To the Editor:
I am writing in response to the May 27 article in The Dartmouth, "Assembly Supports Locked Door Policy." I think that it is disgusting that the members of the Student Assembly, especially the newly elected officers, have not even pretended to represent the student body on the matter of locking dormitory doors. In a situation where the College administration for once decided to give students some input on the formulation of a College policy, I find it to be totally unacceptable that the Assembly would make its decision not only without taking a survey of student opinions, but also with blatant knowledge of a significant opposition to the proposal.
The locking of dormitory doors will truly ruin the freedom and communal friendliness of the Dartmouth campus. Those of us who are here have chosen not to go to an urban school for many reasons and among these are safety and openness. Furthermore, the proposed locks are ridiculously impractical. If every student can still access every dorm, then what changes are really being made? Does anyone really think that it was someone other than a student who made a mess of Streeter? Where is the logic in wasting $12,000 to keep out pizza delivery persons and force frustrated students to prop doors open -- leading to unneeded tension between students and Safety and Security officers?
If this policy is any indication of the direction next year's Assembly will take, the student body should be very nervous. I am already regretting my votes in the Assembly elections, and I hope that Green, Dorkey and the rest of the Assembly will make a legitimate effort to represent the student body over the next year. If not, I fear a Dartmouth covered with electronic access cards and the constant blaring of alarms.
