Since its installation last week, the new card swipe at Cullom-Davis library has received positive feedback from both the administration and the student body.
“I think it was a good idea,” said sophomore health science major Kelly Short, who spends many late weeknights at the library. “The card swipe is helping the library be safe late at night while allowing more room for actual Bradley students to study.”
Student Senate began the push for the system after an armed robbery suspect was able to elude police when he crashed his car near the intersection of St. James and University streets last November. The man and his accomplice, who was caught, had tied up, beaten and robbed several restaurant employees in Northwest Peoria. A week later, two inmate escaped from the Peoria County Jail, located about 10 miles from campus.
“The swipe card system in the library may seem at first to be a hassle, but in the long term it will serve as a great measure of security and safety for our students,” Student Body President Kyle Malinowski said. “The demand for them on other buildings will grow.”
The card swipe requires all students to swipe with their student IDs in order to enter the library after 10 p.m. Because of this card swipe, those unaffiliated with the university prohibited the building after 10 p.m., allowing only Bradley students have access to the library’s facilities during the night.
Shelley Epstein, associate vice president for communication, said the administrators saw the value in the card system as a way to better secure the building.
The university is looking into the expansion of the use of swipe cards on campus, Epstein said.
“The university is currently examining expanding the use of swipe cards at other buildings on campus, but at this time it is premature to determine whether or when that effort will move forward,” he said. “ No determination has been made what buildings would be an early priority, if that initiative is implemented”
Sophomore elementary education major Crystal Rains said she felt more comfortable working late at the library because of the card swipe.
“I work at the library and I know some of the community members that come through the doors late at night,” she said. “All I can say is that I am glad that only students have the ability to swipe in.”