One doesn't have to look far to see a growing number of incidents involving the general public and university resources. In the last week alone, we have had a man threaten to throw coffee on students in the Marston Science Library and an alleged public masturbator. God knows what else goes unreported.
At what juncture does the university take a stand against these incidents? Does someone need to be injured before UF regulates who can come to the library? Students are held responsible for how they behave on campus. Do something stupid (like those incidents), and you would most likely be gone from school, if not suspended. The general public doesn't face the same risk. Misbehave and University Police will just give you a trespassing ticket (barely even a slap on the wrist).
We need to start limiting who has access to our libraries and computer labs before something worse happens. Granted, the aforementioned incidents are fairly minor in nature, but is this a risk we need to take? A person could argue that because these services and facilities are paid for with tax dollars, the public should have the right to access to them. I would say that our many recreation centers are also paid for with tax dollars, but we sure as heck don't let the public in them. We don't even allow students who forget their Gator 1 Cards to use them.
The university needs to better regulate the use of library resources by people with no university affiliation, whether this means a registration requirement for the general public or a mandatory check-in (like Southwest Recreation Center) before you enter. We have the right as students to go into our own library without having to worry about some local with no ties to the school masturbating in front of everyone or threatening to throw coffee on us.
