In response to growing concern within the Law School community about the number of outsiders using the North Grounds facilities, a task force is considering possibly locking the buildings after hours and limiting access to Law students, faculty and staff.
About 50 people attended an open forum hosted by the task force at the Law School yesterday to gather community input.
Law students are worried about their safety, Law School spokeswoman Denise Forster said. "When you're here late at night, researching or writing, you're a little more tuned into safety concerns."
Although safety is an issue, Student Bar Association President Kristen Prohl said there is more at stake.
"There are two very different concerns. The overall concern is safety. The other concern is ... that Law School students have priority" over other students in Law buildings, Prohl said. Some people think there is "still not enough access to our own resources when it's needed by Law students."
She said the current policy that Law students get priority in the library during exams should be extended year round.
But Forster said safety is the main issue.
"We're not doing this to keep students out, we're doing this to keep our environment as safe as possible," she said.
"We're the only major school at the University that does not lock down its buildings," said Thomas R. White III, Building Security Task Force chairman and Law School professor.
The task force is composed of Law School students and faculty.
Because the Law School's "tradition has been to stay open to anyone who wishes to gain entrance, ... we are an absolute anomaly" among other schools, Law School Dean Robert Scott said.
One of the proposals made by the task force is to implement an electronic card access system, in which only Law students will gain access after a certain time of day.
"We need to restrict access because the community who now has access to the school is so large," said Bill Bergen, Law School assistant dean for administrative services.
Although the issue still is under consideration, White said he thinks people "already in the facility [after hours] would not be disturbed" or asked to leave.
The card access system already has been implemented in several other University buildings with positive effects, University Police Capt. Michael Coleman said.
"When I started [working] here in 1978, we had a fair number of larcenies from dormitories," Coleman said. "When we installed the card access, larceny dropped considerably."
But some participants in yesterday's discussion suggested other options.
One woman suggested Law students have "accompanied guests so that if you bring somebody in, you'll be responsible for that person."
After conducting his own security survey, first-year Law student Sean Mangan said, "if we just lock some doors, we're going to get farther than we are now."
To gain more input, White said the task force is planning to send out surveys to Law students electronically some time next week.
If an outside contractor says it is feasible to install the card access systems, the task force then will prepare a formal proposal.
"If we can [implement the system] by next fall, that's excellent," White said.
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