Serving as the temporary homes for college students on-campus, residence halls are the life of the student body; they are the places in which students live, eat, study, grow, learn, and pursue their college educations and the betterment of themselves.

Housing and Residence Life at the University of North Carolina Wilmington works hard to “offer students safe, affordable, and well-maintained residential facilities…[and to] foster inclusive communities…by promoting personal responsibility, offering intentional programming, and providing leadership development opportunities”.

This last phrase is taken from HRL’s mission statement, found on their department’s website page. While the message is well-intended and optimistic, I have to wonder as to whether or not HRL fully practices these values and is careful to keep these goals and ideals in mind when implementing policies or enforcing regulations for their residents.

The primary policy that comes to mind is the visitation policy that HRL enforces on a few of its living areas.  Galloway, Belk, Graham-Hewlett, Tri-House, and Schwartz are the only areas in which a strict visitor policy is regularly enforced.

In these areas, residents are required to check in each of their guests with the desk receptionist upon entrance to the building.  If the guest is from UNCW, the process is usually fairly quick.  The desk receptionist logs their name into the computer along with the resident who is checking them in, their room number, and whether or not they are an overnight guest.  For non-UNCW students upon their first visit to one of these residence halls, an ID is collected, their information added to the system, and a photo ID is captured.

Each resident is only allowed to check in three guests at a time and they must stay with their guest throughout the entirety of their visit as well as be present for their checkout. Yes, every guest must be checked in and out of the building through the DR and the computer system every time they enter and exit the building.  Furthermore, each guest of the opposite sex must leave the building by 12:00 am on weekday nights.  Guests of the same sex are allowed to stay overnight any day of the week but must be checked in before 12:00 am on week days and 2:00 am on weekends.  Guests of the opposite sex may be checked in as 24-hour visitors but only on the weekends.  On top of this limited visitation, guests of the opposite sex are not allowed to sleep in the residence halls, thus becoming overnight guests and corrupting the policy; rather they must stay awake and be present with their guest throughout the time they spend with them (an aspect of the policy that is not heavily enforced).

Whew.  If you have any experience living on campus or working for HRL, you’re probably quite familiar with this policy. If not, this policy can come across at first as incredibly confusing and annoying.  Regardless, it’s exhausting to keep up with.  But more importantly than being a nuisance for both residents and the RAs who are required to enforce it, this policy is incredibly outdated, unfair, and degrading.

It’s outdated and unfair because it assumes residents to be cis heterosexual individuals.  By preventing residents from having overnight guests of the opposite sex, the policy refuses to recognize those who identify in the LGBTQIA group. Furthermore, I have to ask the question: what is the point of preventing residents from having overnight guests on the weekdays?  Why is HRL monitoring their schedule so vehemently? Is HRL trying to prevent residents from having sex on the weekdays or losing sleep?

HRL may protest that this is done in order to follow the cohabitation laws of the state but these rules aren’t formally addressed and implemented in other areas (i.e. Seahawk Landing, Crossing, Village, Suites, and Apartments).  In addition, only certains aspects of these laws are heavily enforced in first-year areas and they continue to disregard same-sex couples.

Another question we must consider when visiting this topic is why first year areas?  The areas that are forced to adhere to these discriminatory rules are limited to first year students. What does this say about the respect HRL has for its incoming students? By not giving residents this responsibility of managing guests and hosting visitors, we neglect them from their right to grow. We treat them like children and prevent them from taking ownership of their lives and their responsibilities and thus slow their adapting into their new adult worlds.

Ultimately, this policy is a mess.  It’s complicated and confusing and does not help to foster positive environments within residence halls. 

Rather, it creates tension between RAs and residents as they knock on their doors at 12:00 am to force their guests to leave.  Oftentimes this attempt to force guests out is met with a statement of protest; the resident has checked their guest out hours ago and is standing in their pajamas, grimacing against the bright lights of the hall and rubbing their eyes after having been abruptly awakened.

There’s a lot of information here.  This problem is complex due a convoluted policy.  So let’s boil it down to the basics.  What are the core issues with this policy?

1. It discriminates. It fails to treat residents equally by assuming heterosexuality.

2. It’s inconsistent. This policy is only heavily enforced in first-year areas.  How can we expect such rigid policy following from some residents and not from others? How does this foster inclusivity?

3. It disrespects first year students.  By managing their guests so closely, the policy fails to give them freedom and encourage them to take ownership of their personal responsibilities, thus treating them like children rather than encouraging them on their pursuit of adulthood.

4. Lastly, it counteracts the positive interactions RAs work so hard to foster between them and their residents.

So what can we do to counter this? How can we retaliate against this policy

I challenge HRL to revisit the policy and how it is used differently in each area.  While I am an advocator of doing away with the policy altogether and treating every area as leniently as the upperclassmen areas, I realize this idea is ambitious and aggressive. 

However, change is necessary.  This is not another issue to be swept under the rug and tolerated by RAs and residents alike.  HRL needs to update their policy in order to be in accord with their core values, promote diversity, and foster an inclusive and respectful environment.  Finally, this newfound environment should be cultivated and exercised among residents and RAs alike in order to encourage the common pursuit of knowledge, community, and ultimately happiness here on campus.