Students have mixed views about doors being locked
Melissa Sundardas
News Editor
Strolling into the Student Centre in the middle of the night won’t be as easy starting next month.
The Student Centre will be installing a key card entry access system for people who need to enter the building at night. The building will be closed nightly from 11 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. beginning in October as a safety precaution for those inside the building at night and to help eliminate the theft of furniture.
Siva Vimalachandran, chairperson of the Student Centre board, says this building closure policy will affect only entry into the building after hours.
“Students present in the building at the time of closure while not holding key cards will not be required to vacate the building during these hours so long as they have a valid York University student card,” says Vimalachandran.
Student Centre staff and York Security Services officers will lock the building and monitor the doors throughout the night, Vimalachandran explains.
Maymun Abukar, a first-year undeclared major, says, “I think
it’s kind of unfair because students are paying a lot of money to attend [York], so they should at least have access to places they need to go
to like the Student Centre.”
On the other hand, Keritha Andrews, a fourth-year-psychology major, thinks having closure hours and a key card system for the Student Centre could help increase safety.
“There are a lot of people here at York that don’t even go to the school, and anything could happen, so it’s a really good idea,” says Andrews.
All building occupants who require access to the building after hours will receive a key card at no cost, Vimalachandran says.
The leaders of clubs housed in the Student Centre will each receive two key cards for access to their offices after 11 p.m. Service groups and tenants in the Student Centre will be also be provided with key cards for staff who may require access into the building during hours of closure.
“The timing has been chosen in accordance with our vendors opening and closing,” says Vimalachandran.
He explains that the YUSC also took a survey to examine when students who live on campus use the building. As well, the hours of closure were chosen to make Student Centre employees feel safe while also accommodating the needs of students.
The system will be functional after the technology is put in place, and all those in the Student Centre who require access during hours of closure will receive their key cards.
