StuCo Proposes New Policy for Visitations
Multiple groups on campus have proposed altered visitations policies to replace Exeter’s current visitations policy, which directly violates New Hampshire’s non-discrimination laws. Both Student Council and the Gender Equity Task Force, a new group comprised of Exeter faculty, proposed revised visitations (Vs) policies.
The Gender Equity Task Force’s All Gender policy proposal allows students of all genders to safely visit one another, permitting them to visit other rooms between the hours of 9AM and 9PM and requiring that they sign in and leave the door open, even in their own dormitory. The proposal states, “…our hope is that by opening our doors we will create a greater sense of safety and dorm community.”
“It’s gender neutral, and I like that, because it’s no longer heteronormative.”
English Instructor and Gender Equity Task Force member Alex Myers, who has been working on the All Gender proposal, explained that the current Vs policy assumes the gender and sexuality of students. “Our Vs policy presumes heterosexuality,” he said. “It is also predicated on dorms that are ‘girls’ and ‘boys’ housing.” Myers recognizes that the new policy will be an adjustment in dorms--faculty would need to check on students throughout the day, and there would be more discussions about appropriate behaviour. “Not just intimacy,” he added, “but also noise levels, etc. that might come up with all the open doors.”
The Student Council proposal and All Gender proposal are very similar, but the one written by Student Council does not require students to sign in. Visitations would still require most students to keep their doors open, but seniors visiting from 7:00PM to 9:00PM could check in to have “closed door Vs.” “It makes us conform to our gender nondiscrimination clause in general,” Student Council President Matthew Robbins said of the proposition.
Co-head of Exeter’s Gender and Sexuality Alliance lower Adrian Venzon believes that Student Council’s policy represents a step in the right direction. “It’s gender neutral, and I like that, because it’s no longer heteronormative,” Venzon explained. “I guess the current Vs policy assumes all romantic relations are between a guy and girl, which just isn’t the case. I’ll also be able to hang out with my friends, who are of any gender in my room, at any time of the day. Sounds much better than what we have now.”
Venzon also praised the policy for its potential to combat sexual assault on campus. “People will feel comfortable leaving uncomfortable situations,” Venzon said. “They won’t face any repercussions for leaving a visitation, or what would have been considered an illegal visitation in the past.”
Lower Jeremy Xu agreed with Venzon, but voiced one flaw he found in the Student Council policy. “I think there are some aspects that are appealing, and I think the motivation for the policy is in the right mind,” he said. “However, I think that it is imperfect--it is very difficult to enforce, very idealistic--it clearly needs some work. Currently, [it] involves a lot of trust in students and faculty.”
Robbins is still confident that the policy will prove to be effective, though he recognizes that the proposal is subject to change. In response to the concerns shared by students like Xu, Student Council hopes to run a trial run in a few dormitories to test for its effectiveness. “There are modifications we have in mind right now,” Robbins admitted, “But first, the idea is to give [the policy] to the dorms, and the dorms in practice can see which modifications work and don’t work.”
Student Council Policy Committee Head Julia Friberg ‘17 explained that the goal of a new visitations policy is to improve Exeter’s community and make visiting other dorms a healthy and inclusive experience. “We were told by the administration that their legal team was looking to revamp the Vs system, so we are hoping to help them create a system that will be based of mainly student input,” she said. In fact, Student Council also wrote a policy proposal last year which was very similar to their most recent proposal. However, it did not pass. This year, Friberg said, “we just have more backing by the deans.”
Any final visitations policy established will make it clear that dormitories are not for sexual activity. The All Gender proposal states, “Dorm rooms are not for sexual intimacy,” and Robbins explained that the Student Council proposal also conveys this information. Though he acknowledged the possibility of a backfire by allowing legal visitations during the day, he explained that he believes in the ability of Exonians to respect the rules of the visitations policy, but, “If it does not work--if sexual activity or misconduct rises, then this policy will not go into play.”
Health Instructor Carol Cahalane agrees that the effectiveness of the policy is entirely dependent on the receptiveness of the community. “If students and faculty accept this proposal as the paradigm shift it is intended to be, I think it could make a difference,” she said.
Cahalane also emphasized the importance of listening to community voices and feedback as the policy is in trial, saying “I hope the school community will engage in serious discussion about the ways we can create a workable visitations policy that will support all students and make our whole community more healthful and better connected.”
Student Council is open to feedback and suggestions during the trial run in order to make modifications to improve this policy. In the near future, Dean of Residential Life Arthur Cosgrove will also compile all proposals to create a new collaborative policy which reflects the values of the community.