Report on the Implementation of the Policy Regarding Safety and Security Officers Patrolling CFS Houses and Undergraduate Societ

Background

At a meeting of Greek leadership on Friday June 23, administrators announced that a new Safety and Security policy was going to be enforced, starting that night. Safety and Security officers would be walking though Greek houses and undergraduate societies twice nightly to ensure health and safety. Many students were upset with the content, as well as the timing and explanation of the policy. Greek leaders asked for a 10 day stay on the policy and ORL granted this request and extended the stay to over three weeks. Greek leaders have been meeting to try to find a compromise on the policy. The Student Assembly wanted to give all students a chance to voice their opinions and to that end a short survey was sent to all of the '03s. The goal of the survey was to ask students how to best implement the policy.

The Survey

Student Assembly sent this blitz out on the night of July 1st and received 151 responses over the next few days:
“As you probably know, the Office of Residential Life is currently working on implementing a policy to have Safety and Security Officers patrol Undergraduate and Greek Houses in order to monitor health and safety. The Student Assembly is working on collecting student opinion to go to the Administration before they make the decision of how to implement the policy.
We need YOUR input.
What do you think the best way to implement this policy is?
Any other thoughts?
Thanks for your time,
SA”

The Responses

Most students had similar recommendations for the policy implementation, many of which matched those found in the GLC response to the policy. The primary concerns with the implementation of this policy were the lack of privacy, a concern over what the officers are looking for and a lack of feeling of ownership over their homes. Below are the most common suggestions made.

* Have S and S officers come to houses within a specified window of time, many people suggested that the check should be during day time hours
* ORL should work with each House to best implement the policy for that house, this was especially of concern because of rituals and national regulations
* S and S should come weekly or bi-weekly
* An officer of the house should accompany the S and S officer
* Members of the house should be aware of what S and S is looking for
* The policy should begin in the fall when the rest of the campus is here
* Educate a monitor or the house manager to do the needed inspections
* Have female officers patrol sororities
* Schedule the visits ahead of time
* Increase education of residents about health and safety issues
* Only inspect houses that show that they cannot handle their own monitoring

Two of the students who responded agreed with the policy in its original form who believe that Greek houses should be patrolled the same manner as residence halls, however the large majority of students stressed the need for compromise on the issue.

Additional Feedback

Although Student Assembly only asked students how the policy should be implemented, there was a great deal of comment on the policy itself and how it has been communicated and implemented thus far. What follows is a summary of the various opinions that were expressed.

Students expressed fear that this policy was contrary to the spirit of student controlled space. One of the aspects of Greek houses, Undergraduate Societies, and Affinity houses that students love is that the space is generally student controlled and often student maintained. When the college starts patrolling these spaces on a random basis some students feel like they no longer have the control over that space. A parallel concern among students was that this policy was in effect taking a particular social option away, without adding new ones.

Many respondents expressed distrust of the Administration regarding this policy. The catch-phrase, “plot to get rid of the Greek Houses,” frequented answers. Students cited the timing and the way the policy was revealed: why was it revealed when the Greek System is in its weakest period? Why on a Friday afternoon to social chairs? Why in the summer? Most respondents did not believe that the policy was a good faith effort by the administration to increase health and safety. One student wrote, “If the school wants to get rid of the Greeks it would be better to just ax the entire system at once. By turning Greek houses into dorms the school is just making the process more painful and demoralizing to the student body.”

Private property was also mentioned a great deal. Some questioned the legality of the policy and saw it is overly intrusive to the privacy of individuals living in the houses. Some female respondents were concerned about the presence of unknown male Safety and Security Officers in their homes. Many students commented they were uncomfortable with strangers being in their living spaces at all.

Students were quick to point out that Greek Houses, Affinity Houses, and Undergraduate Societies are not residence halls, even if some are college owned. Groups of these types have their own structures to monitor health and safety. Several people stated there was no demonstrated need for what seemed to them to be a punishment.

Fear was expressed that this policy would detrimentally alter the social life at Dartmouth. Some students thought that Greek Houses would become more closed and exclusive and that students would be forced to go off campus more often. Health and Safety are legitimate concerns, but other ways that are less intrusive and damaging to the social system at Dartmouth should be sought.

Conclusion

The Student Assembly believes that it is imperative that the administration work with students to come up with a compromise on how to implement the policy. Presently, there is a great deal of distrust and animosity on campus and the willingness to compromise would be seen as a good faith effort. Although it is true that the administration has near absolute power in regards to these types of decisions, the best way to produce change is never to blindly assert that power against the desires of students. Instead, administrators should present their goals to students and then the two groups should work together to create a solid policy that can make everyone happy and can take into account all opinions and concerns. We believe that this report contains some great suggestions for that process. Greater health and safety are indeed good things, but now we must figure out a policy that can lead to those goals in ways that respect the wishes and interests of students. On this policy implementation issue, legitimate compromise is clearly the best solution.