The Office of Residential Life's sudden decision to lock residential hall exterior doors provoked a variety of student reactions, ranging from relief to exasperation.
Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman said he had received approximately 25 to 30 BlitzMail messages from students and one alumnus today in response to the letter he sent to student Hinman Boxes on Monday about the door-locking decision.
He said the email were two-to-one in favor of the decision, and about the same ratio of the senders were women.
Redman said among the students with whom he spoke yesterday, some "thought I was an idiot," while others "thought it was a long time in coming."
Benjamin Mustin '04, said the decision was "pretty disappointing" to him. He said several of his friends in other colleges had once told him "how great it was to have to have a campus where the doors weren't locked," as theirs were.
He also said, "it seems ridiculous to have the doors locked," explaining that "if someone really wanted to enter a dorm, they would find a way somehow."
Kerry Quinn '03 said that her first reaction to the news was adverse, yet she also said, "It might be a good idea." She said she would have preferred not to have the locks installed, but she is "not that bothered by it," due to the ease of the proposed proximity card plan.
The "proximity card ID-based access system" would allow a student to pass his or her identification card within a certain distance of a reader to unlock an exterior door to a residence hall.
Joshua Cushman '03 and Darren Thomas '04 both said the fact that most students carry their ID card around all the time already would make the transition that much easier.
Cushman said he did not like the idea at first, but he did feel it would improve campus security. He also said that he felt, "If people really wanted to get in, they still could, but it would take a little more work."
Thomas said the decision to lock doors is "a sad statement of the times, that we had to come to this," but added, "Most other colleges around the country have already done it, so Dartmouth is just catching up."
Thomas also said that the locks would be a "slight inconvenience" in some regards, such as pizza delivery.
One male '02 said it had been "only a matter of time" until the decision to lock residence hall doors was made. He said that in the "first few incidents," referring to recent shower intrusions, "no real harm was done, but eventually there would be."
He said the proposed system is "really simple, and allows students to visit other residence halls, so that's not a problem."
Quinn also said that one reason the plan did not bother her that much was that "everyone can get into all the dorms, instead of having to call up like other colleges."
Christine Flagg '02 said that she thought the decision is a "good idea," and that it wouldn't really affect the atmosphere at Dartmouth, though she added that it might "encourage people to not lock their own doors even more than they do now."
Some students affirmed that they did not regularly lock their doors even now.
Some graduating seniors said that they had no real reaction to the decision, as they would be leaving campus before most changes took place.
Dana Orr '01, however, said the decision was "disappointing," adding that she "always thought of Dartmouth as such a safe place" and that the openness of its doors "one thing that made Dartmouth different."
Orr also said she wonders how the decision was reached, since she believes that "it seems the general consensus of students wouldn't agree."
Student Assembly President Jorge Miranda '01 said that since Redman had already made a decision, the Assembly would focus instead on where to go from here.
The Assembly blitzed out a message to Dartmouth students informing them of the announcement, encouraging responses of opinions. Miranda said that so far, 160 responses had been received, and were largely split between all ranges, and both extremes of for and against the door locks.
The Assembly was also split evenly on both sides of the issue, Miranda said.
However, he also said they had to "focus on implementation, rather than deciding for or against," as the issue has already been decided.
Miranda said that he wished to make the administration realize they didn't go about it well, failing to properly inform students as the issue progressed.
He said, "We're meeting with Dean Redman [today] to find out what the situation is with door locks and implementation. Before we take any other action, we need to know what's going on."
