Students anxiously await locked doors

Kristy Mangos Arizona Daily Wildcat Judy Leineweber, exercise and sport sciences freshman, enters a propped-open wing door at Manzanita-Mohave Residence Hall. Residents of the hall said they have been concerned for their safety because the doors have been propped open while the locks are being changed.

Manzanita-Mohave is the last hall being refitted with new locks, and the project should be finished on time, said Denny Hawkins, shop superintendent for Facilities Management Maintenance Services.

But some Manzanita-Mohave residents feel the scheduled completion is not soon enough.

Wednesday evening, the wing door locks were still taped and left open, allowing anyone to walk freely throughout the hall.

"I want those wing doors shut real quick," said Zach Keyworth, media arts freshman. "With the wing doors open for the last two weeks, people have scraped paint off of walls and bathrooms were vandalized."

Keyworth also said a man knocked on his room's door and started to solicit magazines to him and the rest of the residents on his wing. Unauthorized solicitation is not allowed in residence halls.

Chris Hippler, business freshman, said that since returning from winter break he has noticed an increase in vandalism at Manzanita-Mohave. Residents started returning to the hall Jan. 12.

"People have been destroying things, like signs, and spraying stuff all over walls," Hippler said. "It is an inconvenience to everyone."

Both Keyworth and Hippler said they feel safe, but they are going to be cautious.

However, not all students said they were inconvenienc-ed by the lock replacement.

"I haven't had a problem with it at all," said Krista Hammock, mechanical engineering freshman.

When asked if there has been an increase in reports of security issues and vandalism, Ray Corral, associate director of the Department of Residence Life, said it had not been brought to his attention. He said students should report those things to the hal l directors.

John Fox, hall director at Manzanita-Mohave, declined to comment and referred all questions to Jim Van Arsdel, director of the Department of Residence Life.

Van Arsdel said the old locks will be retained, allowing Residence Life to have one set of locks for the academic year and the old locks for the summer and winter breaks.

The decision to replace the locks was made after the fire marshal ordered that dead-bolt locks on the outside entrance doors be disabled, Corral said.

The dead-bolts could create a problem if there was a fire and the doors were locked, trapping people inside.

The Department of Facilities Management began the lock replacement Dec. 20, Corral said. He said he estimated the cost of the project was about $11,000.

UAPD Lt. Brian Seastone said it was difficult to say if vandalism and solicitation has increased because of the open wing doors. He said he has not noticed an increase in calls from any of the residence halls.