Page 8
The Penkulum
Emphasis
By Raul Harris
Special to The Pfendulum
pushes proposal through the systet
Ward narrowed down a lenethv f ^
When Scott Ward said that he
would work to extend visitation as
part of his campaign for SGA
President last year, he was mak
ing a bid that has been common
to student government elections
since visitation was first allowed
at Elon College in the late 1960s.
It s always an issue during the
election, but nothing is ever done
about it,” says Ward, who will be
graduating this month. He adds
that his greatest accomplishment
during his year as SGA President
has been presenting the ad
ministration with defailed
research on the current visitation
policy and a proposal to extend
the hours that he says President
Fred Young “can’t turn down.”
found that
many schools in
the area have
changed visita-
tion to be more le
nient and ours
has been stas-
nant”
-Scott Ward
However, as the SGA proposal
to liberalize visitation has made its
way through the various faculty
and student reviewing commit
tees, a major change has begun to
seem likely. That would be the
replacement of Ward’s proposed
student “monitor system” with
campus security personnel to
, oversee visitation.
Doing groundwork
Ward started work on his pro
posal last summer, just after be
ing elected president. He im
mediately consulted with David
Atkins, director of student ac
tivities, and determined how to
pursue the project. They deter
mined that conducting a survey
among resident students, SGA
could obtain data on how the
average student feels about the
current visitation policy.
With additional help from Dean
of Student Affairs Ron Klepcyk,
Ward narrowed down a lengthy
list of questions about visitation
and drafted a survey which was
distributed by resident assistants
in the fall of 1986. Eight hundred
and thirty-four students respond
ed to questions such as whether
they thought hours should be ex
tended or restricted, and how
various changes would affect life
in the residence halls.
Ward studied the results of the
query and discovered that he had
only touched the tip of the ice
berg with his survey. In order to
present the administration with a
legitimate proposal, he’s spent
more than ten hours a week on the
project which he describes as a
huge research paper that never
gets done.
Should his proposal be approv
ed by Young, visitation will be ex
tended to 1 p.m. - II p.m. on Sun
day through Thursday and on
weekends from 12 p.m. - I a.m.,
a drastic change from the current
policy which permits four visiting
hours during early evening on
Monday through Thursday Hours
on Friday and Saturday would be
changed to 12 p.m. - | a.m.
In drafting the proposal. Ward
decided that a major step was to
consider the visitation policies of
other colleges and universities.
With the help of Atkins and Klep
cyk, he petitioned 16 area col
leges, 13 of which responded
“We found that many schools in
the area have changed visitation
to be more lenient,” he says.
Ours has been stagnant.”
After studying the responses
and visiting some of the nearby
colleges. Ward researched the
history of visitation at Elon Col
lege and began writing. In the
course of the past year, he created
a proposal that has gained ap
proval from several organizations
and committees including Student
Life.
Last month. Ward presented his
proposal to Klepcyk in the Stu
dent Affairs Office. After spen
ding much time considering the
technicalities involved in such a
change, the proposal has gained
Klepcyk s support. He says that
the next step is to send the pro
posal to Dr. Warren Board, Vice
President of Academics. Board
will be the final reviewer of the
proposal before it is forwarded to
Young.
I
I
A’
Scott Wnrd looks over the 13 nap ‘ ■
dent. After devoting much of the Dast^vpar proposal he prepared during his term as SGA Pn
past year to it, he anxiously awaits a response from the administrate
Photo by Paul Haul
Our intention is to provide Dr
Board with a recommendation,”
Klepcyk says. He explains that by
working closely with the
Residence Life staff. Student Af
fairs has highlighted areas of con
cern in Ward’s proposal. Klepcyk
says he will point out a few items
in the form of a memo that he’ll
send to Board this week.
“I’ve shared what I think the
major concerns are,” says Klep-
But he says that the final
decision is in the hands of the
president and is not likely to come
until after commencement.
Young, who has not seen the
proposal yet, has no comment on
the current visitation policy. But
he says that all proposals to his of
fice receive serious consideration
and he II have to read the docu
ment before determining if a
policy change is needed.
Proposal support
Rev. Richard McBride, College
Chap am, says that when a survey
like Ward’s is circulated, the ma
jority will naturally favor an ex
tension of hours. For that reason
the administration must be con
cerned with the minority who are
not in favor of expanding visita-
tion hours.
In order to accomodate the few
students who indicate a need for
restnction. Ward incorporated the
addition of more quiet floors in
the proposal. Currently, third
floor West is a quiet floor and
Ward is suggesting that more
restricted areas be available if the
demand increases.
McBride supports the proposal,
saying it’s a “positive move to ex
tend the hours.” He says that ap
propriate structuring of time is
healthy, but points out that there
are boundaries like privacy and
security that must be considered.
Atkins also endorses a change
in visitation and agrees with
McBride’s view, saying “extend
ed visitation is needed at least as
an option to students.” After
presenting students and faculty
with the proposed changes, he’s
found that an expansion in the
hours would be well received.
Laura Shepherd, a freshman
'^'10 lives in Moffitt, says
everyone she lives around favors
extendmg the visitation hours. “I
‘ 'r>k It’s a problem of
^ademics,” she says. Shepherd
'eves that when the rules of the
college interfere with getting
assignments done, there’s a major
social problem. She says that the
current restrictions on visitation
are one reason that she’s planning
to live off campus next year.
Carrie Town, a resident of
Maynard dormitory, agrees that
an extension to visitation is over
due, arguing that students need
access to other students for
academic reasons. “They throw
you out of the library and LRCij
11 p.m. and not all studying"
done at that time.”
But former Dean of Studei
William Long disagrees. “As
administrator, the president mi
be concerned with technicalitii
and security is the big one "
says. Long recalls coming to Eloi
in 1974 when visitation was pei ^
mitted from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday afternoon only and theri
was an eleven o’clock curfew fo
women every night. Reflecting o
his experiences as dean, he saj
that such changes don’t com
overnight.
Eventually, the weekends wer
opened to limited visitation, anl
six years ago a proposal to per
mit a few hours of visitation dur
ing the week was submitted. Lon;
remembers when SGA Presider
Dan Daily impressed the Board c
Trustees with outstandinj
research, and a compromise wa;
made to mark the beginning o
seven day visitation at Elon.
At that time, the Board o
Trustees made the decision cor
cerning visitation, but now th
responsibility of social change i
in the hands of the president. 1
the response that Ward’s proposal
has generated in reviewing com
mittees is any indication of hov
it will be received by Young
another milestone in the histon
of visitation at Elon College ma)
be around the corner.