Renfrow Hall will remain restricted to non-residents for at least the rest of the semester due to small-scale ongoing construction.
The dorm’s accessibility to all students in the future is still up in the air, Dennis Perkins, assistant dean of residence life, said. One solution that Residence Life, Campus Safety and Facilities Management are considering is restricting access permanently to only Renfrow residents.
“It’s a possibility,” Perkins said, referring to restricting access to only residents. “Right now, if you look at any of the project houses, that’s how they’re set up. You can’t just go into GAME House if you don’t live in GAME House.”
Renfrow was originally introduced as a project bridging the College campus with the wider community and as one promoting civic engagement.
“It was really advertised as this community space, so it is weird that they haven’t allowed other people to have access,” Regan Reedy `26, a Renfrow resident, said.
As of right now, residents say the hall does not feel like much of a social hub.
“It’s hard to believe there are over 100 people living in this building sometimes,” Tyson Schulte `26, who lives in North Tower, said.
“I don’t even see people that often when I leave the room,” Sunjae Kim `26.5, a Renfrow resident, said.
Despite the possibility that non-residents of Renfrow may not be able to access the dorm, Perkins said he still thinks the original intent of Renfrow will remain the same. One suggestion is making the ground floor of Renfrow accessible during set times or during community events, Perkins said.
“One of the things we’re suggesting is time,” Perkins said. “It wouldn’t be restricted the entire time, the entire day.”
During the fall 2024 semester, when only South Tower residents were moved in, Perkins said the Grinnell Fire Department advised Residence Life to only allow the stated number of moved-in residents to be in the building for safety reasons. That same advisory is still in place for North Tower, Perkins said, but Residence Life has not communicated this directly to students.
“I think the [South Tower] students, for the most part, did adhere to the policy of not having guests over because we said that explicitly,” Perkins said.
There are no disciplinary actions for students who do have guests over though, Perkins added. “Because we’ve lifted that [policy] to some degree without stating anything, I think folks are going to act in accordance,” he said. “We just have to deal with the consequences.”
Perkins said Residence Life will host a town hall meeting to discuss whether or not students and community members will be able to access Renfrow in the future. Perkins said the date and time of the town hall will be announced before spring break.
