As early as the spring 2011 semester, proxy card dorm access may be a reality on campus.
Proxy card readers, a contact-less circuit device, would allow a dorm door to be unlocked while the card remains in a wallet or purse.
“The cards would be very convenient because they’d be for dorm access, QuickCash and the library bar code all in one unit,” Student Body Vice President Tricia Anklan said. “It’s a lot of power in one card.”
Anklan said there is a lot of concern about using keys for dorm access.
“When a key is lost, it still gives access to the dorms,” she said. “There’s no way to track them. There have also been instances where keys are handed down to other people, like in fraternities or sororities, and they get access to conveniences like the dorm laundry rooms.”
Anklan said specifics of the card installment would be left up to the administration, but she expects outdoor security with keys to still be in use.
“The doors would be left open longer, until about 3 or 4 a.m.,” she said. “Then you don’t have to worry about inclement weather like rain or snow.”
According to Student Senate research, Bradley is the only school out of its seven most comparable schools to still be using keys.
Other universities, such as Loyola and Augustana already have the proxy card system in use.
“I’ve seen this at other places,” Anklan said. “George Washington University had a three-swipe system, and it really increases security. This is the newest technology, and we decided that if we do it, we want to do it right.”
The administration is considering a senate proposition for the cards, Vice President for Business Affairs Gary Anna said.
“We’re studying the issue at present,” he said. “But the wireless installation has been given priority at this time.”
General Services Manager Gloria Arrington said she has been attending seminars to gain further information about the proxy cards.
“We have been hearing different people talk about this in order to see the different ways we could go,” she said. “However, I have been here for 25 years. I’m used to the keys, I think we already have a good system in place for them and they are much less expensive.”
Arrington said the initial startup investment for the card installation would be costly but she believes the university is moving toward keyless dorms.
“We are in the beginning stages,” she said. “I actually haven’t felt that the keys have been a problem, and we don’t have too big of an issue of students losing their keys. We switch everything around when students leave as a preventative measure. One of the biggest issues we have with any security measure is students propping the doors open, especially on move-in day.”
Despite the cost, Arrington said she does believe the campus will switch toward a proxy-card system, and the campus is currently looking into several different options.
