While the United States celebrates Independence Day every July 4, the beginning of college often marks the dawning of independence for many young adults who leave home for the first time.

But with that freedom comes new responsibilities, including navigating how to be part of a residential community. While universities once embraced a philosophy of in loco parentis — stepping into the role of parents — all of that changed in the early 1970s at William & Mary, resulting in a new approach to the governance of residence halls: self-determination.

The William & Mary Democracy Initiative recently explored the history of self-determination at the university in the latest episode of its podcast, “Democracy x Residential Life.”

In it, podcast host Emily Tavoulareas ’04 talks with retired Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Sadler, Associate Director for Residence Life Danny Lee and Residence Hall Association President Elison Esposo ’25 about how self-determination has evolved throughout the years and how it allows students to practice democratic principles.

“Self-determination on campus is a philosophy, a structure, a practice, and it is one that really, truly is embedded in every part of the experience, which is so unbelievably special,” said Tavoulareas.

The concept of self-determination came out of the 1960s when there were significant changes due to the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement and other cultural shifts. At the time, students on college campuses faced strict regulations without the ability to provide input.

In response to changing student attitudes at William & Mary — plus new faculty and a new president — the university created a Board of Student Affairs. That board produced a statement of responsibilities, shaped by student feedback, which ended up serving as the foundation for the concept of self-determination. Through self-determination, students would be able to make decisions about the way their shared living spaces were used and governed. 

“What better way to educate students about the obligations of citizenship in a democracy than to provide them with the opportunity to make decisions about matters of daily life that impacted them and their peers directly,” said Sadler, quoting from the board’s original materials. “Self-determination would be a powerful way to teach the lessons of democracy.”

The approach, which launched in 1972, required a number of significant changes, including the hiring of trained, professional staff to work with students instead of “house mothers” and the establishment of residence hall councils. It took about five years to have it function the way it was intended, said Sadler.

“But our theory was that if by living together, students could come to know the techniques required to understand, to listen, to discuss, to plan together, that we could make a contribution to their understanding of how democracy on a broader scale worked,” he said. “And I firmly believe that’s happened. That’s been one of the great outcomes of self-determination.”

One of the most important aspects of supporting self-determination is providing students and resident assistants with the training they need to have conversations around community agreements. These agreements cover such topics as when quiet hours will be, how students will interact in common spaces, how funds are spent and how to address conflicts. When issues arise, the agreements are used to determine the response.

“When issues like vandalism happen in our residence halls, I think it’s crucial to inform (students) of that and make sure that they’re part of those conversations and say, ‘OK, this happened. What are the consequences?” said Esposo. What are all the things that we talked about in the beginning of the year? How are we going to uphold those expectations that we talked about?’”

That approach sets William & Mary apart, said Lee, noting that other institutions will rely on administrators to make those decisions.

“Even our conduct system has moved toward a conflict-resolution process where students are able to have more of a restorative practice,” Lee said. 

Tavoulareas added, “Taking this approach where you are positioning students to really consider the ramifications of what they have done and to grapple with it in a way that is not destructive to them or to their community is really special and such an unbelievably valuable skill set, particularly at a time when the opportunities to build those muscles are decreasing in our lives.”

Throughout the past five decades, self-determination has evolved as students, parents, culture and expectations changed. But the “scaffolding” of self-determination has been able to adjust to changing needs on campus, said Tavoulareas, which is likely what has made it last.

As the university looks toward the future, the Student Affairs staff wants to continue encouraging autonomy in students and incorporating their views even more into the spaces where they will live and learn.

Esposo, for instance, sat on the committee for the development of the university’s new West Woods Housing & Dining Development and provided input on how common spaces — even the placement of the laundry room — may affect the community.  

“When you ask someone, what do you like about William & Mary, what’s the best thing, people tend to say, it’s the people,” he said. “And as we build those new buildings, we want to make sure that it’s still about the people.”

While the process to implement and reinvent self-determination may have been challenging and time-consuming, it is now part of the fabric of the student experience at William & Mary. Listening to student voices has made all the difference, said Sadler.

“That’s how self-determination was created,” he said. “But it also perhaps suggests how it’s gone further than just the policy.”

The Democracy Initiative is one of the core components of William & Mary’s Vision 2026 strategic plan. Other episodes of its podcast feature topics including technology, elections, careers and water.