A meeting held on the Tempe campus Tuesday night addressed safety concerns of students living in the campus' north residence halls.
A half dozen students from San Pablo and Palo Verde Main met in the San Pablo Classroom building, and several expressed concerns about intruders in the dormitories.
Similar concerns have been expressed from students living in Palo Verde East and Palo Verde West. Many of those concerns stem from the closing of front desks at the two residence halls. In a State Press letter to the editor published Wednesday, Associate Dean for Student Services Jennifer Hightower said the front desks would reopen on Monday.
However, Tatiana Rugel, assistant community director for Palo Verde Main and desk manager for the north campus, said at the meeting the desks would open next semester.
ASU Police crime prevention officer Brian Kiefling said he first heard of the front desk closings at the meeting.
“I could have told them what was going to happen,” he said about the reports of intruders. “It’s obvious.”
Communications freshman Briana Russo discussed experiences she’s had with an intruder in San Pablo.
Russo said her former roommate’s boyfriend lived in their room. He was banned from the building after being caught in the room using drugs, Russo said.
She said she’s seen the boyfriend in the residence hall since then. Political science sophomore and San Pablo and Palo Verde Main hall council President Anthony Ricci confirmed Russo’s story and added he had seen the individual stealing food from the residence hall cafeteria.
Another student shared concerns about students letting unauthorized guests in through fire exit doors.
Some ideas from students to boost safety were shot down because of potential costs.
Global studies freshman Tory Tennyson requested that the rooms in Palo Verde Main be outfitted with auto-lock doors.
“There are 300 doors in PV Main,” Rugel responded, “and it would be too expensive to change them all.”
Officer Kiefling urged students to remember to lock their doors, sharing a story of a sexual assault that took place in the Sonora Residence Hall after a man found an unlocked window and climbed in to surprise a sleeping female resident.
“We’re not devoid of crime,” Kiefling said. “The only room you can’t get into is one that you can’t get out of.”
Kiefling said students had lost their first line of defense with the consolidation of the front desk positions. He asked students to call the ASU police non-emergency number if they saw unwelcome intruders in residence halls.
The panel, which included Kiefling, Rugel and Undergraduate Student Government Vice President of Services Tina Movnlavongsy, answered other questions from the students and host Ricci.
Microbiology freshman Jesus Montigo, who said he goes to every informational meeting he can for both the free food and to learn about ASU’s resources, asked if it would be possible to expand the safety escort service USG offers.
The service operates between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m. each night. It provides rides around campus for students.
Movnlavongsy said USG is considering expanding the hours during the winter.
“As a female, as soon as it’s dark, I feel unsafe,” she said. She wants to expand the hours to between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m.
The three panelists also shared information about other safety resources their organizations offer.
For more information about Tempe campus residence hall safety, students can go to ASU’s University Housing website.
Reach the reporter at julia.shumway@asu.edu or follow @JMShumway on Twitter.
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