Access to Residence Halls

Buildings operated by Housing and Dining provide a unique campus setting. As your "home away from home," residence halls provide all residents with a sense of privacy, security and community. Therefore, residence hall access control policies are based on the premise that residents share responsibility for their community's security concerns. On this basis, University members as a whole are not given automatic and unrestricted access to the halls. Guests and visitors may only be signed into the building where their host lives. If you host a guest or visitor, you are obliged to assume certain responsibilities. Access policy violations involving students in residence halls will be referred to the Assistant Dean for Advising and Residential Programs.

Eligibility for Residence Hall Access

Housing and Dining residents may have access to all undergraduate residence halls. To enter any residence hall, you must hand your Columbia Card to the security attendant to swipe for validation. Access hours may be different during holiday or vacation periods. Such changes will be announced in advance.

Residents of the Intercultural Resource Center (IRC) and residents of Columbia-owned Greek housing (who have signed Housing and Dining Occupancy Agreements) may receive residence hall access when granted an authorization sticker from the Hospitality Desk. Commuters, transfer students and 3-2 engineering students may receive access when granted an authorization sticker from a dean in their Class Center. Upon entering a residence hall, the security attendant will swipe your Columbia Card for validation and keep it at the desk until you depart. Nonresidents are not allowed to sign in visitors and/or guests.

Barnard College students living in Barnard Housing and General Studies students are entitled to the same limited guest and visitor privileges as other nonresident Columbia students (see below). While it may be inconvenient to sign in your BC and GS friends, please understand that, as nonmembers of the direct residential community, they cannot be permitted automatic and unrestricted access within the residence halls.

If you are a student of another Columbia University or affiliated school with a Columbia Card issued by the ID Center in 204 Kent, but do not live in the residence halls, you may enter a residence hall under any of the following conditions:

• A host resident signs you in as a visitor and you will be with your host at all times.
• Your name appears on a visitor list.
• You are attending an event that is jointly sponsored by CC/SEAS and your school, and the event has the approval of a Residential Dean.
• You have made arrangements through your host to be registered as a guest.

In the first three cases above, you must present the security attendant with a Columbia Card that will be swiped in and kept at the desk while you are in the building. If you have made arrangements to be registered as a guest, proper process must be followed.

Guests

Guests do not have to be accompanied by their hosts at all times and may enter and exit their hosts' residence halls alone. To obtain a guest pass, you and your guest must go to Public Safety in 111 Low together and present proper identification.

Upon entering your building, your guest must leave his or her picture ID and guest pass at the security desk. When your guest leaves your building, his or her pass and ID will be returned.

Air mattresses are available for rental at the Hospitality Desk 24 hours a day, and can provide a comfortable sleeping arrangement for an overnight guest. Pricing is as follows:

• Basic Rental* = $10.00 per night (pick up by 5:00 p.m. and drop off by 12:00 p.m. the following day; all mattresses returned after 12:30 p.m. will be subject to a late fee of $10/day)
• Weekend Special* = $ 25.00 (pick up by 5:00 p.m. on Friday and drop off by 12:00 p.m. on Monday; all mattresses returned after 12:30 p.m. will be subject to a late fee of $10/day)
• Linen Packet (fitted sheet and pillow case) = $5.00 (drop off by 12:00 p.m. the following day; all linen returned after 12:30 p.m. will be subject to a late fee of $5/day)

*Includes: one mattress, one sheet and one pillow case

Visitors

A visitor is a person who does not live in any of the 17 Housing and Dining residence halls and who will be accompanied by his or her host at all times. Visitors must be signed in to enter residence halls. All visitors must leave a picture ID with the security attendant and sign the security log when they enter.

For a special event with nine or fewer visitors, such as a lounge function or student party, you may submit a list of expected visitors to Public Safety (111 Low). Provided that the list is delivered to them by 2:00pm on the day that the visitors are expected, your visitors will be admitted to the building once after 5:00pm Repeated exit and entry will not be allowed. The list will be valid until 8:00am the next day.

For all events in which ten or more participants do not live in residence halls, the resident sponsor or a resident representing the organization must file a group access form with Public Safety. This form must be filed at least 10 days before the date of the event and requires approval signatures from both Housing and Dining and the Assistant Dean for Advising and Residential Programs in 515 Lerner Hall. Housing and Dining reserves the right to limit the number of visitors that may be signed in by one resident.

Responsibilities of a Host

As a host, you are responsible for the actions of individuals whom you invite into your residence hall. Inappropriate behavior by a host, guest or visitor may result in disciplinary action, including suspension of guest and visitor privileges. Please observe the following:

• If an individual plans to visit overnight, it is your responsibility to consult any roommates or suitemates first, and to ensure that this individual stays only for a reasonable period. Overnight stays for one individual are limited to five days in any 30 day period (no permanent guests/visitors are allowed). Exceptions to this policy are subject to the approval of the Assistant Dean for Advising and Residential Programs in consultation with Housing and Dining.
• You must remain on campus while hosting any guests. You may not leave campus during a break or weekend and host a guest who will be staying on campus in your absence.
• Hosts and their guests should be considerate of other residents. No one should be made to feel uncomfortable with his or her living arrangements.
• Guests and visitors must be accommodated in their host's room and are not allowed to sleep in floor lounges, main lounges or other public spaces.

Under no circumstances will the Hospitality Desk issue keys directly to a guest or authorize a guest to enter a host's room if not in the presence of the host. However, as the host, you may borrow a key for the duration of your guest's stay by filling out a key loan request and presenting the guest pass issued by Public Safety.

Access Policy Violations by Guests and Visitors

Policy violations on the part of guests and/or visitors will be referred to the Assistant Dean for Advising and Residential Programs. In addition:

• Policy violations requiring immediate action (removal from the residence hall and/or revocation of guest or visitor privileges) will be referred to the building's Assistant Director and the Assistant Dean for Advising and Residential Programs.
• If the policy violation results in the arrest of the host and/or guest or visitor, the guest pass or visitor privileges will be immediately revoked by Public Safety.
• Public Safety will maintain a list of all guests and visitors who are not permitted access to residence halls and a list of hosts who are not permitted to sign in guests or visitors. Decisions on the reinstatement of guest or visitor privileges and of a host's privilege to sign in guests or visitors will be made for undergraduate halls by the Assistant Dean for Advising and Residential Programs.