News-Letter

The rumors began spreading early last week: Hopkins is closing down parties for the police; the administration hired an `investigator' to go around looking for loud parties; the University is against us, plain and simple.

Fortunately, reality is never quite as devastating as Hopkins students like to pretend it is. Yes, the Undergraduate Student Conduct Code has been revised to tighten restrictions on students looking to go a little wild on a Saturday night. But there is little cause for alarm. If anything, this is a step toward repairing relations with Charles Villagers, which have been strained to new levels lately. It appears that the intention of the administration is not to eliminate what little semblance of college life remains at Hopkins, though their motives are dubious.

Consistent with past failures to educate students on important policy changes, most undergrads -- especially those living off campus -- are still completely in the dark on the matter. Most have no clue that any change has taken place, and those who have heard of the three-strike system have been left to devise their own impressions of what makes an offense punishable. Until the student body is allowed to become genuinely aware of the University's new position on off-campus conduct, no student should be expected to comply.

After a student earns a second strike, the school notifies his or her parents -- a direct breach of students' confidentiality. Our parents can't see our grades, no matter how hard they try, without our permission. They should not be drawn into the picture without explicit permission from the student facing punishment. Furthermore, few parents will be upset to find that their child is actually enjoying college life in Baltimore at the cost of keeping a few local residents up at night. Students undoubtedly should exercise more concern for the needs of local residents, but this policy is hardly a sufficient compromise between all three parties -- the University, the students and Charles Village.

Nonetheless, the more enlightened reforms hidden within this large policy renovation package should not go unrecognized. Appointing Sgt. Carrie Bennett to the position of Student Community Liaison is the first in a series of vital changes that will allow Hopkins students and Charles Villagers to coexist peacefully.

However violated students may feel, there is good reason to believe that we may not face serious consequences for violations of the new policies. Aside from the fact that they are nearly unenforceable (one can hardly blame the hosts of a party for the improper conduct of those in attendance, for instance) there are also subtle indications that the University does not intend to be a strict enforcer.

Primarily, administrators have been hesitant to elaborate on what truly constitutes a violation of the new policies, perhaps fearful that making a commitment to a uniform punishment would set off a firestorm of criticism from students and parents alike. Even more likely is that administrators need evidence for Charles Villagers that the University is taking action to curtail student noise and disruption. But imposing new punishments, or at least the perception that the University is doing so, removes blame from administrators and places it solely in the hands of the students. If local residents were to ever call on the University to make an example out of a student, however, there would be no viable option available.

Until students have the opportunity to see these new policies in action, a thick cloud of uncertainty will surround the future of Hopkins undergraduate life. At this point in time, the three-strike system is neither a step forward nor a step backward; while there are both marginal improvements and failures surrounding the new policy, the penalty system will be the defining factor. It is time that we as students work to get the local community off our backs. Only then will the University stop treading dangerously close to true violations of student privacy. Perhaps we need a few months of parties in Levering Hall before we reach this point, but for now we'll have to wait.

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