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. All alleged violations will be investigated according to the College’s Student Conduct Process.

Antennas

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.

Bed Bugs

Students who suspect they have bed bugs must immediately contact Campus Operations during business hours, Monday-Friday at 914.395.2385. If it is outside of business hours, contact Campus Safety at 914.395.2209. Campus Operations will contact the pest-control company and schedule an inspection as soon as possible. Students must make an appointment with Health & Wellness. The Health & Wellness staff will examine any bites to confirm whether they are bed-bug bites. In the event the presence of bed bugs is confirmed, the affected room(s) will be treated as soon as possible to prevent spreading.

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, it is the student’s responsibility to complete post extermination room preparation as per Operations instructions. Failure to follow the proposed protocols or seek necessary treatment may result in disciplinary actions, such as forfeiting housing for the remainder of the semester or academic year. Early and immediate intervention is the key to handling this pest problem, so never hesitate to call Campus Operations to have your room checked.

Body or Head Lice

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.

Possession and/or Use of Candles and/or Incense

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

To request to light one or a few real candles for religious, spiritual, or ritual reasons, permission must first be granted by the Director of Spiritual Life. After approval, candle(s) may only be lit in the Spiritual Space. Candles must be monitored at all times and extinguished after use. When not in use, candles must be stored in the labeled shelf area ("Student Candles") in the Spiritual Space storage cabinet (back left in the room). To submit a candle lighting request, visit the Spiritual Life MySLC page and submit the appropriate form. Please allow up to 48 hours for response and approval. In accordance with our fire safety code, candles are prohibited in any other college building.

Prohibited Items in the Residence Halls

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

Damages and Losses, Charges, and Fines

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 damage to their rooms and/or common areas. Assessable damages include, but are not limited to, 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, ceilings doors, and floors 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/floor/door 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) 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 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 academic year.

Room Furnishings

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 sole 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 to Campus Operations. Students may not raise or lower loft beds without the assistance of Facilities staff. Waterbeds are not permitted in the residence halls.

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.

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

Kitchen and Bathroom Furnishings

Furnishings purchased by students, including, but not limited to, shower heads, faucets, bidets, or water-filtration systems are prohibited by the college. Students are not permitted to install such devices. Damage caused by students who install such devices may result in fines and disciplinary action.

Custodial Services

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). With the exception of Garrison, Taylor, and Westlands 3rd floor large communal bathrooms, students are responsible for purchasing their own toilet paper. The use of bathroom wipes of any kind, including products marked as “flushable ” is prohibited. 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.

Keys

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.

Failure to properly complete the key return process, including missing information or an unsealed envelope, will result in a $25 Improper Checkout Fee. Incomplete key return information increases administrative processing time and may delay checkout verification.

Residential Guests

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 violation.

Occupancy Limits with College Residencies

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.

Overnight Guests

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, please adhere to the occupancy limit policy outlined in the Guest Policy.

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.

Locking Doors

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.

Lockouts

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.

Note: Campus Dormitory Lockout – Campus Safety strongly encourages you be in possession of your college ID and room / entrance key at all times. Campus Safety will provide assistance during your first lockout if you forget your key or ID, treating the first incident as educational with a warning ticket. A second incident will result in a $10 fine, and a third incident will result in a $25 fine.

Quiet and Courtesy Hours

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.

Furniture Storage During the Academic Year

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 notify Campus Operations of the approved accommodations.

Summer Storage

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. Information which lists summer storage options is sent Please note: these are the only allowed vendors. Do not contract with any other vendors.

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 personal items left in dormitories and/or student club spaces after the end of the spring semester will be discarded.

Yards and Lawns

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.

Windows

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.