9orm rooms usually private, but...
THE BATTALION Page 3
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 1978
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RA sometimes has right to enter
By KAREN CORNELISON
[‘It's the RA, let me in! the resi-
ent adviser said after knocking
Judly on the dorm room door at
■0 a.m. When the student didn’t
answer, the RA announced her
entrance and used her pass key.
e you in here alone? she asked
sleepy student.
[“You can look around if you like, ”
iplied the student.
This is just a routine room
[check,” explained the RA, who
uked in the bathroom, in the ad-
ning dorm room and the room
iross the hall.
Resident advisers entering stu
nts rooms is not uncommon in
fexas A&M dormatories.
The resident adviser was within
er rights, as listed in the Texas
Dorm rooms are state
property; therefore the Uni-
wsity officials have the right
to enter at reasonable times
■or reasonable reasons. They
\ave a right to see that state
property is not being de
stroyed,” said Chris Kling.
IA&M University Residence Hall
[taff Manual, because the student
e her permission to enter and
:arch.
But an RA who uses such
ethods of rule enforcement is
Irobably alienating himself from his
ing or floor residents, making it
[fficult for him to perform his main
b as an adviser.
Privacy rights of a dorm student
xe a touchy issue, said Chris Kling,
pdent legal adviser. “It depends
in who’s doing the searching,” he
[id. “Dorm rooms are state prop-
ty; therefore, the University offi-
als have the right to enter at rea-
lonable times for reasonable rea
ms. They have a right to see that
Btate property is not being de-
troyed. ”
TAs, as University employees,
ave this right. But “reasonable” is a
abjective word.
“If an RA says he wants to search
a room,” Kling said, “he has a legal
ght.
“Police cannot enter a room with-
out a warrant unless under certain
conditions.”
If the student gives his consent,
or if the police are pursuing some
one and have reason to believe he is
in a dorm room, they can enter,
Kling said.
“if the police enter lawfully, even
if they’re pursuing someone, and
they see a kilo of marijuana sitting
on the desk, the student can be ar
rested because the police have a
lawful right to be in the room,”
Kling said.
If an RA demands to search a
room, and finds the same kilo of
marijuana, it can be confiscated,
Kling said. The student can be dis
ciplined according to University
regulations, but the marijuana can
not be used to prosecute in court.
The Texas A&M Residence Hall
Staff Manual goes even further to
protect a student’s privacy rights.
According to the manual, no stu
dent’s room should be entered by a
staff member unless one or more of
the following circumstances exists:
• an invitation is extended by one
or more of the room’s occupants
• an emergency exists or is be
lieved to exist
• the staff member has cause to
believe that violation of University
rules and regulations is occurring
• entry is necessary to provide
room cleaning or maintenance.
If one of these conditions exists,
the staff member must follow a care
ful procedure for entering the room.
He must get another staff member
to accompany him if at all possible.
He must knock, verbally identify
himself and request that the door be
opened. He must wait long enough
for the student to be able to open
the door. If there is no answer or
entry is refused, he must knock
again, reidentify himself, state his
intentions to enter if the door is not
opened, wait again and then use the
pass key.
In cases of extreme emergency, a
staff member need only knock and
identify himself once.
A student’s room cannot be
entered in his absence unless there
is an extreme emergency, a fire or
safety check, or a need for mainte
nance. Any room check by a staff
member, unless in an emergency,
must be cleared with the area coor
dinator of the dorm.
The staff manual says that entry
into a room because of “a clear indi
cation that established conduct
A student's room cannot be
entered in his absence unless there
is an extreme emergency, a fire or
safety check or a need for mainte
nance. Any room check by a staff
member, unless in an emergency,
must be cleared with the area co
ordinator of the dorm.
standards or health and safety regu
lations are being violated” involves a
value judgment.
“It is hoped that abuse will be
controlled by the recognition that
staff-student relationships can
quickly be destroyed by such ac
tions,” the manual says.
The manual also explicitly pro
hibits general room searches unless
in extreme situations as determined
by the Office of Student Affairs.
Ann Marie Landis, an RA in
Mosher Hall, said she follows the
guidelines in the RA manual
strictly. “If you don t follow the
rules, the University won’t back you
up,” she said.
She also said the other RAs in
Mosher try to stick to the manual.
An RA in Dunn Hall, who has
lived there for several semesters,
said there has never been any trou
ble in Dunn that he knows of with
RAs abusing their rights.
“The female RAs, generally
speaking, are more strict, he said.
“They seem to play more policemen
than advisers.
Sue Hodge, area coordinator for
the Commons, urges students to
come to her or their head resident if
an RA is overstepping his bounds.
“I would want to know about it
immediately,” she said. “If we know
about it, we can do something about
it.
Hodge said that if a complaint is
made against an RA, she will listen
to the RA’s side in the presence of
the head resident.
“In defense of the RA,” she said,
“they have a real hard job to do.
From the RA’s perspective, an
entirely different thing could have
happened.”
The University will usually back
up the RA, Hodge said, unless the
RA’s conduct was very unfair or an
invasion of privacy.
The definition of a student’s pri
vacy rights are ambiguous, at best.
There are many value judgments
left up to the RAs and other staff
members.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has not
given us the benefit of any decision
on the search of a dorm room,”
Chris Kling said. “We really don’t
know what the status is. My own be
lief is a trend toward granting dorm
students the same rights as apart
ment students. An apartment man
ager doesn’t have the right to come
in and search your apartment.
“Hopefully, in the not-too-distant
future, the Supreme Court will
make a decision.”
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