As a result of the concerns of Newcomb management officials, many student organizations soon will have easier access and increased security with the advent of card swipe entries to their Newcomb Hall offices. Though officials said there was no explicit connection, the new safety installations follow on the heels of two alleged thefts.
Student Council reported the loss Monday of an undisclosed amount of money taken from its offices just before fall break.
In another incident, The Cavalier Daily discovered over $10,000 worth of photo equipment was missing from its darkroom last Friday afternoon.
Cavalier Daily Operations Manager Andrew Barros initially noticed the loss, and he reported the alleged theft to the University Police Department Tuesday afternoon after ensuring none of the items had been accidentally misplaced.
Cavalier Daily Editor-in-Chief Justin Bernick said the paper's managing board checked their staff "thoroughly" and has confidence that none of the staff members were involved.
Bernick speculated on the suspicious circumstances of the theft.
"We think it might have been someone who knew the card swipes were coming because it's strange these thefts would occur within a week" of the card-swipe installation, he said.
Bernick added that the alleged robber had to have had keys in order to access the darkroom where the equipment was kept. Some Newcomb Hall employees and select members of The Cavalier Daily editorial staff have access to the keys.
The Cavalier Daily since has installed additional locks to cabinets where equipment is kept and filed an insurance claim on the purloined property.
The University Judiciary Committee and Honor Committee offices also had card swipes installed this week.
Associate Dean of Students Bill Ashby said all student areas and offices within Newcomb will have card swipes by the end of the semester.
Students in other organizations with offices in Newcomb said they were not particularly worried about security in the past.
UJC Chair Alexis Gregorian said she never had concerns about security before but could see the benefits of the new card swipes.
"It's easier," she said. "We don't have to fumble with our keys anymore; we can just swipe our card."
The Student Activities Center has had card swipe access entry since it was renovated and reopened last fall.
Pam Wren, a Student Activities Center front desk attendant, who has worked in the SAC since its reopening, said she has not heard of any real security issues there.
Brady Ballard, a Newcomb Hall maintenance employee, also said the new system will be much easier than the old key system.
"Right now there's a lot of keys floating around with no record of who's got what for a lot of places," Ballard said.
Maintenance Supervisor Tony Santana, who decided to make the transition from keys to card swipes, said the card swipes will prevent the lost key problem in the future.
"Security is the main issue why we lock the doors to begin with," Santana said. The card swipes "will maintain the integrity of our security system and ensure that no one will have access until we have their information in the system."
In the past student leaders made key requests on behalf of their organizations, but now they will compile a list of students who should be able to access their organization's offices and during what times those students may have access.
Many keys previously were passed down in student organizations without registering the new ownership with Newcomb management.
Student ID numbers will be kept on a main computer base which maintenance employees will download onto PDAs in order to program individual doors so keys no longer will be necessary.
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