Breaking into my Dorm

Last week I had a break which (I thought) ended last Sunday. In reality the break extended into Monday. As a result I ended up walking through my campus and wondering why not a single light was on anywhere even though it was 8 pm on a Sunday night. My brain addled from airline travel it took several failed card key scans before I realized I was locked out of every single building on campus.

Campus security at Grove City is a wonderful combination of a lack of sympathy and a 1984-esque surveillance setup. Not only do they have nearly the entire campus under the watch of closed circuit cameras, but they also know whenever anyone tries to scan into a building. Armed with this fearful knowledge I picked up my bags and started humming the Mission Impossible theme song. 

As I shuffled through bushes towards my (blessedly) first floor window, I alternately prayed for mercy and cursed myself for not checking what times the dorms open. Luckily no one had locked my window and I was able to pry it open.

Stumbling into my darkened room I realized that any light or noise could alert the authorities of my presence. I was faced with a dilemma: Take advantage of being the only person on campus using the broadband and stream high quality video, or risk being found out by the dim light given out by my private showing of 30 Rock? Instead of going without Alec Baldwin I duct taped a blanket over my window.

A few hours later I heard the unmistakable sound of a Campus Security officer's uniform encased thighs swishing down my hallway. I turned off my computer in a fashion that I knew would prompt it to threaten me with "Safe Mode" and dove into a corner. Luckily, the officer was satisfied with checking if my door was locked and disaster was averted.

While I waited for my breathing to return to a normal rate and my pupils to un-dilate, I felt akin to those who manned submarines that had to remain silent in order to escape detection. Except instead of Soviet subs, I was avoiding unmotivated security officers, and instead of a submarine, I was in my comfortably furnished dorm room. But still, the similarity was there.

Luckily I possess the ability to sleep in until 1 pm (when the dorms actually open) so I survived the rest of the night without incident.