By Caroline Alphonso
Beverly Sims doesn’t think she should have to pay for an access card to enter her building.
But this year, with security card readers installed on both doors of the Interior Design buildings, she and other users of the building had to buy a pass card for $15 from security. Students get a $10 refund when the card is returned.
“Out program requires us to allocate $2,400 for books and supplies, on top of the $3,700 for tuition,” said Sims, a third-year interior design student. “The card is a good idea, but it should have been part of our tuition. I would rather have security walk with me at night.”
Three Kerr Hall doors will also be getting card readers in January.
Terry Ladouceur, manager of campus safety and security, said buying a card is important for students, especially after a student was harassed at night by the self-declared “Ryerson Rapists” last month.
While returning to the Interior Design studio at 11 p.m., the woman was taunted by five men standing in the alley behind the building. The door of the building was locked, so she had to use the buzzer for another student to let her in.
“In any building, when working late at night, buying an access card is the only way to go,” said Ladouceur.
Mylinh Quach, a fourth-year interior design student, is often in the studio until the very early morning.
For Quach, the access card adds a bit more security, but still not enough.
“The reality is that we are still in downtown Toronto. Anything can happen.”
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