Guide to Campus Living - Room Policies/Quiet Hours
Health and Safety Room Inspection Policy
- As stated in your Room And Board License Agreement it is the policy of the university that residence hall staff will enter student rooms for routine room inspections at least once a semester.
- Notification of the time frame of such inspections are posted at least one day in advance.
- Room inspections are intended to identify damage or conditions potentially harmful to the safety of the residence hall and/or the health of hall residents.
- Residents will be notified immediately of any violations in their rooms and will be asked to correct the violations.
- Room inspections are also done when halls close for winter and spring breaks. These inspections are done to ensure no violations result in damage to a hall during closing (for example, a window left open could cause pipes to freeze and/or burst in cold weather).
- Entry into a student room may also occur when there is a clear or apparent emergency, such as fire, serious illness or injury, or where danger threatens persons or property.
- Entry into a student room may also occur in the event of an alarm or other continuous sound that is causing a disruption to the community when the residents of the room cannot be located.
- Students are responsible for cleaning their personal space. Excessive messes, as determined by residence hall staff, may be determined to be a health and safety violation. This may include but is not limited to excessive room trash and recyclables, odors that extend into the hallway, restricted pathway to means of room exit, etc.
- Staff may also enter a student room when the residents have extended an invitation for them to do so.
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Permitted Decorations Policy
- No more than 20% of any wall or door should be covered with decorations.
- Only use decorations that are noncombustible or have a label that states that they are “flameproof,” “flame-resistant,” or “flame-retardant.” Keep the label to document acceptability.
- Electric lights string lights are acceptable ONLY if they are labeled with Underwriters Laboratory or Factory Mutual approval. Tags with this information are required to be on each string of lights. Strings that are frayed or have bare wires, cracked sockets, loose connections and damaged insulation are not permitted. String lights may not be wrapped around any furniture or other cloth items such as curtains or wall hangings. They may not be attached with nails or staples. In addition, no more than four sets of lights may be strung together in one connection.
- Do not place decorations near electrical equipment or other heat sources. Do not hang any decorations from sprinkler heads.
- Do not route electrical cords across aisles or corridors or under doors.
- Extension cords must have a 3-prong grounded plug and may not be daisy chained (multiple cords plugged into one another).
- No lit candles, open flames, or spark-producing devices are permitted. This includes incense.
- Do not obstruct corridors, stairways, exits or doors from closing.
- Decorations are not to be hung so as to obstruct exit lights, sprinkler pipes or heads, smoke detectors, fire alarm pull stations, portable fire extinguishers or cabinets, or other safety apparatuses.
- Only artificial trees/wreaths that are flame retardant are allowed in residence halls. No other greenery is acceptable. For these, documentation should be available to prove their flame resistance.
- Keep in mind that no holes may be made in the walls in order to hang materials. There are a number of products that can be used which are removable without damage to the wall or wall surface.
- Windows may have items placed on the glass as long as they are removable and do not cause any permanent scarring or damage.
- Wall tapestries are able to be hung in a student room as long as each tapestry is no larger than 4 feet x 6 feet, and only one tapestry may be hung per wall. Tapestries are not permitted to be strung across a doorway and may not be attached to the ceiling.
- Absolutely nothing may be attached to ceilings, may cover smoke detectors and/or sprinkler heads.
- No lights, ceiling fans, or other electrical appliances can be hung on the ceiling or interior walls.
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Quiet Hours Policy
Typical quiet hours are as follows:
10:00 pm Sunday – Thursday nights to 7:00 am the following morning
12:00 midnight Friday and Saturday nights to 7:00 am the following morning
- During quiet hours noise level is restricted to provide an acceptable atmosphere for study and sleep.
- During quiet hours, noise should not be heard outside of a student’s door or in adjacent rooms where others may be disrupted.
- Stereos, video games and televisions should be at a lower level so not to be likely heard outside of the student room or from open windows.
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Courtesy Hours Policy
- Courtesy hours are in effect 24-hours a day.
- Our courtesy hours policy is such that all members of the residence hall community are expected to refrain from noise which is a disturbance to another member of the community at all times of the day. If asked by any community member to lower his or her noise level, a student should respond in a respectful manner by lowering their nose level immediately.
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Finals Week 24-Hours Quiet Hours Policy
- Quiet hours are in effect 24-hours a day beginning at noon the Saturday before finals week and extending until the end of finals week (5:00pm Friday of finals week). All students and their guests need to honor these quiet hours so that all residential students may study as needed during this time period. Disruptive behavior may result in disciplinary action and may include being asked to leave the hall immediately for the duration of the semester.
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