Being enrolled at West Chester allows us to be apart of something bigger than just the university; we are simultaneously a part of the West Chester Borough community once we register. Many of students don’t realize what exactly this means, and how it can effect both themselves, and fellow community members. So many times students don’t feel that being academically involved at this institute gives them an obligation in the Borough as well. Whether or not we agree with this notion, it is accurate, and if we don’t realize this, it can lead to some serious legal consequences, financially, and academically. Once enrolled, we must realize that attending a college located in such a prestigious and beautiful location gives us more of a liability, especially when we move off-campus.
The root of this issue boils down to respect. All of us expect mutual respect with one another, which is exactly what the community members seek from us students. As students we are faced with many day-to-day challenges and rigorous schedules, but non-students living in this community come in contact with many more obstacles than we know about yet. As students, the majority of us are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to wind down and go out when classes are done Friday afternoon. We are often oblivious to the fact that while we are letting loose and enjoying our free time on the weekends, community members are still working and dealing with various other “real life” commitments. The ways HOW students can adhere to this idea are quite simple and go as following.
1. Keep your noise levels down both in and out of houses/apartments.
2. Don’t tamper with anything in the community that isn’t yours.
3. Talk to community members in a respectful manner.
4. Clean up after yourself and your friends when you’re out.
5. Don’t behave in ways that are dangerous to yourself and others.
Though sounding naïve, following these ideas will allow you to have the fun downtime we all enjoy, while holding up to our dual responsibilities.
If the pure notion of wanting to respect your fellow community members doesn’t justify a student to act in certain ways, there are various CONSEQUENCES that stem from not holding up your dual-role. The following are the most common that occur among WCU students.
1. Receiving a noise-violation; along with permanent legal repercussions, paying for a citation can cost anywhere from $250 to $600.
2. Receiving a judicial; depending on the case at hand, students must complete numerous tasks to complete before being taken off probation.
3. Eviction; whether you live on or off-campus.
4. Losing financial aid and/or scholarships.
5. Jeopardizing your future.
If students have questions as to what constitutes inappropriate behavior, you can look to the student Code of Conduct or the following link, which provides detailed explanations for all legal offenses http://ecode360.com/WE0442.
The bottom line of this matter is that we should realize why community members deserve this mutual respect and should use our common sense in order to do so.
Ashley Struempfler is a second-year student majoring in communication studies and minoring in web tech design and business/technical writing. She can be reached at AS782685@wcupa.edu.