Residence
Hall Policies
This
information is from Major Facts, the student handbook. The information
printed is as accurate and up-to-date as possible. However, this
does not preclude the possibility of changes taking place during
the academic year. Any changes will be updated on this website.
All freshmen and sophomore men and women, unless
they are married or live with members of their immediate
families in Jackson or vicinity, are required to reside on
campus in residence halls and have a meal plan. Exceptions
to this policy are unusual and must be authorized through
the Office of Student Life. Men who are active members of
a fraternity may live in their fraternity house when they
are classified as a sophomore.
The college assumes certain legal responsibilities for students,
and it is your responsibility to abide by its regulations.
Housing contracts are signed at room selection. A student
has 7 calendar days from signing his/her contract to cancel
it without penalty. After such time the student will be bound
to the contract for the upcoming academic year unless s/he
meets one of the cancellation requirements listed on the
contract.
Appliances
Because of fire regulation, cooking materials with exposed
elements are not permitted in residence hall rooms. Refrigerators
in the residence hall rooms cannot be more than THREE CUBIC
FEET in size, except in Goodman House, and must be in good
working condition. Food must be in covered containers.
Appliances that generate heat draw more current, (i.e.,
curling irons. blow dryers, electric heaters and electric
blankets) and should be used one at a time. Because of
heavy use at prime times, circuit breakers can be overloaded.
Please be considerate and cautious of how you use them.
Always unplug these appliances when you are through using
them.
Furniture
Waterbeds, loft beds, and bunk beds (unless the latter is
provided by the College) are not permitted. No furniture
is to be removed from any residence hall room. Common area
furniture (including, but not limited to, furniture located
in lobbies, study rooms, hallways) is not to be moved from
its common area. Any furniture, belongings, or possessions
a student brings into a residence hall is to stay in the
student’s room. Screens are not to be removed from
windows or tampered with in any way. Any violations of the
above policy may result in a fine.
*Nothing is to
be affixed/mounted/placed outside of a resident’s
room, inside or outside the building. This includes, but
is not limited to: satellite dishes, amateur radio antennas,
TV antennas, weather tracking devices.*
Quiet Hours
The residence hall must be conducive to study and rest at
all times. Quiet Hours have been put in place to ensure
this occurs. Quiet Hours must be observed Sunday-Thursday
10:00pm-7:00am and Friday and Saturday midnight-10am. A
violation of Quiet Hours could be defined as noise emitting
from a room (ie, TV, stereo volume, stereo bass, voices,
etc.) that can be heard outside of the room. Although Quiet
Hours are set, Courtesy Hours are in effect 24 hours a
day. A violation of Courtesy Hours could be defined as
excessive noise/voices/music/etc. audible beyond 3 doors
down. 24 HOUR QUIET HOURS ARE IN EFFECT DURING, AND THE
WEEK PRECEDING, FINAL EXAMS. A monetary fine will be charged
if there is a violation during this period.
Security
Residence halls are locked 24 hours a day.
Theft and vandalism occur infrequently in the residence
halls at Millsaps, however, it is your responsibility as
a community member to take these precautions against theft,
such as:
1. Always lock the door to your room.
2. Keep your keys out of sight when not in use.
3. Do not keep large amounts of money in your room.
4. Lock your bicycle.
5. Keep your car locked and conceal CD players or other expensive
equipment. If something is stolen out of your room, report
it to your Residence Assistant AND notify campus security
immediately, 974-1234.
•
Door propping is illegal & puts the entire hall in jeopardy – See
Protocol. (below)
Propped Door Protocol
• If a student is found propping open a residence hall building,
floor or cube door with any material (including, but not
limited to: a can, a shoe, a book, any adhesive, magnet,
or coin on the lock mechanism, etc.) s/he will be fined $50
for the first offense and a referral through the judicial
process. A $100 fine will be assessed for a second offense.
• If an entire cube, floor, or building is found with a propped
door three (3) or more times, after adequate notification
is made to the floor, building, or cube and if steps have
been unsuccessfully taken to identify the perpetrator, each
resident of the cube, floor, or building will be fined $10
for each subsequent time the door is discovered propped open
past the third occurrence. If the perpetrator is discovered
within the academic semester in which the billing occurs,
the fines will be removed from the entire cube, floor, or
building and assessed to the individual.
Pets
Pets are not allowed in residence halls. The only animal
a student may have in his/her room is a small (under 5
inches) fish kept in a small bowl/tank/aquarium. If a pet
other than a small fish is found in a residence hall, a
$50 fine will be levied and the Jackson Small Animal Control
Unit will be called to remove the pet.
Room Key Policy
At the beginning of the academic year and at the beginning
of the summer session each student will be issued a key
to his/her room. If the key is lost, the loss should be
reported immediately to the Resident Assistant and a re-key
will be ordered at a cost of $25 to the student ($45 re-key
charge for rooms in the New South Atrium). This is necessary
for the protection and security of each student living
in the room. Keys are expected to be returned at the end
of the year upon check out. Failure to return a key at
the time of checkout will also result in a $25 fine ($45
for the New South Atrium rooms). If you are locked out
of your room, you will be allowed in once free. After your
first lock out it is $5 per lock out during the day, and
$10 per lock out at night (10 p.m. – 8 a.m.)
Room Inventory and Damages
In order to protect the residents and the college, an inventory
form is filled out for each resident upon check in. The
resident and the RA should make comments about the condition
of the room on this form. This is the resident’s
insurance policy. Upon checkout, if the RA or another college
official, notices damage to a room that was not noted on
the inventory form during check in, the resident(s) of
that room will be held responsible for the damage and charges
that may apply unless another person is shown responsible
for the damage. Off campus students causing damage to rooms
will also be held accountable and billed directly.
Anyone witnessing damage to a residence hall or residence
hall furnishings should report the damage immediately to
a Resident Assistant. In cases where the person(s) responsible
for theft or damage of college property is not identified,
every resident of said floor, or building, will be billed
for the damage charge. The cost will be split evenly among
the residents.
Should a student feel unjustly charged, s/he may appeal
the bill to their Assistant Director in writing no later
than June 15. Appeal letters received after June 15 will
not be considered.
Millsaps College,
the Department of Residence Life, and any of its members
are not responsible for student property
left in residence hall rooms or public areas of residence
halls. In the event that student property is left in residence
halls after the housing contract period is over, the property
will be removed at the owner’s expense. The Department
of Residence Life is not responsible for any items abandoned
in the rooms of the residence halls, the common areas of
the residence halls, or outside of the residence halls.
Students residing
on campus are welcome to keep personal furniture/items
such as sofas, etc. to make the room feel
more like home. However, all of these items should be kept
within the student rooms and should not be stored or kept
in the hallways or walkways. Additionally, residents’ clothing
should not be left in hallways, stairwells, balconies, laundry
rooms or common area bathrooms. Items or clothing left in
the above areas will be treated as trash items and may be
removed by Custodial Staff.
Under no circumstances should residents remove any College
property from their room.
All lounge and common area furnishings must remain in their
designated areas. If lounge furniture disappears and the
attempts to locate it fail, the Department of Residence Life
reserves the option to do a residence hall room search. Students
who are found in possession of public area furniture will
be subject to disciplinary action. Any lounge furniture not
accounted for will be assessed as a group billing.
Millsaps College and the Department of Residence Life do
not permit permanent fixtures or construction of any kind
in the residence hall rooms. Modifying electrical or telephone
wiring is prohibited. Under no circumstances should nails,
screws or wall anchors by used to affix items to walls. Any
materials used to affix items to walls or doors, must be
completely removed upon checkout (including all tape residue).
Stickers and marker boards, mounted for a permanent time
period, are not allowed on residence hall property including
doors, windows, walls and floors. Damage charges will be
issued for the removal of the item(s).
Insurance
The College is not responsible for theft or damage to student’s
personal items. It is recommended you have insurance coverage.
Check your parents’ policy, as it may cover your belongings
when you are at school. There are low cost policies available
from insurance companies.
Residential Probation
One avenue the College may utilize in cases where students
violate Residential Policy is Residential Probation. This
is a warning phase in which if a resident or residential
probation violates any other policy s/he may be removed
from housing with no financial restitution.
Room Changes
Room changes will be granted by the Assistant Directors on
a case by case basis. If a resident is left in a room without
a roommate the remaining resident will be asked to find
a new roommate, or may be consolidated with another resident.
In some cases the remaining roommate may have the option
to “buy out” the room and remain in it alone.
Painting
Students may NOT paint or make any other alterations to their
rooms, furnishings or fixtures. All damages from any attempted
(or completed) alterations shall be billed to the occupants
of the room last known to have occupied the room.
Maintenance and Repairs
When you have a maintenance problem in your room or hall,
report the problem to your RA. A work order will be placed
immediately. Repairs will be prioritized by the maintenance
staff and completed in a timely manner.
The custodial staff will clean the bathrooms and halls daily
Monday-Friday. Residents are responsible for the cleaning
and upkeep of their personal rooms.
Common Courtesy
Common courtesy dictates a respect for others in the same
living community. Whit this in mind, cohabitation with
anyone other than your roommate is against Millsaps policy.
As well, excessive public displays of affection and public
nudity are prohibited. This includes, but is not limited
to, showering with another individual, nudity outside of
the bathroom or a private residence hall room, excessive
sexual contact that may deem inappropriate for public display.
Smoking
In an effort to provide healthy lifestyles, all residence
halls are non-smoking. If you are found in violation of
this policy you will be fined $25 first offense, $50 second
offense, $100 third offense and referred to the judicial
process.
*Students are expected to vacate the Residence Halls within
24 hours of their last exam*
*All residence halls are closed during the Thanksgiving,
Winter, and Spring Breaks. Students will have no access to
the buildings during these breaks.*
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