Perps in lab space

[Carol Auer]

Hello

The same situation happened years ago when I was a grad student.  A 
man was found to be lurking in the women's bathrooms right across 
from my lab.  

Within a week, the university had installed a lock with a punch code on the 
bathroom.  All the grad students and faculty knew the 4 numbers to 
push in order to open the door.    This probably was an effective way 
to keep casual visitors from gaining access to the bathroom.  

I have worked late in various lab buildings over the years.  There is 
always an issue of safety  and I have never seen it 
completely solved in any building or parking lot.   Unfortunately, the problems are 
usually ignored until something horrible happens (like installing a lock on 
the bathroom).

 Given the nature of experimental science 
and the pressure to produce, I will probably  always be working late in empty 
buildings.   The issue of safety is often in  the back of my mind.  
Other women on my campus feel the same.  However, I have no easy solutions,
 even for my own office/lab environment. 

Carol
*************************
Carol Auer               Email: cauer at canr1.cag.uconn.edu
Dept. of Plant Science   Phone: 860-486-1878
Univ. of Connecticut
Storrs, CT USA 06269