A caller on this show mentioned being bugged by his RA about filling out a census form, and it reminded me of a story from when I lived in a dorm.
I went to a public university. Even though my dorm was co-ed (we had suites with only 4 people to a bathroom, and each suite was comprised of only one gender), there were very strict rules about visitors who were not residents of that particular building. Guests had to be signed in and out at the front desk, one could not have overnight guests of the opposite gender, and guests were not allowed to roam the hallways unless escorted by the resident. One night, two friends (one male, one female) came to visit my dorm room and watch TV. At some point, I fell asleep watching TV. My friends didn't want to wake me, because they knew I hadn't been feeling well, but were stuck in an awkward position, because if they didn't sign out, they would be considered "overnight" guests, and if they did sign out, the front desk would notice that they were not escorted by me. They decided to just sign out, explain the situation to the front desk attendant, and hope that it would be understood.
A day or two later, I received a notice that my guests and I had broken the rules, and that the three of us (because they were residents of another dorm on the same campus) each had to write a page-long typed letter, saying that what we did was wrong, and that we wouldn't do it again. My letter mostly explained what happened, and how stupid their rules were. (If the concern was that non-residents would be "dangerous" in the halls, shouldn't the fact that they were residents of another dorm on campus factor in?) I explained that I was upset that I was required to write this letter (I was alseep when it happened!), but I was much more upset that my friends, who were put in a difficult situation and did their best to resolve it in a reasonable way, were being punished.
The Free Talk Live BBS
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Topic: 2010-11-01 (Read 12560 times)