2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Editor: Are community housing fines out of control?
Issue date: 12/3/04 Section: Opinions
Dear Editor:
The collection of community housing fines has gotten out of control. Last semester many students were charged in excess of $150 by the end of the year, without being previously notified of any violations. I remember one night last semester when the Residential Life Office, on the first floor of McKean Hall, was mysteriously flooded by a hose that had been strategically positioned beneath the door by an unknown assailant. The hose was left on all night, and hundreds of gallons of water flooded the office ruining carpet, furniture, computers, and various other electronic devices. By the morning, the water had caused thousands of dollars in damage.
Since the person who flooded the building was never caught and the Residential Life Office is located in McKean Hall, the damages were billed to all 227 students living in the facility. The residents of McKean Hall were not notified of the fine until they received the bill nearly two months after the incident and well after they had returned home for the summer.
While it is unlikely that the Residential Life Office will be flooded again, communal fines affect every student. The housing agreement that students must sign before they are allowed to live on campus states that, "Students are responsible for care of public areas and furnishings. Public areas are defined as hallways, stairwells, lounges, kitchens, bathrooms, etc. "Common-Billing" charges may be made to residents of a section, wing, floor or entire building (as appropriate) for damages and/or vandalism, to public areas of a residence hall." (B20, Section 15 in the Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities)
This means that if anyone were to vomit, urinate, defecate, burn, destroy, or flood any area of a residence hall and were not caught, every resident of the hallway, floor, or building would be held liable for the damages. It is most often the case that recipients of these communal fines are not informed of the fine until it is too late to protest, challenge, or discuss the issue with the Residential Life Office.
If the communal fining system is to remain intact, the Residential Life Office has the ethical obligation to inform residents of any communal fines that they receive, well before the semester is over, and preferably within two weeks of the incident. Since the practice of fining people for damages that they were not responsible for (e.g. the 227 residents of McKean Hall could not have all been responsible for flooding the Residential Life Office, but were all held financially liable) is in itself a debatable practice; it is only fair to inform residents of their fines well before it is time to pay for them. If students are not afforded this simple consideration, the Residential Life Office is bound to be vandalized in the middle of the night once again.
Sincerely,
Morgan Williams
The collection of community housing fines has gotten out of control. Last semester many students were charged in excess of $150 by the end of the year, without being previously notified of any violations. I remember one night last semester when the Residential Life Office, on the first floor of McKean Hall, was mysteriously flooded by a hose that had been strategically positioned beneath the door by an unknown assailant. The hose was left on all night, and hundreds of gallons of water flooded the office ruining carpet, furniture, computers, and various other electronic devices. By the morning, the water had caused thousands of dollars in damage.
Since the person who flooded the building was never caught and the Residential Life Office is located in McKean Hall, the damages were billed to all 227 students living in the facility. The residents of McKean Hall were not notified of the fine until they received the bill nearly two months after the incident and well after they had returned home for the summer.
While it is unlikely that the Residential Life Office will be flooded again, communal fines affect every student. The housing agreement that students must sign before they are allowed to live on campus states that, "Students are responsible for care of public areas and furnishings. Public areas are defined as hallways, stairwells, lounges, kitchens, bathrooms, etc. "Common-Billing" charges may be made to residents of a section, wing, floor or entire building (as appropriate) for damages and/or vandalism, to public areas of a residence hall." (B20, Section 15 in the Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities)
This means that if anyone were to vomit, urinate, defecate, burn, destroy, or flood any area of a residence hall and were not caught, every resident of the hallway, floor, or building would be held liable for the damages. It is most often the case that recipients of these communal fines are not informed of the fine until it is too late to protest, challenge, or discuss the issue with the Residential Life Office.
If the communal fining system is to remain intact, the Residential Life Office has the ethical obligation to inform residents of any communal fines that they receive, well before the semester is over, and preferably within two weeks of the incident. Since the practice of fining people for damages that they were not responsible for (e.g. the 227 residents of McKean Hall could not have all been responsible for flooding the Residential Life Office, but were all held financially liable) is in itself a debatable practice; it is only fair to inform residents of their fines well before it is time to pay for them. If students are not afforded this simple consideration, the Residential Life Office is bound to be vandalized in the middle of the night once again.
Sincerely,
Morgan Williams