Building & Room Care Policy
Providing and maintaining campus housing facilities is a team effort. The College works diligently to provide respectable housing accommodations and provide any maintenance and repairs needed throughout the year. In some buildings, students are expected to help with regular cleaning of bathrooms, lounges, and halls.
Students are encouraged to personalize their housing spaces to make them feel like home. At the same time, residents are expected to accept responsibility for the maintenance of their rooms as well as for damages and replacements.
Hanging decorations on Room Walls
In all residence halls, apartments and houses:
- Special care should be taken for painted walls.
- White plastic adhesive (i.e., sticky tack) and 3M hooks are the only authorized adhesive for walls and ceilings.
- Students who choose to use 3M fasteners are still responsible for damage that is caused from their removal. Damage is often caused when not removed properly or when pull tabs are cut off.
- Students will be fined for any hooks or hangers left on their walls.
- Plastic hooks with double sided tape are not allowed (this applies to posters, borders, LED light strips, and all other decorative items).
- Students are not permitted to mount items on walls or ceilings that require the use of large nails, anchors and/or screws.
- Students may not paint, alter, or otherwise modify student rooms or College property.
In Houses, Apartments and Upperclass Halls
- Small nails are allowed, however, no more than 10 small nail holes per wall.
Decorations Requiring Electricity
When running electrical cords across the room, students are encouraged to purchase a cord cover and not use tape as it will damage the carpet.
In addition, if students hang electric string lights in their living spaces, bulbs should not touch painted surfaces to prevent creating black spots. This type of damage will result in a minimum fine of $150 per room.
Community Covenant and Decor
Discretion should be used for room decor as anything illegal or promoting values or activities the Wheaton College community has chosen to avoid will need to be removed (e.g. street signs, alcohol and drug posters, posters with immodestly dressed individuals, etc.) Any student who has stolen property, such as College or municipal signs, will be subject to disciplinary action, which could include a fine up to $50.
Safety
Room decorations should be in accordance with fire safety principles. Excessive paper or other flammable materials should be avoided.
Tampering with College property is prohibited, including removing window screens and misusing fire extinguishers.
Students may not construct or install structures in their rooms, including loft beds, elevated platforms, or stadium-style seating.
Waterbeds are not permitted.
Commercially manufactured bed risers are permitted only if they are 6 inches or shorter, support all four legs of the bed, and are not used with any additional stacked furniture or structures. Wheaton College is not responsible for any injury or damage that results from the use of the bed risers, as there are no ladders available from the College that meet this purpose.
Students are not allowed to shoot Orby guns, airsoft pellets, dart or small bullet nerf guns, and/or other guns or devices.
Furniture and other items should not be placed directly in front of a vent; blocking a vent could result in mechanical damage, furniture damage, and/or failure. Furniture should be two feet away from vents.
In late fall, all apartment A/C window units will be locked out for the safety of the unit and then unlocked in the spring. Students who tamper with and remove window unit plug locks or repeatedly violate HVAC policies will be fined $100 per apartment or house.
Furnishings
The College provides the furniture appropriate for each living unit and public area. College-owned furniture must remain in the assigned room, public area, or building and may not be removed under any circumstances.
An inventory of furnishings and room condition is recorded whenever a student moves into and out of a residence.
Students who choose to bring additional furniture are expected to legally store or dispose of it off campus at the end of the school year. Abandoned furniture will result in a $75 fine.
Damage
Damage in public areas and on the floors may be charged to the students who reside on the floor or in the building where the damage occurs if the parties responsible do not come forward.
The College is not responsible, and will not be liable for loss, theft, or damage to students' personal belongings, whether by act of God, accident, negligence, or intentional act. For this and other reasons, students are strongly encouraged to carry personal property insurance which can be purchased online during the housing registration process.
The College will likely seek restitution from students, and from their parents’ insurance carriers, after those events where students are responsible for intentionally or unintentionally causing damage to College-owned property (i.e., causing a fire, setting off a building sprinkler system, etc.).
Damage reported to the residence hall or apartment and house staff will be assessed according to the cost of replacement and labor.
Accountability
Students who fail to comply with the housing rules and regulations listed in the Student Handbook, residence hall manuals, or communicated during mandatory floor/apartment meetings will be held accountable through the Student Conduct Process.