Slamming the Door
Residence Life cracks down on propping
By Mike Caputo

Residents of the new pods in Ziegler and Hill may want to think long and hard before they decide to stick that branch or rolled-up issue of the Rider News inside the opening of a door to keep it ajar.

Residence Life has instituted a new plan, known as “stop the prop,” to crack down on the propping of doors. Area Director Jamiyl Mosley, who has been instrumental in this new campaign, said several members of the central staff, Facilities and the Department of Public Safety have been constantly unpropping doors, particularly in the new pods.

"It [propping doors] is getting to a point where it is out of control,” said Mosley.

Security issues were a main concern in setting up the “stop the prop” campaign across the Lawrenceville campus, which will begin with enforcement limited to the new pods.

“Propping open doors is our biggest breach of security on campus,” said Director of Public Safety Vickie Weaver. “On an open campus we can’t monitor every person entering or leaving. We rely on the partnership of our students, faculty and staff to be aware of their work areas or living areas.”

The new policy will be effective in the new pods beginning Monday, Oct. 3. According to Mosley, a Residence Life staff member will document any instance of a door being propped and each resident in the three floors of that pod will be fined $25.

Mosley recognized propping doors as an issue all across the campus, but he emphasized that if a door is propped in a building such as Olson, it is virtually impossible to find out who the culprit is because of how many people come in and out of the entrances.

The new pods are being targeted because the entryways that are being propped can only be accessed by key to those in that hallway and not in the entire building.

“People who benefit from the propping are only the ones in those pods,” said Mosley.

Pod residents, such as senior Stephen Krostyne of Ziegler, are upset that this new policy is targeted towards them because of the inconvenient design of the entrances in the residence hall.

“It’s totally unfair,” he said. “There is no key, so you have to go all the way around.”

The key that Krostyne is referring to would be for the exit doors to the private hallways in the pods.

Propping doors of entrances on campus is a violation of University policy and can be found in the Source, under section 3.6 (Attempted or Actual Unauthorized Entry or Presence), which prohibits “...the unauthorized propping open of exterior building doors designed or intended to remain closed.” Mosley said that the new approach toward door-propping will expand if the problems continue.
“We will look to increase the fines if it keeps happening,” he said. “If we see it, we will document it and we hope that people hold everyone responsible to police.”

Hill Residence Director Ryan Parsons, whose building houses pods that will fall under this new policy, said that he and his staff have been working hard towards educating their residents about the dangers and consequences that surround the propping of doors.

“We have posted signs in a variety of places and spoke to pod residents just as a reminder to discourage them from propping doors,” he said. “They will continue to get more information about it with the consequences.”

Mosley reiterated the reason and timing for the “stop the prop” program, recognizing its unsafe nature.

“This is a last ditch effort in saying that propping a door is unsafe,” said Mosley.