On Tuesday, the Housing and Dining Committee rejected a proposal that would have paved the way for limited card access to dormitories next fall.

The proposal, which would have given students of each residence hall the ability to vote to deny access to any non-resident, was struck down in a decisive voice vote.

The legislation called for 85 percent agreement among dormitory residents to implement the restrictions. It was criticized by members of the committee for detracting from the overall campus safety by encouraging incessant door-propping, creating a false sense of security and increasing vulnerable situations at night as students wait to be let into dorms.

Many also voiced concerns that this rule could be implemented after housing assignments were already chosen for next fall. A secondary proposal to allocate certain dormitories as limited access next semester was never seriously discussed.

The proposal’s sponsor, committee member Ryan Forsythe, said that while the committee might disagree on the issue, the final say should be left to the students of each dorm.

“If 15 to 50 students in a building don’t feel safe letting anyone into your building, then they should be able to make that change,” Forsythe said.

The Student Senate voiced their opposition to the proposal, though they did give it a place on the Senate ballot that reached campus mailboxes yesterday. The Senate version mirrors the original draft of the proposal, which called for a 60 percent majority for implementation.

Residential Life has encouraged campus dormitories to adapt limited access policies, citing increased security and few concerns. The office implemented the system campuswide for ten days in Winter Term 2002, but data on the experiment was not collected.

Residential Life Director Kim LaFond stressed that 60 percent constituted a convincing majority. “It would give the community the option,” he added.

Considering the decisive vote, the push for limited access is all but stalled until next year.