Standing Against ‘Interviz’

This Letter to the Editors was submitted by Emily Bosch and Mark Besonen, two Sophomores at Concordia College.

I’m Emily, a Democrat, and I think Mark is an idiot… politically.

I’m Mark, a Republican, and I think Emily is an idiot… politically.

We spent our time during our Inquiry seminar shouting at each other and calling each other mean things like “socialist” and “tea-bagger.” Today, we are doing something we thought we’d never do: we are crossing the aisle. We are shaking hands. We are standing in solidarity against Concordia’s intervistitation policy.

We are both sophomores living in campus housing– intervistiation policy is nothing new to us. We’ve seen students go to great lengths to circumvent it, we’ve seen authorities turn a blind-eye to blatant violations, and we’ve seen it enforced to the minute-marker… all to the frustration of students, RAs and hall directors. As members of the intervisitation committee, we’ve heard countless stories from students and RAs alike about problematic aspects of the policy. We’ll discuss three reasons why we believe “interviz” should change.

First, the policy is unenforceable. This was a major argument against intervisitation, as it stands in the Dugger/Clark campaign for SGA president and vice-president as well as a major discussion point for the committee. With the majority of dorms being co-ed, having stairwells that connect different floors and with wing doors that are only alarmed midnight-6am, interviz is cake to break. Also, as long as there are no “suspicious noises” coming from behind doors, RAs have no authority to knock on a door to see who is inside. These are just a few of the reasons why intervistiation is unenforceable.

Next, we are all adults. We are recognized by the state as having certain rights that are not given to minors: we can vote, we can go to war for our country, we can get married, and we can take out loans. With all of these responsibilities, why should we not be able to manage our own time as we see fit?

Finally, to succeed in the “real world,” we must experience life as it would be without time constraints and seemingly “parental” supervision. College is a critical transition period in which students are given new freedoms that come along with living in a new environment. Changing the intervistiation policy would allow students to take charge of their time in a safe environment while allowing for “real world” growth. Having RAs and hall directors as a resource to help with disputes would teach students techniques to deal with similar situations when not living on a college campus.

A Concordia intervisitation committee has been formed for the purpose of discussing these and other issues, and submitting a proposal for the revision of interviz hours. We will be submitting our proposal soon. Want to help? “Like” the Concordia Intervistiation Initiative 2011 on Facebook and share your experiences, concerns, and opinions (for or against!). Also, be on the lookout for the Intervistation Town Hall meeting that will be hosted by the committee and SGA. With your help, we can change the policy for the better and begin to live our adult life.