Residence hall doors will be locked 24 hours a day beginning Monday.

The new door-locking policy, put into effect by the Department of Residence, will leave several doors open for residents’ use during the day.

Students will be able to access residence hall main doors from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Students will be able to enter the halls through any exterior door with their exterior door key, said Randy Alexander, director of the Department of Residence.

Most doors will be locked 24 hours a day. A list of unlocked doors will be posted for students’ convenience, said Kate Bruns, communication specialist for the department.

Bruns said students have had mixed feelings on the policy but the amount of unlocked doors in the residence halls provided a security hazard.

“The administration felt it needed to be done,” she said. “[There are] a lot of external entrances.”

Bruns said filtering traffic through main entrances will keep students more safe.

Alexander said he has “never worked on a campus where doors weren’t locked.”

“[Iowa State] is pretty unusual in this respect.”

Bruns said guests have always been required to be escorted by the resident with whom they were staying, so the policy won’t affect individuals wishing to visit.

Alexander said there were situations involving intruders into the residence halls at the end of the last academic year.

Last spring ISU Police received several reports from residence department officials about unauthorized persons residing in the Friley Hall Terrace Room.

The policy was supposed to take effect last fall but was postponed so the residence department could seek the input of the Inter-Residence Hall Association, he said.

Earlier this year, IRHA passed an order that set into effect a series of meetings between the organization and the residence department to discuss which doors should remain unlocked.

Bruns said the residence department will handle students propping doors open if it happens. Residence hall staff will continue to monitor the situation.

“[We] don’t want to turn it into a policy thing,” she said.

Educating students about their own safety will help the residence department prevent and handle situations where the door locking policy is violated, Bruns said.

Alexander said the policy could be amended next fall to include minor changes as they arise.

If students have complaints or suggestions on the policy, they should contact their IRHA representative or their hall director, he said.

Lockdown Details

* Knapp Hall G260, G258, Breezeway

* Storms Hall G101, G103, Breezeway

* Wallace Hall G360, G358, Breezeway

* Wilson Hall G401, G403, Breezeway

* Wallace-Wilson Commons C1244, C1234, C1257, 1261

* Knapp-Storms Commons 1131

* Maple Hall M138, M142, M120, M141

* Larch Hall M342, M348

* Willow Hall 1123A, 1124A, Breezeway

* Linden Hall G43, 069, A152, G8

* Birch-Welch-Roberts halls 2300, 1259, 1201, 1202, 2236B, 2271B

* Oak-Elm halls 1065, 2007, 2133

* Friley Hall 2410A, 2410B, B36A, 2448A, 2248B, A39A

* Eaton Hall 1100, 1101

* Helser Hall A285

— Source: Department of Residence