SA: daytime door locks should go
Student Assembly called for a series of reforms to the College's door locking system, including deactivation of the locks during daytime hours, in a tentative draft of a report presented at Tuesday's meeting. The report, which pending member approval will be brought to Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman and Safety and Security, was produced in response to the results of an online student survey. The Web site address of the survey was blitzed out to members of the classes of 2004 and 2003 on campus this summer; the response rate fell just under 20 percent, according to Summer Vice Chair Steve Zyck. Of the 187 students surveyed, only 22 percent described their sense of safety under the new system as "much" or "somewhat" improved. By contrast, some 65 percent of students described their feelings on dormitory safety as unchanged. The responses highlighted a significant lack of knowledge among the student body regarding aspects of the door locking system intended to alleviate inconvenience. Only 13 percent of students surveyed said they were aware that visiting friends and families can obtain guest cards; nearly 60 percent said they would not know what to do if they misplaced their student ID after the Dartmouth Card Office had closed. The Assembly's report calls for College officials to better advertise such matters, in part by posting "permanent instructions" at the entrance to all affected residence halls. Nearly one third of the student body reported finding themselves locked out of their dormitories on three or more occasions since the implementation of the door locks, though nearly half of students had never encountered such trouble. An overwhelming majority of students -- 96 percent -- said they would hold the external door open for a stranger in spite of the door locking system's aim of restricting access to dormitories. The daytime deactivation recommendation -- which 63 percent of survey students surveyed expressed support for -- leaves room for special designation of some dormitories as 24-hour locking zones, which students could apply to live in just as they currently do for substance-free housing. A provision referring to the Assembly's stance on the College's restriction of student publications from distributing their work at individual students' doors drew some debate among members. Though the first draft of the report supports that policy and some members favored the more economically friendly option of distribution racks, others strongly objected to the effect that rule might have on organizations hoping to spread their message to as many students as possible. "If someone has an idea they want to get out, I don't think it shouldn't be permitted by rule," member Andy Edwards '04 said, describing the policy as "very harsh." In other business, member Jai Danani '04 took a few minutes to describe the efforts of the Student Activities Office to overhaul Poison Ivy, the student social space in the basement of the Collis Center, by giving it a "new name, new attitude, new look." Danani described the stylistic aims of the group, which has received $3500 in funding for the project, as including "getting the room back to neutral from ugly." Due to Student Body President Janos Marton's unexpected detainment in northern New Hampshire, Zyck presided over the meeting.