Are visiting hours doing more good than bad?

This archived article was written by: Colby Tidwell

First let me start by saying I hate visiting hours. I am an adult and if I want to hang out in my room with a group of friends of the opposite sex after midnight, I should be allowed to. I am considered an adult because I am over 18 and in college, but I am not adult enough to choose when it is an appropriate time for my friends to leave. I have a full- class schedule and I am an athlete; I think I am responsible, I maintain a 3.03 GPA while playing baseball. However, I am told that my friends of the opposite sex have to leave my room at 11:59 p.m. or I will be in trouble.
When I asked one of the staff members about visiting hours and why we even have them, she said that USU Eastern was a place for academic learning, not just to stay up late and mess around. College is not only about academics, it is also about social development and social interaction. If social connection and the community was not important, there would be no need to have dorms. RAs are taught programming, they have to prepare activities that will bring their communities or dorms together and help students develop a sense of belonging. So to say that college is only about academic learning is wrong.
I was looking online and saw that a dozen schools including Brown University, The University of Pennsylvania and Clark University allow their students to room with whomever they want. This means, guys and girls can be roommates, Brown University was ranked 16 overall for national universities, and nineth in the country for selectivity and five in graduation and retention. These colleges do not seem to worry about what time you have visitors in your room and they are ranked nationally for being great schools. So If there is anyone who thinks that not having a set visiting hour will do more bad then good, they need to do their research and not just say we have visiting hours because we say so.