Increased security in Gallagher

In the next few months, students and employees can expect to be using their All Cards to swipe into Gallagher Student Center.

As a part of Phase 1 of Xavier's Safety Initiatives, the University will be installing remote door locks on all of the buildings on campus. They have already been installed

in the E-Building of the Village and the University apartments.

Along with these installations, other projects such as improved campus lighting, security cameras in high traffic areas and an increase in emergency phones on campus have already been fulfilled as part of Phase 1.

"The driving factor behind these measures was Virginia Tech years ago," Bill Moran, associate director of Auxiliary Services said. "We are trying to be proactive against anything."

Gallagher Student Center has been one of the buildings on

campus that is open 24 hours a day and will continue to be so, but with card access required between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. "This system enhances the safety of Gallagher in the evening hours while still enabling students to have access to the building," Sergeant Kenneth Grossman said.

"We haven't heard anything negative towards the use of their All Cards in the other buildings." As remote locking systems are installed within all of the buildings, the hours that the buildings are open will remain the same, but security will be increased as well as the amount of time

that officers are available for patrols instead of locking and unlocking buildings. Not only will having remote locking systems make officers more available in the evening, it

will also enable the buildings to be better monitored.

According to Chief Michael Couch, if a door is left propped

open that is rigged with this system, after a certain amount of time an alarm will be sent to dispatch and an officer will be sent to investigate the situation. The card system is also very adaptable. If students are given permission to have access to a building after hours, instead of being issued a key, their All Card can be inserted into the program so they have access with their card to the building. This system is also beneficial because if a student or employee loses their card, it can be disabled as soon as the campus police are informed. Before, if a key was lost, there was no way to

disable a key unless a locksmith was called to change the locks on a certain building. "The system is adaptable – it

is made to be compatible with the needs of the school," Couch said. "As the University evolves, so can the card access system."