Bryan Hall is seeing some changes, and not everyone is happy.
Currently, Bryan offers single-sex suites with co-ed floors, but next year, the first and third floors will be strictly single-sex. The goal is to maximize safety.
“Since Bryan has no card access, the decision was to adjust the setup to enhance female security by making the first floor male and the third female,” said James Minton, assistant dean for campus life.
The first floor is the easiest to break into, because all the windows are on ground level and there are no stairs.
Someone could easily climb into a suite from the bushes in the back, Minton said, so the decision to modify Bryan was made for female safety.
In addition to Bryan, changes to the apartments were considered; however, protests from students caused the decision to be reversed.
“There were some incidents in co-ed apartments concerning domestic violence. We considered single-sex apartments, since most of the issues were with the co-ed,” Minton said. “Students were bothered by this and we had a forum to discuss their interests. Many good points were raised, and it was changed back to co-ed.”
Several students are skeptical of the Bryan change.
“I’ve never felt threatened in Bryan, nor have I known anyone who lives here that feels that way,” first-year Cat Jacques said. “If there are girls that feel unsafe then they are definitely the minority.”
“They aren’t posting 24-7 guards on the exterior stairwells, or using a smart card system for entrance to the building, they are simply clustering the female students,” said senior Eli Abrams.
“Most of the suites have windows that look out onto the walkways. If someone intent on committing a rape comes to Bryan, all he’d have to do is climb to the 3rd floor, and whichever suite they enter is a women’s suite.
“Currently, especially given the common tendency to cover the suite door’s window, a potential rapist could stumble into a men’s suite accidentally and be caught before getting a chance to commit a rape.”