Hopkins Announces New Access Control System on Campus

School officials offered details about the changes. “All the main doors to each building will have access control systems,” explains Andrew Burke, Director of Community Safety. “Students, faculty, staff will be issued an ID which will act as your access card. You won’t have to swipe it, you will just have to get close to the pad, and the door will unlock,” Burke continues. The Hopkins-issued IDs do not limit other personnels’ access as Matt Glendinning, Head of School, says, "There is also now a video doorbell for visitors, so they will just have to ring the doorbell and Ms. Silk [and other administrators] can buzz them in. Those doorbells will be in Thompson, Hopkins House, and Baldwin.”

Glendinning acknowledges that there is some apprehension towards this new security system. At his previous school, Moses Brown, Glendinning recalled a similar concern about the system. “At Moses Brown, where we made this change some years ago, some were worried that creating this extra level of security would make the school feel like a fortress,” Glendinning said. “But every school we consulted with prior to making the decision indicated that was not the case, and that we’d barely even notice the change. I’m glad to say that was exactly our experience at Moses Brown.” Glendinning expects similar results at Hopkins and also mentions “that if something isn’t working out, it only takes one push of a button to change it.”

The implementation of a new access system was ongoing throughout the summer. The security team was hoping to roll out the system on the first day of school, but “there were some supply chain issues that forced our hand a little bit,” says Burke. “We are looking to get all the installation done through the next couple weeks, print out all the cards, and get trained on the system as well.” Burke expects that the system will