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With the recent disappearance and discovery of University of Wisconsin sophomore Audrey Seiler, questions of campus safety have emerged.

Before she was reported missing early Saturday morning, security cameras recorded Seiler as seemingly waiting for someone at the entrance of The Regent, an apartment-like residence hall owned by Steve Brown Apartments.

Tom Bydalek, a UW sophomore, has lived in The Regent for two years. Despite the proximity of the disappearance to his residence, he feels safe in the building.

“I’m pretty pleased with things. I really don’t have a problem with [safety],” Bydalek said, adding that personal safety precautions taken outside of The Regent are “a whole another story.”

But Christie Emberley, a freshman resident in The Regent, is nervous about the details surrounding Seiler’s case. Because the suspect’s car had a Regent parking sticker, she finds it disturbing the perpetrator may have come from within.

Bydalek said since Steve Brown Apartments took over ownership of The Regent, safety measures have increased. Entrances are almost always locked, and guests are required to check in, he said.

Since the disappearance of Seiler, the main entrance has remained locked at all times.

“I think that’s [going to be] a continuing trend,” Bydalek said.

UW freshman Emily Gerger also lives in a private residence hall owned by Steve Brown Apartments, The Statesider, which takes similar safety precautions.

“I’m really enjoying living here. I feel really safe,” she said, adding the tight security was one of the reasons she chose to live in The Statesider. “You can’t get away with anything, I don’t think.”

Public residence halls, however, do not employ such strict safety precautions, UW sophomore Craig Schiller noted.

“I don’t think they’re safe at all. I don’t think they have any safety measures,” he said. He added people can easily enter residence halls even when they are locked. Residents often let strangers into the building who claim to have friends within, Schiller said.

Schiller, a second-year resident of Kronshage Hall, feels it is students’ responsibility to ensure their own safety. He is not sure how University Housing could better protect its residents.

Although he believes “The university does as much as it can,” Schiller said implementing security cameras and intercom-entrance systems and constantly locking doors could benefit students.

A house fellow in Sellery Hall who wished to remain anonymous echoed similar concerns.

“I can’t say if residents are ever really safe,” the source said, noting that when assault incidents were occurring in Ogg Hall, “suspicious people” were in the residence halls testing door handles, looking for open rooms and entering females’ rooms. “Police are around, but not all the time. They can’t be.”

As the investigation of Seiler’s case intensified, University Housing encouraged house fellows to be “extra aware” and inform their residents of the situation, the source said.

— Drew Hansen and Kari Bellingham contributed to this report