By: Taylor Gaudens and Anthony Patterson
The removal of the front desk in Residence Hall One has raised safety concerns and a group of students who oppose the change started a petition. They want their voices heard.
Residents Kelly Miyar, Juliet Morales and Meaghan Habuda are petitioning the change, set to happen on Nov. 28. Morales started the petition immediately after she learned the news at a mandatory floor meeting on Oct. 25. The petition is online and in hardcopy and they hope it will help them gain more support.
Morales said she started the petition because she is concerned about safety and wanted to know if others feel the same way. The removal of the desk means no one will monitor who enters and exits the building, even though the RAs and SAs are not security.
“Some of the RAs are pushing the responsibility to the residents to see who is coming in and out [of the building],” Morales said.
Residents’ student identification cards are activated to open the front door of RHO and the courtyard entrance. RAs and SAs were able to open the door from the front desk computer if a student did not have his or her identification.
Within the past year, the policy for checking visitors in with the front desk has changed. Visitors are no longer required to leave their identification cards at the desk but visitors are still only supposed to stay three days, according to Habuda and Morales. The Crow’s Nest reported in a Sept. 8 story that an armed robbery suspect entered the residence hall and was then arrested outside the building later that night.
“The front desk gives most residents a sense of protection and safety and that is a good feeling to have,” Morales said. “We have already had one instance where someone came in the dorms armed. Who knows what could have happened if someone at the front desk hadn’t called for help.”
“The biggest concern that the residents have is that this change compromises their safety and sense of security,” said resident assistant Arienne Milkles. She feels the change is unnecessary. “If this change has to be made it should have been made at the beginning of a new contract year so that the residents would know what they were getting into when they signed the contract.”
Habuda thinks this is an issue for all USFSP students. She said she understands that it may be an unavoidable change, but she is concerned that such a change was announced with little warning.
“Nov. 28 isn’t too far into the future, and it’s scary to know a huge decision like this is being made lacking compassion and concern for student safety or opinion,” Habuda said.
The front desk workers will be relocated to working in the mailroom of the hall. The mailroom is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a significant change from the hours most desk workers are able to work.
The online petition has 60 digital signatures from students, residents and parents. They plan to continue raising awareness and were shocked at the support they found.
“I honestly didn’t expect to get 45 signatures or a great deal of comments on the [Facebook] post within a single day,” Habuda said. “Juliet and I didn’t really have a signature goal. We only posted it online to better spread the word to the student body.”
Miyar expects to continue the petition until the issue is resolved. She does not think having police officers routinely check the building is enough.
“The only way we will stop fighting for the cause is if RHO decides to put some form of security in RHO during the night hours,” Miyar said.
Habuda and Morales will meet with RHO Housing Director Heather Klisanin on Nov. 8. to discuss the reason behind the changes.
“The residents make up this RHO, we are the ones who have to live here all semester,” Morales said.
RHO opened in 2006 and houses more than 300 students every semester. Currently, the resident assistants and student assistants operate the desk from 4 p.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday.
