BVU has been my home for the last four years. Truly, a home away from home. I’ve loved every minute of my journey here, and made friends that have become like family. It is for that reason that I felt a pit in my stomach after leaving a suite hall meeting with new Area Coordinator Portia Gresham.

Residence Life had several new policies and ideas to share with those at the meeting. These policies ranged from alcohol consumption, suite hosted parties, and the locking of suite doors by resident assistants (RA’s). While I don’t think for one second Portia had any intention of angering or upsetting those attending the meeting, that was unequivocally the result.

My suite-mates and I, residents of McCorkle Hall, were concerned because we had never heard of some of the “new policies.”

I have been unable to locate these policies in the student handbook, while others have been proven to be inaccurate after a personal email sent to Portia expressing my concerns. The policy generating almost instant anger, and surprise from the McCorkle residents was suite doors needing to be locked.

We were informed if our doors were found unlocked, they would be physically locked by RA’s. Multiple questions were raised at the meeting regarding how far reaching this policy would be, and under what circumstances would it be enforced.

These questions were not answered fully or properly at the meeting. We were told that “we’re adults” and we “need to be responsible,” and that carrying our keys around was not a big deal.

In my time here at BV, I can truthfully say I have never heard of RA’s locking resident doors if they happened to be unlocked. Imagine some poor RA walking up and down a Pierce/White hallway checking each door, and having to go back to the office to get a key to lock it up.

That’s crazy.

It would be a waste of time for everyone involved, and as soon as that RA got done locking those doors they would be getting calls from residents needing back into their rooms.

I have so many friends that we can’t all live in the same suite, so my friends are now also my neighbors. We are constantly going back in forth to hang out, watch TV, and of course, do homework. In my email, I expressed how these policies would negatively impact our routines and morale if our doors were constantly being locked without our consent, limiting the time we could spend together.

It took a follow-up email after my original to receive a response. Which was:

“I’d like to correct my initial statement that locking resident doors, when unlocked, is a policy; it is not,” said Gresham.

So in fact, the physical locking of resident doors by resident assistants is not a current BVU policy.

Unfortunately, I am not sure my fellow residents are aware of this, as we have received no mass clarification email to explain any misinformation presented at the meeting.

I am all for keeping BV students safe, but am an ardently against being oppressed, and pointlessly regulated. College is supposed to be some of the best years of your life, and not spent trying to get your key out of your pocket without knocking your phone out.