We all know that Framingham State is one of the “stricter” Universities out there. For example, all guests of residents must have a valid, state issued ID in order to come into the dorms. If you want to have a guest visit that is under the age of 18, a “minor guest pass” form must be filled out prior to the guest visiting, be submitted, processed and picked up by the parent/guardian of the guest. At most other colleges/universities guests can just walk right in with residents regardless of their age and if identification does need to be shown a valid college ID will work as well as Government Issue IDs.
One of my roommates has a younger brother who is a senior in high school and is on vacation this week. He is seventeen and wanted to come up and visit at some point this week. Because he is under 18 and needs a “minor guest pass” their mom too needs to drive here and pick up the pass. My roommate lives over an hour away and her brother has his own car. It is just a hassle and waste of time/gas in my opinion for their mom to also have to drive out here to pick up the pass for him to enter the dorms. I feel that his age should not matter and he should be allowed in with his ID.
I feel that anyone, no matter the age should be allowed into the dorm with proper identification. The “minor guest forms” for those under 18 is a hassle. If a student lives far away, it is just a pain in the butt for parents to come out here to hand a pass to their child and leave. No other schools that I know of have such a policy, so why should we? Second any form of identification should be acceptable, school or government issued. It is unfair for those students who have friend that do not have a license. Their friends cannot visit even though they go to college and have valid school identification. I think this policy change would bring more students to stay here on the weekend giving our campus more life. Also showing off our beautiful school to guests.
As a student of Framingham State University I believe that the school is protecting us a little too much. We are now adults here and should be treated like one. I have also visited schools around here that my friends are at and they have an understandable policy: swipe to get into the building and checking IDs does not start until 8pm. I think this is a good idea and allows guests to come throughout the day if you go down to let them inside the building. Once again the only ones who can use IDs to get into the buildings are the students who live there. Also to go along with the under 18 guest policy, I feel that it is a good idea but when it comes to family there should be an exception. Even if it just a note from a parent it should be acceptable. If this works for other schools why can't it happen for Framingham State.
ReplyDeleteWhat answer did you get from someone in the Residence Life office when you asked them about why this policy is in force?
ReplyDeleteMinor Guest Application Forms can be downloaded from http://www.framingham.edu/residence-life/forms-and-publications/minor-guest-application.html. According to that page, after approval is given the pass may be mailed to the parent instead of them having to pick it up.
Although FSU is widely known across campus for being "strict," I think it is completely justified. It may seem annoying to us but the school makes these policies with our best interests in mind. I completely understand why they have chosen to set these policies for minor visitors in place. Of course, a note from a parent would be easiest and the ideal situation, but they make this process so difficult for us to make sure that minors are safe. The fact is that we, the ones of us attending and/or living at FSU, are adults. The school needs to be fully aware that minors are given permission from their parents to come stay in a college environment full of adults. A note could be written and signed by anyone, so if I was an employee of Residence Life, I would not accept that either. All of us complain about these policies so much, but if we just planned ahead of time and got the necessary forms processed to have minors visit, there wouldn't be as many issues. Residence Life isn't here to hurt us, they're here to help us. They are willing to work with students individually to get students' siblings or other minors up here for visits. Getting minors up here for successful visits really isn't as hard as it may seem. Also, I'd like to point out that we are one of many schools that have similar policies. Wheelock College in Boston, for example, also requires minors to obtain a specific pass. Our school is just trying to be responsible in the end.
ReplyDelete