Listen to this Podcast
NYU sophomore Joe Coronna was looking forward to his Friday night. He was meeting his cousin, Aaron Coronna, who was traveling into Manhattan from Long Island, to sleep over. They spent the night out in New York, and returned to the Greenwich Hotel hoping to go to bed. But when they arrived, the security guard wouldn’t let Aaron in—his driver’s license had just expired, and according to NYU policy, he would have to wait outside. The cousins had to pass the time walking the streets of New York until ten A.M. the next morning to sign in and finally get some sleep, when the shifts changed, and a more sympathetic guard was on duty.
Getting in and out of NYU dorms has always been somewhat of a job for their residents. An extensive sign-in policy for guests, that trumps those of many other colleges, and a rule that requires students to present an ID upon entrance to their dorms, no matter how long they have lived there, seems excessive at times. This year, NYU installed a new system that allows all students who live in dorms to swipe themselves into any NYU dorm, but for many students, all this security makes living in the dorms feel impersonal. These students, who consider the dorms their homes, would like to move throughout them as if they were just that.
The new swipe-in system was created to reduce the flow of traffic in and out of dorms and to make it easier on the guards. And in many ways it has. Students living in dorms can swipe right into any other dorm, without problem. But students not living in housing, and non-NYU visitors still have to endure a lengthy sign-in (and out) procedure.
An NYU security guard, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said that he likes the new system because it means less work for him. He no longer has to look at everyone’s ID to let them pass into the dorm. He also said however, that he knows everyone in the dorm, and would feel completely comfortable regulating who went in and out, without checking their IDs.
Many students however do not feel that the change was sufficient. Maureen Feeney, a sophomore who lives in the Lafayette dorm says that often, maneuvering in and out can be tiresome. Feeney explained that it would be nice if the guards were allowed to wave in students that they know. She said, “It’s nice to know that the guards are there...but I’m not sure that they need to be so stringent.” Signing in guests, she says, is just another pesky problem, that makes her envious of friends at other schools who do not have to deal with similar difficulties.
Nick Kostopoulos, a sophomore at Palladium agreed. He said that both the door to his suite and the one to his bedroom require a security code to unlock. According to Kostopoulos, “To break into my room, you’d have to know two codes. It’s like Mission Impossible.” Kostopoulos says that he feels extremely safe at Palladium, and doesn’t understand what all the security is for. He also admits however, that he is often able to slip past guards who aren’t paying attention, and walk right in.
Palladium and Lafayette are two of the largest dorms at NYU, each housing around 1000 people. This, Coronna says is why he was so outraged. The Greenwich Hotel has 320 residents, and Coronna says that as a result, the guards knew him well, and even liked him. He said, “I couldn’t understand why the guard wouldn’t let us in. He knows I live there, and he knows that I wouldn’t screw around.”
Some students feel that the system is too inhibiting and cold. As freshman Joe Shaftic explained, “I don’t see why I can’t just bring a guest in if I want to. That person is with me, and that’s where I live.”
This painstaking attention to security is not a factor at all colleges. Nicole D’Andrea, a sophomore at the College of New Jersey, just outside of Trenton, has had an entirely different experience. She says that getting in and out of dorms at TCNJ is never a problem. There is no guard on duty, just a student sitting behind a desk, and consequently, she and her friends are able to move freely through the dorm. This is despite the fact that she considers Trenton to be a “pretty dangerous” area.
After some thought, Coronna said, “After all, the purpose of having guards is to prevent outsiders from entering the building. If the guard knows full well I live there, shouldn’t he or she be able to let me, and anyone with me, in?”
At the end of the day, NYU has security guards to keep the students safe. But really, Joe Coronna probably would have been safer inside of the dorm, than out on the streets.
No comments:
Post a Comment