Dartmouth Leads the Way in Fostering Inclusive Campus Environment by Removing Doors from Residence Halls

In his “Moving Dartmouth Forward” speech this Thursday morning, President Phil Hanlon announced several groundbreaking changes that will make the college safer and more inclusive in the coming years.  Foremost among them is a campus-wide effort to remove all doors from Dartmouth residence halls, which will be carried out by next winter.

“Dozens of prestigious schools, such as Stanford University, have made their campuses safer by establishing open-door policies for drinking on campus,” stated Hanlon in this week’s address, “Why not take things a step further?” Citing outdated features like external building doors and bathroom stalls as clear barriers to student interaction, Hanlon expressed his vision for a campus where students will be able to wander freely into Greek houses, dining halls, and each other’s dorm rooms.

“I can’t wait for Dartmouth’s no-door policy to go into effect,” said Sydney Harris ’18, whose current floor in the Choates features thick walls and wide hallways that keep her completely isolated from other students, “Now my floor mates can skip the unnecessary step of turning a knob before they accidentally walk in on me naked.”

Scott Roberts ’16, a member of Beta Alpha Omega, expressed similar excitement for the new policy to begin. “We’ve always been pretty strict about checking ID’s at the door of Beta,” Roberts explained, “But without a door, our parties will be totally inclusive.  Everyone from college professors to local children can wander through, and we’re totally okay with that.”

Since Thursday morning, Hanlon has personally taken the lead in initiating the new policy by removing the doors from his own office.  Pausing momentarily to adjust his heavy winter coat and escort a stray dog out of the room, Hanlon told reporters that the change has brought great results so far.

–AR ’18