New ID System For Entering Dorms Implemented at Lake Forest College

By Caleb Pope ’27

popecse95@lakeforest.edu

News Editor

Written September 13th, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. CST

Lake Forest College is enhancing its security measures around campus. As part of a new wave of security changes at the school, doors will no longer be accessible via a physical key. 

As of Oct. 31, the dual-key and ID scanner system at most dorm halls will be replaced with a fully ID-centered system. The school hopes that all doors into dorm halls will be converted to this system.

Students will need to use their school ID to access their dorm halls. Director of Public Safety Chris King said that this is a crucial step in transitioning to a more modern security system.

“It was time to tighten things up,” he said. He focused on “grace and patience about the new security changes.”

King said the College is simply following precedent. Colleges around the state have transitioned to ID-only systems, and the school is keeping in line with those changes.

“Even though I’m a commuter, I think it’s a good idea to switch to IDs; it’s probably good for security,” sophomore Assad Ali commented. 

As incidents regarding safety on campus have become a point of concern, King stressed a priority for the student body when creating new systems for the school. 

Even so, students have expressed worry regarding the change and its implications for both student access and the focus of the administration.

“I’m worried that I might not have my ID on me and need to enter my building in an emergency. What am I supposed to do if I don’t have my ID and only a key?” Katherine Zamudio, a sophomore at the college, said. 

Some students, however, are indifferent towards the change and use both their keys and IDs to enter their dorm

“I live in Harlan. I mostly use my key to enter the building, but I see a lot of people using IDs. I’m not too worried,” Evan, a senior at the school, said.

However, according to Public Safety, the current setup, where the keys and ID scanners both work, is a large loss for the school. 

When a key is fit into the door, it interacts with the mechanical part of the ID scanner. This has the effect of breaking the locking mechanism over time. King said this was one of the primary reasons for the change. 

Students are not the only group that will be impacted by the change. All buildings in the school without public access will change to accommodate this mode.

According to an email sent out by King, “phase two will begin once students are fully transitioned, and faculty and staff access will follow. (Facilities Management and Aramark are already using this new system).”