The Woodruff P.E. Center (WoodPEC) will implement new security measures, such as turnstiles and a membership desk in the facility on the second floor next semester, according to Tim Downes, director of athletics and recreation.
The management has been planning for these security measures for the past five years, Downes said.
Turnstiles – or gates that only allow one person to enter at a time – will be installed at the spiral staircases on the second floor, Downes said. At these turnstiles, students will be required to swipe their Emory ID cards, similar to the Robert W. Woodruff Library's security system, to enter the staircase.
Students will not have to swipe their cards to exit the stairs onto the second floor. Instead of two student employees sitting on both ends of the second floor walkthrough, they will manage a membership desk across from the spiral staircase on the second floor. Downes said this desk will be the "heart" of the building by managing guests and relaying information.
The second-floor staircases – located on the side of the gym that leads to the Peavine Parking Deck – with access to the pool and the third-floor offices will also have two turnstiles.
"This is in the interest of security, tracking usage and ensuring proper access for our students and current WoodPEC members," Downes said. "We need to have a better understanding of who is in the building and when."
Downes said people have always used the gym as a cross-through from Peavine to main campus and Dobbs University Center. Because of the added traffic, the facility has had a difficult time calculating exactly how many people are using their gym.
With this "more secure and fool-proof" access system, Downes said, the management will be able to more accurately determine who is using the facility.
Downes said the process has taken several years his team maintains a list of facility projects.
"When we are able to tackle those projects is largely dependent on when we are able to identify funding," he said.
College freshman Andrew Burnside said she supports this decision.
"Swip[ing] your card takes two seconds, and if that means better protection for everyone's stuff, it's a good thing," Burnside said.
College sophomore Alan Bleiberg also said that this new system makes sense.
"I think it's a good idea because it will keep our gym safe," he said. "An automated system will always be more secure than student workers."
– By Karishma Mehrotra and David Ehrlich
