Grand Valley State University’s Director of Housing and Residence Life Colleen Bailey addressed Student Senate at their Thursday General Assembly Meeting to address questions over new housing and visitor protocols.
Following recent campus safety concerns, University administration enacted increased security measures, including a one-guest policy, single-access points to certain residence halls and the presence of security personnel in living centers with the highest number of incidents. Senators were given the opportunity to ask questions concerning various facets of housing, including the security measures, renovations to on-campus residence halls and associated costs.
Bailey emphasized Housing and Residence Life’s priority has been and always will be to balance community safety with student freedom and comfort.
“We view students as partners in this effort, agents of change who help hold one another accountable to community expectations,” Bailey said. “We want to continue these conversations, learn what is working and make thoughtful adjustments where necessary.”
Student Senate expressed appreciation for Bailey taking the time to engage with the student body.
“We are very thankful for the opportunity to hear from (Bailey), and to have more insight into Housing and Residence life, especially during a period of change for students,” said the Student Senate in a statement provided to the Lanthorn. “It’s imperative that our students feel safe on campus, and (Bailey) made it clear that on-campus safety is a shared priority.”
The new policies are in different stages of implementation, and mainly apply to overnight guests. The intention of the one-guest policy is a quick registration process, where students will be able to scan a QR code to register their guest. Bailey said anyone, whether student or not, that does not live on campus will be considered a guest. She offered solutions to the one-guest policy, such as having a roommate register a second guest, reiterating that inconveniencing students is not the goal of these new measures.
The University has also contracted DK Security to monitor on-campus housing. The private company already works with the GVSU to provide additional security at athletic events.
“We are contracted with an outside security company that also helps with the football games and other athletic events,” Bailey said. “They are a wonderful team of security staff that are unarmed, and are simply there to monitor guests and students, and assist with guest registration.”
Bailey was asked how these procedures and staffing are being funded, and how they would affect costs for students.
“We are looking into cutting costs to make room for affording these new policies and staff,” Bailey said, unsure where cuts would occur.
Another topic of discussion at the meeting was upgrading all on-campus living centers, and where funds for the renovation projects would be allocated. It is unknown at this time what the upgrades will entail.
“We work closely with Facility Services to discuss infrastructure projects,” Bailey said. “They recommend what we need to add or refresh. It remains a very collaborative effort. With so many rooms and residents, priorities have to be solidified in order for money to be spent.”
Throughout the meeting, Bailey reinforced Housing and Residence Life’s willingness to maintain an open dialogue with students and their dedication to not just enforce rules, but build a safe and supportive living and learning environment for everyone.
“I’ve heard great feedback from students feeling more safe because of the changes we’ve made,” Bailey added. “These policies will probably last for a while.”
