Students with university-owned lofts will return after winter break to find an addition to their rooms – loft rails and ladders.

The Department of Residence is now guarding against lawsuits by requiring all university-owned lofts be equipped with rails to prevent students from falling out.

“We have had people fall out,” said Kate Bruns, communication specialist for the Department of Residence. “This is a risk-management technique.”

Residence hall maintenance crews will install the detachable rails over winter break, she said.

“Students have a choice of whether or not to use them, just like any other equipment in the room,” Bruns said.

The rails will be installed in Maple and Wilson Halls, all of Hawthorn Court and in a few Roberts Hall rooms, said Darryl Knight, associate director of residence for facilities operations.

“There are a couple of different kinds we have purchased,” he said. “A student will be able to remove all of them if they wish. We were looking for ones that would have the best access for students while keeping them safe.”

Depending on the type of furniture in the room, Knight said, some rails are wooden and some are metal.

Some of the rails clamp on, while others are drilled into the wooden furniture.

None are designed to allow students to pull themselves into the loft, he said.

Ladders also will be provided in every room. Currently, students climb into bed using a built-in ladder on the end of the bed, but “with the way students arrange their rooms sometimes, the end-of-the-bed ladder doesn’t always work,” Knight said.

“Students may choose not to use the ladders, but they are responsible for them, just like a dresser or any other piece of furniture in the room,” he said.

Kilee Stierler, sophomore in biology, lives in a suite with two other girls in Forbes house in Maple Hall.

She said she doesn’t like the idea of the rails.

“It’s not necessary,” she said. “It’s a waste of money, which can be better spent somewhere else. Most people can sleep in a bed without falling out.”

Stierler said she has not been officially notified of the loft rail and ladder installation yet, but she has heard about it through “word of mouth.” She said her roommates feel the same way about the rails.

“We are planning to remove them when we get back from break because it will be hard to get into bed with them on,” Stierler said.

Shannon Oakley, resident assistant on Webber house in Wilson Hall, said students have been informed about the mandatory installations.

“I believe they got a letter,” said Oakley, junior in pre-business, “and I know they were notified by their RAs.”