Issue # 17– October 16, 2010
Living In Community
by: Sharon Kompalla, Center for Residence Life - Assistant Director
Communal living can be the highlight of your college career, but it can also be contentious as you work to resolve conflicts that inevitably arise and learn to navigate your way through university systems, policies and procedures. Most community situations tend to be fairly positive but arming yourself with some basic information and skills can really aid you in this facet of your college experience.
First and foremost, read the RIT Student Rights and Responsibilties Handbook and the Terms and Conditions of Housing. As a member of both the RIT and apartment community, you are responsible for knowing what is contained in these documents and can be held accountable for violating the Code of Conduct and/or the policies that govern campus living. These documents were distributed at the beginning of the year but if you haven't had the chance to read them yet or at least "skim" them - please take the opportunity to do so and familiarize yourself with the valuable information contained within them! Not knowing RIT policy will never be an acceptable excuse if you find yourself involved in a student conduct matter!
Some specific policies in the Terms and Conditions of Housing you should familiarize yourself with are the Pet Policy (pg. 32), Community Expectations for All RIT Housing (pg. 39), Visitation/Overnight Guests (pg. 41), Parties/Gatherings (pg. 42), Smoking (pg. 44), and the Quiet Hours policy on page 43.
Conduct which infringes upon the rights of others to a quiet living environment that supports residents' academic pursuits is not acceptable under any circumstances, and a resident’s right to sleep or study takes precedence over another resident’s desire to have guests, watch television, play music (including musical instruments) etc., in the room, apartment, or suite. In the event that you are experiencing a roommate or neighbor conflict over noise or music - here are some suggestions on how to address the situation:
1) Confront them yourselves - Very easy for us to say and we know it’s hard for you to do! But saying something such as “Any chance you could lower your bass?” or “Any chance you could not move your furniture till tomorrow?” is completely appropriate.
2) Call Public Safety - Any time you’re uncomfortable or in a challenging situation with another student, Public Safety should be your first call! They can quickly and easily respond and de-escalate a situation. While every call they respond to does get documented, it doesn’t mean that the noisemakers will “get in trouble” for what they’re doing.
But these aren’t the only steps though! Why wait for something to happen? Maybe there’s an apartment that is habitually noisy and you know that it isn’t going to mix well with the 30 page research paper you left until the last minute. How about trying a few proactive things?
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Talk to them beforehand - Knock on their door during the day and let them know what you’ve got going on and see if a win-win scenario can be worked out. Maybe it’s that they play their music until 10pm instead of 2am.
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Get your Community Advocate or Global Resident Advisor involved - Our staff is more than willing to step in and help where they can. Their services mostly focus on bringing both apartments/suites together to get on the same page in terms of noise expectations.
In the Students Rights and Responsibilties Handbook, be sure to check out the sections on RIT's Expectations for Community Behavior, The RIT Student Conduct Process, the RIT Student Alcohol and Drug Policy, the Good Samaritan Policy, and the Academic Honesty Policy. You can pick up a hard copy of this document in either Apartment Area office (113 Riverknoll or 1 Colony Manor), at the Center for Student Conduct & Conflict Management Services (2nd floor of the SAU above Ben & Jerry's) or online at the link included above. Lastly, make sure to have some basic conversations with your roommates/suitemates before any issues and problems get out of hand. No doubt about it, living with another person or persons can be a challenge so establishing some basic expectations and/or groundrules can be a proactive way to prevent minors issues from blowing up into major crises. If you haven't already taken the time to sit down with your roommates/suites and discuss a roommate agreement, we suggest you find some time to do this when everyone can focus on the discussion and can contribute to the creation of the agreement equally. You can find a blank template for a Roommate Agreement on the Center for Residence Life website and it will guide you through some important questions about communal living such as communication preferences, guests, personal property, study time, cleaning arrangements, and shared expenses. If you would like the assistance of your Community Advocate or Global Resident Advisor in drafting a roommate agreement - please feel free to contact them directly via their RIT email, or contact them at the Apartment Area offices (Apartment Area West office: 475-6333; Apartment Area East office: 475-4300). Living in a community can be a lot of fun, but it can also be a challenge. Hopefully with these tips and others you hear from your friends, you'll be up for that challenge! As always, let us know if there’s anything we can do to help. You can contact the Apartment Area staff at the numbers listed above, via email at
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