Residence Life Policies

Alcohol

Possession and/or use of alcoholic beverages in the residence halls is governed by New York State Law and College Policies.  Students of legal drinking age can consume and possess alcohol in rooms/suites of the residence halls only.  Those students under 21 can not.  More specifically, the alcohol policy states:

  1. Students under 21 years of age may not use, possess, distribute, sell, or knowingly be in the presence of alcoholic beverages on the college campus or in the SUNY Potsdam community except as expressly permitted by the law or college policy.

  2. Regardless of your age, it is a violation for you to provide, either directly or indirectly, alcohol to someone under the age of 21. This includes your roommate(s) and/or suitemate(s).

  3. Alcohol is not permitted by any person in all public areas of the residence halls (public areas being defined as outside a student room, suite, apartment, or Town House).  Students who are under 21 cannot possess alcohol anywhere within the residence halls at any time.

  4. It is a violation to posses or use false or altered age documentation to obtain alcohol.

  5. This policy prohibits kegs, beer balls, and other common source containers (i.e. "garbage can" punches)and also does not allow for rapid consumption devices such as beer pong apparatus, beer bongs, tubing, funnels, etc.

  6. Student are not permitted to engage in any type of drinking games in the Residence Halls to include, but not limited to: card games, beer pong, quarters, caps, Beirut, etc.

  7. Students of any age are not allowed to make any form of alcohol in the Residence Halls. Possession of any equipment for the purpose of making alcohol is expressly forbidden.

Bomb Threat Policy

It is against college policy and the law to falsely report a bomb threat.

Drug Policy

Students may not use, possess, distribute, sell, or knowingly be in the presence of marijuana, synthetic marijuana, other illegal drugs, and/or prescription medication that is not prescribed to you.  Any items that can be utilized for or are designed for the use of drugs (e.g. bowls, bongs, etc.) are prohibited.  Any items that are fashioned for the purpose of drug use will also be considered a violation of this policy.

Electrical Appliances

Residence hall rooms are not designed to be used as kitchens.  Cooking devices can be extremely hazardous if used inappropriately.  The equipment and appliances that are used to prepare food can be a serious fire safety hazards because of the heat they generate and their frequent abuse.  The following items are the only cooking appliances permitted for use within student rooms/suites: hotpots, automatic shut off coffee makers, blenders, air popcorn poppers, small refrigerators (no larger than 6.0 cubic feet) and microwaves (not to exceed 1000 watts).  Since the rooms/suites are not designed for substantial cooking, designated cooking areas are provided in each residence hall – lounges and kitchens.  Students may keep other cooking appliances in the room/suite, but are not permitted to use them there.  Please consult your Resident Director with any questions.  Electrical appliances that are allowed must be plugged directly into a wall outlet or power strip with surge protector.  All appliances other than refrigerators must be unplugged when not in use.  All appliances that are powered by sources other than electricity are not permitted in the residence halls.  Window air conditioning units and space heaters are not permitted in the residence halls.  Energy Star/energy efficient appliances are recommended for use in the halls.

Endangerment

Any action or situation which recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health of one's self or others is not permitted.  Serious situations may be referred to the Counseling Center for a possible involuntary medical leave of absence.

Fire Safety

Smoking is not permitted anywhere within the Residence Halls.  This includes use of smoking devices (i.e. electronic cigarettes).

All fire safety policies are governed by and must comply with the Fire Code of New York State.  Items that violate the State Code or College Policy may be confiscated.  Tampering with fire safety equipment is a criminal offense.  Falsely activating a fire alarm system or tampering with or dismantling fire bells, fire hose, extinguishers, heat or smoke detectors, exit signs, sprinklers, or other miscellaneous safety equipment is considered a serious offense.  Fire safety items are delicate pieces of equipment and must be respected.  Never play hall sports around, nor hang items from, nor covered up these items. Residents are required to maintain at least a 24 inch area of clearance around all fire safety equipment (i.e. sprinklers, fire alarms, smoke detectors, heat detectors, etc.).

Blocking hallways, stairwells, windows, and other emergency exits or impeding the proper functioning of doors is also expressly forbidden.  This includes students being prohibited to leave any item in the hallway (to include entrances and hallways within apartments and Townhouses), including furniture, footwear, bikes, and personal items.  All residents and guests must leave the residence halls when the fire alarm system is activated.  Violators will be subject to both college and civil penalties.

The possession and use of fireworks is illegal.  Items that emit an open flame (e.g. candles, incense and potpourri that require ignition for their use), flammable liquids (i.e. gasoline, ether, paint, butane, propane, etc.), flammable materials (i.e. charcoal, lighter fluid, etc.) hazardous materials (i.e. chemicals from science labs, etc.) are not permitted within the residence halls and must be at least 50 feet away from any building.  This includes all machinery, vehicles and equipment that use flammable liquid to operate them (i.e. dirt bikes, motorcycles, etc.).  Electrically based air fresheners must be plugged directly into a wall outlet.

All forms of halogen lamps and multi-colored floor lamps are not safe and pose a significant fire safety danger.  Thus, they are not permitted anywhere in the residence halls.  The use extension cords, or multiple outlets are fire safety hazards and are not permitted.  Students must use 3-pronged power strips that have built in circuit breakers, are UL-listed and be made of 12 gauge or larger wire.  Power strips must be plugged directly into the wall.  Any type of electric heater and window air conditioning unit is prohibited in the residence halls.

Students may not affix anything to the ceilings in their room (i.e. curtains, tapestries, etc.) nor may items be hung in front of the room door or used as a room divider. All wall hangings must cover only one wall and cannot be affixed on two or more walls or the ceiling or doors.  Any items made of fabric (i.e. tapestries, clothing, fishnets, sheets, etc.) are not allowed to be hung up on the walls.  Curtains are the only fabric item allowed to he hung and they must be fire retardant and have a tag attached that verifies this.  Items on walls must be at least twelve (12) inches below the ceiling.  Wall postings must not exceed 50% of the total surface area.    This policy is in effect due to the fire safety hazards posed by these items. Flammable materials are not to be posted on the exterior surface of room doors or on walls or hallways unless covered with contact paper.  Exterior room door postings are limited to one door/name tag per resident, one 8 ½ inch by 11 inch posting per resident, and one dry erase or cork board.  Please refer to the Posting Policy for more information.  Moreover, it is against college policy to purposely or carelessly ignite a fire including those items that are posted in common areas.

Gambling

All forms of gambling are prohibited within the residence halls.

Guests

The College does not permit long-term guests or long-term co-habitation of residents with guests.  Anyone who does not live in a particular room/suite/apartment/townhouse is considered a guest of that room/suite/apartment/townhouse.  It does not matter if you are a student here or not, if you are not assigned to live in that space you are a guest.  The College's policy allows for our students to host guests.  The intention of the following policy is to allow students greater freedom, while reducing misuse of that freedom at the expense of their room/suitemate(s).

If a resident wishes to have a guest in his/her room/suite, it must always be with the consent of the other students living in the room/suite/apartment/townhouse.  Overnight guests are limited to 1 person per resident.  Any guest that will be here for more than 24 hours must be registered with a member of the Residence Life staff.  It is expected that no overnight guest will stay longer than 72 hours per month.  All guests, who are not current SUNY Potsdam students, must be 18 years of age or older.  All requests for exemptions to this policy, including siblings under 18 years of age, must be made to your Residence Director for approval and registration well in advance of the guest's arrival and emergency contact information provided.

It is the responsibility of the host to explain all college policies to their guest(s). The host will be held accountable for the actions of his/her guest(s).  Residents must meet their guests at a building door to give them access to the building.  Guests should not be left unattended in the residence halls without his/her host.  Non-SUNY Potsdam students who are in the residence halls without a host and/or without being registered are subject to arrest for trespassing.  Hosts will be held responsible for the guest's activities. A roommate can also be held accountable for his/her knowledge of behavior of a guest in a room/suite that violates SUNY-Potsdam policy.

Hall & Quad Activities

Because of the risk of physical injury or damage to facilities, students are encouraged to be careful around residence hall and quad areas. Nerf™ and whiffle balls, hacky sack, Frisbee, soccer, volleyball, and playing catch with a baseball, softball, football or lacrosse ball are permitted within the quad areas.  All other athletic activities (playing a game of football, baseball or softball with a bat, lacrosse, etc.) are prohibited in the quad areas and should be restricted to the athletic fields surrounding the halls.

Skateboards, roller blades, bicycles and other wheeled vehicles or devices are legitimate methods of both exercise and transportation.  However, some people choose to utilize these items in other than a conventional manner, thereby creating a physical danger to themselves and others as well as a hazard to property.  Thus, trick or stunt riding is prohibited.  Trick or stunt riding is defined as repetitive or competitive moves where wheels leave the surface and those acts that use railings, curbs, stairs, etc.  Skateboards and roller blades using sidewalks will do so safely and will yield the right of way to pedestrians.

The above listed physical or recreation activities or others that could be defined as Hall Sports (including metal tipped darts, wrestling, etc.) are not permitted within the residence halls. Wheel chairs and child strollers are exempt from this.  Exceptions also include the use of pool, ping-pong, air hockey or foosball tables in designated hall recreation rooms.

Improper Use of College Property

Tampering with and/or unauthorized use of the college TV, computer access cables, telephone lines is expressly forbidden.  This includes improper use of e-mail and the Internet (see Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy) and all forms of cyber-bullying and cyber-stalking.  Access to roofs, mechanical rooms, service areas and other locations not designed for student use is prohibited.

In addition, students are not allowed to operate a commercial enterprise from any State University facility or property.  This includes, but is not limited to prohibiting tattooing, piercing's, cosmetology (i.e. hair, nails, etc.), telemarketing, and using College provided technology (i.e. wired or wireless Internet) in the halls whether money is actually exchanged or not.

Noise

Students are under a continuous obligation to be respectful of each other at all times.  The right to study or sleep in your room without being disturbed is of the utmost importance.  All residence halls observe quiet hours that begin at 10:00 p.m. and go to 8:00 a.m. weekdays and 12:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. weekends.  Outside of these times, quiet hours are relaxed, however, residents must still be courteous of others.  Inappropriate noise at any time will be addresses by the residence life staff.  In general, sound should not travel from within the confines of your own room.  Electrical amplification of any musical instrument is specifically prohibited.  The creation of excessive noise outside or when you are entering or exiting the residence halls that may disturb students within the building is also prohibited.

Pets

With the exception of fish in small tanks (10 gallons or less), animals and reptiles are not permitted anywhere in the residence halls.  This includes any pet that is just visiting.  These pets must be left outside of the hall.

If an illegal pet is found in the residence halls during a closing or break, the Office of Residence Life will contact a pest control professional.  This professional will either: (a) take the animal to an animal shelter where the animal will stay until the owner comes to claim it or (b).  If the animal shelter will not take the animal the professional will keep it for up to15 days.  The owner of the pet will be contacted and will be informed that there was an illegal pet found in their room.  The owner will be told where the pet was taken as well as the steps that they must take to retrieve their pet.  All expenses that are incurred due to the removal of the animal will be billed back to the student.  Any bills not paid will result in a hold on the student's records.  All bills must be paid prior to returning the animal.  The billing charge will be $50.00 per pet.

Posting Policy

  1. All bulletin Boards should be clearly labeled to indicate who is able to post information on them.  Specific bulletin boards will be designated for specific groups: residence life, hall council, campus clubs and organizations, off-campus activities, etc.  Any material that is not posted on properly designated bulletin boards may be removed.

  2. 30 copies of items to be posted should be brought to the Residence Life Office in Draime Hall for approval and posting at least 3 days prior to the event.  Students/Groups cannot post items themselves.

  3. Posted material must include the name of the sponsoring group or individual and the date of the advertisement's posting.

  4. No materials are to be posted on any glass or door in any residential area.  Any exceptions to this will be made by the Director of Residence Life or designee and are usually related to an emergency, hall closing or critical information that needs to get to residents quickly.

  5. The Director of Residence Life or designee is responsible for determining the appropriateness of any posted materials in all public locations (i.e. exterior room doors, all windows, bulletin boards, lounges, hallways, etc.).  Flammable materials are not to be posted on the exterior surface of room doors or on walls or hallways unless covered with contact paper.  Exterior room door postings are limited to one door/name tag per resident, one 8 ½ inch by 11 inch posting per resident, and one dry erase or cork board.

  6. Any materials advertising non-College sanctioned alcohol or alcohol related events are strictly prohibited.

  7. Only one copy of each advertisement can be posted on each designated bulletin board.  Material may not be larger than 11.5 X 17 inches.  Postings may not remove, rearrange, cover up or otherwise tamper with material already posted. Material may be posted for no longer than one month.

  8. The Center for Campus Life is responsible for enforcing this policy. Any materials deemed inappropriate or not in compliance with this posting policy will be removed by the residence life staff.  Exceptions to this policy will be made by the Director of Residence Life or designee.

  9. Any person or group that is found to be in violation of this policy may face disciplinary action and loss of posting privileges in the residence halls.

  10. No more than 10% of a given surface in common areas (i.e. lounges, hallways, room doors, stairwells, bathrooms, elevators) may be covered at any time.

Solicitation

All on-campus solicitation by SUNY Potsdam recognized groups or outside commercial enterprises in the residence halls is prohibited.  This includes going door-to-door, putting fliers/advertisements under room doors and telemarketing/mass voice mail messages.  Authorized fund raising/sales and other activities are only permitted in the main lounge of a residence hall and must be approved in advanced by the Residence Director.

Weapons

The possession of all dangerous weapons, include but are not limited to firearms and ammunition, explosives, knives over four inches, swords, martial arts equipment, stun guns, air guns, paint-ball guns, pellet guns, clubs, crossbows, archery equipment, chukka sticks, sling shots, Tasers, etc. are strictly forbidden on campus.

Windows

Students are prohibited from removing window screens, window bars, window safety bars or windows from their tracks or frames.  Students will be immediately assessed replacement costs for removal of these items.  No one is permitted to sit on a window sill or to lean out of windows.  Residents are also not allowed to store or hang objects, including antennae and aerials, outside of windows. Dropping objects or throwing projectiles from windows, or breaking window glass is also not allowed.  Stereos and speakers are not permitted in windows.  Screens that slide open must be left closed at all times.