Students assigned to independent living in apartments and suites are expected to be good stewards of these spaces and maintain the following community standards. Outlined below are the expectations set forth by the Office of Residential Life, Dean of Students, Maintenance Department and Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. It is important to remember that your living space is part of a larger community; within your unit, campus area, and Kenyon College. We are excited to offer independent living opportunities and trust that residents will embrace the flexibility of these spaces, along with the responsibility that comes with increased independence. The new construction of Thomas Hall and Winkler Hall comes with features that are priced differently than other locations on campus. It is important that students assigned to Thomas Hall and Winkler Hall are attentive to the posted furniture replacement and building damage costs provided.
Room Assignments
All apartments and suites are individually numbered with separately numbered private bedrooms within the space. Residents are assigned to specific rooms and provided keys/access by the Office of Residential Life. Residents are expected to reside in their assigned rooms. Residents are not permitted to reassign rooms without prior, written approval of the Office of Residential Life. If residents are found to have switched rooms without permission, they risk losing their current housing assignment. Residents are responsible for the housing costs and damages associated with their assigned space and unapproved reassignments will not be prorated.
The transfer of an ID, keys and/or K-card to any individual to gain access to any residential space is prohibited. If a resident misplaces or loses their keys, they should contact the Office of Residential Life as soon as possible for a replacement key and core to their room and/or apartment or suite. Replacement keys cost $150. If a space is K-Card access only and a card is lost or misplaced, please contact the Office of Residential Life as soon as possible and we will work on a plan for access. K-Card replacements are available for a fee by emailing cardoffice@kenyon.edu.
Kitchens
Residents in apartments and suites have varied access to different kitchen resources, including but not limited to microwaves, stovetops, ovens and fridges. Students may also supplement their kitchen with their own appliances (full list of permitted and prohibited items can be found in the Residential Life Handbook). Residents agree to keep appliances, countertops, and table tops clean and free of food debris, spills and crumbs to avoid attracting pests. Residents will dispose of rotting or expired food appropriately and in a timely manner. Residents will cook and use appliances with special regard to personal and fire safety.
Trash
Residents will dispose of trash regularly and in the appropriate receptacles provided by the institution. Trash should not be placed outside of apartments or suites, even temporarily. Residents are responsible for any trash accumulated outside of their assigned living space as a result of any gatherings hosted in the area.
Bathrooms
Part of independent living includes personal responsibility for personal and group cleanliness. Compared to traditional residence hall living, custodial staff are not responsible for cleaning bathrooms in independent living apartments and suites. Cleaning supplies will be provided by the Maintenance Department. If College-provided cleaning supplies are depleted, residents should submit a work order for replenishment. Residents are expected to keep private bathroom facilities clean and safe. Plumbing issues should be addressed immediately with the Maintenance Department.
Exteriors
Some apartments and suites have small patios or outdoor spaces adjacent to their housing. Under no circumstances should college-owned furniture be removed from its assigned location, including being moved to an outdoor patio or green space, even temporarily. Residents will be held financially responsible for any damage to college-owned furniture. Student-owned furniture may be placed on exterior patios only and should not exceed this space. Exteriors are not to be used for personal storage. Furniture, college-owned or personal, cannot block egress at any time. Furniture cannot block windows, doors or access to fire safety equipment. Gas and propane grills are prohibited.
Commercial Enterprises
Residents are prohibited from conducting any form of business or commercial enterprise within assigned living spaces or common areas in residential communities. This includes parking lots and green spaces outside of residential communities. Posting or distributing commercial advertisements or promotional materials within residential communities is not permitted. No resident or third-party entity may engage in selling goods or services within the residence halls/spaces without explicit authorization from the College.
Capacity
Apartments have a capacity of 20 in common spaces. This applies only to the first floor, with the exception of New Apartments with common areas on the second floor. All other floors in apartments are not considered common areas.
Fire Safety Tampering
Fire safety tampering is a serious safety hazard and will be treated as such. Fire safety tampering includes covering or disabling a smoke detector, discharging a fire extinguisher outside of a fire emergency, removing a fire extinguisher from its designated location, damaging or tampering with fire extinguisher installation boxes, tags or other mechanisms, destruction or obscuring of exit signs, destruction or obscuring of emergency lights, destruction or obscuring of alarm signals or lights, activating a fire pull station outside of an emergency, and activating sprinklers outside of an emergency. Under no circumstances should fire safety mechanisms be obstructed, disabled, altered, adjusted or otherwise tampered with in any way.
Residents found tampering with fire safety equipment will be reassigned to a new residential housing assignment due to the serious nature of this behavior. Residents will also be referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities and may be subject to legal action.
Residents may not tamper with sprinkler systems and cannot hang items from piping or sprinkler heads. The unnecessary discharge of a sprinkler system will be referred to Student Rights and Responsibilities and responsible parties will be charged for all damage caused, including damage caused to other rooms and personal belongings.
Roof Access
Residents are prohibited from accessing the roof(s) of their apartment or building at any time.
Cleanliness and Maintenance
The Maintenance Department will conduct monthly, announced, walkthroughs of apartments and suites to ensure that facilities are clean and in good working order. They will also assess these spaces for repairs. The Maintenance Department will report policy violations, unsanitary, and/or unsafe conditions to the Office of Residential Life, who will provide residents with a written description of what needs to be corrected and a timeline for completing these tasks. A follow-up inspection may take place to ensure the assigned adjustments were made. In instances of serious safety concerns and policy violations, residents may be referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Noise
Apartments and suites can accommodate a larger capacity of individuals and are often utilized as social gathering spaces. Residents of these spaces should pay special attention to noise levels when gatherings occur. Quiet hours and courtesy hours apply to all residential spaces on campus, regardless of type. Repeated noise complaints or violations may result in residential reassignment.
Loss of Privileges
Residents who are unable to uphold the aforementioned expectations and those outlined in both the Kenyon College Student Handbook and the Office of Residential Life Handbook may lose the privilege of independent living. Depending upon the nature of the concern(s) and timing, this may impact their current living assignment and/or future living assignments through the housing selection process.
Speciality Housing
Residents assigned within Specialty Housing are also held to the same standards and risk losing Specialty Housing privileges for their organization or group.