For students who live on campus, it is common knowledge that all resident halls have designated quiet hours. Quiet hours are in effect Sunday night through Thursday night from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. As there are no classes the following day, quiet hours change on Friday and Saturday nights and become midnight to 10 a.m. to accommodate students’ social lives. 

Despite having these hours posted on multiple walls of each resident hall and the reminders resident assistants give at each hall meeting, the allotted quiet hours are not followed. 

Quiet hours were created to support students’ education by allowing them time to relax, study and sleep peacefully. However, various disturbances occur frequently during quiet hours throughout the week, including but not limited to parties, random screaming, loud music, loud knocking on doors and floors and many other distracting noises that can interfere with academic life on campus.  

Although quiet hour obligations are posted in resident halls and declared by resident assistants, loud noises during these times continue with little to no consequences for students who are disrupting the peace. Throughout quiet hours, most importantly the quiet hours allotted during weekdays and nights before classes, students are subjected to joltingly random and chronically loud noises, voices and music. Two of the most significant freshman residence halls, Roth Hall and Evans Hall, experience these quiet hour disturbances most severely. 

The third-floor resident assistant at Roth Hall, Ashley O’Connor, gave her thoughts on quiet hours and how they are implemented as both a student and as a resident assistant. 

“As a student, I believe they can be regulated. I also believe people do not call the RA on call enough to report their problem,” said O’Connor, “as an RA, it’s difficult to tell what noises are simply inconsiderate to rule-breaking. Overall, I just want people to be respectful to others,” O’Connor said.

The Resident Assistants display strength in their best attempts to adhere residents to quiet hour rules in the resident hall or building they are responsible for, but the problem cannot be placed solely into their hands. 

Junior sociology major, Rebekah Livermore, lived in Evans Hall during her freshman year.  She reflected on her experiences with quiet hour disturbances and rule enforcement.

“Quiet hours can work to a certain extent, but it’s hard to enforce a building with over 100 people to be quiet after 10 o’clock,” said Livermore.

Quiet hours are an important time for students to relax, study and sleep peacefully. The disturbances in these hours can impede the academic success and emotional health of students living in resident halls.  

Sophomore marketing major and a resident of Evans Hall during the fall 2022 and spring 2023 semesters, Seth Williams, encountered disturbances during quiet hours during finals week.

“It was tough,” said Williams. “I had so much work to do, and I understand that there’s nothing to do sometimes during finals week, but I wanted to work in my room some days and there was just so much noise during the day and the night that I couldn’t get as much done as I wanted to and couldn’t sleep without some music or yelling happening.” 

Although resident assistants are within the closest proximity to student behavior, they cannot be expected to consistently police every student in their hall. Instead, resident assistants should be given more support by their direct superiors and administration to help them succeed.