Community Standards of Conduct

IMPORTANT!! PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING AND ABIDING BY THESE POLICIES! IF YOU ARE FOUND TO BE IN VIOLATION OF ANY OF THESE POLICIES, YOU WILL FACE JUDICAL SANCTIONS.

                                                          ~ SSU HOUSING STAFF

Smoking – Smoking in the residence halls is not permitted. You must be at least 20 feet from the building when smoking outside the residence halls.

Candles and Lamps - As a fire safety precaution, candles and incense are not permitted. Most halogen bulbs and lamps are also banned in the halls. Any UL-approved halogen lamp manufactured after 1996 is permitted.

Adhesives - Use push pins to hang room decorations, no adhesive, glue, tape or glow in the dark stars are permitted. The use of the above items will result in damage charges.

Visitation- Visitation provides an opportunity for members of the opposite gender to visit your apartment. Residence facilities have the following visitation hours:

Sunday through Thursday-             8 am to 2 am

Friday and Saturday-                       24 hour visitation

Guests of the same gender have 24-hour visitation at all times. However, no visitor may stay more than three consecutive nights and must be escorted at all times. Visitation is an agreement that must be negotiated among roommates/housemates. At no time should a visitor have access to the occupant’s key.

Guest Policy - Guests are permitted in the halls only at the request of the residents, who then become responsible for their visitor’s conduct. All guests must abide by university and hall regulations. Cohabitation is not permitted.

Noise - Because of the proximity of the housing units, excessive noise should be kept to a minimum. Loud music emanating from stereo speakers in room windows and other extraneous noise is not permitted in the residential areas.

Quiet Hours

Sunday through Thursday      10pm – 7am

Friday and Saturday               1am – 10am

Moderate sound level or courtesy hours should be maintained during all hours. Residents should be considerate by observing these hours and responding appropriately to requests to lower volume levels. Repeated violations may result in judicial charges.

Alcohol and Illegal Drugs - SSU permits the possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages in university assigned residence facilities in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio, ordinances of the City of Portsmouth, regulations of the Ohio Department of Liquor Control and policies of SSU.

Responsible behavior is expected at all times, and intoxication is never an excuse for inappropriate behavior. No person shall sell or furnish alcoholic beverages to a minor.

Alcohol Guidelines

1. You may possess or consume alcohol only if you are of legal drinking age and only in your room or the room of another resident who is of legal drinking age.
2. You are responsible for any underage drinking in your room, even if you are of legal drinking age.
3. Open containers of alcohol are prohibited outdoors, laundry room, or other common areas.
4. Kegs (empty or filled in any portion), trash cans or other large containers holding quantities of alcohol are strictly prohibited in the residence halls or on campus property.
5. Decorative container collections e.g. alcohol bottles or cans are not permitted.
6. Students who display intoxicated behaviors or students who require staff assistance due to their consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs shall be subject to judicial action.

Illegal Drugs/Paraphernalia - Possession or use of illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia is prohibited in the residence halls. This will result in judicial charges and possible suspension from the university.

Weapons - Students are prohibited from keeping or using firearms, fireworks, explosives, weapons (including knives, pellet, air or paintball guns), or other dangerous articles or substances in University housing.

Windows - Throwing any object from a window is prohibited. The removal and damage of window screens in University housing is prohibited.

Grills - Personal cook grills are not permitted in university housing due to fire concerns. Permanent grills are located around university housing grounds.

Pets - Residents may keep fish, but other types of pets and animals are not permitted in the residence halls at any time, either with residents or visitors. Aquariums must be 5 gallon capacity or less. Assistance dogs are exempt from this policy.

General Information

Confiscation Policy                                                                                                   

Certain items are prohibited in student residence facilities because of health, fire or safety reasons, state law or university policy. If items such as appliances, candles, weapons, drugs or drug paraphernalia are found in your room, they are subject to disciplinary action. You are entitled to the return of such items at the end of the year or when you leave campus; however, illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia are not returned since a violation of state law has occurred. Weapons are turned over to the Shawnee State University Security Department. Any item not claimed within one calendar year of confiscation becomes Shawnee State University property and is discarded.

Room Entry

Legitimate room entry is defined as entrance to a student’s room to fulfill maintenance, housekeeping, safety or security inspections, and other duties by authorized personnel. No student’s room will be entered by authorized personnel without knocking and announcing proper identification. Entry following the knock will be preceded by a time lapse sufficient in length to allow you to open the door yourself.

Room Search

Room search is defined as a formal search when there is “reasonable suspicion” that a state or federal law or university policy or regulation may have been, or is being, violated. Each person who occupies a room in a residence facility is responsible for items, materials, or substances defined by the University’s Code of Student Conduct or state and federal laws as illegal. A search will only be conducted by a university administrator.

Health and Safety Inspections

Inspections are done each semester by your RA to check for safety concerns, damages and cleanliness. You will receive notice before the inspections take place.

Pest Control

If you are having problems with insects, report the problem to your RA as soon as possible. NOTE: Help us by keeping your trash cans emptied and dishes clean throughout the year!

Check-out Policy

If you are moving out of your room for any reason you are required to check out with your RA. Please contact your RA to complete necessary paperwork and turn in your room key. If you fail to check out properly you will be charged with an improper check out fee and the cost of the key.

Damages

Each room of each residence facility is checked at the beginning of the year for prior damages. These damages are documented before students arrive. When the student arrives it is their responsibility to go over the check-in items and document any damages. Any future damages that year will be paid for by the student. The most common damages include not cleaning, holes in walls, walls needing repainted, adhesive on walls, carpet stains and lost keys. All houses are inspected again after the residents check-out and damages are assessed accordingly. You may be required to share the expense of repair or replacement of any property in areas used by residents and their guest or of any property relative to the building itself. Failure to pay assessed fees may result in a hold on your registration, graduation or academic records.

Solicitation

Students living in university housing may not act as agents for business firms when this entails solicitation or receiving business offers, services, or goods in the facility. Your room may not be used for business purposes of any nature.

Safety and Security

Fire Safety

Each apartment in university housing is equipped with smoke detectors, a sprinkler system, carbon monoxide detector and a fire extinguisher. If your smoke detector goes off, evacuate immediately and follow the instructions of the housing staff and fire prevention teams. Fire drills are conducted at least once per semester.

Fire Equipment and Signs

All fire related equipment, including fire extinguishers, alarms, sprinklers, and notices are available for the purpose of saving lives. The equipment is to be used only for its designated purpose. Unauthorized use of, or tampering with, any of this equipment is a serious violation and may result in suspension from the University, a monetary fine, or legal prosecution.

Valuables

The university is not responsible for loss of or damage to personal property of students who reside in university housing.

Lock/Key Policy

For security purposes, if you lose your apartment key, locks will be changed and new keys issued. You are billed for the cost of changing the locks in the entire apartment. At no time should you give or loan your key to anyone else. This is a serious security violation. If you lock yourself out of your room please call myRA (6972).