Cho: Cadets get lock-up OK
2007-04-23 22:23
Charleston - South Carolina's military college will break with tradition and install locks on all cadet rooms amid concerns about safety in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings.
Male cadets at The Citadel have no locks on their barracks doors. Female cadets can lock their doors from the inside.
The tradition had evolved in keeping with the spareness of military life and with the school's honour code, which mandates that cadets do not steal.
Now, all cadets will get keys to lock their doors from the outside by next semester. Installing the locks will cost about $125 000.
"This decision in no way compromises the honour system. The personal standards that a cadet does not lie, cheat or steal nor tolerate those who do remains the centrepiece of The Citadel experience," said the school's president, retired Air Force Lieutenant-General John Rosa.
The idea had been discussed before the shootings at Virginia Tech, where a student gunned down 32 people and killed himself.
But a review after that incident shows "times have changed and society has changed" and locks are needed, Rosa said.
"My job is the safety of every student," he added.
- SAPA