As the semester draws to a close, some Pace students will be making plans to party next semester, or perhaps planning one more night hanging with friends on campus to celebrate the end of finals and the end of the semester. But this partying calls for precautionary measures. The Pace guest policy states that guests should be with their host at all times. Common sense should also make this clear, especially when there is alcohol involved.
The Pace guest policy states “Residents assume all responsibility for the actions of their guests and must accompany them at all times. This means your guests are not permitted to wander the residence halls or areas of your Townhouse without you; nor may they remain in your room, unaccompanied, when you are elsewhere.”
Allegedly, fights have broken out in the townhouses involving guests who were apparently not under the control of or not with their host. The easy solution to this problem is to follow the guest policy and stay with your friend at all times. Granted, staying with your guest might not be the easiest thing to accomplish at parties or even just hangout sessions.
The guest policy, I assume, is made to prevent people from getting themselves and others into dangerous shenanigans. But the idea of sticking with your friend is not exclusive to guests who aren’t Pace residents. All students who choose to go out should plan beforehand and should have a “buddy.” As corny as it sounds, the “buddy system” is a very good thing. I spoke to non-resident sophomore criminal justice major Mackie Ferguson, and she agreed completely. Ferguson, as an occasional guest in residence halls, complies with the guest policy. But Ferguson and I also have policies of our own to add.
“The buddy system is important. Keep your phone on you at all times,” Ferguson said.
This advice of keeping your phone on you sounds pretty simple, especially for men. But women’s fashion does not always allow for being able to keep your phone on you at a party where it might even be inconvenient to carry a purse. I know from experience that women’s jeans don’t always have pockets (a fact that irks me to no end, but I’ll save that rant for another time). I have been to parties with my one pair of jeans that does have pockets, and inevitably some of my pocket-less skinny-jean and booty-short clad friends will ask me to hold their cell phones while they dance.
My answer is always “no.” I won’t hold anyone’s cell phone. Keep your phone on you at all times, and make sure any guest you have or friend you are with has a phone and a way to contact you should you get separated.
This brings me to the next point, and the main point of the Pace guest policy. Always know where your friend is. Easier said than done, sure. But that’s what cell phones are for.
Have a safe meet up place, and open communication. If you, a friend or guest is planning on having more than a few drinks, let it be known. Have some sort of plan of action and talk about it with your friends beforehand.
“Have a friend of sound mind at all times,” Ferguson said. These people are the ones who will help fend off/rescue their other friends from any mishaps that may occur.
Above all, try not to wander off alone, and try to prevent your friends from doing so.