Dear Editor,
I am a hard-working student. I take lots of classes and am involved in many activities. Because of this, I found myself walking to the music building this Saturday night to practice my instrument. I walked through the cold to get there, arriving at about 10:30 pm. Much to my dismay, every door was locked. I was angry.
The door was locked a full half hour before it was scheduled to be. It has always bothered me that the building would ever be totally locked -- particularly as early as 11 p.m. After all, it's pretty well known that musicians are night-owls. However, for it to be locked early set me off.
As a tuition-paying Ball State student, should I not be entitled to use educational facilities whenever I see fit? It's not as if I'm asking to use a billion-dollar super-computer. I don't even want to use the gym or the bowling alley. I just wanted to go into the building, get the instrument that belongs to me and practice it for an hour or so, then leave. University policy is actually hurting my chances to learn.
Here's a job for the University Senate -- slightly more reasonable than a new Student Center. Ball State students should have key-swipe access to all major educational facilities during late-night hours. For the moment, exclude buildings that require additional staff -- such as the library and computer labs. Some may be concerned that this will raise security issues. However, card-swipe access actually makes buildings and students safer. It would be far safer to require each entrant to have a Ball State ID card than to have people, as often happens in the music building, propping open doors after-hours. The infrastructure for this measure is already in place. Obviously, since it is used in the residence halls, university officials find it reasonably secure. All that is lacking is the unified support of students. Consider this idea. After all, what else am I supposed to do on a Saturday night?
Mike Sayre
Sophomore
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