by Danny Reinan, staff writer

A security issue caused the exterior doors of the Oren Gateway Center to lock on Tuesday, February 18th. Students scanning their fobs on the building’s exterior fob scanner located immediately in front of the main doors were unable to bypass this lock. The issue extended to the accessibility buttons located outside of the doors, which would not open the doors when pressed. As a result, students were only able to access OGC via the skyway from the Lindell Library. 

“There is an issue with the security access system to Oren Gateway Center, causing the exterior doors to remain locked,” said Rebecca John, the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Augsburg University, in an email sent to all main campus students. “Facilities has called the repair crew.” She explained that the skyway could be used as an alternate route into Oren Gateway Center and that students with parking passes in Oren Gateway Center could communicate with the Department of Public Safety to find an alternative. “At this time, we do not know how long the repair will take,” she said. John encouraged all students to communicate with the Department of Public Safety if they had concerns.

Calvin Denson Lehman, the Administrative Assistant for the Department of Public Safety, has elaborated on the security issue and the repair process surrounding it. “We sent our maintenance folks to check it out, but it’s not a standard part issue,” he said. It seems that the primary issue lies with the fob scanners, but due to the irregularity of the situation, a more in-depth repair process will be required. 

“We handle most of the fob business, but we don’t have the part for it this time,” Denson Lehman explained. “At this point, it’s out of our hands as an Augsburg institution. Our maintenance people don’t have the resources to fix it.” Until the repairs have been completed, Denson Lehman restated the Department of Public Safety’s intent to aid students during the interim. “The skyway that goes into Oren Gateway Center is still open, and the Department of Public Safety will provide temporary permits to those who need them.”

The morning after the Oren Gateway Center security issue occurred, Sue Abou-Nasr, the Facilities and Purchasing Administrative Specialist at Augsburg, announced via A-Mail that the problem had been fixed. “A new power supply unit was ordered and installed by early afternoon,” she said. “All door functions are now back to normal operation.”