Tulane University - Housing and Residence Life

One of the challenges (and benefits) of living in a residence hall is that you are expected to understand and live within Community Living Standards. It can be exciting to be away from home and the rules that you have lived under for the past eighteen years. While you will discover new independence in your residence hall, you will also find that you are sharing your new home away from home with a very large number of peers. In any such living environment, it is important to establish guidelines for behavior so that you and your peers are each able to study, sleep, and enjoy your university experience within a positive, respectful community. You will learn many of the skills necessary to be a good neighbor and citizen through your on-campus living experience. The information below is divided into sections:

At Tulane University, our residence halls are governed by a set of Community Living Standards. These standards were established for your convenience, safety, and enjoyment. Please read and become familiar with the Community Standards. You are expected to follow these guidelines. If something does not seem clear, or if you want to understand why a particular standard is important, please ask your Area Director or Resident Advisor.

Rights and Responsibilities

Every Tulane student has certain rights and responsibilities defined by the Code of Student Conduct. As members of the residence hall, students have additional rights and responsibilities that come with residing in a living and learning community. These rights include:

The right to study in one's room free from unreasonable interference. One of the basic purposes of attending Tulane University is to learn and apply knowledge. Unreasonable noise and other distractions inhibit one's ability to exercise this right.
The right to sleep in one's room and the right to access one's room during the time period when the residence hall is open.
The right to live in an environment free from any form of harassment or intimidation, including but not limited to racial, ethnic, sexual, and/or sexual orientation harassment.

Other rights, which should be upheld, but not when the exercise of those rights infringes upon the primary rights of others, include:

The right to personal privacy.
The right to one's own unique interests and values.
The right to host guests according to policy.

It is the responsibility of each student to respect the rights of others as outlined in the Housing and Residence Life (HRL) Planning and Resource Guide and in The Rules and Regulations. Students will, at all times and in all activities, respect the rights of others, take responsibility for guest behavior, exercise responsible behavior conducive to the teaching and learning environment, and uphold the integrity of Tulane University both on and off campus.

The Tulane Department of Housing and Residence Life is committed to the concept of building respectful, involved and dynamic communities. What does that mean to you? In a word, responsibility.

Along with the newfound freedoms of college, comes the responsibility of making choices: choices about lifestyle, study habits, friends, relationships, social experiences, and finances. You are free to make individual decisions that do not infringe on the rights of other residents or roommates. You are responsible for the decisions you make.

Tulane students are expected to take an active role in shaping and contributing to their residence hall environment, planning floor and building activities, and serving in leadership positions. This means participating in floor meetings and activities, getting to know the other residents and looking out for them, and holding one another responsible for behavior that detracts from the living environment.

Each living unit at Tulane is responsible for negotiating its community standards. As a group, you must decide how you would like your floor to operate. University policies are not negotiable, but lifestyle habits, floor activities, facilities, and safety issues are focal points that require student participation and decision making.

When you enroll at Tulane, you agree to live by the principles set forth in the Code of Student Conduct and in the honor codes of your respective colleges. In addition, your signature on the residence hall application indicates your willingness to live by the rules outlined therein.

This philosophy of community development provides you with many opportunities to shape your living environment. The halls are maintained jointly by the residence hall staff and the residents, allowing each person to contribute to the success of the floor and building community.