Students in the residence halls have begun circulating a petition in opposition to the Department of Residence’s 24-hour door-locking policy, which went into effect Jan. 27.

The policy has also affected vendors who work in the residence halls.

Barton, Lyon, Freeman and Fisher-Nickell Halls, all located in the Richardson Court Association, were originally interested in a policy that would mandate the locking of all exterior doors, said Virginia Arthur, associate director of residence. Now that the policy is in place, the students want something different and are working with the Department of Residence for a solution, she said.

Laurie Tope, president of the four halls, said she wasn’t sure her constituency had adequate representation with organizations in charge of the door-locking policy.

Jessica Strieper, junior in pre-advertising, said the policy is inconvenient for students.

She also said there is a second petition circulating in Linden Hall, the RCA building in which she resides. This petition calls for a revision of the policy.

Andy Tugan, Linden Hall representative, said residents of Merrill House, a floor in Linden Hall, created that petition.

Jenni Wildermuth, sophomore in pre-advertising and Willow Hall resident, said there were problems of unauthorized people entering the residence halls, but she still doesn’t approve of the policy.

The policy has created problems with others who need access to the residence halls.

Arthur said the department has had concerns about delivery peoples’ routes.

“[We’ve had] a few glitches.” she said. However, she said overall the policy is “going amazingly well.”

Food distributors bringing supplies to Dining Services have not been affected, said Carol Petersen, manager of food services for residence halls.

The only dining center affected is the one located in Friley Hall, she said.

Friley’s dining hall is affected because it is the only dining center with a door next to the loading dock that is not strictly controlled by dining service employees, she said.

Arthur said there is one door in Friley that allows access to the docks where food distributors bring their freight. The probable solution will be dining service employees controlling the door, Arthur said.

William Young, manager of food services for the Memorial Union, is in charge of the non-Coca-Cola vending machines in the residence halls.

Young said the vending machines have not been affected by the new policy. Stockers for the vending machines have keys to allow access into locked doors, he said.

However, he said, most machines are stocked when the doors are unlocked.