Freshman Findings: Turn it down, noisy neighbors

Everyone appreciates a little peace and quiet. Even the loudest, most outgoing person can find value in those tranquil moments. Considering nighttime is mainly for sleeping, it’s fair to say that it is the time when quiet is most needed. College living deprives us of our privacy —  should it really prevent us from sleeping as well? As if sharing a living space with hundreds of other students isn’t frustrating in itself, adding noisy neighbors just increases the stress.
There are quiet hours for a reason. I personally don’t go to sleep until late in the night, so I can understand anyone who says that they like to stay up. However, is it necessary to force an entire hall to stay awake? No one wants to hear music blasting at midnight, and no one wants to hear singing and yelling when they are trying to sleep. The hallways are inside, not outside, so everyone can hear when there’s screaming and talking.
We have to be mindful of the fact that people live behind every door in the residence halls. If we all have to live together, we have to respect each other. It doesn’t take much to annoy me — if I hear someone talking outside my door at 3 a.m., I’ll be more focused on them and my anger rather than actually falling asleep. Many people share this with me; there are also light sleepers, and people awake trying to concentrate on that paper or test they have tomorrow. A lot of selfishness comes with being loud and making noise after quiet hours. I like music too, but if I blasted the stuff I listen to, I would hate to be my neighbors. We should all have a little consideration for others.
This issue of noisy neighbors could be easily solved if we all cared a bit more for each other. However, as this is unlikely, real action must be taken. Quiet hours are there to help occupants of a residence hall and should be enforced. If resident advisors hear running or screaming in the hall, or can hear people being obnoxious in their rooms, they should never hesitate to say something. According to The Source, the fee that must be paid for breaking the rules of quiet hours does not exceed $25. I’m sure, however, that if it did, people would be a lot quieter.
Quiet hours are from 11 p.m. – 9 a.m. on weekdays and 1 – 9 a.m. on weekends. This rule exists so people can do what they’re supposed to at night: sleep. No one needs to hear noise from our rooms or in the hallway, and we should be considerate enough to realize that. Since punishment serves as a deterrent, raising the fee for not adhering to the quiet hours may keep the residence halls quiet at night. If anyone out there doesn’t want to be labeled as annoying or selfish, they should just keep it down. We are all college students and, therefore, should be mature enough to realize the needs of people other than ourselves.
-Samantha Sawh
Freshman journalism major
Printed in the 11/20/13 edition.