Q & A: What Kind of Security Does Law School Have?

Former law school had some interesting security. I remember the signs that would be posted around finals time: “Undergrads using law school facilities will be removed by campus police.” Personally, I never saw it happen—but the signs were always put up before finals. I frequently wondered, how would the school know if an undergrad walked into the library? No one ever checked IDs, and even if they did, our IDs did not say we were law students. Last Spring, former law school had a problem with a certain homeless gentleman who decided that the student lounge was a great place to live (hey, there was a big screen television and a nice couch to sleep on in front of it). Such situations would never occur here at New Law School (actually, they would never occur at almost any law school, but especially here).

New Law School has pretty incredible security. For one thing, every single student, faculty member, and staff member has an identification card. That is common at most schools, but, here, the identification picture takes up almost the entire card. The other aspect of the card is that it is programmed to only allow each person into certain areas.

In order to get into any campus building, there a minimum of one guard checking our identification (most buildings appear to have two guards at the entrance). I am not talking about undergrads getting paid five dollars an hour to sit at a desk and do their homework—these are professional guards ensuring that each person entering the building matches the picture on their card. Besides the human guards, most buildings then require actually swiping the identification card at a turnstile in order to gain entrance (basically, it is just like getting on the subway).

Putting it all together, entry into a building works like this: first, there is a single-file line I need to stand in, holding out my card for the guard’s inspection. Then, there is a card-reader atop a turnstile that I need to swipe my card through: after swiping my card, the light will either turn green or red. If it turns green, I can enter. If it turns red, a guard will instantly appear, and escort me out if I don’t have a good explanation. What I find amazing is that even after entering Law School building, the process must be repeated to enter the library (which is in the same building).

So, the University is able to keep incredible tabs on whom has access to what and when they can go where. For instance. I can enter the law school, the libraries, the gyms, and the student center, but I cannot get into the science building or other buildings that do not pertain to my field. If University decided to cut off access for a particular person, within two minutes their access to every campus resource or selected campus resources could be terminated.

Thanks for the question, BL.