Brent Lowe
Staff Reporter
“Common Area Billings,” or floor fines are not as high as they have been in years past, but students are still paying them.
“They aren’t actually fines tacked on as punishment like most people think,” says Mike Robbins Director of Resident Life. “We just charge the cost to fix or clean what was damaged.”
In fact, last semester the highest fine out of any dorm was $9.61. It was charged to a person who tried (unsuccessfully) to flush a wig down the toilet. Contractors had to be called to fix the damage, Robbins said.
In Blanche, a fine was assessed to one hall, home of three sororities, to replace a door someone kicked in. North Village has had some door problems as well; to enter, many students had been pulling the doors open. Door handles were replaced by smaller ones, smaller ones that break off when they’re pulled too hard. People have pulled too hard ? creating more common fines.
Rouzer is usually the dorm with the highest fines (the wig thing this semester threw off the numbers). Two years ago, it got so bad that Dave Dahlberg, residence life area coordinator, and Robbins had to institute a restricted guest policy and 24-hour quiet hours. This came after many tiny irritating offenses (i.e. spraying the fire extinguishers, water fountain damages) escalated until students were breaking any expensive part in the elevator by trying to pry it open.
The boys of Rouzer were told that if they could go one week without a common area billing charge, these new conditions would be lifted. They couldn’t do it. One of these punishments was lifted after awhile, Robbins said, because damages decreased drastically. But damages and the full punishment never totally stopped.
This year in Rouzer, however, there haven’t been any significant fines. The only damages so far have been minor things, like breaking ceiling tiles, the water fountain or snapping off the railing on the stairs.
“Yeah it’s been pretty quiet this year, we haven’t really done a lot,” says freshman Sean McGarry. “I think everyone just likes hangin’ out in Whiteford.”