Gettysburg Employs Card Access for Academic Buildings, Library

By Ally Taylor 

At the request of President Riggs, Gettysburg College began a project that will help control access to certain buildings located on campus.

According to William Lafferty, Director of Public Safety, the first part of the project involved “building the system infrastructure and one installation at the fitness area in the Center for Athletics, Recreation and Fitness.”

These changes were implemented last year.

As of Aug. 29, the system has also been implemented in Musselman Library and the Center for Athletics, Recreation, and Fitness pool area, as well as the 24-hour buildings: the Science Center, McCreary Hall, Breidenbaugh Hall and Glatfelter Hall.

This new system means that college students will be required to use their student ID cards to enter these buildings—but only after-hours, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Over the next two summers, the school has plans to further implement this system by installing card readers in student residences.

In an email sent to all students, Lafferty stated that this new project “will enable the College to control access to certain buildings at given time,” and that it “will not impact normal daily operations.”

Compared to previous years when most buildings on campus had no way to limit access, this new system will allow the college to track who is entering buildings during late hours and prevent potential security issues.

While the card reader system will make it slightly less convenient to access some buildings on campus late at night, many students are embracing the change.

“It hasn’t affected me this year,” said sophomore Kelly Hagerty, “but as a tour guide, I’m excited for the following years when the card system is implemented in the freshman dorms. It’ll make it much easier to get in and we won’t have to chase down freshman to open doors for us.”

Kate Forton, another sophomore, agreed that the changes are nothing serious: “I already take my ID card with me everywhere, so adding more ID card readers won’t change anything for me. But it will make me feel more comfortable about using certain buildings after-hours.”

For most students who already frequently carry their ID cards to use at Servo or the gym, the new system will hardly be a hindrance.

Some will feel that it makes the campus seem more protected, and others may find that it actually makes it easier to get access to certain buildings.

While there may be students who believe the card readers will be too much of a hassle for them, the new program is definitely leading Gettysburg College towards a more streamlined system of building security.