Residential Life and Housing Policies

All students living in College housing must adhere to the Housing License Agreement, which every student signs before submitting their housing application. In addition, all students must abide by all Residential Life and Housing Policies and procedures in addition to the Conduct Code and General College Policies. Violations and alleged violations will be investigated according to the College’s Student Conduct Process.

No wires or other objects, such as TV antennas or satellite dishes, may be attached, hung, or placed outside any residential living unit or building.

Students who suspect they have bed bugs must immediately contact Campus Safety at 914.395.2209. Campus Safety will notify Campus Operations, which will call the pest-control company and schedule a room inspection as soon as possible. Students must also contact Health & Wellness. The Health & Wellness staff will examine any bites to confirm whether they are bed-bug bites. In the event bed-bug bites are confirmed, it is imperative that the affected room(s) are treated as soon as possible to prevent spreading.

Once contacted, Campus Operations will provide instructions on what must be done before the room(s) can be treated. To avoid additional work, it is strongly recommended that the student speak with a member of the Campus Operations staff prior to washing linens or clothes or before removing anything from the room(s). Before the College can treat the affected areas, the affected student(s) must follow the bed-bug protocol, provided by Campus Operations, within 24 hours. Failure to follow the proposed protocols or impeaded treatment will result in disciplinary actions, such as forfeiting housing for the remainder of the semester or year. Early and immediate intervention is the key to handling this pest problem, so never hesitate to call Campus Operations and have your room checked.

Students who have or think they have lice must go to Health & Wellness for a body and/or head check. Health & Wellness will conduct an examination and give the student(s) hair/body washing instructions and directions on how to clean and bag items in the room.

Candles, regardless of whether they have been lit, and incense, whether lit or unlit, are prohibited. Wax melters are also prohibited.

A list of these items can be found under the General College Policies section of the Student Handbook.

The College expects that student rooms, common areas, and bathrooms will be in the same condition when the student vacates the space as they were when the student moved in. Rooms or common areas left in exceptionally poor condition relating to damages and/or cleanliness may result in fines and/or a student’s loss of future housing privileges. There is also an expectation that the exterior of buildings and the grounds around residence halls be kept clean and uncluttered.

Students will be billed for damages to their rooms and/or common areas. Assessable damages include alterations or defacement of the building structure or furnishings. Charges and fines for damages that occur in common living areas, such as living rooms, corridors, bathroom facilities, and cooperative areas, will be equally divided among the residents if the person(s) responsible is/are not known or identified. Common areas are inspected on a regular basis, and fines are assessed accordingly. Anyone who causes damage to or removes common-area furniture will be subject to charges and conduct action.

Walls and ceilings should be left in the same condition as they were found. If any damage is done, students will be charged a fine of $50, plus any additional labor and/or repair costs. The use of sticky tack or any similar adhesive is prohibited. Students are responsible for using  the proper adhesive tape and/or hooks and installing and removing it/them in such a way that does not cause any wall/ceiling damage. Damage to surfaces from adhesives will result in a fine. Students whose walls have been painted or written on will be charged between $200 and $400 per wall to repaint.

If rooms or common areas are painted by students for any reason or found with graffiti or other markings, they will be repainted by Facilities staff. The student responsible will be charged a fine and the cost of repainting. Students may not repaint the area themselves (or have someone else repaint the area) in order to avoid the repainting charge and fine.

Closing inspections at the end of each semester may also result in cleaning and/or damage charges being assessed by Campus Operations.

Each piece of furniture that needs to be replaced because of student abuse will carry a $50 fine and the replacement cost (mattress $140, bed frame $312, desk $480, chair $193, dresser between $400 and $500, screens $40–$125, window shade $90–$240). Damaged furniture has a $50 fine plus an additional repair cost. Furniture may not be brought outside. Any furniture found outside will be removed. The resident(s) responsible for taking furniture outside will be charged a fine. If the responsible student(s) cannot be identified, residents of that house or dorm will be charged a replacement or repair fine. Other damages will be charged at the replacement/repair cost plus a fine of $50. Students are charged the full cost for missing furnishings. Fines are assessed when Sarah Lawrence College staff have to remove any additional non-College furnishings found in rooms at the end of the year.

The College supplies a bed frame, mattress, desk, chair, closet, window shade/blind, and dresser. Some closets are located outside bedrooms. The College does not accept requests for furniture exchanges. For the safety of our students, only beds provided by the College that are designed to be lofted may be lofted. The option to loft beds is specific to the room configuration and at the discretion of Campus Operations. Students may not build or purchase lofts. Students who reside in rooms that have loft frames and would like to have their beds raised or lowered must submit a work order. Students may not raise or lower loft beds without the assistance of Facilities staff. Waterbeds are not permitted in the residence halls.

Please review the lists of approved appliances and prohibited items under the Fire Safety Policies.

The College does not install furnishings purchased by students, including, but not limited to, shower heads, faucets, bidets, or water-filtration systems. Students are not allowed to install such devices. Damage caused by students who install such devices may result in fines and disciplinary action.

Any furnishings brought into the residence halls that are not owned by the College are the responsibility of the student. The College is not responsible for the loss or damage of those furnishings.

Students are responsible for cleaning their bedrooms and shared common spaces, including kitchens and bathrooms. The College provides cleaning supplies for cooperative houses (dormitories with full kitchens). The College only cleans the large communal bathrooms located in Garrison, Taylor, and the third floor of Westlands. In all other residence halls, students are responsible for cleaning their bathrooms, common areas, and kitchens. We suggest cleaning kitchens, especially stoves, once a week or at least once every two weeks. For bathrooms, we suggest cleaning weekly; for safety and hygiene, students must use bathmats (not supplied by the College) when exiting showers. Students must maintain their spaces to standards acceptable to Residential Life and Facilities. Failure to maintain spaces to acceptable cleaning standards may result in fines and disciplinary action.

If any student keys are lost or stolen and Campus Operations deems it necessary to change the lock(s), the lock(s) will be changed at a cost of $50, along with an additional cost for a new set of keys, which will be billed to the student’s account. The College reserves the right to require a student to have the room lock changed. If a student loses a key and Campus Operations determines the lock does not need to be changed, the student may obtain new keys from Campus Operations at a cost of $50 per key. Lost keys should be reported and replaced immediately. Failure to do so puts other residents at risk.

Unreturned keys will be replaced at a cost to the student of $50 per key. Charges for unreturned keys will be removed/refunded to the student if the student returns the lost or unreturned keys within 30 days of when the charge occurred. Because each key is unique and assigned to a particular student, students may not trade keys. Failing to return the specific key issued will result in a fine of $50 per key. Keys must be returned to Campus Operations or the Campus Safety 24/7 Desk located at Swinford Annex.

A residential guest is defined as any individual not registered or assigned by the College to the bedroom, apartment, residence hall, or house that the guest is occupying. Residential guests must have a valid form of picture ID (driver’s license, school ID, etc.) in their possession while inside any College residence.

All residential guests must be escorted by an authorized resident at all times, with the exception of Sarah Lawrence students who may have keycard access to a classroom or other authorized student common area within a residence. Otherwise, at no time is a residential guest allowed to walk through any College residences without being in the company of the student host. Student hosts are responsible for the behavior of their guests, including in the case of conduct action.

The number of occupants at any time in any single-occupancy bedroom, including those within apartments and houses, may not exceed three (3). The number of occupants at any time in any double-occupancy bedroom may not exceed six (6). The number of occupants at any time in any triple-occupancy bedroom may not exceed nine (9). The number of occupants at any time in any bedroom or total overall living space—suites, apartment units, and houses—shall not be more than the total number of residents assigned to that living space, plus two guests each, and must also not exceed a maximum capacity of 15 people altogether. Care and prudence should be taken whenever multiple residents of an apartment or house may be hosting guests simultaneously. The College retains all rights to remove guests or limit the number of individuals in residential or other spaces at any time.

Permission must always be secured from each resident of a room, apartment, and/or house before a residential guest may stay, particularly overnight. An overnight guest is any individual not registered or assigned by the College to the bedroom, apartment, residence hall, or house that the guest is occupying and who visits and/or remains in the space between midnight and 7 a.m., regardless of whether they plan to sleep during the stay. Students are required to register any overnight guests with the College using the Overnight Guest Registration form managed by the Office of Residential Life and found on MySLC.

Any guest may not stay overnight on campus for more than two consecutive nights or more than five nights within a 30-day period, unless authorized in advance by Residential Life. For fire-safety purposes, students may only host one guest per bedroom at a time.

Guests younger than 18 years of age must be directly related to their host and must obtain specific permission from the Office of Residential Life prior to their arrival by emailing Residential Life. Guests younger than 16 years of age are not allowed to stay overnight.

In an effort to create a safer environment, residents must lock the exterior door to their room, apartment, or house at all times. Some interior bedroom doors within apartments or suites do not have locks if they lead to a fire escape or fire exit.

For everyone's safety, all exterior and interior residence doors should be closed and locked at all times.

A student who is locked out of their room may call Campus Safety at 914.395.2209 for access. The student will need to show Campus Safety their Sarah Lawrence ID and provide their Student ID Number.

Quiet hours are in effect Sunday–Thursday from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. and Friday–Saturday from midnight to 10 a.m. Quiet hours are designated to support an environment that is conducive to learning and rest. Residents have the right to sleep and study in their rooms at any time without interference from those around them. During quiet hours, no noise should be audible outside an individual’s room.

Courtesy hours are in effect at all times. During courtesy hours, your music, voice, or noise should not be disruptive to your community. Residents are expected to demonstrate courtesy and consideration toward others at all times. Violations include any time a disruption is caused to the community or a community member. It is expected that all students will respond to any noise complaint or request to lower their volume by lowering the noise level.

Individuals affected by loud or excessive noise should first approach the person(s) making the noise and ask for the noise level to be lowered. If the noise persists, students should contact a resident adviser and may also call Campus Safety, if necessary.

Sarah Lawrence College does not store any furniture, except for approved documented medical accommodations. Students needing such accommodation must contact the director of Access and Disability Services and provide that office with appropriate documentation.

If approved, the director of Access and Disability Services will work directly with Campus Operations.

The College does not offer on-campus storage of student items during the winter or summer breaks; however, the College has partnered with Collegeboxes and Pack & Go, local shipping and storage companies. During the spring semester, Campus Operations will send an email regarding summer-storage options. Any personal belongings left on campus by students, including in residences, class spaces, common areas, and student-club spaces, will be discarded. Students will be charged for the disposal of items. Please note: At the end of spring semester, students must remove all of their belongings, even if they are returning to the same housing or nearby housing in the fall. Any items left in dorm rooms after the end of the spring semester will be discarded.

Because Sarah Lawrence College is part of a larger residential community, all of the campus green spaces must be kept neat and clear of items, including, but not limited to, tools and equipment, trampolines, hammocks, tents, string lights, barbecue grills, lawn ornaments, decorative flags, pools, patio furniture, and clotheslines. Items found will be discarded, and students may be responsible for the removal charge.

No items—including, but not limited to, air-conditioning units, flags, towels, banners, and signs—may be placed on the inside or outside of residence-hall windows. Those violating this policy will have 24 hours to remove the item(s). If the item is not removed in a timely manner, College staff will remove it. Some items may be immediately removed by College staff.