Controversial Suspension of Spellman Hall Visitation Privileges- Tower Op-Ed by Ryan Winn

Upon returning to my dorm room on the second floor of Spellman Hall on Wednesday night I was informed via email of a change to the visitation policy in my dorm. This email, which was sent to each and every resident of Spellman Hall, states that in response to “significant incidents of vandalism” which have plagued Spellman over the last couple of weeks the weekend visitation hours have been reduced from midnight to eight pm. Furthermore after eight pm Thursday through Saturday “non-residents (including other CUA students) will not be permitted beyond the lobby of Spellman Hall.” These measures were enacted in response to a rash of vandalism incidents including the destruction of two water fountains, damages to the ceiling tiles, graffiti, and multiple holes were punched in the walls.
As a member of the student government here at CUA as well as a resident of Spellman Hall I was compelled to speak out against what I consider a slightly ridiculous policy. While I do agree that these damages need to stop, I cannot agree with the administration’s decision to restrict weekend visitation hours. In the letter, written by Associate Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life Sarah M. Daniels, this new policy is designed to foster an environment “where all residents can be successful in their academic pursuits.” However, I see this policy inhibiting the ability of students to collaborate with one another in the comfort of their own building. Furthermore Spellman residents will now necessarily be forced to travel around campus at night because they are unable to meet with guests, including members of the CUA community, after 8pm. For night owls such as myself who do a fair amount of work well after 8pm and oftentimes until the early hours of the morning the new rules will make us adapt our study techniques completely to an entirely new time-table. If nothing else it provides yet another geographic inconvenience for students living on the south side of campus.
In all honesty my real issue with this new policy is that it doesn’t appear that it was executed in the best manner possible. For instance the entire building is being penalized for vandalism that occurred primarily on one floor. Realistically the people who are behind these incidents are very few in number and due to the consistent nature of these damages (they have been occurring since the start of school) the perpetrators most likely are residents of the building, not the guests who are covered by the new policy.
In the second paragraph of Associate Dean Daniels’ letter she states that it is the duty of each resident to “work with the university staff to bring accountability to those responsible.” While I do agree with this opinion, I find it confusing that innocents students who are in no way involved in the incidents described in the email are being punished for simply not witnessing people vandalize the dorm. By choosing to limit the privileges of all residents the Director of Residence Life is created an animosity towards the administration instead of working towards a living situation in which students are “empowered” to report the violations that they do see.
Finally, I wish that the email had given some sort f conditions under which this policy could be repealed whether it is a time line or an achievement based system. To my knowledge this policy will be in affect until further notice and leaves the residents of Spellman Hall in a lurch should a friend or family member wish to swing by after 8 pm, a time when lets be honest everyone is still out and about. As an alternative to the new visitation policy I belief vandalism can be reduced in Spellman Hall by increasing the involvement of the RA’s during the weekends and by the Residence Life Department holding a town hall style meeting inside of the dorm to get the student perspective on the damages. Also, it has been rumored that Spellman Hall students will not be issued overnight guest passes, however at this time that is still unconfirmed. On a positive note the new check-in policy that was implemented this past week is very thorough and will most definitely ensure an increased degree of safety inside of the dorm. I look forward to the opportunity to meet with Associate Dean Daniels at her earliest convenience, and hope to address this issue at the next Student Life Committee meeting. On a final note I strongly encourage any students who are concerned about this recent policy decision to speak out (respectively) and contact members of the administration to find out what steps residents can take to reinstate our visitation privileges.