Students can still visit student counselors
Administration Building only accessible to those with badges now
You need a campus card with a digital key to access the Administration Building, except the ground floor and first floor. Photo: DUB
The new system was supposed to debut on Monday, October 7, but pro-Palestine protesters blocked all entrances to the building that day. The change was then postponed to Tuesday. From the second floor upwards, when you walk out of the elevator into the hallway, you're faced with a door that only opens with an authorised campus card. An authorised card is also necessary to access the other floors through the stairwell on the ground floor. To activate the digital key, employees must check in at the reception every morning. This allows them to walk around the entire building, except the fifth floor, where the Executive Board works. Only a few people have access to that floor.
Visitors still have free access to the ground floor, where the conference centre is located. The first floor is not entirely closed off yet so that students can see the student deans. “The threshold for students to go to a student dean should not be too high. But we also want to protect the offices in that department. We are still looking for a solution”, says Joost Petrusma, Head of the Security department. Until then, the secured door on that floor will remain open. The university is considering using an intercom by the door and a waiting room in the hallway.
Security scan
The system was introduced to increase security in the building. “We performed a security scan of all UU buildings and concluded that the risk of strangers walking in freely was too high at the Administration Building,” explains Eddie Verzendaal, Director of Campus & Facilities. “In addition, the number of thefts in the building increased sharply this past year. That's because the offices are not locked as there are no assigned workspots anymore.” Nevertheless, Verzendaal says certain directors asked the university not to completely lock the Administration Building, which is why the ground floor remains accessible to everyone. “People who use the Administration Building as a shortcut to go to the De Wied Building can continue to do so.”
White button
After almost a week, Verzendaal and Petrusma have not received much feedback about the change. It takes a while for the door to respond to the pass, and some employees still have to get used to that. In addition, it is not yet clear to everyone that the doors can be unlocked from the inside by pressing a white button. A secured door has already been installed on the first floor, but it is still open for the time being. On Wednesday, an incident occurred in which someone tried to close that door rather violently. They succeeded in doing that, but then the door didn't want to open anymore. It had to be repaired.
The receptionists have noticed that many employees are confused about the system. They don't understand why they must check in on the ground floor every day. "That is necessary because the authorisation is updated every day," says Verzendaal. "We need to do that because people leave the company and internships end. That is why everyone has to check in every morning. Nothing else happens with that data," he assures.
Security scans are also taking place in other UU buildings, which has already led to similar pass systems, such as in the Vening Meinesz building (Geosciences) and the Humanities buildings on Drift. More buildings will follow.