Several female students living in the University of Wisconsin residence halls have expressed safety concerns after a Jan. 26 sexual assault in Ogg Hall.

UW Housing Director Paul Evans has since visited several residence halls to discuss concerns of residents and House Fellows.

Some concerned people have suggested ways to improve safety in residence halls. Advancements in security measures are already underway, as security cameras are being installed in the southeast dorms, said Kay Reuter-Krohn, assistant director of housing.

One suggestion is to post a security guard at the entrance of residence halls after the doors are locked for the day. Another suggestion is to have only one entrance and exit accessible after the daytime hours, so security personnel could monitor all residents entering the building and ensure all doors are kept closed.

However, this option could be problematic, especially since many of the residence halls were built more than 40 years ago. During that time, building only one entrance for access was not considered.

?We would really have to have a refitting of our halls,? Reuter-Krohn said. ?Like Sellery — there are so many entrances into the building.?

Sonya Baumstein, a UW freshman living in Ogg, thinks having only one entrance with a security guard may be an excessive move.

?I don?t think it?s necessary,? she said. ?It?s cautious. That?s about it.?

Baumstein said she has been more cautious since the Ogg Hall assaults. She added she is ?really not afraid of assault? and feels about ?75 percent safe? since the incident, whereas before she felt ?absolutely safe.?

Fellow Ogg Hall resident UW freshman Lauren Carey also said she feels fairly safe most of the time. She always locks her door when alone and feels having security personnel in each hall would be beneficial.

?I?d feel safer,? Carey said. She added that UW System schools, such as UW-Milwaukee, require guests to sign in when they enter at night.

Other alternatives suggested were for guests to sign in and for doors to be locked 24 hours a day. For the latter alternative, Reuter-Krohn said each residence hall?s residents would decide whether to keep the hall on total lockdown.

Residents in Tripp and Adams Halls took a security survey earlier this week, and a vast majority did not want the full-time door-lock situation.

?We are trying to get feedback,? she said, adding that students? interest in these issues normally rises after such incidents happen locally.

Carey acknowledged, ?It?s good to see people taking this more seriously,? but she does not believe keeping doors locked would prove effective. ?The doors being locked [all the time] don?t do anything.?

Baumstein agrees.

?There?s always going to be people that open the doors [or key people in the elevator],? Baumstein said.

In 2003, nine sexual assaults occurred in residence halls, about half of the 20 sexual assaults on campus for the year. Most of those were alcohol- or drug-related, and most victims knew their assailants before the assault.

A majority of sexual assaults never get reported, however, and a survey taken of UW females indicated one-eighth of them were assaulted during their college career.