When I was a first-year student at Hofstra University, I lived in the Netherlands Complex. We never had a huge security issue despite not having a Public Safety booth or even a gate at the entrance. To enter the courtyard where the dorm houses were, all residents needed to swipe or tap their Hofstra student identification (ID) card or HofPass and walk through the turnstile. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) doors were accessible on the other side of the Residential Success Representative (RSR) booths inside the Netherlands Core. Guests needed to be signed in with the RSR on duty to be allowed in.
After I lived there, I moved to Colonial Square. There were three entrances with turnstiles outside attached to the fences. The RSR booths were accessible through ADA doors if a student swiped or tapped their student ID. While there was only one RSR in Colonial Square, the turnstiles prevented any safety issues that could have occurred.
In the spring of my junior year, Hofstra decided to remove the turnstiles in Colonial Square and replace them with large gates. These gates are not ADA accessible since students now have to swipe or tap their cards and then pull the gate open. The problem continues since Hofstra removed the RSR booth at the Colonial Square West entrance, replacing it with a room for vending machines. These gates are not nearly as safe as the turnstiles were for Colonial Square, since a student could be leaving and hold the gate open for someone out of common courtesy, only to realize they weren’t a Hofstra student at all.
According to Boon EDAM, “Tailgating was far too common, especially with large groups, and the RSRs were forced to intervene and stop fellow students from unauthorized entry.”
Since the removal of the turnstiles, I’ve seen an increase in tailgating, especially on weekends. One student would swipe or tap their student ID, and the rest of their friends would automatically follow them in without providing ID.
In a section of the same article discussing the early effects of turnstiles, former Associate Director of Public Safety Bob McDonald said, “Once we saw the safety benefits for the students and the positive difference the turnstiles made for our employees, we began incorporating them into our future plans and budget.”
This statement alone poses one question to me: Why would Hofstra remove these turnstiles if they were so important for the safety of their students?
As a student who’s lived on campus for all four of my college years, the safety in Colonial Square is something that’s rarely discussed. Colonial Square is one of the more remote dorm complexes on campus but, compared to Nassau and Suffolk Halls, which are probably equally as remote, it pales in comparison when it comes to safety.
Nassau and Suffolk Halls don’t have turnstiles, but they do have one entrance with two separate doors. At these automatic doors, students need to swipe or tap their student ID to enter, and there is someone in the RSR booth from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. every day.
According to Hofstra University’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report 2024, “Most residence halls also have turnstiles to prevent unauthorized access.” From what I know about the other residential buildings and complexes, Colonial Square is the only one that does not have the turnstiles anymore. For a dorm complex that has one employed RSR booth at the halfway point of the houses, why was the extra safety that came with the turnstiles removed?
The RSR booths in Colonial Square are also the only ADA doors in the complex. The booth that got turned into a vending machine room no longer has that accessibility, and anyone needing automatic doors would have difficulty entering there since the new large gates are not ADA-friendly. The dorms themselves are not ADA-friendly either, so students are now forced to go to a further entrance just to have access to ADA doors.
As a graduating senior, I urge any underclassman interested in living in Colonial Square to ask for the reinstalment of the Colonial Square West RSR booth and complex turnstiles.
