By Signe K. Skinion

A unique educational program showing residents of Boomer Hall, a campus dorm, how to protect themselves and their possessions received national attention, University officials say.

Boomer Hall, located in University Park, and the dorm’s Hall Council won a regional and national monthly competition of the National Association of College and University Residence Halls with a door safety check program hall residents designed.

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For the program, Hall Council members and resident advisers checked the doors of residents. The residents that had their doors locked received a Hershey’s Kiss. Those who did not lock their doors received a sucker and an explanation of the importance of locking their doors while the rooms are unattended.

Carl Berry, Boomer Hall head resident and a graduate student in educational psychology from Murphysboro, said the council was trying to make residents more aware of ways they can be safe.

Overall, we started the program for the safety issue, Berry said. We were looking at physical safety and the fact that you can get robbed.

We went around the hall testing the doors the way a thief would, and we would leave little messages that said, You could have just been robbed.’

Jon Coleman, Residence Hall Association graduate adviser, said Boomer Hall also won the regional competition against universities and colleges in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario in September. The national competition put Boomer against 400 universities and colleges across the United States and Canada.

Sgt. Nelson Ferry, of the SIUC Police, said robberies occur in the residence halls because students do not take time to protect their property.

Most of the robberies that occur on campus happen because of complacency and apathy of the student who doesn’t take time to lock their door, Ferry said. For some reason, students have an overwhelming feeling of security when they move into the residence halls.

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Ferry said most of the crimes occur when a student leaves their room for a few minutes.

The criminals will stake a room out and wait to see when you leave, Ferry said. Most of the time the crime will happen when you leave to visit a friend down the hall, or go do laundry or go to the cafeteria to eat dinner.

Angelene Welton, Boomer Hall Council president, said she saw the program as more than just a safety issue.

In my opinion, this started as an interest in safety and a way to introduce ourselves to the new residents, Welton said. I don’t think anyone anticipated the program would win a national competition.

Coleman said the recognition Boomer Hall received from the association is important for everyone involved.

Submitting Of The Months’ (Boomer Hall’s nomination) provides support for the residence halls and shows that we (RHA) are noticing what the hall councils are doing, Coleman said. Having this type of outside recognition is extremely wonderful because it proves that the work they are doing is being noticed, and that helps get the residents more involved with what is going on within the residence halls.

Paulette Curkin, Housing Programming Coordinator and RHA faculty adviser, said she feels the residents involved in the Boomer Hall program get more out of it than an award.

Programs like this not only help our students but provides our hall councils with a learning experience, Curkin said. I know this sounds like it’s coming out of a book, but these students will take the skills of having an idea and making that idea work out into the work force.

This program is to our students credit, and I am proud of them and happy for their achievement.

Curkin said there are more than 2,000 programs the various residence halls do during the year.

I think the residence halls, RHA and Black Togetherness Organizations do a lot of great work during the year, and it is wonderful to see others feel the same way, Curkin said.

Welton said the hall council will continue the program sometime this semester.