Point Park University students living in Conestoga Hall expressed concerns this past week regarding an unreliable latch on the front door and unknown men sitting at the front desk.
Despite multiple student reports to Public Safety, Police Chief Jeffery Besong and Dean of Student Life Michael Gieseke said they were not aware of the issue. Conestoga has been without a desk attendant since the end of last spring semester.
“Every incident report that is submitted to the university, I receive,” Gieseke said. “I have not seen an incident report regarding this.”
Security upgrades, such as ID scanners to use the Hall’s elevators and to access its residential floors, are still in the works, according to Besong.
“It’s up to the owner [Silver King Housing],” Besong said, “and we’re pressing them.”
Students said they reported the door has been malfunctioning since late August, when residents moved in.
“The door closes but it won’t latch. You could always open it without a key card,” Chandler Bigley, a sophomore broadcasting productions major and Conestoga resident, said.
Bigley said she and her roommate called Public Safety on three separate occasions before noticing an improvement in the door.
“There’s not good communication, so I don’t know if it’s been resolved,” Bigley said.
A paper sign was taped to the inside of one of the front doors directing students not to use it.
Isabelle Vicari, a sophomore psychology major and Resident Educator at Conestoga, also called Public Safety about the issue.
“They sent someone to look at the door, but people were still able to leave the door halfway open,” Vicari said.
Students also reported the presence of two unknown men occupying Conestoga’s lobby.
“Last Monday, whenever I came back from class there was a guy with his feet up at the desk in the lobby,” Bigley said. “He was on the phone and didn’t say anything to me. He must have been there for 3 hours.”
Bigley reported the incident to Public Safety, and they said they would verify who was in the building.
According to Bigley, Public Safety never followed up with her.
Students from Vicari’s floor also reported seeing the men.
“It stresses me out because these people rely on me, so when things like that happen — where the door is broken or there are people in the building who shouldn’t be — it feels out of my control,” Vicari said.
In an email, Gieske confirmed the door has been repaired and the two men in Conestoga’s lobby were maintenance workers contracted by Conestoga’s owner, Silver King Housing.
Both residents reported the men to be in plain clothes, adding to the confusion about them being maintenance workers.
“While it’s all Point Park students who live there and it’s run by the university, we lease the building,” Gieske said, “Because it’s not our building, all maintenance, housekeeping and fire testing would go through that company.”
Besong said a work order should have been filed by the Point Park police following any complaint of that nature.
“We will call an engineer on duty or a desk attendant,” Besong said.
Despite the miscommunication, Gieske urges students to contact both the Department of Student Life and Public Safety when they have safety concerns.
