Unauthorized possession of College keys (master or other) or key cards is a serious offense. Students duplicating, possessing, or using such keys/cards will be subject to immediate suspension or expulsion. Moreover, tampering with any locks, latches, or automatic closure mechanisms will result in a fine of no less than $300. Residence hall members will be fined if exterior doors are propped open or altered in a way that would compromise the security of the building ($1 per person).

Each room, suite, or apartment has one cable television connection active with basic cable service from Waterville’s local cable television provider, as well as some additional channels provided by the College. Students may purchase premium service (HBO, NESN, etc.) and pay-per-view events. The College does not provide television sets or cables for attachment, so students should plan to bring a cable-ready television set or purchase or rent a set locally. If a set is not cable-ready, students may purchase or rent a converter box.

Tampering with the cable TV system will not be tolerated. Students who seek to tap the cables for delivery of signal to another location will be fined no less than $500, as well as charged for any damages, and will be subject to disciplinary action.

Students are required to sign a room agreement upon check-in, which notes the condition of the room and its furniture. As with rental property, students are expected to maintain their rooms in a condition reasonably similar to that in which it was found. Keys to the room will be issued to students at the beginning of the year. Students who occupy their rooms before the designated day will be fined $100 for each day they are on campus before their scheduled arrival.

Students interested in having furniture, other than wardrobes, removed from their rooms should follow the instruction sheet that will be placed on the desk in each room. Substantial fines will be imposed for placing unwanted furniture in the corridors or lounges.

At the end of the spring semester, students are to remove all personal belongings from their rooms 24 hours after their last exam. When vacating a room, students will sign the room contract again in the presence of a residential life staff member, checking the condition of everything against the original statements. A $50 fine may be levied against students who do not follow the official check-out procedure. Students will be expected to pay for damage that goes beyond normal wear and tear or that results from violations of regulations. Any cost for extra cleaning or for removing personal items from the room also will be charged to the occupants. Students staying beyond the check-out date and time will be fined $100 per day.

All keys must be returned before leaving; a fine of $50 will be charged for each key not returned. Mailbox keys should be turned in to the post office. Senior Week in May is for seniors. The very few underclass students who are needed to work on campus may not attend Senior Week activities. Disciplinary action will result for offenders.

For cases of misconduct in the dining halls, dining hall managers are authorized to issue citations for misbehavior. Citations are then handled by the Office of the Dean of Students. Any student who fails to produce ID for a dining hall employee will face additional sanctions.

Those found responsible for instigating, contributing to, or engaging in food fights will be subject to fines, removal from housing and the board plan, notification of parents, and/or possible suspension.

Students who are visibly intoxicated, improperly attired, or covered with mud or dirt will be refused service.

Barbecues are only allowed with the permission of the Department of Security.

There is no key deposit, however, there is a charge for replacing lost or stolen keys. When a key is lost and re-keying of a room is required there is a charge of $50. If only a key is required the charge is $5 per key. Upon reporting lost, missing, or stolen keys to the associate dean of students for housing, the Physical Plant Department will change the lock to the door as soon as possible (generally, within 24 hours). Keys not returned at the close of the semester carry a $50 fine per key. Students should replace lost, missing, or stolen keys before leaving campus for winter or summer breaks.

As a residential college, Colby requires students to live in campus residence halls. In years when enrollment exceeds housing capacity, some students will be given permission to reside off campus. Off-campus residents are entitled to eat 100 meals per semester in the dining halls. Parents should be aware that students living off campus are advised to read leases carefully and to be mindful of their own liability and that of their families when providing social functions with alcohol. Students living off campus are reminded to seek insurance coverage for their belongings, should they not be covered under their family homeowner policy.

Exceptions to Colby’s housing policies are not granted for psychological or medical reasons, except as to comply with The Americans with Disabilities Act.~

For students who have locked themselves out of their living area, they may visit the Office of Campus Life during business hours to sign out a key to let themselves in.  The key must be returned to the Office of Campus Life within 2 hours of checking it out.  If it is not returned, the student is billed for the lock change and replacement key.  For access after hours, students may call Campus Security at 207-859-5530.  An officer shall be dispatched according to request priority. 

The College does not assume responsibility for loss, theft, or damage to personal property belonging to students, whether stored or in a student’s room. All items are brought and kept on campus at the student’s risk. Families and students should examine insurance policies and determine whether the limits are sufficient to cover the student’s belongings while away from home. If current insurance is not sufficient, the family or student should increase coverage and/or add the appropriate riders. Students should avoid keeping valuable items in the residence halls and storage areas.

All students should lock their doors before leaving their rooms and carry room keys, even if planning to be away for only a short time. Unfortunately, theft does occur. All students should be aware of strangers in the halls and report them to a head resident or to the Department or Security. Rooms should be kept locked at all times.

• Students are not allowed to have pets in residence halls unless the pet can live in an aquatic environment.
• Any person bringing a dog on campus must have the animal on a leash and under the direct control of the responsible owner.
• Dogs may not be left unattended or tethered to any fixed object on campus.
• Dogs are not permitted in any College building without the express authorization of the director of security or the dean of students.
• Unleashed, unsupervised dogs are not only a violation of College policy, but of city and state laws as well.

Violations of this policy may result in the impoundment of the dog and disciplinary action against the owner. The inappropriate use or abuse of animals will not be tolerated at Colby and will result in disciplinary action. Residents having pets in their rooms will be fined $50 initially and $50 for each subsequent day the pet remains in the hall.

Each room has a phone jack with a pre-assigned telephone number. The College does not provide telephone sets. Answering machines are not necessary, as the system provides a voice mail feature. Long distance access is available with use of pre-paid phone cards.

For reasons of health and safety the following additional items and activities are prohibited in Colby residence halls: air conditioners, ceiling fans, waterbeds, motorcycles and mopeds, power tools, natural Christmas trees or branches, satellite dishes, and tampering with existing switches or electrical fixtures. Students found in possession of these items or engaged in these activities will be subject to a minimum fine of $50. Candles (decorative or otherwise), oil lamps, incense, halogen and other lamps that are 250 watts or higher, and similar devices are prohibited and draw a fine of $150. Any student with a refrigerator that is larger than the specified 4.5 cubic feet in his or her room will be fined $25 and will be required to remove it immediately.

Quiet housing is offered on campus each year. Within the designated residence hall, quiet hours are in effect except 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Courtesy hours, defined as the opportunity for neighbors to request that music or other sound be reduced, are in effect 24 hours, seven days a week in every residence hall. On weekends, the Mary Low Coffeehouse quiet hours will be in effect at 1 a.m. In residence halls during officially registered school-sponsored events, quiet hours will not begin until 2 a.m. when requested by the sponsoring organization.

Except for the quiet hall, quiet hours begin at 11 p.m. on weekdays and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, or at 2 a.m. on Friday or Saturday within a residence hall hosting a school-sponsored event (expect for Mary Low Hall). Quiet hours may be extended by unanimous and confidential vote (paper ballot) of the hall residents. Normally, first infractions generate a warning by hall staff and subsequent infractions are turned over to the Office of the Dean of Students for action.

Roofs or balconies with a full size door for ingress and egress are located in the following areas and may be accessed by students:

Dana “beach”

Piper 1st floor

All other roofs and balconies are off limits to students since they do not have  appropriate safety railings and/or a full size door for access and therefore do not meet the criteria for safe access and escape.

Residence hall rooms are allocated through a lottery system that assigns a random number to each student in the spring semester. The availability of rooms in a given residence hall is subject to a quota system that seeks to maintain a proportional balance of gender and class years throughout each building. The Alfond Complex is reserved for seniors.

The room draw process is governed by regulations adopted by the associate dean of students for housing and the College Affairs Committee.

Exceptions to Colby’s housing policies are not granted for psychological or medical reasons, except as to comply with The Americans with Disabilities Act.~

The College does not assume responsibility for loss, theft, or damage to personal property belonging to students, whether stored or in a student’s room. Storage rooms are offered as a means of convenience. They are intended for short-term location for trunks and packing materials. Appliances, carpets, furniture, futons, mattresses, and lofts cannot be stored in trunk rooms. All items of personal property must be tagged with the following information prior to being stored: student’s name, class year, and date stored. Items that are not properly labeled may be discarded. Items left behind by a student who has graduated or is no longer enrolled at Colby will be considered abandoned property after a six-month period. All abandoned items will be removed on an annual basis and given to charitable organizations or discarded if determined to be of no value.

Families and students should examine insurance policies and determine whether the limits are sufficient to cover the student’s belongings while away from home. If current insurance is not sufficient, the family or student should increase coverage and/or add the appropriate riders. Students should avoid keeping valuable items in the residence halls and storage areas.

Limited summer storage is available for students living more than 750 miles from campus by special permission of the director of housing. Off-campus storage space can be rented locally. Please consult the yellow pages in the local telephone book.~

The substance-free halls are intended to provide an environment free from alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. Selection for these halls is based on demand. Residents sign a pledge prior to room selection or upon arrival as new students agreeing to adhere to this philosophy or risk being asked to move from the building. Substance-free policies extend to areas around all doorways and windows of substance-free buildings.

Substance-free lounges have been designated in each hall for the purpose of providing students with an environment free from the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. While most halls have only one substance-free lounge, a simple majority vote by the residents of any hall could serve to restrict the frequency of events scheduled in other lounges, as well as, designate additional lounge space substance-free~

Any student found responsible for theft, vandalism (including graffiti), or causing damage to College property will be required to make full restitution for the value of that which has been stolen, damaged, or vandalized. In addition, that person may be required to send a letter of apology to the party or parties concerned and will receive from the dean of students a letter of warning or probation stating that any subsequent act of misconduct will make that person subject to more severe sanctions, including suspension or expulsion. Additional disciplinary action, including suspension or expulsion, could result for a first instance, if the offense is deemed serious enough by the dean or the Conduct Board.

Students are expected to use message boards on their room doors. Any markings on the doors will be considered room damage. Charges for refinishing the door and a fine for damage will be assessed to the occupants.

If a student is caught committing dorm damage, their lottery number will be affected in the following manner:

• 50 points will be added to his or her room draw for the first offense
• 100 points will be added for a second offense
• the student will be moved to the end of the housing lottery list if he or she has committed three or more acts of vandalism.

All students will receive a clean record at the beginning of every academic year. An act of vandalism is to be determined by the Office of the Dean of Students as reckless and not accidental.

Students apprehended, either by the local police or by the campus Department of Security, are subject to criminal prosecution, in addition to discipline by the College. Shoplifters apprehended in the Colby Seaverns Bookstore or elsewhere on campus will also face disciplinary action.

To preserve the walls, pictures, posters, or bulletin boards should be hung from the molding. Molding hooks, string, and wire all are available from the Bookstore. Students should not use pins or tape on the walls, ceilings, or doors, as they will be billed for the damage. For fire and safety reasons, cloth or paper hangings may not be placed on the ceiling and may not cover any electrical outlet, switch, or fixture.

The use of wheeled transportation (excluding wheelchairs for disabled students) such as rollerblades, skateboards, roller-skates, scooters, bicycles, and unicycles inside campus buildings is unsafe and therefore prohibited. Violators will face disciplinary action.

Throwing or dropping objects from windows, balconies, or rooftops of any campus building potentially endangers the lives and safety of our community and is prohibited. Windows and balconies may not be used as points of entrance or egress. Use of balconies or rooftops for social events is prohibited unless specifically designated for such use. Any student found on the roof of any College building, in areas other than those designated for usage, will be fined. The student will also be held liable for the cost of repair to the roof in the event of damage. Such behaviors, because they represent a danger to the safety of members of the community, are prohibited and may be subject to sanctions by fine and/or additional adjudication from the Student Conduct Board or the Office of the Dean of Students.