Editor:

I am writing in regards to the school’s policy about painting dorm room walls. There are several things I don’t understand about the issue.

The doubled fine of $100 a wall was only printed in the student handbook that was not distributed until registration, several days after people started to move in. Of course when people move they paint their walls before they unpack, so many people painted the walls before they knew of the new fines. A fair warning would have been nice.

Even without the doubled fines, because the college has in the past allowed students to simply re-paint their rooms or simply not charged extra, it is easy to see how someone might not take the threat of fines seriously. If the college has in the past undermined itself by ignoring its own policy, how are the students supposed to respect that rule? True if they want to change that, then they will at some point have to take an action, but don’t punish the students when they don’t know what to believe.

What I least understand is the alternative to fines that was offered. If a student called housekeeping and admitted to painting their room, they would be allowed to pay $30 an hour plus materials to have someone come in to paint the room. What is that person going to do that I couldn’t do? How is it that this new layer of paint does not have to be expensively blasted off of the walls ? Is this magic paint? Tell me the brand and color and I would be glad to find it and paint my room back. And if I have to pay for this process, why can’t I juztwait until the end of the semester?

I am also vaguely insulted by the implication that I have committed of vandalism. The walls in my room are stained and chipped. I was trying to make it look a little better by adding a fresh coat of paint. It’s not like I am punching holes in the wall or tearing off wall paper. This is an act of beautification.

I understand that the college has to keep up theappearance of the dorms and of course It wouldn’t be a good idea to start painting the newly renovated dorms, but if my walls are going to be taken down anyway. What’s a little color going to do?

Maybe there are answers to all of these questions. I would like to hear them.

Sincerely,

Nancy Hanna ‘03