Page 103 - Smith College Student Handbook 16-17

Residential Life
Security and Safety
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House Security
The safety and security of students and their houses are matters of serious concern, and all students share the responsibility for house security.
Exterior house doors are always kept locked and should not be held open by props or wedges. Students should not let guests into houses
unescorted. Exterior porch phones are located close by each house’s front entrance. Visitors are expected to call the person they want to see
and be escorted at all times they are in or around the building.

The houses shall be liable for losses or damages resulting from negligence in maintaining security. The house account shall be billed for the
replacement or repair of the items involved.
Abuse of house regulations resulting in behavior that causes hazard, injury or inconvenience to members of the community or to the college
is subject to disciplinary action by the conduct board. These matters may be referred to the college administration or College Conduct Board
for resolution.

Students must not violate provisions of a Massachusetts buildings code or state fire and health regulations. Students are not permitted on the
roofs or ledges of buildings. Fire escapes should be used only for emergency exits. Violators will be subject to disciplinary action.

Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act
The federal Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) requires colleges and universities,
both public and private, participating in federal student aid programs to disclose campus safety information, and imposes certain basic
requirements for handling incidents of sexual violence and emergency situations. Disclosures about crime statistics and summaries of security
policies are made once a year in an Annual Security Report (ASR), and information about specific crimes and emergencies is made publicly
available on an ongoing basis throughout the year.

The Clery Act is named in memory of Jeanne Clery who was raped and murdered in her residence hall room by a fellow student she did not
know on April 5, 1986. Her parents championed laws requiring the disclosure of campus crime information, and the federal law that now
bears their daughter's name was first enacted in 1990. It has been amended regularly over the last two decades to keep up with changes in
campus safety with the most recent update in 2013 to expand the law's requirements concerning the handling of sexual violence via the re-
authorization of the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act in 2014.

For more details on the Clery Act, see https://www.smith.edu/campuspolice/crime.php

Fire Safety Regulations
There will be one fire drill conducted by the college per semester in each house. Failure of individuals to evacuate a house may result in
conduct action. A fire captain who does not fulfill their responsibility as required may be removed from their position and membership in
house council.

Residence life staff will meet with students to develop a procedure with any special needs students (mobility-impaired, vision-impaired,
hearing-impaired) during a fire emergency. False reporting, damage or misuse of fire safety equipment is strictly prohibited and will result in a
referral to the College Conduct Board.

Student rooms will be inspected. A room will be re-inspected in the case of a violation. Violations include illegal appliances; objects
obstructing corridors, stairways or sprinkler systems; cords of any type across doorways or under rugs; frayed cords; open flames and
potentially hazardous decorations; smoke alarms that have been tampered with; and objects draped or hung from the sprinkler pipes, curtain
rods, doorways, or tacked up on the walls. Students are required to clear hallways and public areas of personal items and be in compliance
with the college’s Health, Fire and Safety policy. Failure to comply will result in those items being discarded, and fees will be assessed to the
student(s), residents of the corridor, or the entire house and possible disciplinary action.

DECORATIONS
Material used in the decoration of any college building or student room must be either flame proofed or inherently nonflammable. Trees and
wreaths are examples of flammable materials and are not allowed.

Items that cannot be used for decorations include: branches, live or dry wreaths, or any item made from highly combustible material.

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