Seton Hall students shared their concerns and opinions on the guest policies for students living in dormitories on campus. Some of the issues included same-gender overnight guests, Commuter Hall and two-day passes.
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According to students, one of the issues that residents have is the same-gender overnight policy, which says that any resident bringing in an overnight guest to his or her dorm must be the same gender as the resident.
Jordyn Cameron, a freshman biochemistry major, said that she does not understand the problem of bringing someone of the opposite gender to her dorm. “If my roommates are okay with my boyfriend staying the night, then why is that an issue?” Cameron said.
DJ Schuck, a junior political science major and resident assistant at Aquinas Hall, explained why Seton Hall still has these policies. “We are a Catholic school. Some of the rules, like the same gender policy, are something that the school can’t change because it comes straight from the church,” Schuck said.
However, residents can still bring in overnight guests of the opposite gender with the co-hosting policy.
Schuck explained, “Basically, if you’re a girl and you want to sign in a guy overnight you can ask one of your guy friends who lives in the dorm to sign him in with you. A lot of people don’t know about this and its right there in the rules.” This co-hosting policy is posted on the Seton Hall website. According to the website, “a resident may co-host with someone of the opposite gender if the desired guest is the opposite gender of the host. Co-hosts must remain with their guest at all times.”
Commuters can also visit the dorms on campus with the Commuter Hall policy, which allows commuter students to visit weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“I think the policies set in place have affected my willingness to participate in things on campus,” said Stephen Rivera, a sophomore psychology major. “Personally, I don’t drive, so I get dropped off and picked up. My mom drives me and she doesn’t like me coming home so late.”
Rivera continued, “It’s difficult because a lot of clubs are at night and she doesn’t want to do that. And even stuff that happens in the dorm buildings that I can’t go to. It makes me feel a little bit excluded.”
“They [Department of Housing and Residence Life] are open to making changes and modifications to outdated policies,” Shuck said. “You just have to talk to the right people instead of just complaining about it.”
Shuck said that the policies are in place to keep people safe, not to be annoying. The top priority of the housing staff and residential community is to keep the students safe, he said, even if it seems a bit inconvenient.
Jennifer Fenter can be reached at jennifer.fenter@student.shu.edu.
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