The bad news: their summer vacations have already begun and you’re still in school. The good news: a group of your friends is coming to visit for Dillo Day. But will they have a place to sleep?
If you were planning to host a large group of visitors overnight in your dorm, think again. Each student is allowed to sign in one — and only one — visitor. Though this is a standard, year-round Northwestern policy, the rule limiting the number of guests per student may come as a surprise to some.
“Basically in the rules and regulations it says that a resident can have an overnight guest limited to one guest per resident, as long as guests are registered with the Residential Office,” says Senior Assistant Director of University Residential Life Virginia Koch. “On a day-to-day basis this isn’t really enforced, but on this weekend we do try to standardize that.”
After the number of visitors to Northwestern became “a little excessive” in past years, Residential Life began enforcing the guest policy more strictly. Koch cites visitors getting lost in dorms and on campus as a concern that led to the university taking the rules more seriously.
Another constraint on hosting guests is the gender issue. According to Northwestern housing rules and regulations, a student may not host a member of the opposite sex in his or her room. Koch calls this “an old-fashioned policy,” but one that could potentially end in a housing write-up.
“We do expect people to be aware and to comply and follow the rules,” says Koch. “But we’re not going to do bed checks. It’s more of an honor system at that level.”
Still, Weinberg freshman Alexandra Zaretsky feels the strict implementation is overkill.
“I feel like that’s unfair if it’s not enforced throughout the year, especially since Dillo Day is a big deal,” says Zaretsky.
However, with so many college students already finished with classes and looking for a party on Memorial Day weekend, there’s a good chance Northwestern students will be hosting not one, but several friends.
“I have two or three friends coming. Maybe four.” says Weinberg freshman Tim White. “They’re coming on the Thursday before [Dillo Day], so hopefully I’ll be able to get them in.”
Campus security officers and community assistants will be stationed at dorm entrances to sign in guests, and some dorms will implement pre-registration for all visitors. Whether pre-registration is required depends upon the area in which the dorm is located; area coordinators dictate the regulations.
Beginning the week of May 17, firesides will be held in each dorm to inform residents of the expectations for Dillo Day weekend. In addition to guest policies, the firesides will address the Northwestern alcohol policy and how to handle alcohol-related incidents.
“Everyone wants to have fun that weekend,” says Koch. “We want to make sure that people understand that there is really an expectation that Northwestern students help each other and our guests.”
Koch reminds students that if they violate the alcohol, guest or noise policies, their friends will not be permitted to stay overnight in the dorms. Furthermore, she strongly encourages residents to talk with their roommates before making plans to host a friend for the weekend. Despite these warnings, not all students are so keen on the idea of being restricted in the number of guests they can accommodate.
“I feel like if I pay for a room I should be able to have people stay here,” says White. “If it’s a matter of the fire code, I would find other people to host them.”
Zaretsky agrees. She is expecting four friends to stay with her on the weekend of Dillo Day, and has already worked out the living situation with her roommate.
“Dillo Day should be shared with people beyond the Northwestern community,” explains Zaretsky. “It’s a chance to show off how great our school is and they shouldn’t take that away.”