Compiled by Michael Conti.

Three topics that remain on the minds of students, especially among freshmen residing in the dormitories, are the perennial issues of sex, drug and alcohol use, and loud music. In an anonymous editorial printed on September 14, 1979, an RIT student reacts to the gradual rule changes that were imposed on students. For the first time in the school’s history, cohabitation was specifically prohibited and harsh penalties for playing loud music and using illicit substances were implemented. The author makes his point with reasoning used by students today. While living in the dorms is no longer optional, it has yet to be proven that RIT students are significantly unhappier living on a ‘dry’ campus.

“... By making it more difficult to register an alcoholic event and imposing more responsibilities on the person registering the events, students are more than likely not going to drink less; they’ll merely venture off campus to drink, where the chances of accidents are higher. Students are practically being encouraged to leave campus to do their drinking.

...While there will always be some individuals who seem to enjoy getting drunk every evening, the majority of the students learn they can’t party all the time. Once an 18-year-old drinks so much he makes himself sick, he will eventually learn his limit. He will realize that no matter how ‘cool’ it seemed the night before to drink five shots of whiskey in quick succession and no matter how much his ‘buddies’ cheered him on, that sick feeling the next morning is simply not worth the effort. It’s all part of growing up.

Another important segment in the process of “growing up” is learning to handle relationships with members of the opposite sex. Dealing with sexually intimate relationships is a particularly important attribute to be learned since almost every one will deal with intimate relationships later in life.

A college education not only equips a student with the skills necessary to earn a living, but it should also teach him to live a life. Most of learning to live your own life is based on a concept most commonly referred to as “growing up”. Growing up involves learning to live independently from parents, it entails making one’s own decisions and living with the consequences. In a dormitory situation students learn to live with a large number of people. Cooperation and consideration are probably some of the most important characteristics an individual could acquire, no matter what his professions.

... Students are going to be less likely to have a positive experience living within the dorms if some of their freedoms are taken away and the rules are changed in the middle of the game. Students returning to the dorms this fall had no idea the rules written loosely into the terms of occupancy would be enforced. But it will cost them $100 to break their contract now, and quit the game.”