I don’t know how I missed this back in September (unless it just didn’t make the print edition). Travis Andersen wrote on boston.com about a new rule at Tufts this semester barring sexual activity in dorms in the presence of roommates.
The policy – which took effect this semester – reads, “You may not engage in sexual activity while your roommate is present in the room. Any sexual activity within your assigned room should not ever deprive your roommate(s) of privacy, study, or sleep time.”
It’s actually a good policy in that it provides an avenue for students victimized by nearby sexual activity to complain and inflict consequences on the perpetrators. It’s also hilarious.
If nothing else, let’s note that sexual activity deprives at least the participants of privacy (at least between themselves), study time, and sleep time, however respectful they might be of their roommates.
(This came up in a story about Quidditch being played at Tufts. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that wasn’t even the most unusual story I’d see today.)
I guess Tufts felt the roommate/victim could not simply say “get a different room you two”. Of course that presumes two which may be my own cultural bias. Perhaps the real problem is people engaging in sexual activity by themselves (except for the roommate).
There’s an ambiguity to the policy as quoted. “You may not engage….” PERIOD, no exceptions. But then it’s qualified only to situations that deprive sleep, etc. I suppose a policy — if there must be one — should say you shouldn’t do anything that has those effects on your roommate.
Then there’s the challenge of defining sexual activity. As in, “I did not have sex with that woman … Miss Lewinsky”. Hilarity ensues.
The policy’s two sentences are imposing two separate restrictions. First, quoting directly, you may not engage in sexual activity while your roommate is present in the room. As you said: period, no exceptions.
Second, even when your roommate isn’t in the room, your sexual activity still can’t deprive them of sleep or study time.
In other words, sexiling your roommate doesn’t solve the underlying problem.
For my Master’s degree, I created an application that helps undergraduate students create the optimum course schedule for the upcoming semester (based on when classes are really offered) that satisfies their degree requirements.
Clearly the Tufts edition will need to help the user create a gap between classes, shared with the user’s girlfriend, when the user’s roommate is still in class. Problem solved!
Technology: is there anything it can’t do?