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Many dorm rooms, such as those in Currier, Fitch, Thompson, and probably elsewhere, have doors which swing shut automatically. This can be a pain, especially when you want to leave your door open but don't have a doorstop and the contents of your recycling bin don't yet have enough mass to hold it open, or when you go to take a shower but realize, just as your door swings closed, that your door is locked and you are in a towel in the hallway without your keys. If you want to solve this problem and are willing to exert a little effort, read on.
But first, a '''disclaimer:''' automatic door-closer-thingys '''are''' Fire Safety Equipment. So you're not really supposed to take them off. And you could conceivably be fined if you do: $50 plus the cost of replacement. They've been mandated here and across the US since the Uniform Building Code book was first published in 1927. They exist to prevent fire and smoke from spreading into your rooms and/or common rooms. You have been warned. But I have this... uh, friend... who had his automatic door closer off for an entire school year, and no one ever said anything about it, probably because no one really noticed.
The automatic closing action is caused by a special spring-loaded hinge in the center (vertically speaking) of the door. The hinges at the top and bottom are normal hinges which swing freely. Therefore, detaching the center hinge from the door is all that is needed. Another disclaimer for [[Prospect House|Prospect]] residents: the doors to Prospect rooms have spring hinges not only in the center but at the top, and obviously you can't remove both of those and hope to operate the door, so this method does not work for Prospect doors.
'''CAUTION:''' the spring in the spring-loaded hinge is VERY STRONG. Try closing a door just by pulling/pushing it right next to the hinge and you will get an idea of the torque that is needed. If the spring-loaded hinge were to snap shut on your fingers it would be VERY BAD. So use the utmost caution while working with the hinge.
