I am not a raving lunatic, a robber or a vandal. I am not a murderer or a bully. I can’t even hurt a fly. I am a Whitman Student.  

So, it’s just ridiculous that Whitman students’ ID cards do not give us swipe card access to all of the residence halls on campus.

As a Whitman Student I am not allowed into the buildings of my own campus because it may be a security risk. Security risk! Do they think I’ll go into Jewett and pipe bomb the place? Because I won’t.

My Whitman ID card will get me meals, it will get me free or reduced price tickets to events on campus, it will even get me reduced price movie tickets in my home town in Colorado, but it won’t get me into the other residence halls on campus.  

I am not asking for much. I just want to be able to see my friends, surprise them on their birthdays, go to a meeting in another residence hall lounge or eat dinner in the Jewett dining hall without having to call to be let in.

I have never even been told a satisfactory reason why I am being locked out of my own campus’ buildings. It all goes back to the security risk, because I am clearly going to ruin my own campus: yeah right.

For the sake of argument, though, let’s assume it does pose a security risk for me (a resident of Douglas) to get into Anderson, or Prentiss, or Jewett, or College House or any of the other dorms.  

Not having a swipe card isn’t going to prevent me from getting in.

If any random person stands outside a dorm for long enough there is bound to be somebody who comes in or out who will, without hesitation, hold the door for you. There is no question of my credibility. No worry about my upstanding nature. I just walk in at the behest of any random resident.

Or, the more likely scenario is that I just call a friend who lives in that residence hall who then has to run down the stairs to let me in. I know it may not seem like a big deal, but it’s just so pointless.  

Swipe access to all the dorms on campus is not too much to ask for.

All I want is to visit a friend. I don’t want to steal or break anything. I don’t want anything bad to happen to another Whitman student or residence hall. I just want to go to where my friends live without the unnecessary hassle.

Either give me that, or give me a good reason why I can’t have swipe access to the other dorms. Don’t leave it the way it is.  

Give Whitman students access to their own campus. After all, we get there anyway, so what’s the point in preventing it?