A new policy at Tufts forbids kicking out roommates to partake in sexual activities (Photo: Lasia Kretzel)
Carleton University’s residence association may have just hosted “Sex Week,” but another university has announced a policy with a less promiscuous attitude.
Tufts University, located near Boston, is prohibiting sex in residence if a roommate is present. This change is outlined in the “guest policy” section of their on-campus living guide Habitats.
“[The Office of Residential Life and Learning] received numerous complaints in the past few years regarding sexual activity taking place in the residence hall room while a roommate was present, which made the roommate very uncomfortable,” said Carrie Ales-Rich, assistant director of community and judicial affairs. “Since we modified the guest policy over the summer, we felt that having a statement about this kind of behaviour naturally fell under the guest policy.”
Stephanie McGill, a bio-archaeological studies student at the University of Western Ontario, said she is no stranger to uncomfortable situations.
“[On the] first day of orientation week, I found some guy [whom] I have never seen before in my room,” McGill said. “A new guy, a new roommate and first day of university was extremely overwhelming for me. It only went downhill and escalated to the point where my roommate was having sex on my bed! There was no respect for personal feelings and property, and her actions had a very negative effect on me, emotionally and academically.”
Kim Thurler, a representative for Tufts, said the new policy is less about restricting behaviour as it is about protecting the interests of roommates.
“I would not characterize the revised . . . policy in our residence halls as a ‘ban,’” she said. “Our overnight guest policy is about courtesy, consideration and respect for others, and the need for students to be mindful of their roommates’ need for privacy, study and sleep.”
Currently, if a roommate reports an incident, no formal disciplinary action will be taken. Instead, a representative from the university’s residence will hold a discussion with the roommates and take action from there if necessary.
Tufts is the first school to formalize a policy like this in its residence contract and Thurler said there hasn’t been significant opposition to the new rule among the community.
Students across Canada have differing reactions to the policy.
Rosanna Harris, a second-year vocal performance major at Acadia University, said a university doesn’t have the right to intervene.
“I think it’s ridiculous that the university has to get involved because I think it’s [the] students’ choice, and I think they should discuss it,” she said. “The university [shouldn’t] get involved because it’s not their right to do so anyway.”
“I don’t really know why that needs to be university policy because that’s kind of like common courtesy anyway,” said Amanda, a second-year political science student at York University who does not wish to reveal her last name for privacy reasons.
“A better policy would be a ‘knocking policy,’” in which the roommate would be required to knock on the door before entering. She said a ‘knocking policy’ would have saved her from some awkward situations with her roommate last year.
Alex, a fourth-year communications student from the University of Ottawa who also does not want his last name used, said he thinks this policy will not actually help Tufts’ objective to ease tensions between roommates, and calls the idea “bizarre.”
“There’s nothing like your roommate getting you disciplined because you’re sleeping with someone, to make your roomie-relationship even worse,” he said.
One Sir Sanford Fleming College student supports the move.
“I think privacy is a huge issue in this situation because I think that sex is something that should be between you and your partner, and I don’t think that you should impose your love life on your roommate especially if you don’t know each other well,” said Scott Watson, an ecosystem management major. “I don’t know if this rule would help in creating better relationships with roommates, but it would definitely make the situation less awkward.”