Freshman Forum: House Rules

One of the things people seem most interested in (or afraid of) before they go to school is the rules they’ll have to adhere to. Who will tell them what to do? And what will they be told to do? Fear not; worrying over the rules isn’t necessary! I’m here to explain the ones I live under to you. While dorm rules differ from university to university, there are common threads between the majority of them. Here are the main players and how they affect you.

1. No alcohol! This is a pretty straightforward mandate, to be sure. After all, most freshman are under the drinking age anyways, so alcohol in their room would be against the law.
2. No weapons! Another no-brainer. Students in high school aren’t allowed to have weapons, and neither are college kids.
3. Curfew. Curfew varies from college to college. For example, at UNA, we don’t have a curfew at all. There are no “dorm hours” or even “visitor hours.” As long as we let the advisor on our floor know we’re having an overnight guest, they can stay for up to three days without a problem. However, many schools do enforce curfew and visiting hours. For example, at my boyfriend’s school, overnight visitor policy is a lot stricter. You must check in visitors ahead of time and make sure it’s clear with the person’s roommate(s) first. They also enforce curfew hours in some of the dorm halls on campus.
4. Parking. This is one of the single most irritating policies on campus. At UNA, we’re always complaining about the parking situation and coming up with parking hashtags on Twitter (#UNAprobz is a pretty popular one). See, students have their spaces, teachers have their spaces, and everything is color-coded. If you’re in the wrong spot, you get a ticket. Plus, it seems that every couple of years, a parking lot is destroyed to put up another building or something. Parking gets crazy and you can walk a long way to class, so be prepared to leave early!
5. Effort. This category is pretty vague, I know, but some universities require more student participation than others. For example, UNA’s Honors Program requires all of its students to participate in several Honors activities, while other universities don’t require as many or none at all. There are different requirements of freshman, honors kids, Greek life-ers, and the other various groups/organizations you get involved with.

I hope these rules clarify college life just a little bit for you! Have a great week.