The Compass Friday, October 10, 1997 7
Watchin' the world go by
m
Franklin Scott photo
Sophomore Chad Cordon, a resident of Butler Dorm, watches people walk by on a recent autumn afternoon. Dorm windows above the yard provide
a 'Tjird's eye view" of events below, and window sills are convenient places to rest one's arms and meditate on the state of the world.
Dorms to offer more security;
special cards will replace keys
Poetry
by Dwayne Pope
No longer will students have the te
dious task of fumbling with old fash
ioned door keys when entering their
dorm rooms at night.
Soon after Homecoming, the Univer
sity will complete the first phase of its
new key card security system, accord
ing to Dr. Victor Bibbins, assistant vice
chancellor for academic affairs. Key
cards, resembling the cards used by
most hotels, will be issued to all dor
mitory residents, excluding those in
complex housing, said Bibbins. The
cards will electronically open the front
doors of the resident's assigned dor
mitory.
The system will be controlled and
operated from a computer terminal and
modem located in the H.L. Trigg build
ing.
The dormitory doors will be locked
by a magnetized current which is bro
ken when a resident enters a key card.
"We're trying to create a home away
from home," said Bibbins. The new sys
tem will enhance students' feelings of
security, he added.
The dormitories will also contain
three shifts of personnel monitoring the
hallways and a telephone service for
visitors and emergencies. Also, alarms
will be installed on all fire escape doors.
The $60,000 system was plarmed by
a task force headed by Dr. Deborah
Fontaine, Vice-Chancellor for Student
Affairs, and consisting of students, fac
ulty and staff. The system is patterned
after the system used at N.C. A & T
University in Greensboro. Winston Sa
lem State University also uses a similar
plan.
The system is a prerequisite for the
tentatively approved plan for coed visi
tation, said Bibbins. The plan will be
implemented after completion of the
security system.
This is only the first phase of ECSU's
renovation. Eventually, residents' iden
tification cards will be their key to the
world. The cards will open doors to
dormitory rooms and closets.
ECSU's residents have mixed opin
ions concerning the new system.
Tashadda Eason, a junior resident of
the New Dormitory, said, "I believe
the new system will create a much safer
environment for students."
Not all students feel the same as
Eason. Melvin Holloman, a sophomore
resident of Butler Hall, said he was
unhappy with the new changes.
"Twenty-four hour locked doors and
patrols are a bit much," said Holloman.
"After all we are grown men."
Bibbens pointed out that residents
will not have to pay extra for the secu
rity features or the new key cards, but
will be financed from a special account
for student life.
"Students will be pleased with the
enhanced security," he said.
What Lies Within
What thoughts are inside my head?
Those things left unsaid.
What runs constantly through my mind?
Those thoughts created and always left
behind.
What endless caverns are laden with sin?
Only I know what lies within.
What makes it wrong? What makes it
right?
What makes one dream in the middle of
the night?
What causes pleasures? What causes
pain?
When all is lost, what does remain?
A thoughtless void for which no one
can come in.
Because only I know what lies within.
To bring those thoughts out is a simple
task.
All one must do is simply ask.
To find the piece to this jigsaw puzzle.
All you must do is come and nuzzle.
Then ask quite simply, "What lies
within?"
And I'll say, "Love" (with an enormous
grin).
Ronel Brewer