Forget bird-watching—balcony watching may be the new hot trend on campus.
In an email to residents of the apartments at 300 Swift sent Nov. 14, Swift Residence Coordinator Matthew Bailey wrote that initial safety reviews of the balconies at 300 Swift would be conducted from outside of the building via binoculars.
The balconies have been closed since the beginning of the academic year due to safety concerns about the balcony railings.
Bailey explained that the reviews would be conducted remotely, rather than having inspectors enter student residences. However, he warned students to protect their privacy during the inspections.
"As we will be having people looking at the building through binoculars, we strongly encourage residents to close their blinds during the times above," Bailey wrote in the email to residents.
The reviews were conducted between Nov. 15 and Nov. 22 during regular business hours.
Although Bailey warned students to protect their privacy during the inspections, some residents saw the binocular inspections as less intrusive than alternatives.
"I feel comfortable with the inspections since they notified us ahead of time," said sophomore Tyler Long, a resident of 300 Swift.
Long said that he preferred the remote inspections to in-person inspections, which he viewed as more invasive for 300 Swift residents.
Joe Gonzalez, assistant vice president of student affairs and dean for residential life, wrote in an email that the visual reviews are for the initial round of reviews only. Any concerning inspections will lead to on-site follow-up reviews.
As of Nov. 26, undergraduate students living at 300 Swift had not received any follow-up information regarding the inspections.
No follow-up reviews have been announced by the administration. Gonzalez wrote that that the administration expects balconies at 300 Swift to re-open to undergraduate residents at some point, although the timeline is uncertain.
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