University of Virginia Library

Judiciary Supports Request
For 'Local Option' Parietals

By SANDRA DIVINE

The Judiciary Committee has
unanimously supported a letter to
President Shannon from the First Year
Legislative Judiciary Council requesting
Board of Visitors approval of a "local
option plan" for dormitory parietal
hours.

Mr. Shannon must present the request
to the Board for final approval in their
monthly meeting May 31.

First Year Judiciary Council wrote the
letter because of the over-burdening
number of parietal violation cases. The
new policy, the council said, would
eliminate enforcement of parietal hours
in the first year dorms.

"The local option plan" the letter
explained, "is essentially the same as the
one presently in effect in the upperclass
dormitories." It would provide for each
has in the old dorms and each suite in
the new dorms to determine their own
parietal rules.

Consensual Agreement

The rules would be established by
consensual agreement. In this way they
can be effectively enforced by the
counselors and first year councilmen.

The proposed plan will help maintain a
"relaxed and quiet living situation and
will ensure that each student will have a
voice in the formation of the parietal
hours," the letter explains.

Judiciary Committee Vice Chairman
Alan Robertson said the plan's adoption
will make it more reasonable to expect
student cooperation in turning in another
person for violation of parietal rules.

This plan is a reasonable approach to
the administration's position on visitation
rules, he stated.

'Unenforceable'

Chairman of the Judiciary Committee
Lindsay Dorrier said parietal hours as
they now stand are unenforceable.

The new policy would be in lieu of the
Bateman Resolution which establishes
parietal hours and visitation rules for all
state supported schools and Universities,
he further stated.

Mr. Dorrier and Mr. Robertson stated
that first-year students have enough
common sense to determine their own
parietal hours. They also pointed out the
current success of this type of parietal
hour policy in upper-class dorms. A
similar policy is what the First-Year
Council is requesting.