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.

Washington Post Article on Spellman Visitation Crackdown- Ryan Winn quoted

By Susan Kinzie

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, November 23, 2007

Catholic University's rules for visitors in dorms have long been stricter than those at other local universities, which tend to give students universal key cards and essentially, freedom.  This fall, after a spate of problems at a rowdy freshman dorm, Catholic tightened restrictions even more, including a ban on visitors to Spellman Hall after 8 p.m. on weekends.

Now some students are saying the school has gone to far.

It's an issue every college has to consider: Should they let students make their own fun and their own mistakes, or impose rules that limit both?

In the past, nonresidents had to leave all campus dorms at Catholic by 2 a.m. on weekends, and temporary overnight passes were allowed for visitors of the same gender if they are not students at Catholic.  Over the summer, administrators ratcheted the time limit back to midnight.

And this month, after a particularly nasty outburst of vandalism at Spellman -- including holes punched in walls and water fountains wrenched out -- freshman who live there were told of the new restriction.

Many students were aghast.  Midnight is like 8 p.m. for most students, said Joe St. George, a freshman from Ohio.  So 8 p.m. is like -- afternoon.

"I get my best work done from midnight to 2," Ryan Winn said.  "I'm a very typical college student."

Another freshman said the hours were fine.  For a nursing home.

The Tower, the student newspaper, wrote a scathing editorial.

Junior J. Peter Donald started a petition, collecting hundreds of signatures.  He said the rules limit students' ability to study or work on projects in groups because the library isn't open late, either.  He volunteered to help staff a late-night study room at the library.

"We understand we're in a uniquely Catholic environment.  We understand that shooting for the moon -- 24 hours -- is a little much."  He's asking for the 2 a.m. cutoff back.  "The situation is pretty bad right now.  We need to make a change."

Sarah Daniels, associate dean of students, said school officials often hear of roommate conflicts based on overnight guests and students who feel it's too noisy to study of sleep.

There are schools that enforce guest policies, said Chris Moody, executive director of housing and dining programs at American University, "but they're few and far between now, especially in metropolitan areas."  "It's more common at religious schools, he added, and students often choose an environment that fits with their values."

"It's very natural to have weekend visitors" from out of town, said Jan Davidson in the resident life department at the University of Maryland.  Other than a common prohibition on stays of more than three nights, designed to discourage people from flat-out moving in, there haven't been rules about visitors there since the late 1960's.  Back then, there were rules, especially for women, he said, but with cultural changes and students demands, "that melted away."

The shift happened nationally, with universities moving away from acting as stand-in parents and choosing to treat students as adults.

At the University of Virginia, as at many schools, students make decisions about guests with their roommates.  It's part of growing up, learning to negotiate and being responsible, said Angela Davis, associate dean of students.

The situation at Spellman was unusual, Daniels said.

Most dorms have some problems with damage; students are rough on buildings.  But it reached a level at Spellman this fall that shocked many of the freshman there: ceiling tiles pulled down, bathrooms damaged, ugly graffiti scrawled on walls (and some other things too icky to mention).

St. George said that because Spellman is across Michigan Avenue from the central campus, "it's our own little island.  If you put a bunch of freshman away from home on their own for the first time on their own little island..." he laughed.  "It can cause some problems."

It's never really quiet in Spellman until 3 a.m. or so, St. George said.  "Kids talking, screaming, stuff like that.  People in the halls."

That was normal.  But he said he and other students were shocked by the damage.  "Most people were really upset."

Daniels said administrators and hall staff tried to make changes, including having conversations with students and holding a floor meeting.  So they imposed the rules.

Like several students, St. George was glad the school clamped down.  "They had to.  It was just getting ridiculous.  I'm willing to suffer.  "Many were worried about having to pay huge bills to cover cleaning and repairs: Everyone is held responsible if the culprits aren't found.  Some pitched in to scrub and fix what they could.  "Most people in Spellman are great,"  St. Gearge said.  "It's just a few people causing problems."

But some students have found themselves caught in strange situations.  Winn was working with student leaders in his room and realized that they needed the class president to sign something, but he lived in another dorm and it was after 8 p.m., so he wouldn't be allowed to join the meeting in Spellman.  "It was just a joke," Winn said, frustrated.

Some students have tried to find ways to sneak around the rules or shift their late-night events to other spots.

And many, like Winn, are trying to change it.  "I just think it was kind of a policy that was created like a blunt instrument to take care of a small problem," he said, a punishment rather than a means of preventing vandalism.  Winn and other student leaders are pushing students to stop the damage and meeting with administrators next month to talk about the rules.

"It's like going and asking Dad," Donald said, "if you can take the care out for a drive." 

Record 2007-2008; Freshman Year

As a freshman I served on the Cardinal Student Association as Student Life Senator, then briefly as Class President.  During this time I worked on many projects and voted on numerous issues before the body.  A few specifics are outlined below.

-Worked to analyze the newly implemented campus safety procedures by taking part in the planning of Campus safety week as well as the campus safety walk

-Voted to support every recognized student organization who applied for contingency funding.  I believed then, and still believe today organizations should have the means to produce the best programs they can develop.  Ensuring that student org's are able to generate new and unique programming increases Student Life on campus, and is crucial to improving upon CUA's retention rate.

-I fought the administrations decision to restrict general visiting hours and the draconian measures implemented on Spellman Hall restricting visiting hours to 8pm for non-residents.  The next post will contain the text of the two articles published about the visiting hour controversy one in the Washington Post, and one in the CUA Tower. 

Activities on Campus

In addition to being a member of the General Assembly I am an active member of the following organizations:

The College Republicans 

The Society for a Virtuous Culture- Treasurer

Middle States of America Reaccreditation Task Force on Student Services- Student Representative

WCUA College Radio

The Knights of Columbus

The Quorum

Background

Since arriving at CUA I have committed myself to ensuring the highest quality college experience for both myself and my fellow classmates.  This past year I have served on the First General Assembly as a Delegate for the Class of 2011 as well as Chairman of the, largest committee in SAGA, the  Student Life Committee.  Despite being only one of two Sophomores with leadership positions within SAGA I committed the Student Life Committee to engaging the most pressing issues facing the students here at Catholic.  In this year alone my committee tangled with the issue of Juicy Campus, the problem of concerns over Student Life on Campus, the prospect of putting a DVD rental machine in the PRYZ, the alarming number of incidents involving drugs and alcohol first semester, and many more.

During this first meeting of the Assembly I have been the most active legislator in the entire body, with five bills that I have either sponsored or cosponsored passed into law.  These bills span a number of issues centered around building a tradition of responsible representation for the student of The Catholic University of America.

During my freshman year I served in the Cardinal Student Association, the transitional student representation body designed to serve while the Constitution of the Student Association was being formulated.  I was originally elected to the post of Student Life Senator I ultimately assumed the position of Class President when the sitting President, Tony Mammunes resigned.

Over the past two years I have developed a record of dutifully serving my peers and the University as a whole and in future posts I will release details of my record.

Introduction

Welcome to my site!  I will use this site as a resource to share information about my post as a Delegate for the Class of 2011.  It has been an incredible honor to serve as a founding member of the Student Association General Assembly, and I would like to thank the Class of 2011 for giving me the opportunity to represent them in the General Assembly.  Over the past year I have learned a great deal about the problems facing CUA and its students.  I have also experienced the best of what The Catholic University of America has to offer.  I truly enjoy being a student at CUA and there is no better time to be studying in our nation's capitol. 

I have served our class in one capacity or another since the fall of freshman year and look forward to doing so in the future, whether reelected to the Student Association General Assembly or not.  No one can doubt the importance and impact of the Class of 2011 to the CUA community.  Sophomores make up a large part of the students active within student organizations, sports teams, and academic pursuits throughout campus.  As we make the transition from mere sophomores to upperclassmen the issues we will be dealing with as a class will continue to become more important to our ultimate career and life paths.