The visitation rule is something that most students at California Lutheran University don’t really understand. In my opinion many students want to amend the rule because it seems unfair and unnecessary.
The visitation rule begins at 2 a.m. and ends at 7 a.m. In these five hours, students of the opposite sex may not enter each other’s dorm rooms. If this rule is broken, the resident assistants in the dorm will have to document students.
“The visitation policy is, at its core, for roommate respect. The reason behind the policy is that students can have at least five hours out of the day to do like-gender things,” Chris Paul, director of Residence Life and Student Conduct, said in an email interview.
This is the main reason why students feel this rule is unnecessary. The reasoning for the rule is so you can hang out with your friends of the same sex, but what if you have friends of the opposite sex? Why does there need to be designated time for you to hang out with people of the same sex? Why is there a rule that bans students of the opposite sex to be together for only five hours in the day when everybody is sleeping?
“I am excited that we have gender-neutral bathrooms, so that we can provide facilities that anyone of any gender identity feels comfortable using,” Scott Silverman, assistant dean of students and director of Student Life, said in an email interview.
The addition of gender-neutral bathrooms around campus was a recent change to Cal Lutheran. I thought that with the recent awareness it would be possible for something to happen with the visitation rule.
In February there was a senate legislation that called for an amendment to the rule, around the same time the Senate passed the gender-neutral bathrooms resolution.
“Students have tried to change this policy before and I don’t believe it has gone anywhere. Possibly someone in ASCLUG could gather some support for a change but I am not sure it would be supported,” Paul said.
According to the Associated Students of California Lutheran University Government’s Senate legislation, after the results of a survey on Blackboard last semester, ASCLUG tried to change the visitation rule. Nothing was amended or changed but that doesn’t mean there isn’t hope for the future.
I believe that it is unfair to have the visitation rule in place. If two roommates of the same sex are dating then that is basically the same thing as a boy and a girl in a relationship being in the same room over night, which makes the rule unfair.
The Cal Lutheran visitation rule as stated in the student handbook reads, “Specific hours are observed during which members of the opposite sex may visit in another’s suite. A person of the opposite sex may not stay overnight. Visitation hours are from 7 a.m. – 2 a.m. every day.”
This makes students feel as if the only reason for the visitation rule is to keep male and female students apart during the night, which doesn’t make sense. Paul said the rule was not put in place for this idea but this idea is what students understand the rule to be about.
There should be an amendment to this rule because the visitation rule reasoning is not very clear to me. I don’t really understand why there needs to be a rule in place for roommates to spend more time together.
The five hours that the rule emphasizes are also during the time when I am sleeping and I am sure most students are as well. To me it seems like the rule is in place to keep students of the opposite sex separated. With that idea in mind, the visitation rule is unfair and unnecessary in its current place.
Courtney Sooy
Staff Writer
Published October 14th, 2015