Suppose a loved one was choking but you weren’t allowed to dial the police because it was too early in the morning. Imagine seeing a person drowning in a pool but you couldn’t ask for the lifeguard’s assistance because he had just eaten. These scenarios don’t seem to make much sense. Why then is there a sorority house where members of the chapter who do not reside within the house are denied 24-hour access?

The Sigma Kappa Theta Rho sorority has been passing around a petition to its members this semester in the hopes of being granted 24-hour access to the house for all of its members. As of now, members of the chapter who do not live in the house can only use their student IDs until 10:30 each night, after which the key swipes at all entrances deny the members access. Sadly, this petition has already made its rounds once before, in the spring of 2008. It was eventually put to rest.

Sigma Kappa President Lauren Sexauer has worked diligently in creating a well-written statement and strong argument proposing the need for 24-hour access to all Sigma Kappa members. Her hope is that Greek community advisers and UK President Lee Todd himself will come to understand the subtle urgency behind the matter. Not only will the upgrade prove more convenient for weekends and late-night visits and gatherings, but it could also save a life one day.

If one of Sigma Kappa’s members were to walk from the library to her dorm on North Campus late one night and feel uncomfortable due to a strange follower from behind, she shouldn’t have to put her personal safety in jeopardy by trekking all the way to her dorm instead of being able to enter her second family’s home right across from the library. Those who first denied the chapter’s petition last semester should really take a closer look at the issue and strongly reconsider why it is that they refused to pass the chapter’s request.

Is the competition between unreasonable limits and the personal safety of students truly in question here?

Andrea Albee

journalism freshman