For the start of the 2013-2014 school year, Suffolk University has implemented a new policy for those coming into residence halls, which is to scan your ID card each time you enter. As much as it adds a deterrent to unwanted visitors, for those who live in the hall it is more of an annoyance than a safety procedure.

Each time you enter your residence hall, you are forced to have a security guard scan your ID, a way to prove that you are who you say you are and you are not an immediate threat to anyone in the building. But first to get into the building, you need to scan yourself in from outside. If you are asking yourself ‘Doesn’t that seem a little redundant?’ you are not alone.

Prior to the new policy, students had a sticker on their ID, which represented which residence hall you lived in, and when you came into your respective building, you had to flash your ID, and you would have access in. Although that seems so much easier than having to fish around in your bag to find your ID, it definitely has its fallbacks. With the previous policy, that allowed anyone to use a Suffolk ID to check into the building, and that alone is a major security threat.

As a student, you do not ever want to think about having to worry about security or feeling safe at school. After what happened in April with the bombings, I would want any added security feature to make sure I was fully protected away at school, especially when I live so far from home. I am sure my family and friends at home would feel the same way. With the new policy, it seems like Suffolk is taking an approach to make sure that students feel safe. But the real question is: Is it actually helping?

Personally, I am not a fan of the new system on the account of a few things. For starters, it is a major inconvenience when you have to struggle to find your ID when your hands are full. Whether you have food in your hand because you came from the café, or if you have groceries, or whatever the case may be, it is a major annoyance having to hand it over to security while juggling things.

Also, there have been a few accounts of which the line has been so far out the door to check in, that students have waited for an extended period of time just to get into their building. It is not the worst thing in the world having to wait to get in, for the fact the school is actually taking an approach of safety, but when you have had a long day at class it is kind of a buzz-kill. The number one thing I find annoying about the new policy is that, if a student has to scan outside of the building, obviously they have a reason to be inside, so why do they have to scan in again? Again, I see why I have to do it, but it is just redundant. Both sides of the arguments have their pros and cons. The safety of not having anyone who does not belong in your residence hall versus the convenience of quickly being able to scan in and not having to wait around.