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COLUMN: Students in residence halls pay more for fewer privileges

By on August 24, 2011 10:30 am / 5 comments

 

The new policy requiring overnight guests to have written approval from a residence hall director is Residence Life’s latest attempt to act as a parent to students.

Residence Life officials said overnight guests will not be allowed to stay in residence halls until Friday and weekday guests will now need written approval 48 hours before their guest arrives.

Rather than accompanying students on their adjustment from high school to college, these strict guidelines are prohibiting them from experiencing the most basic transition of all — socializing with new people.

Associate Director of Residence Life Joan Schmidt cited the large population of freshmen last year and the amount of guests who visited them as one of the reasons for the implementation of the new rules.

Schmidt also said the Welcome Week policy of not allowing guests was created to encourage students to bond with new roommates rather than spend time with friends from home.

Last year there were 175 rooms housing five students, meanwhile this year no rooms have those issues. Residence Life is punishing this year’s students from internal faults last year.

Most other universities start classes later, so making the trip to CMU for Welcome Weekend is clearly a top choice when these people are forming weekend plans, therefore adding to the amount of residence hall visitors in recent years.

Students are not the determiners for when classes begin. That is administration’s job — so why are students being punished?

Freshmen students are required to live in residence halls unless their home is within 60 miles of campus. Students upset with these new rules are forced to abide by them because of the 60-mile rule.

With the 2011-2012 standard room and board with the lowest meal plan running at $6,688 per year, that’s more than $600 per month for a typical student staying 10 months. When compared to other apartments this price is ridiculous.

Students not only have the right to determine which friends they will spend time with (whether they are CMU students or friends from home), but they can decide when and where to see them.

Officials said this ban includes students who attend CMU living in another residence hall, and also those students who live off campus. How is this encouraging those living in residence halls to befriend other CMU students when the ban directly prohibits such from happening?

While fostering healthy relationships between roommates is an admirable goal, paying customers should be able to decide who they want to spend their time with.

Residence Life has become the policy creator, with residence hall directors acting as parents, and resident assistants working as babysitters. This is hardly the college experience and freedom high school seniors picture for their first year of college.

Rather than respecting residents as adults who need guidance and support in transitioning into the college lifestyle, Residence Life has increasingly decided that freshmen need to have most decisions made for them.

 
 
 

5 Comments

  1. Setting Things Straight says:
    August 25, 2011 at 1:05 am

    As someone who lived in the residence halls, I like the rule!  When four strangers are placed in a room together, they often will not want to say no to each other – especially when someone’s friend legitly needs a place to stay.  I have had roommates who abused visitor policies, and I, personally, did not like being in a place where I could not roam around my room freely because another roommate decided to let her creepy, evicted-from-their-apartment friends stay for two weeks.  Personally, I did not enjoy having to lock up my items and set my computer on a password because I did not know what was staying in my room.  When someone is in need of a place to stay, it does put roommates in a very difficult spot where it’s impossible to say no – especially when the guests are already settled in under the assumption it is okay to stay. 

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    August 25, 2011 at 6:49 am

    So much for one night stands at the dorms. 

    Reply
  3. Former RA says:
    August 25, 2011 at 2:30 pm

    The folks running residece life didn’t get laid in college and they don’t want you to, either.  There’s a Christian element at play here that’s not being discussed: nice boys and girls should wait until they’re married.  Reslife is sticking their nose into your business.  You people are adults and paying customers.  What’s next?  Anyone over 21 who wants to drink in the residence halls must do so under the close ovservation of an RA?  There’s been a tendency for the overbearing moralists in the U.C. to shake their heads at any behavior they wouldn’t participate in, but this is going too far.  ResLife is authoritarian and they don’t tolerate dissent from their paraprofessional staff.  Now they’re trying to dictate behavior for rent-paying students. 

    How long until there’s a nightly bed check?

    Reply
  4. guest1 says:
    August 26, 2011 at 1:48 pm

    And when somebody gets hurt, raped, or robbed you will probably be complaining that there were to many strangers and people in the Halls during welcome weekend and blame res life as well. What if there was a fire and people could not get out? You will probably blame res life for allowing too many people in the halls. Why does it seem these days all people want to do is complain!!!

    Reply
    • Former RA says:
      August 26, 2011 at 3:48 pm

      People are “hurt, raped and robbed” all the time in the residence halls, by other residents of those halls.  There have always been policies that restrict access to the halls, but this is the first rule that forces students to declare who their overnight guests will be (at least before the midnight sign-in takes effect).  A resident shouldn’t need to seek permission from the staff to have an overnight guest.  The fire argument is ridiculous, since it ResLife causing the overcrowding, as often as not.  The buildings are rated for a fire capacity well in excess of the number of residents they house. 

      If you expect students to grow into adults, they will.  If you expect them to follow rules designed for children, they will remain children.

      Reply
 
 

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