and a practical issue."

After further discussion with Caplan, Ms. King plans to conduct a separate survey to further assess students' preferences before deciding on whether or not to implement the change.

"The members of the Housing Committee from the Senate have been meeting with me to create another fob survey that will go out to all residential students to see what interests exist around having a universal fob," Ms. King said. "As we continue to consider this as a community, we must maintain the safety, well being, and security of all students."

Freshman Allison Preiss does not believe that an increase in vandalism would directly come as a result of the implementation of a universal fob system. "If the concern is theft or vandalism, there's no difference between being in someone else's dorm and being on a different floor of your own dorm," she said. "[If you live on the second floor of Tilton], anything that could happen in Houston could happen on the third, fourth and first floors of Tilton."

Ms. King did not believe that the universal fobs would represent many new safety concerns with regard to dorm access, and said that "tailgating or using the phone" enabled students to get into highly trafficked residence halls regardless.

Freshman Caroline Pronovost also pointed out how the universal fob could offer greater security for those outside. "If someone feels threatened on campus they have no quick refuge unless they are near their own dorm," she said.

Freshman Manka Angwafo, however, was concerned about the implications of a universal system. "I think it lessens the security -- you can't tell who is a student and who isn't anymore," she said. "It's just nice when only the people in your hall can enter. Some freak is going to use his fob to stalk people."

Caplan did say that the fob system would not be universal around the clock, but would switch back to the dorm-specific system sometime during the night.

Fobs were originally implemented as a pilot program in South Hall for more convenient residence hall access. "The whole point was to make it easier and quicker to get in the dorms as a safety precaution," Caplan said.

Ms. King said that the Committee of Public Safety originally decided on a fob for dorm entrance rather than a swipe card. "It's been a great success, the system is very reliable," he said. "The fobs don't really break or wear out."

Following the South Hall pilot, JumboFob systems were added to 13 additional residence halls. The remaining half of Tufts residence halls still do use fobs.

Making the fob system universal would represent a minimal cost, Caplan said, and would only involve reprogramming the system. ResLife also anticipates adding fob systems this summer to some of the larger residence halls on campus, including Haskell and Carmichael.

Harvard has a universal access system for all dorms for much of the day and night, according to Harvard freshman Stephen Dewey. Freshmen may enter any other freshman dorms and any upper-class residence halls, but upperclassmen may not enter freshman dorms. "It's definitely a good idea," Dewey said. "It's good for social life and [is] convenient."

Dewey does not feel particularly threatened by the arrangement. "There's no reason why freshmen from other dorms are any more threatening than freshman from your own dorm." Additionally, further technology provides a greater precaution: because access is granted through students' ID cards, Harvard keeps a log of who swipes in where. In this way, said Dewey, police were able to catch perpetrators of several sexual assault violations that occurred this past fall.