Wednesday, September 5, 2001

Visitation hours extensions yet to succeed in halls
By Aaron Chimbel
Staff Reporter

Residence hall visitation hours can be revised on a per hall basis, but no hall was successful in changing hours last semester. This semester Student Government Association Parliamentarian and Clark Hall resident Chris Mattingly said he was interested in changing visitation policy in Clark.

“Visitation (hours) probably won’t be extended this year,” Mattingly said.

He said it failed because of a lack of response from students.According to the 2001-2002 TCU student handbook, “Students may vote to extend visitation through a special election. A proposal to extend visitation must be submitted to and approved by the hall director before the election takes place.”

Prior to the policy change, approved by Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Don Mills in May 2000, students had no say in visitation hours of a hall. Policy was changed by SGA legislation passed in 2000.

Brian Wood, SGA President and Milton Daniel Hall resident assistant, said previous SGA members wanted to put visitation control into a residence hall’s hands.

To change visitation policy, a hall council must first submit a written proposal to the hall director. Russell Elleven, associate director of residence life, said the hall director then confers with him to decide whether to put the proposal up for a vote by the entire residence hall. A vote to change policy requires two-thirds of the hall’s residents to approve it, Elleven said.

Elleven said a hall could extend visitation hours by one hour at night to 1 a.m.

Sunday through Thursday, and to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Morning visitation currently begins at noon but can be moved to 10 a.m., Elleven said.

Changes in visitation policy cannot be voted on until one month into the semester so new residents can decide if the current hours are sufficient, Elleven said. Approved changes last for one semester.

Although the policy has yet to be changed Elleven said, “I can’t see a time when (a change) wouldn’t be approved (by me).”

Last semester both Jarvis and Shirley halls tried to change their visitation policy, but neither was successful. Shirley Hall head resident hall assistant Meghan Geare said it went to a vote last year in the hall of about 350 women.

“We had maybe 100 or so people that even voted at all,” she said.

Jarvis Hall Director Rhonda Dickens Wisner said last semster the Jarvis hall council proposed changing the hours, but she did not approve the request. The visitation hours for Jarvis were not put up for an all-hall vote.

“I don’t think any hall directors were prepared to approve a plan last year because of the logistics of it,” she said.

She said there are a lot of things residents need to consider before changing visitation policy. Safety, different hours of other halls and how the hall is affected when men visit are all considerations, Wisner said.

Sophomore premajor and Jarvis hall council Co-President Ebony Russo said visitation policy is something the council will look at this semester. She said that because Jarvis is primarily upper class students, they feel more of the need for freedom.Elleven said that his concern is to make sure visitation hours are fair for everyone.

“A couple of folks in SGA wanted to see this happen so I thought last year we would see a lot happening,” he said.

Aaron Chimbel
a.a.chimbel@student.tcu.edu