Senate storms freshmen dorms

Student Senate decided to bring back dormstorming last week, a tradition that faded in the 1990s due to the vast majority of their communications shifting to online platforms. Originally, representatives from Student Government visited residence halls to speak directly with students about housing, dining, academics, and other campus issues. Archival records show that it served as an accessible, informal way for students to share their concerns without needing to attend meetings or track down committee chairs.

According to Senate Engagement and Communications Committee Chairperson Jordan Krishnayah ’28, they revived this tradition on a trial basis to address ongoing feedback from the Provost Rebecca Doerge that there is not enough in-person outreach and that existing channels can feel intimidating or inconvenient for many students. The Commons Burger Petition made waves earlier this semester due to representatives from the Senate walking around campus and stopping people on their way to sign the petition. Encouraged by the success of the endeavour, SECC worked to bring back dormstorming. Representatives from Senate, such as Residential Life and Dining Chairperson Shruthi Anandraman ’28, reached out to Student Living and Learning to get approval for this excursion. However, after a month of minimal response, Senate executed their plan, duly informing Public Safety to confirm the security of going through with their activity.

SLL did not respond to a request for comment.

Members from student government, including Grand Marshal Tiburon Benavides ’21, ’27G and President of the Union Isabele Lieber ’25, ’26G, stormed all dorms from 6:30 pm to 8 pm on Freshman Hill, except Sharp Hall due to the layout of the rooms. BARH is also a freshman dorm that was excluded from the itinerary due to the accessibility into the individual wings, and due to how far away it is from the Hill. Krishnayah also noted that this instance was more so to introduce the student body to the idea of dormstorming, rather than being a strict feedback-gathering session.

A flaw in their plan was accessibility to the buildings. Guest policies in the dorms only extend when the guest is accompanied by the person who invited them into the dorm. For at least half of their time, the large group of Student Government members were not accompanied by the person who let them into the dorm, resulting in a minor policy violation. The group tackled the storming wing-by-wing in each dorm. After a cue from Benavides, they all knocked on different doors in the wing simultaneously, oftentimes yelling, “Student Government, open up!” in an attempt to infuse some humor into the situation.

This Senate meeting took place on Tuesday, November 11, 2025. The Senate meets every Tuesday at 6 pm in the Shelnutt Gallery.