Confusion about where and when annual room inspections would be conducted has left some students complaining that they were fined unfairly by the Office of Residential Life.
Since Oct. 27, ResLife inspectors have been performing the first round of plain-sight inspections in select residence halls across campus. The second round, which will cover all other residence halls, will be conducted in the next three weeks.
In accordance with ResLife protocol, inspectors will knock on a resident's door, enter and then record any violations per a checklist, a process that takes only a few minutes, said Assistant Dean of Student Life Thomas Forsberg.
If a resident has violated any rules, the inspector will leave a copy of the checklist in the room. Inspectors confiscate some unauthorized materials, especially candles, upon inspection, and they will revisit other rooms to make sure students have made required changes to décor and removed other illegal materials.
In serious cases, failure to correct these violations will result in referral to the disciplinary system, Forsberg said.
Some students who were fined during the first round of inspections now say they were not given adequate warning about the inspections.
"They didn't make it clear that they were checking the rooms," said Ted McCarthy '07. Inspectors confiscated McCarthy's hookah from the common room of his friend Jamie Kidwell '07.
When Kidwell went to retrieve the hookah from the Department of Public Safety, officers there said because it did not smell like marijuana, she could have it back, Kidwell said.
Still, even though her four other suitemates had nothing to do with the incident, Kidwell said they have all been asked to meet with Associate Dean of Student Life Terry Addison for a non-disciplinary meeting.
"My main complaint is that it's an inconvenience. I don't think everybody (in the suite) should be responsible," Kidwell said.
But Forsberg defended these inspections, saying any students who did not receive ResLife e-mails about the inspections were "isolated incidents."
Forsberg said students were notified prior to the inspections, in accordance with Residential Life's Health and Safety Inspections Code, which is described on ResLife's Web site.
In addition to the e-mail sent out to all residents on Wednesday, another e-mail that detailed the inspecting process and the times the examinations were to occur was sent three weeks ago. Flyers were also posted on the doors of residence halls, Forsberg said.
But Mario Desouza '05, who lives in New Dorm and was cited for sleeping with the door to his suite open, said he never saw any flyers or received an e-mail. After the inspection, two of his roommates ended up being locked out of their rooms by the inspectors, he said. Inspectors are required to lock doors when they leave, even if they are unlocked when they arrive.
Nicholas Friesner '05.5 said although he knew information about the inspections was out there, he did not think the notices were visible enough. Friesner said he found the flyer on the back door of Barbour Hall, where he lives, only after he was fined and actively searched. But Friesner said he and his two roommates never received an e-mail.
"I only saw one flyer in the whole building and it's the most nondescript thing I've ever seen, which leads me to believe that they didn't want us to know about it," he said.
When Kidwell was trying to find out more about ResLife's policies online, she said the process of looking for information was "like a loop" - she was constantly referred to one Web site and then another.
Friesner has already set up an appointment with Director of Housing Richard Bova and plans to ask that fines be waived for all residents who did not receive notification.
But Forsberg said proving that some students didn't receive the e-mail will be difficult because ResLife computers never reported a system error after it was sent.
Forsberg said the inspections are not intended to get students in trouble but to ensure a safe environment in all the residence halls.
"Our goal is prevention," Forsberg said.
Although ResLife has published brochures and sent out e-mails about health and safety issues in the residence halls, Forsberg said room inspections are still the most effective way of reducing violations because they affect students the most immediately.
"The fact that we're finding violations proves that other resources haven't worked," he said.
Forsberg said it's still too early to determine whether violation rates have increased since last year because inspections of all residence halls have yet to be completed. Assistant Director for Operations Jacqueline Newcomb said some buildings have had significantly fewer violations than others.
