Our Thoughts on Shoes and Feet

In this article, we would like to discuss an important topic: SHOES. More specifically, why are we always wearing them?

Olin has somehow inherited a broader societal assumption that shoes must be on in public—that the dogs can’t breathe? BUT WHY?

 Shoes are tools—perhaps even (occasionally) fashionable ones. They protect our feet from sharp, hot, cold, and gross stuff, as well as the ungodly amount of salt that Massachusetts dumps onto the ground in the winter. But when none of those are present, the shoe’s mission has been completed, and they should be laid to rest. 

Do you put shoes on at home when you eat dinner? Why are we expected to wear shoes in the dining hall? 

Do you put shoes on when you go to your room to study? Why are we expected to wear shoes in the library?

To fully understand our position, it must be contextualized. It is common knowledge that Olin is a very small institution; indeed, it is one of the smallest institutes of higher education in the country.  We have 400 people who live, eat, study, build shit, procrastinate, crash out, and somehow all know exactly who you mean when you say “that one person from the class of ‘27”. At this point, it’s less a college than one giant, slightly dysfunctional house.

So why are we applying the same social rules here in our home that we would in a random public building? Let’s break down our NEW, IMPROVED classification system.

As a preface, we must note that SMELL and SAFETY do trump this entire article. Odor is a hygiene problem, not a footwear problem. Either keep the shoes on or (gasp!) take a shower. On the topic of safety… Shop? Shoes. Lab? Shoes. Rooftop climbing? Shoes. This is a pro-feet-and-toes article. We would like you to keep all of them. 

Now, onto our system. 

First, we should discuss the professional/academic settings: put the dogs away [ish].In the MAC, professor’s offices, formal meetings, etc., wear shoes. But in the classroom sitting at your desk? Eh. your call. 

There are some considerations with this rule. Showing up barefoot to office hours has a certain energy that some of us may already be achieving. Your professor taking their shoes off halfway through class? It has happened before. Still, we would argue that while there are relationships where that level of comfort is totally normal, “person currently grading my capstone” probably does not need to see the dogs. 

On the topic of mixed use spaces: read the room. The library, dining hall, team rooms, academic lounges, and other communal spaces are where things get interesting. During the day, when they are full of professors, staff, and visitors, maybe we can act professional and wear shoes.

But at 1:37 a.m, when six students are sprawled across the library doing homework, someone is eating Easy Mac, two people are asleep, and the only thing keeping you conscious is the knowledge that your assignment was technically due yesterday… Whose quality of life is being improved by your shoes?

This is the family living room. Get comfortable. Kick them off. Let those puppies breathe. Shoelessness should not automatically be treated as weird just because society decided at some point that feet must be contained whenever another human being is within visual range.

Finally, the dorms: FREE THE FEET. RELEASE THE DAWGS. This is our home. Literally. If we can walk through the hallways in PJs carrying laundry at 2AM, or sit on the floor in the dorm lounge eating something horrifying out of a microwave while having a minor existential crisis, we think we’ve moved past the formality of mandatory footwear.

Dorms are our living area of our family home. Shoes are optional. Comfort is the point.

Honestly, wearing shoes in a lounge is weirder.

FREE THE DAWGS!!!