Hi @BSchmidt0413 and @deborah_okey,
I'm going to paste a reply around this that I made in another thread a few days ago...
"As for hiding the entire right side of the dashboard, it's likely possible through css, but I would really discourage you from going that direction as Canvas really is designed to have that info visible. If you were to hide the right bar you may be doing more of a disservice to your users (especially students) than you realize initially. I know some people don't like that the to-do list can give students quick access to things without navigating an entire course, but it really is beneficial especially once teachers start designing courses to make use of the to-do (primarily making sure things have dates attached or adding to the to-do where applicable)."
The to-do list, in my opinion, is part of Canvas' core architecture. I know it can be frustrating for teachers if students just go off that list, but there are strategies to combat that a bit, such as making as many things as you can assignments, even if they are ungraded. By doing that, course activities will all show up on the to-do list and students may actually be more likely to do them than if the to-do didn't exist. I know this can make a crowded assignments list, but I wanted to at least put it out here as an idea.
-Chris