Princeton's Dillon Gym Changes ID-Swiping Policy to Improve Facility Security

Princeton's Dillon Gym, which opened in 1947, has implemented a new ID-scanning policy, which the The Daily Princetonian reported was at least partially motivated by security concerns. 

The new policy requires front desk staff to swipe student IDs on a scanner behind the desk. Operators hope the change help with security as Dillon shifts towards a more community focused facility with the opening of a new fitness pavilion and lobby in the fall. 

Previously members used a scanner that prominently displayed on the front of the desk, enabling patrons to quickly swiping into the gym themselves. 

Oliwia Morska who works as a student supervisor at Dillon, told the Princetonian that the old system was frequently skipped by students running into the facility to get their workout in. 

Student employee Carolina Pavlik told the Princetonian that some staff didn't understand the reasoning behind the change, and that some students have complained the new system is "cumbersome," but in the end it “just requires the staff to pay more attention to their job and also to greet people coming in.” 

Pavlik said that she thinks many students signed up to work the desk at Dillon because it allowed them to get some school work done while on the job. 

“I think a lot of people joined because it was a more relaxed job and the increased interaction and more student forward management will definitely increase the workload,” Pavlik noted.

The shift towards “a more active role at the front desk” is a part of “incentivizing staff to say hello to patrons [and] not bury themselves in their devices/books” while working, Morska wrote in an email to the Princetonian. 

“Next fall, there will be a brand-new lobby with an increasing amount of staff-patron interaction,” Morska said. For example, she said, “three staff will be scheduled at the front desk, but there will only be [two] chairs.”