F U Curfew!: Students Try to Find a Solution to Dorm Curfew!

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There are many reasons students go off to college. Freedom is one of those reasons. 

COVID-19 has impacted students’ lives on and off-campus. Those who live on campus have to base their school, athletic, work, and social schedules around curfew to ensure they make it back to the dorms on time. 

Due to the set dorm curfews, 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. on weekends, some students claim they risk missing an early class or having to sleep in their car if they get back to the dorms too late.

Students are generally unhappy with the new curfew rules. As a resident of Lawler-Harkins, Kelli Terrell states, “Having a curfew is ridiculous. I should have the freedom to not have to base my entire life off of our set curfew.” 

There Must Be a Solution! 

Housing director Julie Jackson has made arrangements for those who have early morning workouts. However, those arrangements only apply to student-athletes. 

 Some students have called for the abolishment of the curfew hours, yet one problem remains: DSU instructs RA’s to work during the set curfew times. RA’s scan students’ foreheads for their temperature every time they enter or exit the building. If the hours were to be altered, or taken away altogether, the RA’s would have to pick up the extra shifts. 

Breanna Cargill, a Lawler-Harkins RA, expresses, “Constantly scanning everyone’s forehead every time they enter and exit the building is a bit overkill. I don’t think it’s possible for people to gain a fever in a 10-minute span.”

What Can We Do?

Students have stated other solutions, yet what will it take to enforce them? Other universities, such as Mississippi State, do not have curfews for their campus housing. 

A resident at Mississippi State University, Sarah Frances Downs, claims, “All that is required, according to our  COVID-19 guidelines, is to wear a mask when outside of our assigned rooms. That’s it.”

COVID-19 has not affected other universities ’ on-campus residents, yet it’s an issue here at Delta State. Delta State’s COVID-19 statistics have declined since the beginning of the semester. According to DSU’s COVID-19 update, since August of 2020, there have been a total of 170 reported cases of students that have tested positive. As of now, there are only 5 students in quarantine, and 1 in isolation.