Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Feb. 9, 1989, edition 1 / Page 5
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The Pendulum February 9, 1989 Op-Ed page 5 Dorm prisons Students feel stricter regulations as infringement of rights y John Silber self-regulation. None of these thp . . . by John Silber President, Boston University Earlier this year, Boston Univer sity proposed new regulations limiting overnight visiting in our dormitories and controlling alcohol use. These proposed regulations 'vere greeted with strident objec tions by those who viewed them as infringement on students’ rights as “adults.” Properly understood, however, these new regulations are a defense of fundamental rights, such as the right to privacy and the right to study. The problems at Boston ^Jniversity that led to these regula tions are not local; they are ''widespread and grounded in the re cent history of the American iiniversity. Thirty years ago, most colleges ^nd universities unashamedly took the relation to their students l^now as ‘in loco parentisy,” Utin phrase meaning “in the posi tion of a parent.” This relation was •^ost obviously manifest in living Arrangements. Dormitories were sexually Segregated, and there were elaborate regulations governing ^heir use which came to be known parietals,” another Latinism Cleaning “within the walls.” Beginning in the 1960’s, these '^egulations were swept away. Students were reclassified as '*dults, to be free of parental regula- *'ons whether literal or •Metaphorical. In the area of sex, a JO'Called revolution attenuated even self-regulation. None of these changes would necessarily have af fected the quality of life in college dormitories had college students universally or even predominantly conducted themselves with the sort of consideration for others that was once assumed the mark of maturi ty. V ' ' ' / / At the same time, the rise of rock music introduced a new vehicle for inconsiderate behavior. College students began arriving in dor mitories with the electronic capability to destroy the peace and quiet that are essential to intellec tual work. There could hardly be a better example of technology rapidly outrunning the ethics that ought to have guided its use. Let us be clear about this: the student who uses his stereo to destroy peace and quiet is invading 60% of all women who are raped know their attackers personally. IF YOU SAID "NO" -IT WAS RAPE A support group for SURVIVORS OF RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT each Monday February 13 to April 10 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. FREE & CONFIDENTIAL Call either Edie Alexander at Ext. 2121 (between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.) OR The Rape Crisis Alliance (of Alamance County) at 228-0813 by February 13. the privacy rights of other students. Bad as this noise pollution was, another, and more extraordinary, invasion was added: sex was gradually transformed from an in timate relation into a spectator sport, frequently imposed on un willing roommates. As president of a university, I began to receive complaints from students that their roommates were moving in “Significant Others” for occasional nights, or sometimes, for every night. I do know many students were outrag ed at being made unwilling au diences of their roommates sexual behavior. The offending roommates in sisted on their rights as adults, which they interpreted as broadly as needed to cover their escapades. It is clear that such behavior is not an expression of freedom but of license. Unfortunately, the English language lacks a term meaning ‘ ‘one who has reached the age of majority while remaining an adolescent.” This term would not properly apply to all college students, most of whom fully merit the label of ‘ ‘adult. ’ ’ But it is clear that some do not. At Boston University, we are committed to the proposition that the dormitories are an extension of our educational program. We do not require upperclassmen to live in dormitories, but’ we are deter mined that for those who live there, and our dormitories offer an en vironment that is supportive of education rather than actively hostile to it. In furtherance of this commitment, we have developed regulations that will effectively limit noise pollution and drunken ness and remove involuntary voyeurism as an incident of college life. One would have thought that few would object to these goals. Ex hibitionists, perhaps, might find them threatening, but they must be no more numerous than the room mates they offend. Yet student after student argued that the pro posed regulations violated their rights as adults. One student argued that anyone who was bothered by couplings in the bed across the room was simply too immature to be in college. Such a claim suggests that the adult rights are assumed to include the right to be as childish as possi ble. There was surprisingly little concern for the problems we were trying to address - which, after all, are students’ problems, caused by the inconsiderate behavior of other students. We have learned from this ex perience the the Sexual Revolution has its own version of the Brezhnev Doctrine: no bit of sex ual territory, once “liberated,” must ever be lost to the enemy. That sexuality should be reduced to a public exhibition forced on an unwilling audience shows the fraudulent nature of the “libera tion” that has been carried out in recent decades. At Boston University, we are committed to restoring a modest level of decorum and concern for others in our dormitories. We make no apology for that. 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Elon University Student Newspaper
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Feb. 9, 1989, edition 1
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