Update From President Decatur on Card Access

Dear members of the Kenyon community,

The Residence Hall Card Access Work Group has completed its assessment of Kenyon’s card access system and of the restricted-access programs piloted in McBride and Watson Residence Halls this spring. This work is the culmination of a year-long study of how our card access system can contribute to the safety of our residents, taking into consideration best practices for residential campuses and Kenyon's particular community and culture. As a reminder, under Kenyon's current system students can access any residence hall at any time of day. The pilot in McBride restricted card access so that only residents could unlock doors from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.; in Watson, it restricted access at all times.

Download the full report (PDF).

After careful consideration of the findings and feedback, including discussion of the recommendations with Student Council, the College will limit access to only the residents of each residence hall, at all times of day (as piloted in Watson), beginning this fall. Over the summer we will take steps to ensure that non-residents will be able to reserve and use student lounges and access shared laundry and that residence halls are equipped with door prop alarms.

I recognize that the new system may require some adjustment in how we come and go on campus. But I wholeheartedly agree with the authors of the report that community safety is paramount, and limiting access to residences in this way is the best way to protect students' safety and is standard practice on many college campuses. Although I hope no members of the Kenyon community ever find themselves at risk of harm, I believe we are obligated to use all tools at our disposal to protect student safety.

I would like to thank the members of the work group for their efforts over the last year:

• Carisa Lanning, LBIS
• Steve Martin, LBIS
• Carter Schoenfeld, LBIS
• Niranjan Davray, LBIS
• Mark Kohlman,* Chief Business Officer
• Fred Linger,* Business Services
• Carol Duvall, Business Services
• Bob Hooper, * Campus Safety
• Steve Arnett,* Facility Operations
• Jill Engel-Hellman,* Residential Life
• Lisa Train, Residential Life
• Meredith Harper Bonham '92,* Vice President for Student Affairs
• Liz Eder '17 (Chair, Student Council Housing and Dining Committee)
• Sam Clougher '17 (Senior Class President, summer community meetings participant)
• Morgan Harden '17 (summer community meetings participant)

*Member of Kenyon’s Emergency Preparedness Team (KEPT)