INTRODUCTION

Residing in a residence hall is an exciting experience in group living. You will find many opportunities for social, educational, and cultural enrichment in your hall. We hope that you will become involved in the life of your hall and will take advantage of every opportunity to make the residence hall experience an important part of your education at Lafayette College.

One of our goals is to provide a residence hall environment that contributes to the attainment of your academic goals. Lafayette is a residential college and demonstrates a strong commitment to the concept that living on campus contributes significantly and positively to the educational mission of the institution. Accordingly, all students are required to live in College housing. First-year students must either live on campus or commute from home. Upperclass students not commuting from home are required to live in College housing, including fraternities and sororities, unless they receive permission, in writing, to live off campus from the Director of Residence Life.

As a member of the residence hall community, you have a role to play in helping to create a positive living environment that supports and enhances the academic process. In this handbook, you will find the guidelines, procedures, and services that the Office of Residence Life has established to help develop a positive environment.

The residence hall staff is eager to work with you in making the residence hall a comfortable place to live, as well as making your experience rewarding and meaningful.

Mission Statement

The goal of the Office of Residence Life is to further the total mission of the College by providing students with well managed living accommodations that facilitate their intellectual, social and personal growth. Critical to achieving this goal is the development and maintenance of an attractive, safe, clean, respectful environment that is conducive to learning and student success.

The Office of Residence Life further supports the academic mission of the institution by encouraging informal opportunities for faculty-student interaction. Residence hall life is designed to be a positive educational experience that will provide students with an environment that encourages moral, ethical and social development and expects individual behavior that is conducive to the overall establishment of a civil community.