Prior to the 2020-2021 academic year, Wofford students were allowed access to all residence halls, excluding Senior Village apartments. Since then, access has only been given to students’ respective dorm buildings. Besides texting a friend to let you in, many students have larger concerns regarding their safety. 

While some students feel that the main problem is accessibility, others are more concerned about the safety aspect. 

One student, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that during Interim, they were followed after leaving the Greek Village. 

“I didn’t know the man, but I had to run all the way to Carlisle to get away,” the student said. “If I had access to another dorm, I could’ve run inside and gone into my friend’s room.”

This student explained that by only having access to her own residence hall, she was forced to go there for safety, which could have given the man following her information about where she lives. The student said that this could have been avoided if she had access to other dorm buildings. 

The lack of access to dorms has also led students to propping open doors to make it easier when visiting friends. However, this has also led to non-Wofford students walking through the buildings and being escorted out by Campus Safety. 

Another student, Blake Batten ’23, was primarily concerned with this issue. 

“People find ways to leave their (residence halls) doors open so that everyone can get in but that leads non-Wofford people to have access to dorms and rooms,” Batten said. “I’d rather only Wofford people have access to all dorms instead of leaving it up to tricks and chance.”

Barrett Funderburk ’24 has concerns regarding his friends rather than his own needs: “If someone I know in another dorm is in immediate need and can’t make it to the door to let me in, what am I supposed to do?”

Other students were more concerned about the future and problems that could arise by not having access. Grace Lindsay ’24 mentioned the issue of if there were an intruder on campus.

 “Not having access to all dorms in case of an intruder or a lockdown prevents all students from being able to find shelter or hide,” Lindsay said.

Olivia Culver ’24 had similar feelings to Lindsay and Funderburk. 

“I believe that it would be helpful having access to other dorms in order to check on friends who don’t live with you,” Culver said. “Also, if there were an emergency and shelter needed to be accessed, what happens if you can’t get into a building that’s the closest to you?”

However, some students also have safety concerns for if all students were to have access to all residence halls. Taylor Thornton ‘22 expressed concern regarding the possibility of sexual assault if students’ IDs gave access to all dorms. 

“Though I am not a fan of not having access to all dorms, it does make it somewhat more difficult for sexual assault to occur if that person doesn’t live in the building,” said Thornton.

As many students wish that there could be more access to each other’s dorms, whether it be for social or emergency reasons, the risks go both ways. While the school doesn’t appear to be making strides to allow full access, students on Campus Union are actively working on this concern.