Law School Alarm System

Several of the doors within the law school are connected to the law school's alarm system, including the doors that provide entrance to the law library on the upper level (near the Dean's Suite) and the lower level (at the bottom of the stairwell by the courtroom entrance).  These doors are closed and the alarm system set at the same time the outer doors to the building are secured (at 5:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter).  If you attempt to open one of these doors after they have been closed, the alarm will trigger.  Accordingly, after 5:00 p.m., law students are advised to enter the library through the double doors on the main level and use the staircases at the rear of the library to access the upper and lower levels.  Because the law library staff is available at the circulation/reference desk until 6:00 p.m., the double doors may be left open between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. as a courtesy to our students.  However, all students attempting to access the law school building or law library after 5:00 p.m. should have their University ID card available.    

Also, all students should be aware that the controls for the alarm system are secured and the controls are not accessible by the Law Library staff.  Accordingly, even if library personnel are at the desk, if an alarm is triggered between 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 a.m., the alarm will not be turned off until University Police personnel are contacted and arrive at the Law School.  If you trigger the alarms after hours, on weekends, or during a holiday, you will need to contact University Police.  The University Police number for non-emergencies is 605-677-5342.  In the case of an emergency, dial 9-911 from any campus phone.

Because the alarm system is not automatically disarmed after a set period of time, failure to contact University Police will result in the alarm continuing to sound.  Please be courteous to your colleagues by taking extra care not to set off the alarms.