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Although Lobo Village is at full capacity, residents claim that they weren’t made aware of this year’s increase in security measures until after they signed lease agreements.
Lobo Village, an off-campus residence community for UNM students that opened summer 2011, established a reputation for late-night parties and disturbances throughout the school year. In response, Associate Vice President of Student Life Walter Miller enforced more structured applications of rules and regulations at the community.
Now, Lobo Village residents and guests must show identification before entering the gated community and an more security officers patrol the community after 9 p.m.
The current lease agreement at Lobo Village mandates that “residents and guest(s) of (Lobo Village), when requested by management, must present a valid picture ID.” The agreement further states that “all residents and guest(s) are required to be in possession of identification at all times.”
“We noticed in the past that guests of students who were living there who have no ownership, their behavior was not acceptable,” Miller said. “So now we’re checking IDs of people coming in and out at the gates. On the weekends, security is even further increased.”
Miller said heightened security measures will ensure that University Student Codes of Conduct and Community Living Standards are being met. He said the same rules enforced in on-campus living facilities will be enforced at Lobo Village, but that students over the age of 21 are allowed to have alcohol in their apartments.
“We’re guiding the rules of the institution. You’re allowed some guests, but not 100 guests, especially in rooms that are not designed for 100 people,” he said. “As long as you’re 21, you can still have alcohol, but because we’re checking IDs that gives us some leverage to see if someone is less than 21 years of age.”
Miller said the rules have not been changed, but security measures have been put in place to ensure residents and visitors abide by community rules.
“We were informing the residents that ‘these are the guidelines that we’ve had, and we’re going to hold you accountable to that,’” he said. “The key part was making sure that ‘visitors’ were visitors of residents there and that you can’t just go through the gates and wander around. You better have an ID coming in so we know who you are. It’s gated; it’s not an open property.”
But Lobo Village resident Mark Grace said he was unaware that the security measures would increase when he signed his lease. He said that although he doesn’t feel the increased security is a bad thing, he probably wouldn’t have renewed his lease if he was made aware that his ID would be checked every night.
“I don’t really feel like it’s a bad thing, in my head it’s a bad thing if they become a problem, but it hasn’t become a bad thing yet, but you can definitely notice that there is a lot more security now,” he said. “Personally, I didn’t want to live here after I found that out. If I had a choice at that time, if someone was like, ‘this is what’s happening and you’re going to start seeing more security,’ then I wouldn’t have stayed.”
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Grace said security has questioned him about his residency at Lobo Village and that coming home late at night is always a hassle.
“I come home at like 3 in the morning sometimes, and at that point I just want to go to my house, and then I have to stop and show my ID,” he said. “I’ve even been questioned before like ‘Do you live here?’ and I’m like ‘yeah, I live here,’ but they’re just doing their jobs.”
But Grace said he has noticed a decrease in the number of parties that take place at Lobo Village since security in the community has increased.
“This being the first week, there have been parties, but it’s been dying down already,” he said. “It wasn’t like that last year.
There were always parties then. There’s still a little partying still going on, but nothing like last year.”
Lobo Village resident Kristyn Fox also said increased security measures have been a nuisance but that they are useful to keep the area safe at night. She said that she was also unaware of the increased security measures until after she renewed her lease.
“It gets annoying that there are security guards at the gates after 9 at night. If I want someone to come pick me up, I have to walk all the way over to the gate because they won’t let them in,” she said. “In terms of having extra security at night, that’s a good thing, but it’s a hassle. If I want to leave or come back, I have to show my ID every time and it’s just unnecessary.”
Fox said she doesn’t understand why she has to prove residency every time she comes home at night when she has a sticker on her car that she received as a Lobo Village resident.
“I don’t need to get stopped every single time I try to come home at night,” she said. “I have a little sticker on my car that shows I’m a resident, so why do I have to show my ID?”
