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Home > 4/5/06 Issue
> Viewpoints
Editorial
To prevent indecent exposure
P-building's locker rooms should be changed
The women's locker room in the P-Building
has a keypad that was designed as a measure of safety, but its
password is known by male coaches to female teams. The men's
locker room has no keypad at all.
The reason for coaches having access to
the women's locker room is that the training area for the volleyball
and soccer teams is located inside. The entire locker room, however,
is exposed to get to these areas.
Not only are the coaches able to walk freely
through the locker room area, but even the design of the locker
room makes it easier for the male coaches to happen upon unclothed
and exposed women who are either showering or changing.
The towel rack for the showers is directly
in the line of sight of the hall leading to the training rooms.
Women could easily be exposed because they must go the towel
rack to dry off every time they get out of the shower.
Excluding the possibility that a future
coach might not respect the women's right to privacy and use
this to their advantage, the current design makes it more likely
that even well intending coaches will make an unfortunate mistake.
One possible solution is for the coaches
to enter the door nearest the training areas and effectively
bypass the changing areas, so the chances of seeing exposed females
are reduced.
Mirrors, however, are spread throughout
the locker room, which could reflect back to the entrance of
the training area. If a coach wanted to catch a glimpse of the
changing area, these mirrors would provide the perfect opportunity.
While the situation in the female locker
room is bad, the men are even further exposed to the opposite
sex than the women. Only a few men have access to the women's
locker room, but all women have access to the men's locker room
since there is no keypad lock.
There is nothing to prevent a woman or
non-student from entering the men's locker room, and a criminal
could easily slip into the men's locker to mug or steal from
the students or their belongings.
There is suppose to be a place to sign-in
for use of the locker rooms and a person there to keep watch
on them. There is not, however, always someone around to keep
outsiders from entering without permission, so the sign-in sheet
lacks to full with protection from outsiders.
The changing rooms were remodeled about
two years ago due to security concerns, but considering these
clear oversights of privacy and security, the remodeling was
not entirely successful.
If coaches must be allowed to have access
to the locker rooms because of the training area,, then the access
to the hall leading to the training area should have a separate
keypad-password. The access to the showers and changing area
could then be blocked off with another keypad secured door that
has a password known only to females.
The same concerns apply to the men's locker
room and should be taken into consideration if any remodeling
or changes are made to solve these problems.
To uphold the principle of safety and decency,
something must be done to protect the students from this potentially
dangerous situation. |
