By REGINA IANNIZZOTTO
Opinion Editor
On Sunday, Dec. 4, a friend came running down my hallway into the common room where I was writing a paper. Noticing she was out of breath, I asked if she was okay. She said, “Coming over here, I overheard an announcement saying something about a security alert and that everyone should stay inside. So I came here!” Confused, I checked Facebook and Twitter; nothing.
A few minutes later, I received a text message from the RAVE Alert System that said “Strose Alert:”; and that alert would be? Thank you Saint Rose for letting me know what kind of danger I am in. Following that, numerous housemates rang the doorbell because their ID card would not work. The first time or two, we regarded it as it just not working anymore. Then, I received another text from RAVE telling me that we are on lockdown and everyone should stay inside.
Once again, there was no explanation. At least there were more than two words in this one. Then I realized that since we were on lockdown, the dorm ID systems were probably shut down so intruders could not enter.
Saint Rose made a Facebook status at 10:48 p.m. saying “From Saint Rose alert: ‘Shelter in place until further notice. Police emergency in Saint Rose neighborhood.’ Will update ASAP.”
At 11:13 p.m., Saint Rose’s Facebook status was: “From Saint Rose alert: ‘Police emergency canceled. University police have given all clear. Emergency ended.’”
At 2 a.m., the door to my dorm was still on lockdown and people were still ringing the doorbell to get inside.
Let’s just think about this for a moment: We are told to stay where we are, but what about those who may not have gotten the message and were trying to get in the house? What about those who had just received the message and were trying to get inside and just following orders? They could not get in, and therefore, could not get to a safe place.
Imagine this: a person receives the message. They try to get in the house, but can’t since their ID card is not working. Suddenly, someone comes up behind them and attacks them. Well that message failed then, didn’t it? The person was trying to follow orders and look what happened. Now they are on the floor, beaten and bruised. Good decision you made there.
I understand the thought behind it, but I do not think it was fully thought out. I understand Security did not want uninvited visitors in the dorms, but the ID swipers are supposed to take care of that in general. If I was not in the common room working on a paper until the wee hours of the morning, I would have been woken up thanks to the ringing of the doorbell at 1 a.m.
So here are my questions to Security: Why in the world would you stop the ID swipers from letting those who live in the house enter? If the ID swipers were not good enough for an emergency, how are they keeping us safe on a daily basis?
Good Point. Also, what are the chances that a perpetrator would actually have card access to that specific building, let alone all buildings. That chances is VERY slim.