RING THE ALARM! Visitation Do’s and Don’ts

After weeks of waiting, co-ed visitation is underway! Dormitory buildings Totty, Shade, Boley, and Jones Hall,Gradison hall, white hall, Bethune hall, and Bradford hall houses much of the student population. Residents have been waiting so long for visitation due to much of the new student population not having physical identification cards. There are rules and regulations in place to keep residents and students safe and free from harm.
During a quick interview with the Southern Digest, S.V. Totty RA, Kylee Thomas, a sophomore majoring in psychology from New Orleans, Louisiana, and U.S. Jones RA, Austin Horton, a senior majoring in computer science from Memphis, Tennessee, provided details of the rules and procedures for visitation.
“For Totty Hall, we need people to check in. Usually, it’s males. We have them come into the office, we get their name, what room they’re going to, their U-number, and the time they check-in,” said Thomas. Visitation begins at 8 a.m. and ends at midnight. Residents must show their virtual ID and must also leave their driver’s license or state identification card; the same goes for all visitors. At around 11:30 p.m., an announcement is made for residents and visitors to come downstairs to get their IDs. Residents must remain with their visitors at all times. “So, let’s say I check somebody in, that person needs to be with me at all times. If I go outside and come back, that person needs to go outside and come back with me,” says Kylee. Residents are not to leave their guests in the room with their roommate or anywhere else with another person. This is to keep all of the residents safe.
The rules are much the same in the male’s dormitory, Jones Hall. Residents must leave a physical ID in the office until they check their guest out when visitation ends. Horton, the Jones Hall RA, says, “If you come in and you see us in the office, do not try to hurry up and run because say, for instance, something happens to you, and we don’t have you logged in, now we’re going to say it is unauthorized visitation and you are going to be given a fine of one hundred and fifty dollars.” This $150 fine is a consequence of many of the offenses residents may commit.
Although residents are excited about visitation being opened, there are some mixed opinions and emotions about it as well as the rules and protocols.
“It’s a good thing, but they treat us like we’re children. We’re adults,” said Mya Celestine, a resident of Totty Hall who is a freshman majoring in nursing from New Orleans, Louisiana. Residents are not allowed to invite more than two guests to their rooms. Visitors also cannot stay longer than midnight; if caught, the resident will be fined. Some students aren’t too happy about all the strict rules placed upon them for them to have visitation with their peers and feel that the rules are a bit excessive. Others feel differently. Ean Price, Jones Hall resident and a freshman from Loreauville, Louisiana, says, “I feel like the rules are fair, just don’t be dumb.”
As the doors to co-ed visitation swing open, students are finally able to welcome their friends, loved ones, and other visitors, bringing with them the joy of shared moments that make college life unforgettable.