Some Fairfield students are glad to know that it was not their average shenanigans with visiting friends that created the need for a revamped guest policy.
According to Associate Director of Public Safety Frank Ficko, the biggest indicator of the need for a change in the guest policy was what happened when most students had retired to their beds for the night. Specifically, it was, “the frequency of Residence Life and Public Safety encountering non-students wandering aimlessly around campus during all hours of the night,” Ficko said.
Often times, these non-students would claim to not know the location of their host. Ficko said, “The problem becomes compounded when the individual is involved in an incident, requires medical assistance, or refuses to provide proper identification.”
Already this semester, the Department of Public Safety has had to call Fairfield Police to arrest two unregistered guests and impound the car of another who was driving intoxicated on campus.
The Department of Public Safety in combination with the offices of the Dean of Students and Residence Life, have made an effort to reduce the number of incidents like these by altering the Guest Policy in the Student Handbook. It now explicitly mentions the requirement of students to register guests online on an all-new form. The form itself consists of 12-labeled blank spaces where the Fairfield University student host is to indicate the guests’ identity and basic plans, such as arrival and departure dates.
Last semester, a form requiring the same information was the standard for guest visitation, yet it had to be obtained by a Residence Life employee, such as a Residence Assistant (RA) or Area Coordinator (AC). Also, the host could not fill out the form if their guest was not the same gender. The old form also required the host RA’s signature, whereas the new form is directly submitted online; making the life of an RA a little easier.
Adam Powers ‘13, an RA in Loyola Hall said, “I think the new way to get guest passes is great, except that no one knows how it works yet. All I’ve gotten is residents coming to ask me about it.”
Indeed, it cannot be expected for all students to know exactly what the new policies are considering that only one brief, official e-mail was sent. All it provided was a link to the form online.
The most frequently-violated rules of the guest policy, such as “student hosts must be with their guests at all times,” and “violations of the guest policy may result in a minimal fine of $100…” are available only on the Student Life “About Us” webpage on the Fairfield University website.
The new guest pass also has benefits that are still largely unknown to the student population. For example, when placed on a guest’s dashboard, it serves as a temporary parking pass; thus eliminating the need to obtain one in person from the DPS office, as was the case last semester.
Amid the ups and downs of the policy change, the student response is mixed. Rayan Graham ‘14 said about the changes, “It’s too much of a hassle for someone to have to pay $100 in fines in case their guest loses the form, but it’s a good idea that they incorporated the parking pass part into it. What I think should be done is a temporary ID day-pass like the kind they had when I visited St. Johns University and UConn.”
Not all highly violated policies are new. One of them that need not confuse students is found on page 38 of the student handbook. It requires that all students have their Stagcard on them at all times. This policy has not changed in several years. Conversely, the rule about guests being required to have proper identification on them at all times is new.
One thing is clear about the changes. Most in the university community can agree that they are positive. “It’s good that they’re beefing up security,” said Graham.
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