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March 28, 2024

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Spring Housing Guide

Residence hall visitors must check in to avoid trespassing

Students who fail to follow residence hall guidelines for guests and visitors may be subject to serious consequences.

Guests and visitors must be escorted by a resident at all times when in a residence hall, and there is a defined difference between a visitor and a guest.

“A visitor is a student who has a student ID card,” said Tim Shaal, senior associate director in the Office of Residence Life. “A guest is not a member of the University community such as a parent, sibling or friend; they don’t have an ID card.”

All students at the University have to check in between 12 and 8 a.m., Shaal said, but if students are checking into a residence hall they are not a resident of during this time, they must say where they live. When residents have other students visit them at their residence hall during the day, they don’t have to check in.

Guests, however, must always check in at the front desk and will be given a guest pass for identification if they stay during the night, Shaal said.

However, the guest pass doesn’t take the place of being escorted by a host at all times, said University Police Chief Monica Moll.

“Residents are responsible for their guests,” Moll said.

If a student or individual unaffiliated with the University doesn’t live in the residence hall and is not escorted by someone else, they are violating visitation policies, Moll said.

“Most students are really good about registering,” Shaal said. “It’s very rare that we have to confront somebody for trespassing or doing something wrong.”

The procedure when someone is found unescorted is very general and depends on the situation, Shaal said.

“A lot of times our [resident advisers] are the first to hear about it,” he said.

The procedure first involves RAs attempting to identify if the person belongs in the hall and who he or she belongs with, Shaal said. RAs will then find out if the person is at the residence hall to visit someone and where he or she lives, Shaal said.

If a guest is found without a host, they are asked to leave and are escorted out of the building or taken to the front desk, where their host can sign them in, said Freddy Bittner, an administrative RA.

“If they cause a problem, we call the University police department so they can help us escort them out,” Bittner said.

The University Police will then identify the person and ask if they are a resident, Moll said.

Consequences for students trespassing in residence halls can range from a warning to conduct referrals to being kicked out or arrested, Moll said.

For instance, three members of the University football team were cited Sept. 16 for being unescorted by a resident and were “issued misdemeanor citations for criminal trespassing.”

If students see someone they think may not belong in their residence hall, they can do a few different things, Shaal said.

“They can contact their RA or the hall director, go to the front desk or call the University police,” Shaal said. “… the police are very helpful during the whole process for consulting.”

The University Police make the determination of whether a person is trespassing, Shaal said.

“If you absolutely know the person doesn’t live here, no one is escorting them, go to the desk or call an RA,” Bittner said. “… there is no foolproof system of getting everyone right away.”

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