Cokesbury Court Apartment residents returned this semester to new locks and heightened security.
The apartment complex has been a focus for increased security in the last two years following two attempted abductions in March 2018 and a string of stolen cars and burglaries in 2016.
Locks were installed over the summer on all four walk-in gates and require students to enter a code to open them.
“The pedestrian gates have never had any locks on them,” said Elizabeth Richardson, associate director of housing and residence life. “New locks were something they knew that they needed to do for a while.”
Campus Living Villages, the company contracted by OCU to maintain the apartments, purchased the new locks for an unknown amount and installed them.
Jordan Tarter, English senior, Student Government Association president and Cokesbury resident, said she is glad to see the new locks.
“I feel a lot safer,” Tarter said. “Before, when we didn’t have those padlocks on the gates, I felt very unsafe, and I felt like my friends were unsafe.”
Elizabeth Carter, business senior, has had her apartment broken into twice in the two and a half years she has lived in Cokesbury. Both times it was a non-resident who should not have been in Cokesbury, she said.
The first time, a man walked into her apartment, saw her and left. She later identified the man in court. The second time, a man broke into her apartment and stole cookies she had baked and her mail, Carter said.
Though Carter was physically unharmed, she said that the experiences left her on edge at home.
“It very much made me feel uncomfortable, like my personal space had been invaded. It made me definitely more wary of surroundings and what was happening,” she said.
Despite her break-ins, Carter said she remains confident that OCU and Cokesbury staffs are doing all they can to keep residents safe.
“I think they do as much as they feasibly can, but there are always more things that could be done,” she said.
Tarter, who campaigned for better security during last year’s SGA election, said there are more security updates coming. She said SGA has been working to install a license plate camera on one of the drive-in gates at Cokesbury. They have set aside about $2,145 to pay for the camera when SGA and Richardson choose the most suitable one, Tarter said.
“OCUPD is helping us with placement,” Tarter said. “Cokesbury seems to be always willing to hear us out about safety issues.”
Tarter said change is a slow process, but this year there has been a bigger push for more security.
If students witness anything suspicious or something that makes them feel unsafe, they can call campus police at 405-208-5001 or call their emergency number at 405-208-5911.
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