With many students putting a negative outlook on their restrictions on campus, a change needed to be made. Cabrini has instituted a new visitation policy to better suit their upperclass students.
“I moved off my junior year because rules were getting way too strict,” senior marketing major Ryan Oxley said.
The new visitation policy entitles upper-class students to 24-hour visitation privileges, with the consent of their roommates. Without the agreement of their roommates, they will have to follow the same visitation rights as first-year students.
As last year was reaching its end, Residence Life was busy holding focus group meetings with students to get a feel for reactions of the Cabrini College experience.
“One of the consistent themes was that students were dissatisfied with last year’s policy,” George Stroud, director of residence life, said.
“We came to college to learn how to be more responsible and we were just treated like we were back in high school,” senior elementary education major Felicia Neuber said.
Residence Life fully researched the visitation policies of several other small, private, Catholic institutions.
“After speaking with approximately 20 other institutions, we found that the old visitation policy was a little more strict than many, but not all, of the other schools,” Stroud said.
First-year students may only have 24-hour visitation privileges with guests of the same gender and their roommates approval. Guests of opposite gender must adhere to consistent visitation hours. Sunday through Thursday visitors are allowed from 10 a.m. until midnight. On the weekends, guests may stay until 2 a.m.
“Being we’re living on our own, I think we should be able to make wise choices and be responsible enough to have the same rights as upperclassmen,” freshmen business administration major Sam Zeff said.
“It should be noted that when making the changes to the policy, Residence Life took into consideration the privacy of the roommates, residence hall safety and student interests,” Stroud said.
All guests must still be signed into buildings. Overnight guests who are not from Cabrini must be 18 years of age or older and cannot stay on campus any longer than 48 hours in a seven-day period.
Students were beginning to feel as if they came to college and kept a curfew that they were hoping to leave at the entrance of Cabrini.
The new visitation policy creates more freedom for students, while still emphasizing the privacy of residents.
“I think it’s great and a good way to be responsible. I thought it wasn’t right that I could have my friends come being 21 and them having to be hassled with trying to sign in and stuff,” Neuber said.
