Flexpasses and room keys

If you want to be spotted on campus as a first-year, all you have to do is wear your Orientation lanyard around your neck with your key and flexpass on it. I’m not even close to kidding. We will spot you faster than a dog spots a bone. True, you probably won’t have a problem losing your keys if they are always around your neck, but I think you’ll make it without the first-year lanyard look.

That being said, keys are super important here at UNC. You can’t get into a residence hall without your flex pass, and in some buildings, you can’t even go between floors without a flex pass. If you unsure of what a flex pass is, people often refer to it as a FOB – it’s a little, dark blue rectangular pass that is a little bigger than a quarter that beeps whenever it is read by the flex readers on the buildings.

Keys are essential for your individual room and for your mailbox. There are some rooms on campus where your door locks automatically behind you when you leave, so it’s even more important to have your keys with you. It really isn’t a good idea to leave your room unlocked anyways. If someone were to get into a building, you don’t want your laptop to leave with them. It’s not fun to have your stuff taken. I’m not saying that you have to be paranoid when you leave your room, but be careful.

If you do lose your keys, you do have the opportunity to get spares at the community desk. Also, if you get locked out of your building at night, there is a number you can call to get the RA on Duty to let you back in (Put that number in your phone when you get to campus). It will cost you a bit to re-key your room because not only are you getting a new key, so is your roommate. Word of advice: Don’t lose your keys. It’s pretty straight up.

Another good thing to lock up is your bike. If you are going to bring it to campus, do remember to bring a good quality lock that can go through your front tire. If there is one thing that has a risk of being taken, it’s your bike. Everyone has access to the building exteriors where the bike racks are located, so don’t take risks.