Dorm Policy Revisions 3/22/06

Rumors tend to spread like wildfire in freshman residence halls. It is no surprise, then, that freshmen have been speculating about changes in the guest policy for their dorms since the possibility appeared the week before spring break.

The guesswork was brought to an end with the announcement that beginning Monday, March 20, there will be changes to the current guest policy. Restrictions placed on the visiting hours of Loyola students with other students in freshmen residence halls were overturned, giving students free reign to visit and stay overnight with each other.

The host and the guest are still required to sign in at the front desk and guests must leave their student ID with the desk monitor, but there are no more time restrictions on how long Loyola students may stay in dorms in which they don't live. Hosts must still accompany their guests at all times and check the guest out when he or she leaves the residence hall.

This policy applies to both male and female Loyola students, meaning that students are allowed to check in guests of the opposite sex at any time, as long as they are Loyola students.

The policy for non-Loyola guests will remain the same with visiting hours between 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Freshman Brian Jacobson, a Unified Student Government senator, wrote the original proposal to change the old guest policy. With the support of USG and Residence Hall Government, Jacobson brought the proposal to the attention of the University Policies Committee, where it was resolved to change the current policy.

"Essentially what I wanted was for the existing intra-dorm policy to be extendedbetween all of the freshmen residence halls," Jacobson said.

Freshmen of all residence halls were quick to react to the changes after floor meetings were held and an e-mail detailing the changes was sent out.

"I like the improvements," said freshman Jackie Geddes, Simpson Hall resident. "People were already staying with each other; they can know who's where now."

Justin Sorenson, president of the Mertz-Campion RHG, said, "As president, the most frequent complaints I hear from residents are about the strictness of the guest policy, so it's great that this issue is getting addressed."

As freshmen, this year's sophomores could not have members of the opposite sex in their rooms after 12 a.m. on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends - even if they were Loyola students or residents of the same building. This policy was strictly enforced.

"I liked the old policy because when freshmen come in they want to do anything, and it helped the transition," sophomore and former Simpson resident Karnell Black said. "But the new policy builds community within the university, which is a good thing."

The security of the residence halls is still a main concern regarding the guest policy, past and present; therefore administrators said they carefully considered plans before finalizing any changes.

The proposal was brought before Fr. Richard Salmi, S.J., vice president of Student Affairs, and the Student Affairs University Policy Committee.

The proposal was approved and sent to the Rev. Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., Loyola's President. Garanzini rejected the original proposal, which called for a guest policy in which students could have overnight guests of the opposite sex, both Loyola and non-Loyola students. The proposal was revised and then approved by Garanzini.

"My biggest concern remains the need to control and monitor who is in the building and who is not a member of the LUC community," Garanzini said of the original proposal.

These concerns will be evaluated over the rest of the spring semester, after which it will be decided whether to keep the policy as it is or revert back to the old policy.

"This is a trial period, and we're trying it out," said Warren Hale, director of residence life. "If students act reasonably and responsibly, then this will be a permanent change. If it returns into chaos and things get unmanageable, we'll go back to the old policy."