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The Dartmouth
July 10, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Nelson puts door lock decision off until spring

Acting Dean of the College Dan Nelson said he will not be making a decision this term on whether to lock the entryways to all residence hall doors -- a decision he was expected to make before the end of Winter term.

Nelson cited the fallout of the Board of Trustees' announcement of the controversial social and residential life initiative as his main reason for the delay, saying the issue has been taking up most of his time and he has had insufficient time to make a final decision on door locks.

Nelson said he expects to make a final decision sometime next term.

Nelson told The Dartmouth last month that although he has not yet made a final decision on whether to lock the exterior residence hall doors, he said he believes a card access system is more appropriate for this campus than a key system. He also said he does not believe doors need to be locked during the daytime hours under any system.

Nelson said last month that he will weigh several factors -- including student opinion, student safety, building security and College liability -- in deciding if and how to change the current door locking policy.

"Whatever we do, if we do anything, ought to be done in a way that maintains the things students value in their undergraduate experience," Nelson said last month. "The ethos of student life and the experience of the campus is an important thing."

The proposal to permanently lock the doorways to all residence halls was met with strong student opposition last spring after a highly controversial Student Assembly vote in favor of a locking system.

The idea of locking doors to residence halls has continued to be viewed unfavorably by students. According to January's Residential Security Report, which assessed security statistics and assessed student opinion about residential safety, 73 percent of respondents were against any fashion of door locking -- including a card access system.