U of M Removes Dorm Locks
The University of Memphis is removing locks on dormitory bathrooms following the death of a student who was trying to get out of one.
Richardson Towers and South Hall have suites of two rooms which connect to a common bathroom. The bathrooms can be locked from the outside.
On Christmas break in 2009, freshman engineering major Joseph Liner got locked in a bathroom and was electrocuted as he tried to escape by crawling through the tiled ceiling.
Peter Groenendyk, director of residence life and dining services at the U of M, didn’t link the lock removal to Liner’s death, but called the $20,000 change a general maintenance issue, according to The Commercial Appeal. He says this is the first work on the doors at Richardson since the dorm was built about 40 years ago.
Liner’s mother, Linda Liner, has a lawsuit pending against the state, seeking $300,000 in her son’s death.
