2008 Woodie Awards
Keyless locks for SSU dorms
Nathanial Garrod
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: News
The dorms of SSU will be taking the next step in technology starting March 3. The locks will no longer need keys. Instead, students will be able to use their student ID cards and a pin number.
The implementation of this system has been long rumored. The summer installations of many of the reading devices on dorm doors have propelled these rumors. However, it will become reality next week.
"It's a convenience for the students," says Nicole Hendry, Associate Director of Housing Services.
The first ID cards will be those of the students in Cabernet village. These will start the week of March 3. A different village will be processed every week. The second week will be Zinfandel village and so on.
The system will be fully operational in the Cabernet, Zinfandel, Verdot and Sauvignon villages shortly after spring break. Beaujolais village will have the hardware installed over the summer and be fully operational by opening weekend of the Fall semester.
Over the interim time, while all the ID cards are being encoded, students will be able to keep their keys. In mid to late April, Housing Services will begin to ask students to return their keys. In the summer the core of the lock, which is the part the key works in, will be taken out.
In order to encode the cards, the students will get an email telling them to go to either Housing Services in Zinfandel or Customer Services in Salazar Hall. There, their cards will be slide through a machine that resembles a credit card machine. Then the computer will randomly generate a four-digit pin number, which the student will be able to use on the front door.
The pin numbers will not be changeable. If a student forgets their pin number, they can either go to Housing Services or Customer Services with their photo ID.
"It offers another level of security," says Hendry of the dual-validation system. "If a student looses his or her card, no one can break in. Students just need to keep close guard of their pin number."
The implementation of this system has been long rumored. The summer installations of many of the reading devices on dorm doors have propelled these rumors. However, it will become reality next week.
"It's a convenience for the students," says Nicole Hendry, Associate Director of Housing Services.
The first ID cards will be those of the students in Cabernet village. These will start the week of March 3. A different village will be processed every week. The second week will be Zinfandel village and so on.
The system will be fully operational in the Cabernet, Zinfandel, Verdot and Sauvignon villages shortly after spring break. Beaujolais village will have the hardware installed over the summer and be fully operational by opening weekend of the Fall semester.
Over the interim time, while all the ID cards are being encoded, students will be able to keep their keys. In mid to late April, Housing Services will begin to ask students to return their keys. In the summer the core of the lock, which is the part the key works in, will be taken out.
In order to encode the cards, the students will get an email telling them to go to either Housing Services in Zinfandel or Customer Services in Salazar Hall. There, their cards will be slide through a machine that resembles a credit card machine. Then the computer will randomly generate a four-digit pin number, which the student will be able to use on the front door.
The pin numbers will not be changeable. If a student forgets their pin number, they can either go to Housing Services or Customer Services with their photo ID.
"It offers another level of security," says Hendry of the dual-validation system. "If a student looses his or her card, no one can break in. Students just need to keep close guard of their pin number."