Your dorm is your home away from home – or rather, it should be. Deerfield Academy strives to create a strong residential community where students and faculty residents are able to maintain close-knit relationships while managing logistics such as visitations that come with student rooms and other communal spaces in the dorm. At a boarding school, it is important for students to feel safe on campus and especially in their dorms, which are meant to be secure and private. Dean of Students Samuel Bicknell said that the 2022-2023 Student Handbook ensures that Deerfield accommodates different cultural, religious and family backgrounds while giving parents peace of mind when sending their 13 to 20 year old kids away from home. Policies regarding student dormitories were created with this wide age range in mind to ensure that all families are comfortable trusting the Academy with their children’s safety.
School rules allow faculty residents to walk into students’ rooms. Some faculty residents are known for their “knock-and-open” combination, without verbal confirmation.
When students are changing or simply seeking the time and space to collect themselves, this intrusion, though intended to ensure student safety, may violate personal boundaries and potentially result in miscommunication or confusion. The Student Handbook contains no limitations on what faculty residents can do with respect to students’ rooms, leaving it entirely up to their discretion. If concerns are brought up about a student’s mental health or physical wellbeing, faculty members are encouraged to check in with students. However, many students are not familiar with just how much liberty faculty residents have with their privacy. Therefore, it is called into question whether faculty residents strike a balance between safety and privacy that is comfortable for students.
Mr. Bicknell reiterated, “Safety is our priority. We [The Student Life Office] want to do our best to make students feel like they have private spaces while also supporting them as they navigate a residential boarding school community.” However, it is hard to see that in action when rules and expectations within a student’s dorm are not communicated effectively by dorm residents nor questioned by the students in the hall.
Mr. Bicknell said that communication is key to establishing “a mutual understanding of safety and security” in the dorm. In order to mitigate future concerns or conflicts, faculty residents should start the year by outlining what students can expect from them in the dorm. Discussing students’ personal boundaries and getting feedback from everyone in the hall would foster an environment that better caters to everyone’s needs. This hall-wide communication would build understanding and trust between students and faculty members.
Dorm residents are here to work with students and figure out what works best for them. For instance, with underclassmen study hall, dorm residents could allow some leniency in the rules throughout the year provided that their hall shows exemplary responsibility.
It’s important to keep in mind that faculty are here to support students and guide them through their journey in navigating and constructing a life away from the comforts of home. It’s difficult to feel comfortable in a space (that at home would be wholly private) when the possibility of intrusion or judgment always lingers. More can, and should, be done to ensure maximum comfort for students while still maintaining necessary safety measures.