As winter gives way to spring and students living off campus begin to worry about things other than an icy sidewalk, it becomes increasingly obvious that the Office of Neighborhood Life’s neglectfully vague and unnecessarily punitive policies need a breath of fresh air.
Recently, the ONL sent a reminder to students warning against such public displays with the threat that violations would be met with, among other consequences, fines of up to $200.
Policies like this show that there exists a real need for increased dialogue between the community of students living off campus and those tasked with creating such policies.
Because of this lack of communication between the ONL and off-campus residents, there are basic ambiguities on the qualifications of “publicly displayed trash receptacles” that makes it such that fines of $200 are unnecessarily punitive for students that may not have known they were in the wrong.
For some unlucky seniors, these obscure fines might even prevent them from graduating.
Such arguably unfair punishments stem from a misconception held by the ONL that Georgetown students living off campus are seen as unruly and disorderly.
Georgetown students, on the other hand, misconstrue the ONL simply as the culprit behind the barrage of emails and punishments.
The fact remains, nonetheless, that such a relationship is toxic not only to the university’s relationship to the student body, but also nurtures a climate of distrust and resentment.
Both students and administrators should alternatively seek to bridge the communication gap that leads to misunderstandings and animosity.
On the ONL’s part, this can be done through a clarification of policy. Students, on the other hand, should step up and be more attentive to the ONL’s requirements.
This might just be the breath of fresh air that allows for the blossoming of a new ONL-student relationship.