By Mackenzie Grizzard | Staff Writer
Living on campus can be startling change for many. In a new environment with less supervision, students might find themselves wondering about their own security within the four walls of their dorm room.
Dr. Rob Engblom, senior associate director for resident learning, explains the safety measures practiced by Baylor’s 18 different residence halls on campus.
“There [are] a lot of different features, and I’d say the first line of defense are just the card-swipe accessible entryways,” Engblom said. “That’s not just external doors but internal doors as well that lead into the residential areas of the community.”
A little piece of plastic — your Baylor ID — is responsible for keeping students safe across all corners of campus living.
According to the 2024-2025 Guide to Community Living, residence hall staff adds access to students’ Baylor ID card during move-in and only does so for their assigned residence hall and room.
Except for University Parks, which uses physical keys, the Baylor ID is coded by Information Technology Services for an additional layer of security. However, there are different situations where other individuals might have access to your room or residence hall, according to Engblom.
“Depending on the hall, there are some that might have a chapel credit or classroom usage,” Engblom said. “For classes specifically, we have the ability to grant access to those students in that limited time frame.”
This ability — coded by Baylor ITS — allows limited residence hall access to keep students safe at all hours, according to Engblom.
“In that limited timeframe, [students] would have access when they’re supposed to be there, but wouldn’t have access when they’re not supposed to be there,” Engblom said.
Dr. Terri Garrett, associate director for academic initiatives for Campus Living and Learning, said that these systems play a key role in making Baylor’s campus living safe and effective.
“Facilities, programs and services all combine the residential facility,”Garrett said in an email. “[This] enhances students’ in-and-out of class experience.”
In addition to ID swipes, residential halls also employ other safety measures to ensure the security of students living on campus.
“The student staff conduct rounds every night, which is an additional safety check for us,” Engblom said. “A lot of our policies,… escorting guests, visitation hours, stuff like that all contribute to your safety.”
As for individual dorm rooms, Engblom assures students that residence hall faculty, including individual floor community leaders, cannot swipe into students’ rooms whenever they want.
“The average CL or faculty member couldn’t just swipe into every single room. We don’t grant [access] to everybody,” Engblom said.
Engblom outlined several situations where residence hall faculty would need to have access to a student’s room, including lock-outs and medical emergencies.
“We grant permission to use a master access for room lockouts and medical response,” Engblom said.
Engblom urged students to be responsible for their own safety as well.
“Our policy [is] not letting folks into the building that you don’t know,” Engblom said. “We call that piggy-backing, which is one of the policies we try to emphasize as well.”
