Lockout fees not so minor when put into big perspective

As everyone already knows, the cost of attending Seton Hall is a bit pricey. I would not even be able to afford to go here if it were not for the scholarship I received and student loans that help me pay for my time here at Seton Hall.

So, for a school that charges so much money for tuition, how is it that we still have to get charged for minor mishaps, such as getting locked out of our dorm rooms? Students who get locked out of their rooms have to pay up to $25 for a resident assistant to open the door and let them back into their own rooms.

I do not think that it is a hard task for someone to grab a key, walk a flight or two of stairs and open a door and therefore, we should not be charged. Most of us pay close to $50,000 a year to attend this Se­ton Hall, and we have to pay $25 each time we mistakenly get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and forget to bring our key.

I understand, perhaps, if the same person gets locked out every night, charging him or her $10 at the most, because they do need to learn a lesson, but what ever hap­pened to getting warnings before issuing fines? If I get locked out of my room one time, I should not be penalized for it. Everyone, no matter who they are, deserve to have at least one time to make a mistake if not two times.

I understand certain charges, for example, a lost key because it costs money to replace the key and change the locks, however, the school is not losing any money from a student who accidently gets locked out of a dorm room.

How much more money can this school demand from us? How ex­actly is Seton Hall using our fee money? Does the $25 I paid for forgetting my key in my room go towards a certain student organi­zations? I can understand if the money is coming back to the stu­dents to support activities but that is not happening right now.

I realize the logic behind these fees, so that students will think twice be­fore running out of their room without their key. How­ever, I know when I wake up at 2 a.m. to use the bathroom, the last thing that I am thinking about is my door locking behind me.

I think that there should defi­nitely be warnings given out be­fore fines. I am fed up with being charged for every minor mistake I make. I am still learning and also a college student, therefore, I am going to make mistakes. I am cer­tainly not perfect, so all I can ask for is a little understanding when it comes to these minor discrep­ancies that myself and my fellow students may make.

Lindsay Rittenhouse is a sopho­more journalism major from How­ell, NJ. She can be reached at lindsay.rittenhouse@student.shu.edu.