Students who do laundry in residence halls not only are making their clothes cleaner, but their halls safer.

A raise in the price of laundry tokens from 75 cents to one dollar was approved last March in an effort to improve residence hall security this year. But although security awareness posters have been placed in corridors, the project is still on the drawing board.

“We are still making recommendations to (Student Housing Director) Carl Jardine and housing on how to use the money,” said Stevenson South Director Patty Nicholson.

As chairperson of the Security Work Group which began last spring to take a long look at residence hall security, Nicholson said she hopes all recommendations are implemented by next semester.

A graduate assistant has been hired and security awareness posters have been placed in residence halls. Plans for adding staff members and updating or replacing some security equipment, such as walkie-talkies, are still being discussed, she said.

Donald Buckner, associate vice-president for housing services, said the extra quarter was an outlet to raise money, without raising room and board or tuition.

“We felt there was a need for improved security in the residence halls,” he said.

But students’ wallets should not be in an uproar, he said. Washing clothes in the residence halls still costs less than doing laundry in apartments, because residence hall dryers are free, he added.

Buckner said although he is not directly involved with the spending of the money, “steps are being taken to improve security through the use of these funds.”

Gregory Post, administrative vice-president for the Residence Hall Association, said a list of ideas and suggestions for the use of the money was sent to the housing office about three weeks ago. He said he hopes some of the ideas are implemented soon.

“We had hoped some of the stuff would come into play at the beginning of the year,” he said.

A couple ideas suggested involved the addition of a new position for a security staff member to check back doors during the night and replacing tables for Lincoln and Douglas Residence Hall security with desks, he said.

Douglas/Lincoln Area Coordinator Sheryll Mullis said the money has helped with increasing staff on “high-activity weekends,” such as Homecoming and Parents’ Weekend.

The new graduate assistant, Susan Crone, has been “working with security education,” Mullis said.