{"id":7611,"date":"2020-09-04T16:08:24","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T20:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/?p=7611"},"modified":"2021-08-31T10:14:17","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T14:14:17","slug":"guest-policy-fall-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/2020\/09\/04\/guest-policy-fall-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Policy in the Fall 2020 Semester – A note from Residence Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following was sent to all resident students on September 4, 2020 by Residence Life<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dear Residential Student:<\/p>\n

I hope your classes are off to a fine start. I write today with some guidance about the Guest Policy, which should be helpful as you navigate life in residence this fall. Unfortunately, the University has already issued serious judicial sanctions to students in residence who have violated the policies listed below.<\/p>\n

Guest Policy<\/strong>
\nThe Guest Policy for all student residences for fall 2020 may be found on the Dean of Students\u2019 website<\/a>. The goal of the Guest Policy is to limit the number of individuals within each hall to residents only. No matter where you live on campus, large hall or small, you are prohibited from bringing anyone into your hall who does not live there. To do so is a violation of the Guest Policy; violations may result in separation from housing.<\/p>\n

Access<\/strong>
\nYou have swipe access to your own residence 24 hours a day. If you have a dining plan, you have swipe access to Warren Towers during meal hours. If your local Residence Life office, your mail room, or your laundry room is located in a hall other than your own residence, you have swipe access from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., to that particular hall. This limited access is provided for the intended purposes only; it is not meant as a way to circumvent the Guest Policy. If you have reason to swipe into Warren Towers for dining, or into a hall where your Residence Life office, mail room, or laundry room is located, you should not travel to any floors where students live. If you do, you are violating the Guest Policy; violations may result in separation from housing.<\/p>\n

Visitors to Your Room, Suite, or Apartment<\/strong>
\nThe Guest Policy for fall 2020 does not place restrictions on your movement within your own residence. However, it does prohibit non-residents from entering a hall beyond the vestibule, entry lounge, or lobby.<\/p>\n

Students have raised two questions about the Guest Policy that I would like to answer in this email.<\/p>\n

Is a student allowed to have other students who live in the same building visit their room, suite, or apartment?\u00a0<\/em>This is a personal choice based on the student and roommate\u2019s degree of comfort with others entering the living space. If the personal choice is yes, then the number should be small enough to allow for physical distancing in the living space, and roommate consent is always required. It is up to students\u2019 judgment to determine the number of others to invite into their own living space, based on the need for physical distancing. It should be a small number. Students should wear masks when visiting others. Students should respect physical distancing when visiting others.<\/p>\n

If no overnight guests are permitted, does that extend to residents of the same building?<\/em> Our long-standing Guest Policy defines an overnight guest as someone who visits between the hours of 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. (or any fraction thereof). The Guest Policy for fall 2020 calls for no overnight guests, so yes, that extends to residents of the same building.<\/p>\n

In Dean Elmore\u2019s video message<\/a> about move in and campus life on August 26, he encouraged students to knock on neighbors\u2019 doors as a way to meet people, but not to step inside a room. That\u2019s because students should have no expectation of being invited into neighbors\u2019 rooms, especially during this time. Our hope is that students use their own judgment day-to-day about who enters their space. We strongly discourage gatherings in student rooms, suites, and apartments. If a group gathers in a space and we have a disruptive event, it will be addressed via the judicial process. Please be mindful of the important message that Dean Elmore sent to all students on August 26, about large gatherings<\/a>, as it applies to all student residences.<\/p>\n

Roommate Living Guides<\/strong>
\nAt your first Community Conversation early this week, your RA introduced this year\u2019s roommate living guide<\/a> to you as a way to facilitate candid dialogue between or among roommates. Please be sure to use this important tool to open lines of communication with your roommate\/s about a shared vision for living together in your room, suite, or apartment.<\/p>\n

Use of Common Space<\/strong>
\nFor health and safety reasons, groups should not gather in common areas of\u00a0your\u00a0residence. Lounge furniture has been carefully positioned. You are\u00a0welcome\u00a0to\u00a0use common areas, but you should not move furniture. Remember\u00a0to\u00a0wear a mask in common areas, especially when it is not possible\u00a0to\u00a0maintain six feet (two meters) of physical distance from others.<\/p>\n

Residence\u00a0Life Office<\/strong>
\nYour local Residence\u00a0Life<\/a>\u00a0office is open 9 a.m.\u00a0to\u00a05 p.m., weekdays. During all other times,\u00a0Residence\u00a0Life staff are on-call\u00a0to\u00a0assist with urgent matters. Contact information for the RA on-call is always posted in the lobby of\u00a0your\u00a0hall.<\/p>\n

Please remember\u00a0to\u00a0wear a mask whenever you visit\u00a0your\u00a0local Residence\u00a0Life office.<\/p>\n

Keep Your Door Locked<\/strong>
\nFor\u00a0your\u00a0safety, remember\u00a0to\u00a0lock\u00a0your\u00a0room door when you are asleep or out of the room, even for a few minutes.\u00a0Inform\u00a0your\u00a0Residence\u00a0Life\u00a0office or the RA on-call of any lock defects or lost keys as soon as possible. Immediately report any strangers in\u00a0your\u00a0building or on\u00a0your\u00a0floor\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0Boston University Police Department<\/a>\u00a0at (617) 353-2121.<\/p>\n

I offer my thanks to you for adhering to guidelines that the University has put in place to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19. We are all in this together, and each of us needs to take steps each day to protect our own health and safety, and the health and safety of our neighbors and the larger campus community. All best wishes for a safe, healthy, and productive fall semester.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

David J. Zamojski
\nAssistant Dean of Students
\n& Director of\u00a0Residence\u00a0Life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following was sent to all resident students on September 4, 2020 by Residence Life. Dear Residential Student: I hope your classes are off to a fine start. I write today with some guidance about the Guest Policy, which should be helpful as you navigate life in residence this fall. Unfortunately, the University has already […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3113,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3766],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7611"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3113"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7611"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7612,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7611\/revisions\/7612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/dos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}