Get Written Up

This semester is my third of living on campus here at Bowling Green State University. I have made many good friends here in the dorms and together we have shared countless precious moments. I will always have a great sense of nostalgia for this place and these memories. At this point I could say that these lifetime friends and heartfelt moments could not have been experienced and acquired had it not been for good lo' Bowling Green State University's ability to instill this place with such a sense of community. I resent giving the baby sitters and super visors of this facility such credit but I have no choice. Honestly, I have to give Bowling Green my congratulations in how well they maintain the structure of community that has strengthened my ties to the people I live near. If it had not been for the ridiculous rules, preposterous impositions, and insulting guidelines I'm not sure the people I share most of my time with would have anything to complain about and relate to. Just by enforcing such bogus measures upon such respectful, thoughtful, and intelligent individuals, the supervisors of this domestic complex have lost all my respect. And, while I never fully trusted in their ability to maintain true order and fair justice in a relatively balanced manor, I never suspected that such claims against me would ever be made without at least some closer and respective look to the situation at hand. Then again, relativity would assume at least some respect for who I am as a person, withholding that I am outstanding student within the Bowling Green community.
The main issue I have with this particular "educational sanction" is that within this fortress of critical thinking and analytical development that we call a university, I am basically just being forced to regurgitate rules. In doing that, the enforcers of such policies take it upon themselves to assume that, I, the student am unintelligible enough to understand rules clearly stated and conveyed both in writing and verbal all throughout the building. Now, what does that really say about the university and the students they accept? Unless of course, I am misinterpreting some aspect of such an "education sanction."
I think everyone here knows what this is really about. This is about creating a punishment that is of such severe reprimand that an offender of the rules such as myself must be more careful in the future about breaking said rules. Again, to verify, I have "allegedly" (though I'm not sure how allegedly I did anything considering I admitted guilty to the offense and there are three witnesses. . .) offended the sacred policy of quiet hours. Such a policy falls under part 6. A. of "Community Living Standards." So, the thing to ask here, is whether or not the crime actually fits the punishment. Was I breaking quiet hours out of malicious intent? Well of course Satan told me to blast house heavy dirty bass techno throughout the heavens. The idea that my actions, which so obviously were a complete accident, are punishable by a waste of my time equal to a formal meeting, walks with the RAs, plus the development of this essay are totally inappropriate in my opinion. Moreover, I am insulted to think that the baby sitters who run this complex don't trust me enough, as a twenty year old citizen and student, to have the thoughtful consideration and conscious concern for the people around me to play a major role in my actions.
I suppose the part that irks me the most is that all of this could have easily been avoided by the simply admission that indeed it was a mistake and since the circumstances that preceded it were in part because of the one time setup of my roommate speakers. To put a mistaken and minor offense of this nature in the same category of other offenses that could occur within this joke of "Community Living Standards" is preposterous and if I had any power or mind to change such a moronic system I would. With that being said, I will no longer keep you in suspended anticipation of the purpose of this essay.

Educational Sanction

Quiet hours are set in place to uphold one of the most important aspects of the community here at BGSU; respect. Respect is one of the cornerstones of life as a resident here within the dormitories. Without respect, there can be no trust or real concern for the people living within such close proximity. And while on the surface the rules may seem preposterous, superfluous, and insulting in some cases, they do actually serve the purpose of upholding the guidelines that will allow for such respect to occur and therefore lay the groundwork for community. Quite obviously the goal of community is the most sensible reason to enforce such guidelines as the end means are so sacred these regulations are justified. But, however, there are essentially three reasons for a resident to follow quiet hours on their own accord outside of following these regulations for the fear of educational sanctions (such as this one). Those reasons are for the discretion of the Resident Advisors, the respect and consideration of others in the hall, and for yourself.
It would seem that generally being an RA can be quite a task. With several friends as RA's and with following other RA's for their walks, I was able to learn more about their job and responsibilities. This was rather enlightening and brought new perspective to my previously narrow minded assessment of their position. Each night a pair of RA's must walk through both sides of the building twice. The first walk is to ensure all is well within the community. It's a good time to give friendly reminders to people about courtesy hours and quiet hours. The RA's must also check the fire extinguishers to make sure they are in working order and have not been tempered with. In addition to that, they must check for any propped doors. In doing this, they are taking a preventative measure to ensure a safer community. During my walks with the RA's, two different attitudes seemed to occur on the two different walks. During the community walk, the Resident Advisors were far more friendly and able to interact with the residents on an amiable level. Any comments made were similar to comments you might hear from two friends or neighbors lacking in authority. This was not at all awkward and interaction was definitely encouraged. But during the second walk, the attitudes were more tense and less friendly. Interactions between residents and the RA's seemed nervous and awkward. The switch occurred because this is not a walk to strengthen community, but to impose it. Rules were being enforced or strictly reminded on the basis of fair warning for possibility of penal action to be taken. Residents cowered in fear or cloaked themselves in disrespect when the RA's knocked on the door or asked residence to shut the door and keep their sound volume down. RA's are primarily students too. They conveyed to me that getting people in trouble is something they don't necessarily want to do. If they had a choice, nobody would get in trouble. But, they simultaneously have a duty to uphold as they are being compensated for the job they must perform. And in being a paramount aspect of the community itself they should be respected not just as RA's because of the higher power they possess, but also as members of the community. In that sense, it would be within any given individual's best interest to not violate the rules strictly under the condition that the RA's would rather not be placed in that awkward relationship to the resident.
Community is all about being conscious of the people around you. Nothing is more important for building community than to give as much respect and consideration to everyone. Without that, it is impossible for the other residents to feel comfortable where they live. While this building may belong to BGSU, it is the very thing that makes the residents more than just different people living in the same place. Because we share this place, it is the thing that makes this dormitory a community and a sanctuary. This is a sacred thing and it is not fair for anyone one individual or group of individuals to take that away. In playing my house-heavy-dirty-bass techno obnoxiously loud, regardless of whether or not it was by mistake, I single handedly took away other residents ability to feel comfortable where they reside. Most certainly it is unfair to expose my fellow residents to such interference and disregard. And in doing that, regardless of intent, I most certainly threatened the cornerstones of respect that are essential elements to nurture and strengthen a healthy community atmosphere.
Quiet hours force residents to generally change their routines and let their minds become more settled for rest. Residents that follow quiet hours will be forced to stop heavily involved or noisy activities upon the enforcement of quiet hours. Everyone knows that college is stressful, and sleep is never more important than during times of high stress. Quiet hours allow for the hallways to become more relaxed. For individuals who need to wake early for class, this could be crucial in allowing them to get adequate sleep for their specific needs. From a personal health context, routine is vital for the human body to regulate itself and handle stress in a more efficient way. Quiet hours most certainly facilitate that routine and help to hold that routine in place especially for the sake of circadian rhythm.
In conclusion, I feel I have more than adequately learned a lesson in respect for the community and my fellow residents. I regret the unfortunate actions that I initiated and will do my best in the future to consider with higher regard and solicitude the feelings and sensitivities of all the other residents around me. In a sense I feel glad that I was able to experience this situation in the way that I did, as I was able to get so much out of it. If I had not violated quiet hours, I may have never experienced a day in the life of an RA (or rather two walks on two nights) and gained such valuable perspective. With that being said though, I will do my very best to do a better job of assessing my actions before I make them in the hopes that don't violate the precarious conditions upon which such valuable merits for this community rest.