The Rocky Mountain Collegian

The Student Government passed new housing legislation at its meeting last night, with the dual goals of keeping more students from moving off campus and addressing the upperclassmen's complaints that underclassmen are usurping spots in preferred housing through pull-ins.

The legislation, which promised to make the housing process more fair for deserving students, was passed with one amendment that ensures students who received their housing assignment fairly, through the application process (rather than being pulled in) will be able to squat in their apartment.

Squatting is unfair, yet the amended legislation allows it to continue. Squatting should not be allowed in any case, and this amendment waters down the original motion to curtail it.

It should be noted this legislation was, in general, a favorable move on SGA's part, although the amendment is a setback.

However, the real question at hand should be whether the new legislation will help keep students on campus--and the answer to that question is no.

The proposed changes seem nothing more than a quick fix: The Department of Housing and Residence Life's problems run much deeper than squatters and pull-ins, and the changes will not provide a long-lasting solution to the problem of students moving off campus.

The Department of Public Safety's rumored volatile behavior, check-in policies and all-freshmen dormitories have turned students to living off campus.

While there have been no hard and fast cases of DPS abusing their power this semester, it is well known that DPS officers have acted aggressive toward students in the past. Many students, instead of feeling protected by DPS, feel as if DPS is out to get them, and consequently move off campus, where they have more freedom.

After all, many of these students are adults and, being of legal drinking age, should be allowed to carry alcohol into their apartment without being stopped--or having to hide it in a bag.

Likewise, check-in policies for students in The Marchetti Apartments are too restrictive for upperclassmen who are legally adults, and should be considered mature enough to decide who they invite to their apartments, regardless of their guest's sex.

Students in all-freshmen dormitories should not be forced to kick out guests of the opposite sex at 1 a.m. Policies like these frustrate students, and can lead them to the point where they no longer wanting to live on campus because they feel they have no freedom.

The new housing legislation, as it was originally proposed without amendments, was fair, and Argyle Wade and the Department of Housing and Residence Life should be encouraged to make the changes despite the SGA's alterations.

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