The rules surrounding access to residence halls have changed from the previous policy of allowing all on-campus students access to all residence halls before 11 p.m.

Starting this semester, a student ID only grants access to the residence hall that a student resides in. This change has created controversy on campus, as students are upset about the change. Oswego State Residence Life and Housing has not announced any changes to these rules as of yet, leading students to start an online petition over the new rules.

The online change.org petition, which has over 1,300 signatures at time of publishing, is titled “Open Access to Residence Halls Before 11 p.m. with SUNY Oswego ID,” and was created by Oswego State student Kyle Mazza. He said he created the petition in response to concerns of student safety.

“The reasons are plentiful, but we are largely concerned for the safety and well-being of SUNY Oswego students as well as connecting the campus,” Mazza said. “One of the main reasons is the inclement weather that Oswego presents and how the new restrictions take away tunnels and access to other dorms for protection against the weather.”

The online petition also lists criticisms of the new access policy such as a hindered sense of student community and difficulty finding shelter in a dangerous situation. The petition additionally said University Police had trouble accessing Riggs Hall during an emergency, due to the new access system. University Police and the Office of Students Affairs have confirmed that University Police have emergency access to residence halls.

“We really need to look at the way we secure our campus, and one of those changes was the change in access as it relates to students and their ID,”said Assistant Vice President for Residence Life and Housing, Shaun Crisler. “The change really was related to us increasing and improving the way we secure our campus.”

According to Crisler, the online petition was constructive for Residence Life, as the residence hall access policy is not set in stone. 

“I think [petitions are] important … Any time you have a petition, it’s just another way for you to hear students,” Crisler said. “When you roll out a change, it’s never the final change. What I’ll be doing is not only talking to students, but also other leaders about upcoming changes that I’ve even talked to other leadership members about that need to go up to the next phase, and I’ll be working on that.” 

The rules are still being adjusted, according to Crisler, because responding to student and administration feedback is all a part of crafting a better plan.

“Anytime you roll out a new policy, sometimes it doesn’t land where you want it to land,” Crisler said. “So for me, when the policy was enrolled I already knew there were going to be changes from the student side. Right now, I’m in the process of collecting that information and working out what those changes need to be and being able to implement the next phase of those changes as I pull it all together.”

Nsikak Ekong | The Oswegonian