Residence Hall Policies

The following policies and procedures apply to all residents and their guests. Violations of these policies will be addressed through the disciplinary process. If you wish to better understand the rationale for any policy, please contact the Residential Life Office or any staff member.

RH1 Gatherings

Socialization in campus housing is encouraged as it fosters the development of the residence hall community. However, it is your responsibility to pay attention to how gatherings in your room/apartment impact the community in relation to noise and guest behaviors. In addition, you are expected to note and control the number of persons in your room at any one time. Local Fire Code, which addresses safety issues, governs the number of persons permitted in residence hall rooms and College Apartments.

The maximum number of persons permitted in a residence hall room or residence hall apartment (including those assigned to the space) is noted below:

Room typeCapacity/space
Residence Hall Double 8
Residence Hall Triple 10
Residence Hall Quad 12
Residence Hall Mini-Suite 12
Residence Hall Apartment 12

In College Apartments (including porches and balconies) the following number of persons may be present at any one time (including those assigned to the space):

Apartment LocationCapacity/unit
609 Mulberry 20
627 Mulberry Street 30
629 Mulberry Street 45
635 Mulberry Street 20
635 ½ Mulberry Street 40
40 Ross Street 45
60 / 60 ½ Ross Street 45
71 Ross 15
71 ½ Ross 8
73 Ross 45
All Commons Units 1-22 12

RH2 Guests

Guests are visitors to a hall, floor, room or Apartment sharing an activity or study time with a resident. Residents are accountable for the actions of their guests at all times and are expected to escort their guests while on campus. All students are expected to inform their guests of College and residence hall policies, and also of any standards of behavior specific to their floor. All non-student guests must be registered by the hosting student with the Department of Safety and Security if the guest stays or arrives after midnight . Students are cautioned against hosting minors (i.e., under eighteen) as guests. Refer to the Gatherings policy for the maximum number of people permitted in your room.

Overnight guests (student and non-student) are permitted only with approval of all room/Apartment occupants* for no longer than three nights in a seven day period. Having overnight guests during the week is discouraged to help provide a study environment. Cohabitation (an individual not assigned to a room/Apartment yet living there beyond guest guidelines) is not permitted.

*You have the right to deny your roommate or housemate permission to have a guest (student or non-student, staying a few hours or overnight). No student has the right to impose a guest or visitor on their roommate/housemate without their specific permission. If you feel that your roommate/housemate is imposing his/her guests or friends on you, contact your RA, Student Life Coordinator, or any member of the Residential Life staff to learn about your options.

RH3 Hall Sports

Playing with sports equipment, playing organized games, and/or using equipment better suited for outdoor use is prohibited from the residence halls. This is to protect the rights of residents to sleep, study, and have access to their rooms as well as to prevent damage to College and personal property.

RH4 Noise Policy

Residence halls must provide healthy environments conducive to scholarly pursuits and excessive noise is inconsistent with this goal. The College takes very seriously its obligation to provide an atmosphere where students can study and exchange ideas. All students must understand that the right of students to study and sleep takes precedence over the right to make noise that disturbs others. Students are expected to pay attention to noise they or their guests may cause and to take proactive steps to prevent violations of this policy.

Courtesy Hours Defined - Courtesy hours, which are in effect at all times, means that all residents are expected to accommodate requests for quiet made by others regardless of the hour. As a general guideline, common courtesy and respect for the community are expected concerning noise levels 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Residents should conduct their activities so they do not interfere with the quiet of others regardless of the time of day.

Quiet Hours Defined - Quiet hours are in effect weekdays from 11:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. On Friday and Saturday quiet hours are observed from 12 midnight through 9:00 a.m. As with several other policies, each floor community has the prerogative to establish, by unanimous vote, a more restrictive set of quiet hours. All residence halls operate on 24-hour quiet hours during finals week.

Noise heard outside of a closed student room door or within student rooms from the corridors will be considered excessive and in violation of the noise policy. Requests to lower the volume of an existing noise source are to be acted on immediately and with courtesy at all times regardless of who makes the request.

In the College Apartments - College Apartment residents face additional and slightly different issues regarding noise, as they may disrupt residents of the local neighborhood who may be less flexible and more likely to contact the Williamsport Police Department. Apartment residents are cautioned to think carefully about the impact of noise originating from or around their apartment.

Policy Enforcement - The responsibility for a quiet environment is a shared one, with each resident being responsible for his or her own reasonable conduct and letting others know when they are infringing on rights to a quiet living environment. Each resident has the right and responsibility to ask another resident or visitor to lower their noise/volume level. Staff members may disband groups and temporarily suspend visitation privileges if visitors are involved or if visitation will continue to aggravate the situation. Residents may be required to remove stereos, televisions, or any musical instrument that causes disruptive noise as determined by the residence hall staff.

Based on experience, the following examples constitute clear violations of the noise policy:

  • Noises, music, or voices that are clearly distinguishable in the corridor during quiet hours.
  • Heavy percussion or bass sounds that vibrate through any walls, doors, ceilings, or floors.
  • Leaving alarms on or music playing in an empty room.
  • Pounding on or kicking doors.
  • Bouncing sports equipment, trashcans, or other items on the walls or floor of a room or corridor.
  • Failure to respect courtesy hours.

RH5 Room Responsibilities

Whether present or not, occupants of a room are held accountable through the disciplinary process for any and all unacceptable behavior or conditions until responsibility is determined otherwise. Occupants are also responsible for any object thrown or dropped from the window of the room, or for any inappropriate/unacceptable verbal comments coming from the room. It is therefore your responsibility to maintain a secure room, prevent unauthorized use, and to be in your room when visitors are present.

RH6 Smoking Policy

In accordance with College policy, smoking is prohibited from all areas in the residence halls and Apartments. See Campus Smoking Policy for more information.

RH7 Solicitation

The College does not allow commercial solicitation of products or services in the residence halls or apartments. This policy applies to off-campus groups or individuals. Printed advertisements may be posted on information bulletin boards in the residence halls. Non-profit campus groups may request to conduct fund raising activities in specific halls. You must secure approval of the plans and projects from the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.

RH8 Visitation Program

The College visitation program is designed to provide students with an opportunity to have guests in their living areas during specified hours each day. Each hall and apartment has visitation hours 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with the condition that the privilege not be abused. Cohabitation is not permitted. At the beginning of each semester a discussion is conducted on each floor to explore visitation issues such as, escorts, college guest registration guidelines, use of bathrooms, and appropriate enforcement procedures for same sex and opposite sex visitors. Visitation hours may be reduced or eliminated if it is determined that students are abusing the privilege and are interfering with the rights of community members to sleep or study.

RH9 Grill Policy

  1. Regulations about Grills
    1. Only gas (propane tanks) grills are permitted. Charcoal grills (including lighter fluids, briquettes, etc.) are not permitted.
    2. Residents in Asbury, Skeath, Wesley* (see C 5 below), Rich, Forrest, Williams and Crever Halls and the Commons (second floor) are not permitted to possess grills.
    3. Residents of College apartments and the Commons (first floor) are permitted to possess grills. The following guidelines must be followed:
      1. All grills must be registered with the Residential Life Office.
      2. Only one grill is permitted per each apartment or official organization.
      3. All grills will then be inspected by the Safety and Security Office.
      4. Grills should not be stored inside a campus residence.
      5. No grill should have more than one tank attached to it.
      6. At no time should a tank (full or empty) be stored inside a campus residence.
      7. All tanks must meet current safety requirements (meaning that it has the proper safety valve, etc.).
      8. Tanks must be turned off when the grill is not in use.
      9. Tanks must be attached to the grill at all times.
    4. Residents must be mindful of the safety of persons and property at all times.
  2. Registration of Grills
    1. To register your grill, please contact the Residential Life Office at (570) 321-4046 or at reslife@lycoming.edu.
  3. Organizations with Official Housing
    (Note: this does not include organizations that have received permission to form a cluster)
    1. Follow all regulations about grills (see A above).
    2. Follow the process for registering your grill (see B above).
    3. During the academic year, grills must be stored on the archways of East Hall.
    4. At the conclusion of the academic year, the grill must be stored in the organization's lounge if they are leaving it on campus during the summer. The tank, however, must be removed from campus (neither in the lounge nor outside).
    5. *The organization residing in Wesley Hall (first floor north) should contact the Assistant Director of Student Programs and Leadership Development about their situation should they have a grill.

RH10  Alcohol Paraphernalia (Freshman Halls)

Asbury and Skeath Halls are alcohol-free buildings.  No alcoholic beverages are permitted in these halls.  In the spirit of supporting this alcohol-free environment, no alcohol paraphernalia is permitted in Asbury and Skeath Halls, even if used solely as room or hallway decorations.  This includes but is not limited to bottles (empty or filled with sand or highlighter fluids), cans, other containers, caps, and empty cardboard cases.  In years when freshmen also live in Wesley Hall, this policy also applies to those rooms and the students who occupy them.

 

RH11 Lock Outs

It has always been the expectation that all residents are required to carry their residence hall room, Commons, or apartment keys and College IDs whenever they leave their rooms. Multiple lockouts (i.e. when a resident forgets his/her key or ID) pose an inconvenience both for the resident and the Safety and Security Officer who may have to leave or postpone another duty to let the student in. For each lock out occurrence the student must produce a room key when access to the room is granted by the Safety and Security Officer (or produce College ID when access to the building is requested).

Lock out occurrences will be counted from start to finish each academic year and do not carry over from year to year.

  1st, 2nd and 3rd occurrence = No fine.
  4th occurrence = $5 fine.
  5th occurrence = $10 fine.
  6th occurrence = Citation for a Residence Hall Policy Violation (CC12) issued. Educational sanction assigned. $50.00 fine.