The Lockstuffers.

It is done all over, lock stuffing. You've seen it, maybe even done it. Jamming a wadded up paper towel into the latch of a residence hall entryway or suite door or room to make coming and going easier. Easier than messing with that dumb card key which half the time you forgot anyway. That is if you are a lock stuffer. In some buildings it is all over but others not at all. Often depends on the RA. Some buildings the convention is the place is totally stuffed Friday pm for the party weekend. Then late Sunday or early Monday campus security does a walk through and unstuffs all the stuffed locks, back to a normal week.

Are you your buildings designated lockstuffer? Or are you the student who seriously has second thoughts about the whole deal?


Lockstuffing, along with underage drinking and flaming sofas falling past your dorm room window is a mainstay of the student experience on Planet College. Your feelings about it may not matter in your current environment. But if you are having serious second thoughts about lock stuffing or the general atmosphere in your building it is probably wise to talk to some one about this.

Locks are made for security. To limit accessibility to only designated people. Students often store several thousand dollars worth of possessions in their rooms. Easy access can mean easy theft, some times on a very large scale.

The subject of campus security is now a priority in higher education, it should be. Large populations of young people gathered for a specific purpose can be a target for intentionally criminal behavior. Not everyone who looks like a student is a student.

Locks serve as a general line of primary security. Yes, defeating them is easy. But that is not the point. You are paying a great deal for among other things your own security. While it may seem 'lame' to complain about or even mention lock stuffing to the RA or the housing office, it is your safety. Better to seem 'lame' than come back from a weekend and find most of your stuff has disappeared.