How to Be a Good Neighbor
Consider:
Introducing Yourself
Once you have finished unpacking, be sure to introduce yourself to your neighbors. If you feel comfortable, exchange contact information with your neighbor so you can contact each other if there are concerns.
Your Neighbors’ Lifestyle
Get to know your neighbors: what do they do for a living, what their schedules might be like, etc. Sometimes, you can remedy problems before they even start. For example, if they work nights, quiet mornings will be important to them. If they have young children, quiet evenings will be important to them. Similarly, give them information that will help them be more considerate of your lifestyle.
Showing Respect
Many of the neighbors have owned their homes for several decades and have a great investment in the community.
Offering a Helping Hand
Shovel snow, offer to carry your neighbors’ groceries, or get involved in the block or community association.
Keeping Up the Appearance of Your Property
Keep your property clean and clear of debris. Help keep the neighborhood clean by participating in clean ups.
Alerting Your Neighbor to Parties
If you are planning a party, be sure to give your neighbors plenty of warnings, letting them know when it is going to start and how long you expect it to last. Leave them a telephone number to contact you if they need to ask you to turn the music down.
Being Aware of Shared Walls
If you are in a row home or any structure where you and your neighbors share adjacent living spaces, consider your noise levels. Consider moving TVs and speakers away from partition walls.
Off-Campus Behavior & Community Standards
The Office of Community Standards collaborates closely with the Dean of Students to aid students in their transition to community living, including close work with surrounding communities to ensure neighborly living situations.
Sacred Heart University expects that students conduct themselves with honesty, integrity, civility, and citizenship both on and off campus. The University is committed to helping neighborhood residents, and students are expected to prevent and respond to disruptive incidents that may arise from student behavior in the local community.
As citizens in the neighborhood and leasers of property, students must act in a proactive manner to decrease the likelihood of seriously disruptive behavior in and around their homes by carefully choosing those who they live with and allow in their space. All Sacred Heart students are expected to abide by the University’s Code of Conduct. Students must clearly communicate expectations of roommates and guests and take steps when those expectations are not met to ensure the safety of our shared community.
Although we cannot control what you do off campus, and we are not liable for your behavior off campus, we do reserve the right to act if your behavior violates University policies and affects the campus community. Off-campus situations that may fall under the Code of Student Conduct include:
- Behavior that puts you or others at risk
- Actions that violate others' rights or disrupt the peace
- Anything that harms the University's educational mission
If the situation rises to this level, the Dean of Students and/or Office of Community Standards can issue an immediate interim suspension (from classes, campus, or both) while a formal hearing is being arranged.
Hearing Process
If the Dean of Students and/or Office of Community Standards receives a report about an off-campus disturbance, such as a house party, we reserve the right to charge the property occupants with a violation of the Code of Student Conduct. Reports may be submitted from a local police department or via the online incident reporting system. Students will meet with a hearing officer to discuss the alleged violation(s) and determine next steps. Most commonly, a charge of a nuisance violation is applied in this situation; this violation covers disturbances of the peace when living in an off-campus property.
For house parties or other large gatherings, all occupants of the property will be met with as a group when possible. Students will have the ability to discuss the incident and provide additional details to the hearing officer. A decision will then be made about outcomes, following the standard process outlined in the Student Handbook. For additional details on the process, consult the Code of Student Conduct.