Grinnell College
- Campus Strictness

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Thanks to Grinnell’s policy of self-governance, campus strictness is quite possibly among the most lenient of any college in the country. The concept is that students are responsible for monitoring their own behavior and that of their fellow students. If you turn your music up too loud at 1 a.m. on a school night and you hear a knock on the door, you’re more likely to find your neighbor than a security guard. Self-governance was founded on the principle that only behavior that endangers other students is worthy of intervention by any outside force, and students and faculty alike adhere to this.

Unfortunately, this policy may not be around forever. Occasionally, there are suggestions to have the policy made official in order to save it from being eliminated. So far, though, no one has taken much action. Another factor that contributes to the reigning benevolent anarchy on campus is the fact that rather than paid resident advisers, Grinnell has volunteer student advisers living on each floor. Since the SAs aren’t paid, they don’t feel overly obligated to report every unlawful incident that happens on their floor. In fact, SAs often drink and smoke right along with their first-years.

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Campus Strictness at Grinnell College

marya1351

French Language and Literature '15

5.0

A+

Awesome!!

Grinnell operates under self-governance, which basically means that you take care of your own life without the school's interference. The police officers are some of the nicest, friendliest people I know. If you are drunk out of your mind, they'll make sure you get home safe instead of getting you fined/arrested. The campus is very easygoing so there is plenty of drinking and drug use, but students rarely get in trouble for it.

Nov 16, 2011

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Campus Strictness at Grinnell College

Ezk1993

Political Science and Government '15

4.2

A-

Self-Gov Is Love

Grinnell uses Self-Governance as its main "rules." This means that the administration gives very few rules, in fact the biggest rules are do not touch the train (which goes right through campus) and academic honesty. This can often lead to the assumption that Grinnell has no order/no rules. This though is somewhat accurate, but at the same time through Self-Gov, Grinnellians live to keep themselves and others safe.

Oct 18, 2011

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Campus Strictness at Grinnell College

scarletandblack

History '12

4.6

A

Strictness

Unless your being a complete idiot doing something really bad, you won't have to worry about getting into big trouble. Campus Security def won't get you in trouble and the police are overall pretty nice when it comes to college kids.

Jun 15, 2011

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