The gates in front of Cokesbury Court Apartments have been open all semester. They are supposed to remain closed and only open when residents slide their student IDs.
The gate’s control box malfunctioned and prevented students from entering the apartments, officials said. Because of the malfunction, a Cokesbury resident drove a car through the closed gate, officials said. The collision damaged the gate’s motor, causing more than $1,000 in damages, officials said.
“We tried to close them once, and that’s when it got hit,” said Jeri Jones, the apartments’ office manager. “We’ve never closed ours again.
“The general consensus that we get from the students is that they would prefer for the gates to just stay open.”
The gate in the back of Cokesbury Apartments still functions, even though cars occasionally hit it, officials said.
Cokesbury’s back gate may have to remain locked if students keep damaging it, said Liz Harney, assistant director of residence life and education.
“If they’re not going to take care of it, then they obviously don’t care enough about it to keep it open,” Harney said.
It’s more convenient to leave the gates open, said Jeremy Sheets, cello performance graduate.
“It’s less stress and less worry,” he said. “It deletes most of the traffic.”
Officials plan to survey Cokesbury residents about whether the gates should remain open or closed.
Students with questions or concerns about the Cokesbury gates can email Jones at jljones1@okcu.edu.
Leave a Reply