I have to write to let many students – not just Patrick Sullivan, who wrote in to The Daily Free Press about his angst with regard to the Guest Policy and Jon Marker as Student Union president (“The Union’s failure to represent its students,” page 9, Nov. 30) – know that the Guest Policy is not such a bad thing and it has been modified, just prior to the Class of 2007’s arrival.

Prior to the spring semester of 2003, no student was allowed into a non-dining hall equipped residence without being signed in. It didn’t matter what time of day it was or whether you lived on campus or off campus. It was then, in January of 2003, that those of us living on campus were allowed to swipe into a friend’s dorm if we wanted to visit. That Guest Policy revision is what stands today.

Yeah, it might seem a little outdated to have limited visiting hours, guest restrictions and “babying,” but consider this: How many of you guys have been into your communal bathroom to find puke from someone’s binge drinking fest on the floor, all over the shower stall or all over the toilet? I’m guessing that almost everyone reading this article has.

Now, people have used the argument that an 18-year-old is mature enough to handle any visitors, at any time, for any length of time. If places like Warren Towers, where approximately 1,800 students live, didn’t have a sign-in policy, imagine what kind of debauchery would occur without requiring students to leave by 2 a.m.? There’s enough debauchery from students who live in the building. Without the Guest Policy, the incentive comes upon the residents to exercise maturity and responsibility. The lack of respect for public facilities among the mature 18-year-olds tends to exude maturity, doesn’t it? By preventing hordes of students from entering dorms late at night (and kicking them out in the early morning), it helps keep noise levels in check, even if it’s just a little bit. Yeah, I’m square; I liked to go to bed before midnight and I took 8 a.m. classes, and to me, the Guest Policy helped. The security guard is there to help keep dorms a living residence where students can study and sleep; the Guest Policy is one way of helping to enforce that. That and the Guest Policy discourage partying in dorms. The lack of security in brownstones reveals the tendency of college kids to throw parties and disrupt their neighbors.

Do I dislike the Guest Policy? Yeah, I hate it when I can’t have a friend come over at 12:30 after going to a bar or something, and it’s annoying to have to sign in friends who live off campus, but the benefits I’ve received outweigh the inconveniences. Having lived a year in a traditional dorm in West Campus, then living two years in a non-security brownstone, then back to a security-equipped building, I can honestly say I appreciate it.

Besides, on a late night return from a night at an event, the security guard is someone you have a chance to say hi to and someone to say good morning to when you leave for class.

Chris Kim CAS ’06