Eddie Hull, director of Residence Life and Housing Services, thinks that everyone on campus should adhere to the maxim, "You break it, you buy it."
In the context of Duke life, this statement refers to damage done to residential spaces by students. As it stands now, the University is left holding the bill for broken windows, trashed commons rooms and mistreated furniture. In total, Duke spends tens of thousands of dollars per school year to repair such damage.
There is, however, one interesting inconsistency--when damage occurs in residential spaces inhabited by selective living groups, the group members are held responsible. Yet damages in independent halls are subsumed by the University. Hull seeks to level the playing field, both to ensure equity amongst selectives and independents and to crack down on instances of vandalism and disruptive behavior.
Hull is currently considering two changes that may help to alleviate the problem. First, he is mulling over charging independents for damage either by hall or by quad. In theory, this would have a dual effect--the University would save money, and students would be encouraged to turn in the person or persons responsible for the damage so as not to be held financially accountable themselves. In addition, access to residence halls may be restricted further in order to prevent non-residents from entering living spaces and causing damage.
As far as his intentions, Hull should be commended for attempting to eliminate unnecessary expenditures on the part of the University, and for trying to avoid a double standard for selective living groups and independents. Unfortunetely, neither of the changes he is considering is feasible.
Forcing independents to pay for damage caused by other students is not fair. There is no reason for one individual to be held accountable for the actions of someone else, when he or she was clearly not involved in the destructive behavior itself. Unless the perpetrators themselves can be identified, Duke must pay for the repairs out of its own pocket.
Selective living groups are a different story. The members of these groups have contracted to live together and have implicitly assumed a degree of responsibility for the dorm sections that they occupy. On-campus sections are a privilege, and accompanying this privilage is the obligation to look after those spaces.
Further, restricting access to dorms will do little good. It will only lead to people propping open doors--an occurrence which decreases safety even more.
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