Smoking

Don't smoke in an open room, the halls, the stairwells, the bathrooms, the lounges, or around anyone whom you don't unquestionably know to be a person who smokes or who doesn't mind smoke. Many people are sensitive to smoke but shy about saying so; please be considerate. Also, please don't litter the front steps or the grounds with cigarette butts.

Alcohol

The official policy:

ARE YOU UNDER 21?
You may not drink alcohol.

ARE YOU 21 OR OVER?
You may drink alcohol in your room with the door closed.

DO YOU WANT TO SERVE ALCOHOL TO SOMEONE UNDER 21?
You can't.

Noise

If you're too loud in the hallway, or if your activities can be heard from outside your room when your door is closed, you may be asked to keep it down. During Quiet Hours, you may not make noise audible in the hallway or in any other room. If someone else's noise is bothering you, ask them yourself, nicely, to be quiet. If that doesn't work, go to a preceptor. Not Hall Government. The preceptor.

Fire

If you want to start a fire (in the fireplace, please), you must attend a Hall Government meeting and request permission. Use of the fireplace is not granted lightly. Many officials must be notified, including but not limited to the RC, Bishop House, the Office of Housing, the Physical Plant, the Rutgers Fire Marshal, the NBPD, the NJDMV, the IRS, the National Guard, and the Girl Scouts.

Technically, lit candles (and candles that have obviously been lit) and certain electrical appliances in one's room are violations of Rutgers Housing code. Spot checks are conducted wherein your room may be opened even if you are absent. If objects consitituting a Housing violation are found in your room, they may be confiscated, but inspectors are not allowed to look under coverings, in closed drawers, or in closed closets.

There has been at least one room fire due to irresponsible use of candles. In 1989, a Visual Arts section member was doing . . . something . . . with a lit candle and epoxy glue in her room. There was a very smoky fire and the building was evacuated. Any damage you do to the building, no matter how that damage is incurred, will be your financial responsibility.

Animals

Officially, you are not allowed to have animals of any sort in your room, no matter how silent, confined, or clean they are.

Sex

The condom machine is in the laundry room.

Demarites form incestuous groups of friends and lovers. It just happens. It is the section member's responsibility to be mature enough to handle such relationships should s/he choose to have them. Unfortunately, the fallout from an ending relationship can poison an entire group of friends, and the difficulty is multiplied exponentially when all those involved belong to the same section. (It's happened. Boy has it happened.) It is not the responsibility of the section leader to referee between opposing factions within the official context of the section, regardless of whether the section leader is part of the group in question or has personal opinions on the subject.

If you have personal conflicts with another section member, don't bring it to the meeting or attempt to conscript the section leader for an ally. Resolve it on your own time with a preceptor.

Security

KEEP YOUR DOOR LOCKED. This is the simplest and most effective thing you can do to keep from being the victim of crime in the dorm. Lock your door whenever you leave the room and when you go to sleep. Time and again, people leave the door unlocked and things are stolen. Worse yet, people sleep with the door unlocked and get embarrassed, raped, or killed. Demarest does not have a history of violent crime, but theft is not uncommon, so use your keys and protect your property and yourself.

The Demarest security measures employed in the past few years are impressive, if not really welcome (the side doors used to open normally). However, even with all the precautions Rutgers has taken to keep crime out of Demarest, the greatest responsibility for safety is still ultimately in the hands of the residents. As a Demarest resident, you have the right and the duty to challenge anyone you find in the dorm who obviously doesn't belong there (e.g. children soliciting money, people distributing menus or tracts under doors, strangers sleeping in the lounges, etc.). You are never obliged to let anyone in at the door.

The electronic security system is a Galaxy Control Systems Model 260 with six connected ports. Each port is wired to a magnetic reed detector switch, latch-release mechanism, and slash card reader. Demarest's Model 260 is in the room on the right at the end of the narrow hallway in the laundry room. Slash cards are more secure than regular keys and are easier to replace, but the slash cards also constitute a potential Big Brother threat to your personal privacy: Each card has a separate ID number, and your movements can be determined by recording where and when your card is used. Since the Model 260 can be networked via modem, all slash card usage at Rutgers can be monitored by a central computer. Keep this in mind. There is, it turns out, a way to prop the front and back doors, even permanently -- all it requires is a screwdriver and electrical tape. It is also preventable with the proper mounting hardware, if Housing ever realizes their mistake.

Warning!

Every Rutgers student, faculty member, and staff member is listed in the Rutgers website directory. Anyone knowing only your name can discover your home address and phone number and campus address, along with your campus email address, your projected year of graduation, and your major. If you wish to restrict the information available in your listing, you must contact the University Registrar.

• Camden: (609) 225-6053
• Newark: (201) 648-5324
• New Brunswick: (908) 445-3220

In Conclusion:

Here is the Preamble from the Rutgers University Code of Student Conduct. It's a fairly good overview of how to be a Rutgers mensch.

A university in a free society must be devoted to the pursuit of truth and knowledge through reason and open communication among its members. Its rules should be conceived for the purpose of furthering and protecting the rights of all members of the university community in achieving these ends.

All members of the Rutgers community are expected to behave in an ethical and moral fashion, respecting the human dignity of all members of the community and resisting behavior that may cause danger or harm to others through violence, theft, or bigotry. All members of the Rutgers University community are expected to adhere to the civil and criminal laws of the local community, state, and nation, and to regulations promulgated by the university. All members of the Rutgers University community are expected to observe established standards of scholarship and academic freedom by respecting the intellectual property of others and by honoring the right of all students to pursue their education in an environment free from harassment and intimidation.

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