Editor’s note: This article is the fourth part of a four-part series on residence hall life.

Although Iowa State’s residence halls offer a variety of conveniences, student housing contracts include numerous policies and regulations.

One prevalent violation is the possession of alcohol by underage residents.

“Alcohol is the biggest problem usually run into, and occasionally marijuana,” said Beth Zingula, resident assistant for Bates House in Willow Hall.

According to ISU’s Department of Residence contracts, alcoholic beverages may be consumed by those who are of the legal drinking age, but only in the privacy of their rooms.

The contracts also state that open containers of alcohol are not allowed in public areas of the residence halls, including the elevators and hallways. Empty alcohol containers also cannot be used for decoration by underage residents.

Controlled substances cannot be on the premises at any time.

Each spring semester, house members vote on whether to allow incense on the floor for the rest of the semester and the following fall, said Naura Heiman, resident assistant for Brandt House in Linden Hall and senior in architecture and psychology.

“You get to vote on incense and the door policy…. It’s an in-house policy,” Neiman said.

Before last August, students were prohibited from decorating the doors to their rooms. After reviewing the door policy, the Department of Residence decided residents could post anything on their doors, as long as it is not offensive to other residents.

Matt Geiger, resident assistant for Bergman House in Welch Hall and junior in speech communication, said he does not think the door policy will cause any problems on his floor. He added that he does not think the policy regularly causes problems with residents.

“If it ever has been a problem, it has been easily solved,” he said, adding that most residents are cooperative if they are told their posters are offensive.

Students also are not allowed to light their rooms with candles or halogen lamps.

Halogen lamps were banned in the residence halls at the beginning of the spring ’98 semester after one of the lamps caused a fire on Wolf House in Larch Hall last November.

Geiger was a resident in Wolf House at the time of the fire. As an RA, he said he has not had any problems with residents trying to bring in halogen lamps.

“Usually, the lighting in dorm rooms isn’t great, but students find ways to [make the lighting acceptable],” he said. “Obviously, no one wants their stuff burned.”

Geiger said he is aware of only one or two incidents in which residents have tried to bring halogen lamps, and he said the residents who try are usually unaware of the rules.

All residence halls also have established quiet hours. The hours are usually Sunday to Thursday, 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. and Friday to Saturday, 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. These times can be changed or extended but cannot be minimized.

“We tend to have more quiet hours violations,” Zingula said.

The residence halls have 24-hour visitation, even for members of the opposite sex. However, cohabitation is not allowed.

“The steadfast rule is ‘One foot on the floor and one eye open,'” Geiger said. “The steadfast rule is you can’t sleep. Obviously, this is hard to enforce.”

Geiger said if a resident’s roommate complains about late-night visitors, the resident will probably get written up.

Hanging lofts are another controversial item in residence halls. Although last year there were rumors about hanging lofts possibly being banned, Director of Residence Randy Alexander has not made any decisions to prohibit them.

And ultimately, when residents do not abide by the guidelines, punishments can occur.

“They’ll get a warning, or if it’s really extreme, they’ll get written up,” Zingula said.