Living With Others
At its core, living in college residence halls is a fundamentally different experience than living in single family homes or apartments. Due to the high density of people sharing a space, it is important to establish community standards and practices that best support a successful living environment for everyone within the residence halls. Early in the year, your R2 will work with your floor to establish community standards you all share. This section outlines long-standing community standards and policies set to support the overall residential experience at the College.
Noise
By their nature residence halls are noisy places due to the density of residents. All students are expected to show consideration for other residents. Residents should feel welcome to ask neighbors to turn down stereos, musical instruments, televisions, etc. and residents should respect these requests. At the start of each year, hall, floor or wing communities may decide to set quiet hours to establish a shared community standard in how the individuals within the area define reasonable times to be noisy.
Resident Resources (R2)
R2s are student leaders who have been selected to serve as leaders for each floor community. The R2’s primary responsibility is to support the individual, personal, social, and academic needs of students at Olin. In addition, R2s act on a commitment to diversity and pluralism by providing leadership within the residence halls to facilitate the development of community while supporting residents as described below:
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Supports and assists other R2s in evaluating or handling student issues through an on-call rotation for Olin students to seek around the clock assistance.
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Makes referrals to the appropriate person or office, if the student problem appears too severe for R2s to handle effectively, especially with issues such as depression, suicide, eating disorders, etc.
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Facilitates the resolution of conflicts and problems when they arise in the residence halls.
Social Gatherings & Parties
Residence Life encourages safe social gatherings within the residence halls. Large gatherings and any parties or events with alcoholic beverages must be registered with Residence Life. Large gatherings may require staff and/or Babson College Public Safety coverage at a cost to the event sponsor(s). College staff members may enter to observe an event at any time. Event hosts are responsible for assuring that guests adhere to laws and college policies.
Guests & Visitors
Overnight guests are permitted in the residence halls, provided consideration is given to the rights of all permanent occupants. Roommates must give explicit approval. Any guest who remains within the residence hall for more than one consecutive night must be registered with Residence Life. Four nights within a 14-day period is the maximum length of time normally permitted for each guest. Special permission from Residence Life is required for guest stays of longer than four days. Residents assume responsibility for the actions of their guests.
Guests and visitors should always remain in the presence of their host within the Residence Halls.
Peddling, Canvassing & Soliciting
Students may not use or permit the use of their room for peddling or canvassing except as approved by the Associate Director for Residence Life. Soliciting in the campus buildings or on the grounds is prohibited.
Bugs & Pests
We must work together to prevent the attraction of bugs and pests within the residence halls. Any food should be stored in a sealed, hard container to prevent the attraction of mice. Be mindful of the risk of bedbugs, especially when obtaining fabrics & upholstered items from second- hand sources. In addition, the often-significant costs associated with addressing any such infestation will be billed to the student(s) responsible for bringing that piece of furniture into the residence halls.