If you’ve been to Dana Dining hall in the last few weeks, you’ve noticed that the dining hall has begun reinforcing a strict ‘No Backpack Policy’ for students. The policy, which the dining hall iterates is not new (disputing this rumor with a sign that says “…we have always asked you to leave your backpacks, skis, skateboards, musical instruments, etc. in the lobby.”), has frustrated many students across campus.

In an interview with Bob Zimmerman, the manager of the dining hall, about the reinforcement of the policy, he stated that the reasoning behind it was purely for the safety of the students. When asked what motivated the dining hall to begin reinforcing the policy, he said, “on the first day of classes, with the freshman, when I didn’t remind everybody, backpacks were dropped all over the dining hall, and I actually saw two students trip and fall over backpacks.”

The safety of the policy, however, has been called into question by several students. One anonymous student, in an interview about what she thought of the policy, said, “I think putting all the bags in front of the doors is a really good way to make sure that the exit is clear in case of an evacuation.”

In the interview, Zimmerman provided a rebuttal to this statement by saying, “we have clear and easy access to the main fire doors,” and said that “we have to maintain four feet of egress. They [the backpacks] are more of a hazard in between table and blocking off access in that perspective.”

Despite the increased safety of the policy, several students remain obstinate in their opinions. Camden Fort ’21 said that he doesn’t like the policy because he enjoys doing work while he eats.

The sign in the dining hall, labeled “The Dana Backpack Conspiracy” says, “you are welcome to take books, laptops etc. to your tables– we just don’t want backpacks all over the floor.”

So when asked the follow-up question, “couldn’t you still do work?” Fort responded by saying, “but my backpack is where I hold my books and computer,” and then when asked why he couldn’t remove the materials, he said, “but that’s why it’s in the bag. That’s how I carry it, you know?” Greta Nystrom ’21 further added that she “won’t study in Dana anymore,” and that she “will just stare into the distance instead, while I’m popping melon chunks into my mouth.”

However, in the conclusion of the interview, when asked whether there was anything that the general public of the school should know on the backpack policy, Zimmerman said that the policy is “principally important at the high focus of lunch and dinner,” and that he is “considering kind of relaxing it once we get past reading days.” He added that during “the in-between times– late at night, early in the morning– I don’t really care.”

But whatever reaction the students may have, it’s important to use this time to reflect. Tim Cunningham ’21 is giving students food for thought about the Dana policy, and the inability to bring bags in, by posing the open-ended question: “how else can we identify as athletes, if, like the crew team, we can’t have our huge, unwieldy sports equipment bags?”