Kaley Thomas, a UF law student living off loans, choked back tears while discovering all of her textbooks were stolen from her locker.
With no reimbursements or new books, the 25-year-old UF law student didn’t know where she would find another $1,000 for new books.
Thomas is not the only law student to have had her textbooks stolen, which is one of the reasons the UF Levin College of Law decided to replace its locker system that used padlocks with locks that require key fobs.
While this new system help students secure their belongings, it presents challenges.
The 2019-2020 Student Locker and Key Fob Agreement states that if students want a locker, they must participate in the Fall “locker dive” on Wednesday –– two days after classes start.
Students have to be standing in front of a locker at 8 a.m. Wednesday to claim one, said Allie Osterman-Burgess, a 21-year-old UF law student. The law school does not have any classes at that time.
“We aren’t allowed to get them until next week after classes start, and that’s annoying for people who don’t have cars,” Osterman-Burgess said.
In spite of the complications, she appreciates the lockers.
“The lockers are really nice,” Osterman-Burgess said. “I just got my fob yesterday and I thought it was a really easy process.”
Additionally, students take issue with the ratio of lockers to the student population. The student population, around 800, is more than double the 324 lockers, said Kelli Murray, the assistant dean for Administrative Affairs.
“Admittedly, we did that based off of what we believed the right number was,” Murray said. “That's why we specifically allocated day lockers in case someone has a lot of books for a heavy class load that day.”
There are a total of 40 day lockers for students who did not get a locker for the year to use, Murray said.
“I think what’s important is this building was a building that was primarily used for purposes other than students before renovations,” Murray said. “We completely renovated the building for the students.”
Back in February, the College of Law began three construction projects to either renovate or expand spaces within the school.
Curran Butcher, a 25-year-old UF law student, doesn’t like the new system, because he doesn’t have a place to store his textbooks for the first two days of classes. He relies on lockers to keep his textbooks safe because he bikes to school everyday.
“When the lockers go away for any span of time, I’m left in lurch trying to figure out what to do with my books,” Butcher said.
Many students, Butcher included, complain that this new process is tedious because obtaining a key fob doesn’t guarantee a locker.
“Law school is stressful enough,” Butcher said. “I shouldn't have to worry about where my books are going to be.”
CORRECTION: There aren’t law school classes on Wednesdays at 8 a.m. The Alligator previously reported differently.
Contact Emma McAvoy at emcavoy@alligator.org. Follow her on twitter @EmmaMcAvoy1.
