This semester all students with JumboFob electronic transmitter keys for their dorm buildings will be able to access three common areas around campus.
The lounges in Carmichael Hall and South Hall and the aerobics studio in Hill Hall will be accessible until 11 p.m. to students who live in other on-campus dorms. When Sophia Gordon Hall opens next fall, its theater will be accessible as well under the current plan.
The new privileges of the JumboFob are the first step in several variations of a plan that would extend JumboFob access to all dorms on campus. In a survey conducted by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate during last April's housing lottery, 96 percent of students said they supported some version of the plan, known as the universal fob system, according to Senate Historian senior Ed Kalafarski.
"Generally the response to these surveys is overwhelmingly in favor of increased access across campus," Kalafarski said.
Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said this interim step is designed to gauge student response. "The new changes in policy are an experiment, and the students, especially those who live in South and the others can give feedback," he said.
Reitman said future steps toward universal access would depend on student reaction.
"The concern is that while clearly it would be convenient, there are questions that are hard to answer," Reitman said.
These questions include whether or not students who live off-campus or in fraternities and sororities would have the same access as those living on-campus, Reitman said, and whether or not students who live in small on-campus houses or apartments could reject JumboFob access to their residence.
Students who do not currently have a JumboFob, including those living off-campus or some University-owned houses, will not have access to the four common areas.
TCU senators met with Reitman, Director of Residential Life and Learning Yolanda King, and Director of Public Safety John King this summer to discuss issues with a universal JumboFob system. "The compromise we hit on was these four public areas," Kalafarski said.
The locations were also chosen because they are spread out over campus and are the site of student group meetings.
JumboFobs were installed in South Hall for the 2001-2002 academic year and were introduced to other residences over the next three years.
Residents of the all-freshman Tilton Hall are previewing what could become the next advance in dorm technology. All students living in the dorm were issued a special version of the Tufts student ID, known as a Prox card, which allows access to the building and their dorm rooms.
Prox cards also allow access to the three common areas now accessible with JumboFobs.
Reitman said the Prox card has some added security advantages over room keys. The cards cannot be copied like keys, and their access codes can be changed or disabled by the Department of Public Safety.
