My junior year in high school, the senior prank involved bribing the assistant principal to make a public announcement explaining that Officer Bales was to perform a walkthrough locker inspection. Aside from a shocking and immediate outbreak of stomachaches and forgotten textbooks, students accepted the news as routine and legal.

I am a product of public schools.

Never having been to a private institution before entering college, I knew I was in for a change, and while there seemed to be a few new policies, everything made sense. If you break the rules, you’ll get in trouble. Simple enough, right? It was. I had my good share of fun, but I stayed within the limitations and never had an issue. In fact, as a freshman, my experience with Residential Life was such a positive one that I applied to be a part of it.

Once I joined staff, however, I became aware of the overwhelming feeling of resentment residents held for Residential Life. Maybe it had to do with the alcohol policy changing, but seeing as I was equally affected by the said change, all I had to do was recount my own freshman experiences to understand exactly why Residential Life had made underage drinking illegal in the residence halls. However, when it came to search and seizure policies, my surprise came when I experienced a remarkable amount of hostility from residents whose rooms underwent inspection for illicit paraphernalia and who claimed their rights had been violated.

Newsflash, people: You go to a private university. When you signed the residence hall contract, maybe you missed the not-so-fine print stating that you agree to the terms and policies of Residential Life. Whether or not you read the policies is another issue, but either way, you signed the contract saying you’d abide by them.

The search and seizure policy, which is clearly listed under the Conditions of Housing section of the residence hall contract, states, “University officials and Residential Life staff reserve the right to enter the student’s room […] in situations in which there is reasonable cause to believe that university regulations are being violated. If the university authorities have reasonable cause to believe that the room is being used for a purpose which is illegal, immoral or which would otherwise seriously interfere with discipline, the student’s room and personal belongings may be searched by the university.”

Now, it shocks me that residents so adamantly resent the fact that Residential Life staff search the rooms of the Loyola students in question. Aside from the fact that Residential Life staff members only search student rooms if they have reasonable cause, they handle the matter privately instead of turning you over to the legal system. If Residential Life shows up at your door, it means that someone has smelled something he or she shouldn’t have. It could be that you are loud, and we’re merely knocking to tell you to tone it down a notch, but then we realize that there is a three-foot bong in the middle of the room. It happens. Most incidents that result in search and seizures are initially reported by none other than your fellow residents.

Residential Life is not out to get you, but if you break policy, and we find out, we are bound by contract to take the necessary steps to deal with the situation. University Police only get involved during cases of violence and medical emergencies. In the event of a drug bust, an assistant director of Residential life performs the search, and he or she delivers seized items to University Police. In a public school, there is no middleman, and police arrest students on the spot are found with illegal paraphernalia. When it comes down to it, Loyola actually protects students. Still have an issue with the search and seizure policy?

Let me call NOPD. I’m sure they’d love to have you for the night.

Anna Malley is an English writing senior from Kirkwood, Mo.