At the airport, we expect to be monitored. We expect to have to show multiple kinds of I.D. We even expect to have to walk through a metal detector to make sure we don’t have any weapons on our person. To get on an airplane, this behavior is standard. It should not, however, be standard procedure to get to a room in the middle of the night.

As a university, VSU is responsible for their student body’s safety. We all understand and appreciate that, but lately it seems the whole campus has been questioning the methods. Shutting down an entire residence hall’s visitation rights in retaliation for a single unidentified prankster’s work, as in the recent events at Georgia Hall, is complete overkill. Throughout history, it has been proven that punishing the majority for the actions of the few is not only wrong, but also ineffective. We are college students, not 5-year-olds who can’t have a friend over if Mommy’s working.

Georgia Hall residents are not the only victims. Reade Hall residents were sent an email that threatened retraction of study room privileges due to residents leaving their belongings there. Did any one person deal with consequences of study room litter? No. Signs in the laundry rooms across campus declare that laundry privileges will be taken away if students cannot keep them clean. Do these policies sound like preschool to anyone?

It is irritating to be told that one cannot use school resources under certain circumstances, but the freshman residence policy adds yet more disturbing light on the subject. Freshmen that do not have home addresses within 50 miles of the university are required to live on-campus for their first year. Subsequently, they do not get a choice about the money they pay for housing, whether out of pocket or in scholarships. Is it not unjust to force students to pay for housing and the resources that come with it, knowing full well that those resources can be taken away at the first sign of trouble? Rather filling in the loopholes in security, the university appears to prefer removing resources on the assumption that the criminals will be punished among the flock. Freshmen do not pay for security; they pay to ensure their risk of being hung out to dry at the university’s whim.

A greater increase in housing annoyance could explain why more and more students have wanted to move off campus by next semester. If this does not say something about university policy, we do not know what will. Next semester, you’ll probably find more students hitting the road before paying to be treated like criminals.