I’d guess that most of the student body has had a similar experience with classrooms in the Schoolhouse: you try to go study only to find your desired room locked at an obscenely early hour. Groton’s Honor Code begins that “Groton is a small community in which trust and honesty are of the highest value.” Don’t locked doors suggest otherwise? I’d say yes.

According to Dean of Students Michael O’Donnell, the main reasons for locking classrooms every afternoon are that “there are a lot of classrooms with equipment or materials that are valuable and important to safeguard. The reality is, too, that sometimes students have used classrooms for purposes other than we hope. We want to avoid faculty having to deal with walking in on uncomfortable situations.”

To address the issue on everyone’s mind, I want to begin by saying that nobody enjoys resorting to a classroom for privacy with their significant other; students do not get some sort of rush from sneaking into classrooms, regardless of what some might think. It is sad to have to even consider doing so. If adequate alternatives were offered for students to foster a healthy relationship, awkward student-faculty classroom encounters would occur less, if at all. For a teacher to not want students using their room is completely reasonable. In fact, I agree that such use is not at all acceptable.

Nevertheless, two factors of the locked-door policy point to genuine distrust between students and teachers. First of all, the doors to classrooms are locked at 4:00 each afternoon. (While a number of study rooms remain open, the four small rooms fill up quickly.) Second, most classrooms are locked, even the ones with full-wall windows. According to Mr. O’Donnell, four classrooms remain open per request of teachers, but the only way to find those is to try every door. To address the former, no student is seeking to use classrooms for their relationships during the middle of the day. For the latter, no sane people would select classrooms into which all can see for privacy with their significant other.

The new science classrooms are perfect spaces for students to quietly get work done at night: they are reasonably soundproof and have whiteboard walls that are ideal for studying. When it comes to locking the doors of classrooms that are well hidden, have couches, or may seem appealing for intimacy, I say go for it. But can we at least use the more public rooms to get work done when the Forum is loud or we are seeking a place for verbal review?

Unfortunately, as of right now, the answer remains no. If theft were a pressing issue at this school, locking all classrooms would make perfect sense. The truth is, though, that it simply is not. Other than the occasional missing projector wire or coffee mug, things really don’t go missing from classrooms. Students are not looking to steal from classrooms. Besides, what would students want to steal? I could go and grab some markers and a box of tissues, but beyond that, I am out of luck.  If there is something so valuable that it could not be safely left in an unlocked classroom, it should probably not be there anyway. We all learn in these classrooms, so why would we want to steal from them and thus lessen the quality of our own facilities?

Every morning, I leave behind most everything that I own in a room that I can’t lock. Including my computer, the dollar worth of my possessions could easily run into the thousands. I am comfortable doing this, though, because I have faith in those around me. Groton students were carefully selected to join and uphold a morally sound community. I think we deserve some trust.

The locking of certain classroom doors is reasonable, but when all doors are shut and trust for students seems to dissolve, it is difficult to foster the faculty-student relationships on which Groton prides itself. Additionally, when the Forum is overwhelmed by the sounds of vacuums and students yelling, a classroom and its closed door provide a space for private conversation, alone time, and peace for work or thought. For a student at a school as intense as Groton, such a quiet place is vital.

All of this being said, I do not ask that everything be left unlocked for us; however, I do think it would be reasonable and convenient for students to have access to the more public and resourceful classrooms. Mr O’Donnell said that, “in general, we like to secure [classrooms] when we don’t believe they are in use, but we are willing to make those spaces available for students who do need them.” If that is truly the case, then consider this my request for unlocked doors in the rooms where it seems appropriate. They will be used often and appreciated well.