By Victoria Nasibi
Elm Staff Writer
As the center of life and movement on campus, Hodson Hall serves as more than just an eatery. When students meet to study, hang out, and take a break in the in-between periods of their days, it was commonplace to encounter a number of flyers stuck to either set of glass doors for clubs, Greek life, and speaker events.
Last Thursday, Sept. 7, students and staff walked through the Hodson Hall doors, and for the first time in a considerable period, most of the ads and flyers previously there were gone.
All posters had been replaced by an orange sheet that stated, “Please refer to our campus advertisement and posting policy in the Sudent Handbook…You may not post flyers on the glass in Hodson.”
The specific rule referenced is the policy for students concerning the display of any flyer, poster, or banners, which can all be found in the 2023-2024 Student Handbook: “Posting is not permitted on the following: …Glass Doors.”
According to Student Affairs Office Manager Jennifer Schultz, Student Affairs had been discussing the issue for a while. There had not been a push previously because they were located at the Casey Academic Center, and while “they would see them when they came in for lunch,” the posters were not in their sight constantly, and were more easily put out of mind.
However, that changed Thursday morning when Schultz arrived at her office. She said that there were dozens of new flyers on both sets of doors that had not been there the previous night.
“A lot of Greek life flyers, not singling out any group, there were tons of them,” Schultz said. “They were put up with scotch tape, some were falling, and some were put up on top of others. At that moment I just saw them all and how awful and cluttered they looked.”
Schultz removed all the flyers lining the glass doors. She made sure a copy was available on the wall inside, before throwing away any extras or paper that was too damaged to rehang.
Schultz clarified that there was another reason for the sudden enforcement of the rule.
“To backtrack even more, it’s also a campus safety issue,” Schultz said. “Public safety has mentioned it to us in the past because they can’t see inside, and they’re not able to do quick checks inside if the windows are covered.”
“I do sympathize, that is why we also implemented that board on the wall a while back, and we found great success,” Schultz said. “Students engaged with it, but from a safety and aesthetic standpoint, the glass was just unappealing.”
While there seems to be some understanding from the student body, there’s still a sense of dissatisfaction with the shift.
“I understand it to an extent — glass is difficult to clean — but it removes the charm and appeal of [the dining hall],” said sophomore Keegan Enzor. “Although you can still hang posters within the building, it becomes akin to white noise because it’s just part of the scenery.”
He also emphasized the usefulness of recruitment and advertisement for clubs and different organizations at the entrances.
“Seeing the glass acting as a giant poster board was charming to me because it was always nice to walk in and see how much is happening on campus,” Enzor said.
For Enzor, not being able to see the flyers up anymore makes the building feel less lived in.
This event did not mark a policy change. Rather, it was the enforcement of old rules that were previously ignored. For students looking for a place to hang their posters and advertise their content, there are a few spaces still available.
There are several walls along Hodson Hall specifically set up for hanging event posters and flyers, as well as other corkboards in buildings on campus. Student Affairs stated that their doors will remain open if students need any supplies in that regard.
Photo by Liv Barry
Photo Caption: The posted orange flyers included a QR code to access the relevant section of the Student Handbook.