General Policies and Procedures
Introduction
There should be little need to emphasize the importance of following the rational good for students who wish to study at Thomas Aquinas College. It would be inconsistent to seek high and serious things in class and live outside of class by unruled appetites. A student’s conduct, bearing, dress, and cleanliness signify his own character and express his esteem for the institution and its other members. His conduct on and off campus will reflect on the College.
Thomas Aquinas College is a Catholic college and, therefore, requires all students to abide by the Catholic Church’s moral teachings together with the rules of residence and the customs of the College. Since the College is part of the political community, students are also expected to obey the civil law on and off campus.
Students are asked to reflect carefully upon these standards and rules.
The College has the authority to determine how these general rules are to be applied in specific cases and to impose sanctions for violations of the rules. Disciplinary sanctions may include mandatory community service hours, suspension of privileges (e.g. parking privileges), fines, restriction to campus, disciplinary probation, and expulsion. The violation of a campus restriction, or of the terms of a disciplinary probation, may result in expulsion. Actions which gravely disrupt the campus order, such as entry into the residence halls of the opposite sex, the use of alcohol on campus, the illegal use of narcotics, or sexual misconduct will normally entail expulsion. (Note: The use of marijuana, even for medical purposes, is strictly forbidden for students both on and off campus and is subject to expulsion.) Theft, intrusion into offices or other private spaces, and stealing of confidential information, all erode the very basis of our community and cannot be tolerated; these, or similar, actions will also be subject to expulsion.
Since misconduct off campus can harm the reputation of the College, interfere with the climate of learning, and indicate that a student is not suited to the program, such behavior also is subject to disciplinary action.
Rules of Residence
Students who are not married are required to live on campus unless granted special permission by the Dean to live off-campus. Since the purpose of the College is to establish a community of learning, such permission is not usually given. Married students must live off the main campus.
Students are expected to show due regard for the rights, privileges, and tastes of others. Residence halls, designed primarily for study and rest, require order and reasonable quiet. Students should also keep in mind that separate apartments within the residence halls house faculty and staff of the College, in some cases with their spouses, and may periodically house visiting families. Space for social purposes is available in the Blessed Frassati Student Center (Tracy). The library, dining hall, and classrooms are available for study.
The College has a number of rules of residence that are meant to enhance the intellectual life and to keep students safe and happy. The following are the principal rules of residence that govern student life at the College, and details about their enforcement. There are more particular rules not listed in the Handbook that are communicated to the students by Prefects at orientation.
Prefects
The end of any community is best achieved when the members of that community are animated by friendship and mutual trust. This is especially so in the kind of community the College aims to establish. The importance of classroom discussion, the intensity of the academic program, and the end toward which the program aims—supernatural Truth—all require an unusual degree of friendship and mutual trust. This is the reason why the College relies on student Prefects, acting in conjunction with and by the authority of the Dean and the Assistant Dean, to maintain and enforce the rules and standards of the College. The College trusts students to follow the rules and to be forthright and cooperative with the Prefects.
The moral atmosphere essential to intellectual pursuits is everyone’s concern. This atmosphere is promoted most of all by exemplary personal conduct. If a student becomes aware of serious misconduct, he should notify a Prefect, the Assistant Dean, or the Dean.
Reporting Student Misconduct
A student may be subject to disciplinary sanctions for violating the rules of residence, failing to abide by the customs of the College, contravening the moral teachings of the Catholic Church, or disobeying the civil law. Misconduct may be reported by a student Prefect, security guard, faculty or staff member, neighbor, fellow student, or local police department. Anyone who wishes to report misconduct, or initiate a complaint, may do so by speaking to a Prefect, the Assistant Dean, or the Dean. Information on reporting sexual crimes (e.g., sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking), and the disciplinary procedure used in such cases, is found elsewhere. (See section below entitled Reporting Sexual Assault.)
Investigation of Misconduct and Notification
Smaller infractions are handled by student Prefects. With smaller infractions, an investigation is usually unnecessary, but a Prefect may investigate if there is a dispute about whether an infraction occurred. Larger infractions are investigated by the Assistant Dean. In the case of serious misconduct, which may result in serious disciplinary action (e.g., disciplinary probation or expulsion), the Assistant Dean will conduct an investigation and make a report to the Dean . If there is sufficient evidence of serious misconduct, the Assistant Dean will make a report to the Faculty Advisory Committee (a committee composed of senior tutors on the New England campus), which will in turn make a recommendation to the Instruction Committee (a committee composed of the Deans of both campuses, the President, and six senior tutors elected by the faculty). Cases of serious misconduct that are academic in nature (e.g., academic dishonesty or plagiarism) are investigated by the Dean. A student accused of a larger infraction or serious misconduct will be contacted by the Assistant Dean or Dean to discuss the alleged violation or complaint.
Student Discipline
For smaller infractions (e.g., curfew violation, dress code violation, texting in class) a Prefect will notify a student of community service hours with an “hour sheet.” Hour sheets must be signed by the kitchen or maintenance supervisor and returned to the Prefect who assigned the work.
Larger infractions are adjudicated by the Assistant Dean. Larger infractions usually result in restriction to campus, but may also include the suspension of other privileges (e.g., parking privileges). The following are examples of larger infractions: repeated violation of the rules of residence, intoxicated behavior, providing alcohol to underage students, lying to an officer of the College. Any of these larger infractions could, depending on the circumstances and the gravity of the particular act, amount to serious misconduct. The Assistant Dean will notify the student in writing of any disciplinary sanctions.
Serious misconduct, which can lead to disciplinary probation or dismissal from the College, is adjudicated by the Instruction Committee, advised by the Faculty Advisory Committee. The following are examples of serious misconduct: the possession, or use, of marijuana or of any illegal drugs; the use of alcohol on campus outside of College-sponsored social functions; a serious or repeated incident of intoxicated behavior; behavior creating a serious safety hazard to other persons; starting fires in prohibited areas; entry into residence halls of the opposite sex; sexual misconduct; theft; intrusion into offices or private spaces; purloining confidential information; hacking into, or compromising, the College computer network; plagiarizing a paper; cheating on a final exam. The Instruction Committee makes the final determination about serious disciplinary action. Serious misconduct usually results in disciplinary probation or expulsion. The Dean will notify the student placed on disciplinary probation or expelled. A student who is expelled may be required to leave the campus immediately. If the student is a minor, the Assistant Dean will contact the parents or guardians and assist in making suitable arrangements for travel, storage, and accommodations for the student.
Appeals of Student Discipline
Appeals or complaints about smaller infractions are made directly to the Assistant Dean, and he has the final say about whether the decision will be overruled. Appeals or complaints about larger infractions are made directly to the Dean, and he has the final say about whether the decision will be overruled. Complaints or appeals regarding serious misconduct are only heard if they present new information that would likely have affected the outcome of the original decision. Complaints or appeals should be made in writing to the Dean. If the Dean determines that the appeal should be heard, the Dean makes a report to the Instruction Committee, whose judgment is final.
Campus Policies and Procedures
Campus Property
The Northfield campus is divided into two portions, one owned by Thomas Aquinas College, the other by the Moody Center. The following buildings, included on campus maps, belong to the Moody Center, and should not be entered without permission therefrom: the Auditorium, Moody Cottage, Hibbard Hall, the Moody Homestead, and the Moody Birthplace.
All parts of this combined property, whether they belong to the College or to the Moody Center, including the forested area to the north, and all College-owned residences for faculty and staff, including those separated from the main campus by Winchester Road, are regarded as ‘on campus’ with respect to the rules of student life.
Alcohol and Drugs
At some social functions, the College will serve alcohol to students who are of legal age; this service is overseen by the Assistant Dean. The possession or use of alcohol outside of these functions is strictly forbidden on campus and normally entails expulsion from the program. Faculty and staff residences owned by the College, regardless of their location, are still ‘on campus’, although faculty members hosting students in their homes may serve alcohol to students of legal age. The possession or use of marijuana, even for medical purposes, or of any illegal drugs is strictly forbidden for students both on and off campus and may entail expulsion.
The College also reserves the right to dismiss a student from the program for any serious incident or any repeated incident of an intoxicated or drugged state of behavior on or off campus, for behavior creating a safety hazard to other persons, or for behavior that seriously impedes the legitimate activities of the College community.
Any alcohol purchased as a gift, received as a gift, or intended for the off-campus use of those of legal age must be stored by a Prefect.
The College strongly disapproves of off-campus use of alcohol by those under legal age because it violates the civil law and harms the College’s reputation. Infractions of this alcohol and drug policy may be brought to the attention of a student’s parent(s) or guardian.
Hazing
The College prohibits “hazing”, that is, any form of conduct which is designed to initiate students into the College, a dormitory, or any other student organization, and which causes, or is likely to cause, mental distress or physical harm to a student, or any other person. The College considers any serious incident of hazing (one that willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of a student) to be an action that gravely disrupts the campus order, and an offense of this kind will normally entail expulsion.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has enacted a law strictly prohibiting the hazing of any student either on or off campus. Violators are subject to fines and imprisonment. This anti-hazing statute can be found on page 51.
Dress
Proper dress is proportionate to the dignity of one’s activities; coveralls, for instance, are suited to manual labor but not to divine worship. Those who dress improperly display an indifference towards nobler pursuits. Accordingly, more formal dress is to be worn throughout each class day, until 3:30 p.m., on the central portion of campus—which includes the chapel, classroom and office buildings, dining hall, library, student center, and music hall, and the spaces between these buildings. Women are to wear skirts or dresses of modest length with modest sleeve lines and necklines and dress shoes or sandals. Men shall wear slacks, shirts with collars, and dress shoes (or sandals) with socks.
A period of more casual dress begins after 3:30 p.m. on weekdays; however, school dress is still required at dinner Monday through Thursday, at evening seminars, and at Sunday brunch, and more formal dress (including ties for men) is also required at lectures, formal dinners, and formal dances.
School dress is always required in the chapel during Mass. At other times, less formal dress is allowed; however, sweatpants, tank tops, and shorts are never allowed in the chapel.
Footwear is always required in all the buildings listed above.
During the week, students on work study whose job requires casual dress and does not allow time to change for some meals should ask the Assistant Dean for permission to wear casual dress to those meals; in such cases students should eat in the outer dining room or outdoors.
For swimming, women are to wear modest one-piece bathing suits or tankinis which fully cover the midriff. Men are to wear shirts on campus, even when working on the grounds crew. They are allowed to go without a shirt on the basketball court and athletic field (during men’s sports).
In keeping with the College’s intention to establish a dignified community of learning, extreme hairstyles and other such distracting bodily accoutrements are not permitted on campus.
Parking and Traffic
Vehicles are to be operated safely and at reasonable speeds on campus, but never faster than 15 mph. Driving or parking on lawns or paths is prohibited. Student parking is restricted to the parking lots behind the residence halls. Further overflow parking is available behind Gould Hall. Students are not to park in the flagpole or East Hall parking lots.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires all drivers to carry liability insurance. The College, therefore, requires all students who have vehicles on campus to maintain liability insurance. Evidence of insurance must be presented when registering the vehicle. Nonresident students bringing a car to campus which is registered in another state or country must also file a form each year with the local police department; this form will be provided at registration.
All student vehicles, whatever their state or country of registration, must be registered with the College. Students should be sure that vehicular information is included on their Registration Form if applicable; parking permit stickers will be issued at registration, or can be picked up from the front desk in St. Thomas More Hall (Kenarden). If a student should change vehicles, he must update the College with the license number, make, and model of the new vehicle; if the vehicle is registered out-of-state, he must also file a new form with the local police.
The privilege of keeping a vehicle on campus may be revoked when the rules are not observed. A student who registers a vehicle with the College is responsible for its proper use. Vehicles not registered with the College may be towed away.
Doors
Students are requested to cooperate with the College’s efforts to control heating, as well as to comply with fire code, by not propping open outside doors.
Communications
In the absence of a cell phone, ordinary telephone contact with students can be made through the telephones in the residence halls.
| Gould Hall Common Room, 2nd Floor | 413-846-1195 | |
| St. Augustine Hall (Merrill-Keep) | 413-846-1187 | |
| Wilson Hall | 413-846-1191 |
Students may not use the landline telephones in the classroom buildings, Gould Hall, Dolben Library, or St. Thomas More Hall without permission, except in an emergency. In an emergency, in the absence of a cell phone, landlines may be found in each classroom of St. Gianna Molla Hall (Palmer), at the circulation desk in Dolben Library, in the nurse’s office or in the servery of Gould Hall, and at the receptionist’s desk in St. Thomas More Hall (Kenarden).
The general College number, 1-800-634-9797, should be used for contacting students only in emergency situations.
Students are required to provide the Dean’s Office with the current addresses and telephone numbers of persons to be contacted in case of emergency in their registration paperwork.
Residence Halls
Residence Hall Visitation
Men’s and women’s residence hall areas, including their patios, are always off limits to the opposite sex; this restriction applies to holidays and summer vacations as well as the academic year. With permission of a Prefect, exceptions to the residence hall visitation rules are made at the beginning or end of the academic year for purposes of moving boxes or luggage in and out of residence halls. Exceptions are also made for maintenance jobs, particularly over the summer, but only during normal business hours.
Gould is the residence hall for women, while St. Augustine (Merrill-Keep) and Wilson are the halls for men. Other uses of these buildings affect visitation, as follows.
Gould also houses the campus dining hall (or commons) and kitchen. The second and third floors of Gould are residence hall areas at all times; men must not enter them except according to the above exceptions. Neither may men enter the wings of the first floor, where women staff reside, except upon invitation as provided below. The central first-floor dining and common rooms are open to both sexes from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. each day; outside of these hours, they are regarded as part of the women’s residence hall area, and are off-limits to men. Kitchen workers of either sex may be on duty in the kitchen and servery outside of these hours, provided that men enter and exit the kitchen directly by the rearmost door of Gould, and do not enter any other areas of the building.
Gould and Wilson have first-floor apartments for staff, faculty, or guests; St. Augustine Hall has apartments at each end of the building. These apartments are not regarded as residence hall areas, and have separate entrances. As private residences, students may not enter these apartments without invitation; however, upon invitation from faculty or staff residing there, students of either sex may enter, provided that members of the opposite sex (relative to the hall in question) enter only through the separate entrances and do not pass through to any part of the dormitory proper.
Curfew
The residence halls are locked at 11:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at 1:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Students are to be in their residence halls by these times. In special cases students can be admitted later by prior arrangements with a residence hall Prefect. These arrangements must be made at least 24 hours before the scheduled event. Since this requires that the Prefect stay up to admit a latecomer, permission is given only for very good reasons.
Sign Out
Students are to sign out when they will be away from their residence hall overnight. Use of the sign-out sheet enables the College to ascertain quickly who is or is not in the residence hall in the event of fire or other emergency.
Quiet Hours
At all times the residence halls and their immediate vicinity should be sufficiently quiet to permit study and rest. Conversations, radios, and stereos should not disturb those in adjoining rooms. As evening approaches, sounds which might not be noticed during the day more readily disturb study and rest. Accordingly from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. (11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday) a more complete quiet is preserved. During quiet hours, music should not be played in the common areas of the dorms without earphones or earbuds.
Theft
Students should be aware that cases of serious theft at the College are rare, but do happen on occasion, and are grounds for dismissal.
Theft of food, clothes, books, and other personal items violates the trust among the members of the community and should be reported to a Prefect or the Assistant Dean.
Care of Students’ Rooms
Students are expected to keep their rooms clean at all times. In residence halls having common bathrooms, the bathrooms and sinks will be cleaned on a regular basis by the maintenance department.
Pictures and wall decorations may be hung with pushpins provided by the maintenance department. Students may not paint walls or woodwork. Wall decorations should be in keeping with the dignity of the intellectual and spiritual life of the College.
Furniture is not to be removed from or dismantled in the residence hall rooms. If a student wants to re-configure his modular furniture, he first must receive permission from the Maintenance Supervisor, Adam Beberwyck. Students will be held liable for any damage to their rooms. Damage to the common areas of the dormitory will be charged to all of the students assigned to the dormitory unless a specific person assumes responsibility.
Except in residence hall kitchenettes, use of large refrigerators, hotplates, water kettles, electric skillets, popcorn poppers, coffee makers, and other electrical appliances is specifically prohibited due to fire hazard. Students may have small refrigerators only after obtaining permission from the Assistant Dean. Students may keep non-perishable food in residence hall rooms, provided it is contained in metal, glass, or plastic containers.
The smoking of cigarettes (including vaping devices) is prohibited by state law in any campus building. The use of candles or incense inside the dorm is also forbidden due to the fire hazard.
Care of the Lounges, Common Rooms, and Dorm Patios
Care of the men’s and women’s residence hall lounges and of all rooms designated for common use throughout the campus is the responsibility of the students using them. Students should leave areas clean and orderly, turning off lights when not needed.
Furniture in the lounges, on dorm patios, or in other buildings is not to be appropriated for use elsewhere. The temporary removal of furniture from one area to another requires the approval of the maintenance department, and furniture moved should be returned immediately to its proper place.
Overnight Guests
Overnight accommodations (when available) are principally for the use of guests invited by the College as prospective students. Accommodations may also be provided for parents or other immediate family members who desire to visit the College. Other personal guests (e.g. alumni) may be accommodated briefly, if space is available.
All overnight guests must receive permission from the College at least one week in advance. Prospective students, their parents or siblings, and the parents of current students should receive permission from the Admissions office; recent alumni (last three years) and friends of current students should receive permission from the Assistant Dean. Visits longer than four days are discouraged. The availability of accommodations should be verified and the length of the visit approved before plans for a visit are far advanced.
No visitor is to sleep in a residence hall without permission from the College. Lounges and other common areas are never to be used for sleeping.
Pets
Pets, except for fish and very small reptiles, are forbidden. Students are not to bring any animal to the campus, or encourage strays to stay; they become housekeeping problems and health hazards.
Vacation
Students who are unable to go home for Christmas and summer vacations must receive permission from the Assistant Dean to stay on campus. They should be prepared to pay room and board and/or work.
For those staying on campus, all rules and regulations will remain in full effect. This includes the prohibition of alcohol and residence hall visitation.
Accommodations
Thomas Aquinas College is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for students with physical, medical, or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities who desire an accommodation should make a request to the Assistant Dean. Incoming freshmen with disabilities should communicate their requests to the Associate Director of Admissions, who will then contact the Assistant Dean to arrange for any accommodations that should be made prior to matriculation. Requests seeking permission to live off campus should go to the Dean.
Electronics
Electronic Texts
Kindles and other electronic text readers are not to be used in the classroom. While these devices have been extremely useful for research, they are not the best medium for reading and thinking about a text in preparation for a class discussion. The use of real texts works very well for our purposes, and there is a discipline that goes into preparing to discuss a paper text. The student must make an effort to read carefully and digest the reading, so as to be able to locate pertinent texts. He must attempt to grasp and retain the reading as a whole. Electronic search functions provide an easy opportunity for the student to become lazy in reading.
Cell Phones
Cell phones can be useful tools for communicating, but they can also be a distraction from the intellectual life. Besides impeding focused study, and causing distractions in class, cell phones and other smart devices make it harder for faculty to initiate and sustain conversations with students and for students to initiate and sustain conversations with one another. To ensure that they do not detract from the dignity of the academic program, cell phones, smart watches, and any devices with cellular data, are not permitted in the classroom buildings or the library at any time. Such devices are also not permitted in the dining hall (the central common rooms of Gould) from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day. Students are urged to develop the habit of leaving these devices in their dorm room or mailbox during class, study, and meal times.
In accordance with the College’s policy to limit Internet access to that provided in the library, the use of cell phones, or cell phone service, to access the Internet is prohibited, except for a limited number of approved apps.
Movies, Television, and Video Games
To foster and preserve the dignity of the intellectual life, the College does not permit the use of televisions or video players in student rooms. On weekends from 3:30 p.m. Friday until 5:00 p.m. Sunday, students may watch movies in the residence hall common rooms, designated common rooms in the library, or Inman Shelter, but only with prior permission from a Prefect. Movies may also be screened on the weekends in Dolben Auditorium with prior permission from a Resident Director or the Assistant Dean and with the assistance of the A/V crew. Students must not use the Auditorium or any of the College’s A/V equipment without prior permission.
Students may play video games in a designated study or common room in the dorms on weekends from 3:30 p.m. on Friday until 5:00 p.m. Sunday.
Computer Networks
The College provides Internet access in the library and in the basement of Blessed Frassati Student Center by means of the College’s computer network. Tapping into, or tampering with, the College’s network or telephone wiring is strictly prohibited. In keeping with the College’s aim of maintaining a community of learning in the dormitories, students are not permitted to set up their own computer networks either by means of wireless technology or by running network cables from room to room.
Internet and Computer Services
The College provides computer resources for three purposes: research, communication, and retail business transactions (such as purchasing airline tickets). To allow for the quietude and rest that contemplation requires, the College has no interest in promoting widespread use of the Internet for entertainment purposes. Internet access is limited to the computer lab and student services room in the library. The use of cell phones, cell phone service, or any other wireless service, to access the Internet is prohibited, except through a limited number of approved apps. Students are welcome to bring their own computers. If they bring laptops, they may request to have their computers configured to access the Internet in the library (their computer should be equipped with an Ethernet port).
It is essential that each user exercise responsible and ethical behavior when using the College’s computer resources. It is impossible to anticipate all of the methods that individuals may employ to intentionally damage or misuse the College’s computer resources, but the following is a list of some of the inappropriate uses of those resources.
- Transmitting information that contains obscene, indecent, lewd, or lascivious material or other material that explicitly or implicitly refers to sexual conduct or contains profane language.
- Using the College’s computer resources to gain unauthorized access to resources of this or other institutions, individuals, or organizations. Using false or misleading information for the purpose of obtaining access to unauthorized resources.
- Accessing, altering, copying, moving, or removing information, proprietary software, or other files from the College’s computer resources without authorization.
- Copying, downloading or distributing copyrighted materials, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, without the authorization of the copyright owner is illegal and may result in civil and criminal penalties, including fine and imprisonment. Copyrighted materials include, but are not limited to, copyrighted music, films, and software.
- Using the College’s computer resources for online gambling.
- Violating laws or participating in the commission or furtherance of any crime.
Thomas Aquinas College acknowledges its obligation to respect the privacy of a user's computer files and e-mail, but users should be sensitive to the inherent limitations of the College’s computer resources—no computer security system can completely prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing a user’s computer files or e-mail.
The College maintains the right to monitor and access a user’s computer files, e-mail, and use of computer resources when it is necessary to protect the integrity, security, and proper functioning of the College’s computer resources, when it is necessary to enforce this policy, or when it is required by law. The College will notify users of such monitoring provided that it will not compromise the College’s investigation or the investigation of an appropriate law enforcement agency.
Any violation of this policy, other related College regulations, or federal or state laws may result in immediate suspension of computer resource privileges. The College's authorities and/or the appropriate law enforcement agency will determine other possible disciplinary or legal action. Nothing in this policy supersedes existing College regulations and policies and/or state or federal law.
Photocopying
Students can use the copier located in St. Thomas More Hall for personal copies, if they come to the front desk between 3:30 and 5:00pm. Payments for copies are made at the front desk.
Federal Copyright Laws
Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement.
Penalties for copyright infringement include civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or “statutory” damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For “willful” infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys’ fees. For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504, 505.
Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.
For more information, please see the Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office especially their FAQ’s at www.copyright.gov/help/faq.
Safety and Security
Campus Security
Although theft, vandalism, and other crimes by off-campus intruders are rare, they are real possibilities that should be taken seriously. Crimes or suspicious behavior should be reported immediately to an appropriate authority.
Students who are issued keys as part of their work study should never lend their keys to anyone, should not allow copies to be made, and should promptly return any keys in their possession when their responsibilities are at an end. Should a student come into possession of an unauthorized key, he should return it immediately to the front desk in St. Thomas More Hall.
Weapons
Students are prohibited from bringing any kind of weapon to campus. The discharge of firearms on or about the campus is strictly forbidden.
Safety Alert System
The College has a safety alert system which is intended for use only in the rare occurrence of a danger to the community as a whole that requires immediate action. In such an event this system will be used to send out a mass text message to help spread the safety alert as quickly as possible among the on-campus community. Designated staff will promptly deliver the message in person to buildings in which cell phones are prohibited. Students will be automatically enrolled in the safety alert system using the cell phone number they provided during registration. Students should update the Dean’s Office if their cell phone number changes during the year.
Fire Procedure
The residence halls, dining hall, classroom building, library, and gymnasium are all equipped with emergency fire exits and fire alarm pull boxes. Students should familiarize themselves with the location of all exits and fire alarm pull boxes in their residence hall.
In case of fire, pull the nearest fire alarm, exit the building, and call 911.
The Northfield Fire Department will respond to any fire or smoke alarm in these campus buildings, which are linked to a central alarm system. No one should attempt to shut off an alarm at the building alarm panel, except at the direction of the Fire Department, even if the cause of the alarm is known to be minor. Do not return to the building until instructed to do so by the Fire Department.
Medical Emergency Equipment
Each building has a first aid kit kept near its entrance; in the residence halls, however, first aid kits are kept by a prefect on each floor. AEDs are located in the entryways of: St. Gianna Molla Hall (Palmer), Dolben Library, the Chapel (side entrance), the dining hall (Gould), and the gymnasium.