Rules ignored in ULV dormitory rooms

by Antonette Manabat
Staff Writer

Dorm life. Freedom. Alcohol. Partying.

Living in the dorms means that you are free from your parents, that you are an adult and that you can do whatever you want. Right? So why do residence halls have rules if not everyone follows them?

But then again some people actually do.

"If you didn't have policies established, then people might do what they felt was best for them individually without regard to others in the community," said Byron E. Howlett Jr., housing and residential life director.

Many students complain about rules such as alcohol, drugs, cohabitation and loud noise after quiet hours. These complaints are taken to the resident assistants.

"The R.A.'s are supposed to be there for their residents whether it is just to talk or when they feel that they are being affected by another resident's actions," said sophomore Stu-Han resident Rosa Arcadia.

"Everyone has a right to live in a comfortable environment," Arcadia added.

But many are going to live the way they want to regardless of whether there are rules or not.

"No matter where you look, college students will break the dorm rules because they're not living at home anymore, so they can do what they want when they want," said junior Stu-Han resident Stephanie Miller.

"I don't necessarily think students break the rules; I think they bend them. I don't think it's a big problem if it doesn't bother other residents," said sophomore Oaks resident Luis Chavez.

"Drinking and cohabitation is always going to happen; people are away from home and their parents, and they want to experience new things," said sophomore Brandt resident Josh Peacock.

"There is no way of getting around it," Peacock added.

Although drinking does occur, alcohol related incidents are not common in the dorm communities at the University of La Verne.

"I feel that there is an overall respect of the housing rules," said freshmen Brandt resident Will Claiborne III.

According to www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov, "1,400 college students die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries; more than 600,000 students are assaulted by another student who has been drinking; more than 70,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape and 400,000 students had unprotected sex due to being under the influence of alcohol."

"We know that being a dry campus does not necessarily mean that residents don't drink at all, but again, we do feel that being a dry campus contributes to the lower incidences of alcohol related situations on campus," Howlett said.

According to the Office of Postsecondary Education Campus Security Statistics Web site, there were no cases of murder, sexual assault, aggravated assault and only one case of simple assault in the years 1999, 2000 and 2001 combined at the ULV dorms.

ULV is not involved in the growing statistics of resident hall crimes. Security On Campus Inc. reports that in the year 2000 alone there have been 11 murders; 1,284 sex offenses; 1,093 assaults; 12,527 arrest due to liquor violations and 5,877 arrests due to drug law violations. All of these crimes occurred within the dorms.

Many feel that there is no way to stop college students from drinking in the dorms.

"You can't stop it; I mean this is the wettest dry campus I've ever been on," said freshmen Stu-Han resident Jerrica Perez. " It's kind of ironic too that our bookstore sells shot glasses and bottle openers."

The housing staff has provided many ways of limiting and keeping it under control. R.A.s are the ones to be depended on to keep their community in order; they are assigned a place to live and residents to watch over. R.A.s are hired by the professional housing staff.

"We look for individuals who are assertive, have the ability to clearly understand the policies, and are able to demonstrate that they are willing to enforce policies," Howlett said.

For the whole dorm community, an R.A. is on duty every night for any concerns or problems that any resident may encounter.

"The housing staff ensures safety and security in the residence halls, but not every violation is identified, as the housing staff is not in all places at all times," Howlett said.

Loud noise after quiet hours is also an issue and is quite often reported to R.A.s, but not all the time.

Many residents just deal with the loud noise even though it does bother them.

"It is truly up to all members of the community to help remind everyone of policies and to report any violations that they may be aware of," Howlett said.

Quiet hours, which are between the times of 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., are enforced for the benefit of the community as a whole. It is to ensure that studying, sleeping and having quiet time is provided for ULV students.

"The policies help community members respect each other, while trying not to be too evasive into their daily lives," Howlett said.

The ULV policy also prohibits cohabitation in the residence halls, which they define as, "intimate sexual behavior."

Overnight guests also have restrictions and should be registered by filling out an overnight guest registration form.

If a guest stays over two days ,they are charged $18 per day.

"Cohabitation and guests should be an issue discussed between roommates," Arcadia said.

Violations are inevitable in dorm life, you can't stop it but you can contain it.

"We really want people to feel like this is their home away from home," Howlett said.