The only Ivy League institution that does not lock the doors of its dorms is Dartmouth. It is a virtue of our location that we can afford to do this. Hanover is a very safe town, and most students feel comfortable here. Nonetheless, petty crimes are fairly common in the dorms, and the College has rightfully demonstrated concern over the issue.
The report released Tuesday by the Residential Security Committee seems to lean towards the implementation of a door-locking system in one form or another. Such a move would be unnecessarily rash at this time given the relatively safe environment of Hanover. Student attitude toward the locking of dorms is perhaps best expressed by the bricks that prop open every dorm door on campus over big weekends such as Homecoming, Winter Carnival and Green Key, when the College orders the doors locked.
This attitude is also reflected in the report released Tuesday. According to the report, 73 percent of students are against any locking of the dorms at all, and student preference should be heeded above all in this matter.
The real solution to both College and student concerns is simply for students to lock their own dorm room doors, and the way to achieve this is through education to convince them to do so. According to the report, only about one-third of students always lock their doors when they are out.
The Administration should make certain that all students on campus understand the risks involved in leaving the doors to their rooms unlocked, but more importantly, administrators should respect the opinion the large majority of students surveyed expressed when they said that the doors of residence halls should remain unlocked.
When asked why the administration decided to hold on a door-locking proposal last Spring term, Student Assembly President Josh Green said the administration realized "the system [isn't] going to work if students [aren't] in favor of it."
Dean Nelson should remember that the same holds true today.
