In an effort to increase safety measures, 357 electronic card readers have been added to buildings around campus since 2004.
"I feel like it's a bit of overkill," said senior Kristen Kirksey while she waited for an elevator in Towers I.
"I have to swipe my card to get in the building, swipe my card to get up the elevator and if you live in a suite, you have to swipe your card again, and then we all have to unlock our doors with our keys," said Kirksey, who has noticed Vanderbilt's increased usage of electronic card readers during her four years on campus.
While Kirksey and other students find the new security measures to be a nuisance, some students welcome the heightened security.
"The electronic card readers are a good tool to have for students' protection," said senior Gustavo De Pena Rondon, who has had expensive valuables stolen from his dorm room in the past.
"Safety has improved, and I feel like the readers should be used widespread across campus," he said.
Vanderbilt administrators are thinking along those same lines, and no matter how much of a hassle the electronic card readers have become for students, the results are clear. There has been a drastic decrease in robberies and other crimes in dorm rooms, according to Senior Director of Housing Facilities Operation and Management Jim Kramka.
"For a long time, one could find the electronic readers on the perimeter of buildings. Once you were in, you were in," said Kramka, who explained that a rash of laptop thefts in Branscomb Quadrangle sparked the expansion of electronic card readers on campus.
"People would tailgate students to get into the dorms and after entry, walk up and down the halls turning door handles until they found one that was open, grab what they wanted and leave," Kramka said. "We just did Kissam (Quadrangle) in the past summer. There used to be a person who would repeatedly get in the dorm, try doors and take want they wanted. We have him on video from the surveillance cameras. It is the same guy, but of course, surveillance cameras only help after the fact. The electronic card readers are a preventative measure."
After the electronic card readers were added to Kissam, the problem ended, according to Kramka.
The electronic card readers have not only significantly lowered the amount of robberies on campus, but they also lowered the amount of cases of voluntary and involuntary assaults, as well as reported cases of alcohol violations, Kramka said. He thinks because students only had access to their own floors or those of their own sex, intoxicated students are able to find their rooms more easily and not those of unsuspecting sleepers.
Although the electronic card readers are "quite expensive," consuming "significant outlays of students' housing dollars," he said.
Kramka believes their effectiveness is worth the cost.
"We have put them everywhere the architectural building allows," he said. "These card readers have made Vanderbilt University an unattractive target for criminals."
Kirksey said she thinks tougher safety measures were needed to prevent crimes on campus, but she disagreed with the electronic card readers as being the most attractive method of safety.
"I appreciate Vanderbilt's effort to make us safer," Kirksey said. "But I can't even get over to Towers III and IV to see friends without swiping at least twice. They must work harder to find a secure and convenient answer."
