In an effort to stop the constant nuisance of students trapped outside the building with no key cards, MFS administration has replaced the cards with individual five-digit PINs, reasoning that students will have an easier time remembering a short number than constantly carrying around a key.
Hartman Hall, a relatively new building to MFS, is beloved for its comfortable sunroom, stylish classrooms, and sweet air conditioning. But as great a building as it is, one thing has consistently been a source of stress for students and teachers alike, and it’s not the trek to get there; it’s the key cards required to enter the building.
Besides opening Hartman Hall, the key cards were once necessary to open several entrances to the main building, including the door to the Field House Commons. Now, all these entrances have been fitted with new keypads, and students can open the doors using their own five-digit code.
Student reactions have been quite mixed.
“My number didn’t even work for the first two days! Key cards are so much easier — you can just swipe them. Now you have to lean down and enter the code, which takes a lot longer. Plus no one told me which keypad to use,” said senior Erica D’Costa.
Senior Katherine Thai agreed that the numbers were confusing, saying, “I was almost late to class because no one told me about the star after the number. Thanks for nothing, MFS.”
On the other hand, Sophomore Rachael Whitley said, “I like the new codes because I haven’t actually had a key card since seventh grade. It was a personal record. So now I can actually get into the building when I need to.”
Teachers have been similarly hesitant to embrace the new system. Middle School teacher Kathi Bernard, whose classroom is right beside the entrance to Hartman Hall, has long faced the annoyance of letting in students who have lost their cards.
“To be honest, I had some doubts about moving to number codes,” said Bernard. However, she has been satisfied with the results so far. “From what I have seen, the transition has been smooth. I suppose it makes sense to use numbers to get to math class!”
Only time will tell if the new system is an improvement upon the old one. But as the freezing New Jersey winter goes on, only one thing is certain: regardless of whether they use cards or codes to get there, students and teachers alike will be eager to get indoors quickly.
