Guards across campus are checking photo identification for all individuals who try to enter residence halls at night.
University Police Chief Kevin Hay said the policy is being enforced after “multiple incidents” where non-students were caught entering buildings with someone else’s GWorld.
“If a GWorld card is stolen, then we need to ensure no criminals are entering a GW facility under false pretenses,” Hay said. “It may take a few seconds longer, but we believe its worth it to ensure safety.”
He declined to comment on which halls would see added security measures or detail the specific incidents that prompted them.
Not all buildings will require photo identification, Hay said, adding the number of “documented incidents” at a hall will determine if monitors enforce the policy.
Freshman halls like Thurston Hall and Potomac House enforce the rule 24 hours a day, requiring all non-student guests to sign in.
Monitors at major residence halls like Ivory Tower, City Hall, Guthridge Hall and South Hall have since last week required photo identification eight hours a night. Buildings like Ivory Tower have seen lines of more than 40 students on weekends as guards check cards.
If a guard sees that a person does not match a GWorld picture, UPD will investigate if that card was stolen or loaned, University spokeswoman Michelle Sherrard said.
Visitors are already required to present identification and sign into residence halls at night if they are not affiliated with GW.
Residence Hall Association President Jacob Thayer said the photo identification policy has not been implemented in residence halls across the Mount Vernon Campus.
The University employs 90 student entrance monitors and 21 security officers in each of the two dozen residence halls.
The ID checks come a year after the University increased residence hall security to crack down on “piggybacking,” or cases of individuals following residents into buildings.
In October 2011, a man followed a group of students into The West End and allegedly punched students.
