Friday, September 28, 2001

Milton Daniel has new visitation hours
By Aaron Chimbel
Staff Reporter

The men of Milton Daniel Hall approved new visitation hours, by a vote of 241-16 Wednesday, said Hall Director Artist Thornton.

The new hours allow female guests to be inside the hall from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday to Thursday. The new visitation hours went into effect Thursday.

Sara Donaldson - Skiff Staff Josh Hall, a freshman business major, votes on extending visiting hours in Milton Daniel Hall, while Hick Coleman, a sophomore finance major and vice president of the Milton Hall Council, supervises.

Milton Daniel Hall Council President Matt Freedman said he is happy the council gained the support of the residents.

Sherley Hall and Jarvis Hall unsuccessfully tried last semester to change visitation hours. Milton Daniel was the first residence hall to approve the changes.

For a hall’s visitation hours to be set for a referendum the hall council must submit a proposal of the change to the hall director. The hall director then confers with Associate Director of Residence Life Russell Elleven. If they approve the change it is put up for a vote of the entire hall. A hall must get two-thirds of all residents to approve the change for it to be passed.

Thornton said he is impressed with the hall council’s efforts to propose the change and hold the vote.

Elleven said Milton Daniel’s visitation hours will continue under the new plan for the remainder of the academic year, unless there is an increase in discipline problems. He said residents need to alert hall staff if they have a problem resulting from the new visitation hours.

“I don’t see our (Resident Assistant) staff as police officers in residence halls,” Elleven said.

Student Government Association President and Milton Daniel resident assistant Brian Wood said he is concerned the new policy will be hard to enforce since RAs will still do nightly rounds at the same time.

“Even though my vote would have been no, I’m glad everyone came out and voted,” Wood said.

Junior finance major and Milton Daniel RA Ben Illian said the vote among RAs was split about even between those who wanted the change and those who did not. Illian said he would like to see residence halls change to a 24-hour visitation policy.

Milton resident and sophomore history major Alex Johnson said he opposed visitation policy changes but the majority has spoken and it is out of his hands now.

“A lot of guys are going to take advantage of the new hours,” he said. “I just won’t be one of them.”

The visitation changes approved in Milton Daniel are the maximum allowed according to a May 2000 memo from Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Don Mills. Prior to that students had no say in their hall’s visitation hours.

Aaron Chimbel
a.a.chimbel@student.tcu.edu