Chatham does have policies regarding underage drinking, drugs, and dorm visitation, and violations do have consequences, but campus strictness is not outrageous. The resident assistants and Public Safety handle underage drinking violations, but students agree that the resident assistants are realistic. They are there primarily to ensure safety and will not actively prosecute students who are drinking, as long as they remain in their rooms and are not obnoxious, even if the student is underage. Chatham also has visitation policies in the residence halls, but they vary in terms of strictness. In the Lower Campus apartments, visitation is monitored casually and unofficially by the resident assistants. On Upper Campus, though, visitation policies are more strict. All guests, even if they also live on campus, must sign in with a desk attendant, and guests are only allowed to stay for three consecutive nights and may only stay a certain number of times during the semester. First-year students are not permitted to have any overnight guests during their first semester, partly because this is a Chatham tradition and partly to encourage good roommate relations.
One of the strictest University policies is in regards to plagiarism and academic integrity. An anti-cheating pledge is written into the Honor Code, which all Chatham students sign. Chatham takes academic cheating very seriously, and professors are very attentive to possible plagiarism. So, if you don't have that paper done on time, it's a better idea to just tell your professor and ask for an extension than to steal one. When it comes to cheating at Chatham, just don't do it.