The Lock N’ Charge station sits next to a laptop being charged. Photo submitted.

A new school year brings many changes to UND, including new charging lockers that have been installed for students to store and charge their electronics.

These lockers are located in the College of Business, Starcher Hall and both downstairs and upstairs in the Memorial Union.

There are two banks of lockers in the Union — one on the second floor and one on the first floor, which will eventually be moved to the lower level of the union when the renovations are complete.

“We are trying to get the word out and make the students aware of these lockers,” Coordinator Technology & Network Services at UND Jay Smith said.

Smith has noticed that since the charging lockers have been installed over the summer, they are not being used as much as the Union staff had hoped.

“They sound cool in theory,” UND junior Matthew Vig said. “I just have never needed to use them before.”

Each bank holds fifteen charging lockers. These lockers have two USB ports, one of which is specifically designed for Apple products, a wall outlet and enough space to store a laptop, phone and music player.

Students can bring their electronics and chargers to these lockers to charge, while having the peace of mind that their valuables are safe and secure.

The student simply enters a four digit code into a keypad on the locker and shuts the door. In order to open the locker, the student re-enters the code that they chose and the locker unlocks.

The hope is that students will utilize these lockers to charge their electronics while they’re eating or in class.

“They sound like a cool concept, I’m just not sure how useful they really are,” graduate student Melissa Smith said. “I would think that the school has better things to spend money on than a locker to charge our phones in. I can’t see myself ever needing to use one.”

Katie Haines is a staff writer for the Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].