One of the best things about policies and rules is that they are adaptable and can be changed as the need arises. They are not set in stone if they are unreasonable or if the need for a policy change comes about. In a fair setting, there is always the option of a discussion about something a person may feel is unfair, or unclear. However, sometimes there are persisting policies that people feel may need to be looked at, and feel it may be time for a change. This is true about some of the policies at Keene State College.
From personal observation and conversation around campus, it is easy to discern that there are some changes the student population would love to see. To clarify, this article is not at all meant to attack or insult any group of officials on campus and is simply a reporting of observations.
One of the most contested policies is the two-meal guest passes a semester per student. Many people love to have their friends and family come visit them at school and enjoy a meal. Students in residence halls are allowed two overnight visitors a month, which is reasonable. However, students are only allowed to have two trips to the Zorn Dining Commons with visitors per semester. This seems a little unfair when matched up with the fact that you can have two people a month visit.
You basically can only have one person who stays overnight eat with you in the DC. This is a highly discussed issue on campus, and there is a lot of discord among the student population about it.
The most common suggestion is to have at least one meal per guest pass. This adds up to about ten visitor meal passes a semester for each student. That way, any visitors to the school will not have to worry as much about eating when they come to visit Keene.
Another heavily conversed topic is parking on -campus. This is more an issue of clarity. Both guests and some students are confused as to how on-campus parking works. Personally, I know that there is parking for visitors in the Winchester lot with a parking pass, but that is all I know.
I have no idea how on-campus parking works, even with a parking pass. There are other students as well who are slightly murky as to where is acceptable to park on the weekends. Recently, there was an email sent out about how on-campus parking is completely barred off for the upcoming Pumpkin Festival.
This isn’t a policy that needs to be changed, as much as a group of policies which would be more effective, and reduce possible parking violations, by being explained in greater depth to students.
A more recent change of policy this year is the new way of dealing with “Quiet Hour” violations. The new policy is no warning, just an instant write up. While I do think that this should be the case in an obvious disregard of quiet hours, there should be some discretion used. Last year, I was watching a television show at around 10:30 p.m., at what I thought was a reasonable volume, with the door closed. The quiet hours for my dorm last year were 10 p.m. An R.A. knocked on my door and said that my TV was apparently very slightly audible from the hallway.
It wasn’t loud enough to warrant any kind of violation, but the RA asked if I could turn it down slightly. I was completely unaware that the TV was too loud, and was more than happy to lower the volume. If that situation had happened this year under the new policies however, I would have been written up with no warning, and no idea that my TV was too loud. The R.A. at the time knew that I was not intentionally being loud, and was honestly unaware of the situation. The policy this year leaves no room for the R.A.’s judgment. Honestly, this is change that didn’t need to be made. R.A.’s are all intelligent enough to know when a situation warrants attention.
One final policy that should be discussed has not been confirmed, but has started to generate rumors. There are strong rumors circulating of a policy only allowing one guest per student for Pumpkin Fest. This is heavily weighing down many a student’s mind. Many people have plans in place already for guests, and may now have to cancel these plans.
Pumpkin Fest is known beyond the boundaries of Keene and many people want to come see the festival. Students look forward to showing their friends and family around the town and having them see the set-up of pumpkins all around. Making it so only one person can visit would seriously lower student excitement and morale.
Once again, this article was not meant to insult or attack any group or officials on campus, merely to voice some student concerns that may not have been brought to attention before. KSC is an amazing place to go to college, and there are many benefits and advantages to going here. No matter where you are, there are usually some changes people feel could be made, which is why an open line of communication is important.
David Padrazo can be contacted at
dpadrazo@keene-equinox.com