The attempt to curb the assaults on campus is admirable - and necessary. But the task force is a waste of time. RHA expects the task force to present its findings by the end of the semester. Two months of deliberation will not tell the task force what students already know.
The ideas the RHA task force will consider are of sound nature: ID card swipes at all 16 residence halls, 24-hour lockdown policies and more security phones are not mere issues to examine. They are practical security measures that the University could begin to implement now.
Effective immediately, main entrances of several residence halls will be locked at 7 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. That is a good start - but it won't stop an attacker from walking through the front door at 6:30 p.m. and hanging out inside the building until later in the evening. Locking outside doors at all times may seem like an inconvenience, but it is a reasonable request. Some of the recently reported sexual assaults occurred in broad daylight.
Phones at every entrance to a residence hall would increase security. Doors may need to be locked to keep the intruders out, but sometimes students forget their keys. The phones would allow a student to call a friend in the building - or the Department of Public Safety. Be it a pizza delivery person or a parent, the extra phone call is worth the effort to keep non-residents out of the building.
ID card swipes, another proposed safety feature, are already located on the doors of several residence halls. The University should see that the halls lacking this security measure have them installed as soon as possible. At East Quad, for example, anyone can walk through the front door during the day. However, East Quad's basement computer lab requires a swipe 24 hours a day. Computers may be expensive, but human safety should be the University's priority.
Computers cannot protect themselves against attackers the way students can. The campus has many resources for students concerned about safety, such as Safewalk and Northwalk. Students studying late in the Shapiro library can take a cab home on the University. The Night Owl bus provides another option to walking alone in the dark. However, if the street is poorly lit or the front door is propped open, students have less control over their safety.
An unwanted visitor could live next door. DPS needs to send more officers into the halls and around the residence halls at all times of the day. DPS does serve a purpose other than trying to catch students with beer in their room.
Students should not have to wait for these security measures. Until the campus has a record of zero assaults - reported or unreported - the University must do everything in its power to prevent them. But the University can start by installing RHA suggestions as soon as possible. The only question the task force needs to answer is why they need two months to approve what can be done right now.