Kenan Residence Hall sees students using faulty recontracting to help secure rooms

To nab a spot in one of the most coveted residence halls on campus, some students have found a way to beat the system.

Rick Bradley, assistant director of assignments and communication in the housing department, said students have been going door to door in the all-female Kenan Residence Hall, trying to convince current residents to pass down rooms to them for next year.

The process begins when a current resident signs up to live in the same room for the next year, listing a new resident as her roommate. Then the current resident cancels and the new resident adds her roommate to the contract, leaving the room in the name of the new occupants.

There have been anecdotal accounts of this happening in the past, Bradley said, but incidents have increased this year.

Some Kenan residents said resident advisers have sent emails warning them not to participate, saying it’s against the Honor Code or a violation of housing policies.

“I have had a couple students email us and say they are sorry and they didn’t know it was against the rules,” Bradley said.

But Student Attorney General Jon McCay said the Honor Code doesn’t forbid the practice.

If the housing department reports a student to the Honor Court, though, the offense could fall under “furnishing misleading information to University personnel,” he said.

Since the issue lies outside academics, protocol is flexible, McCay said. Punishment could range from probation to suspension, depending on evidence and how the University decides to handle the issue.

Larry Hicks, director of Housing and Residential Education, said residents who have already recontracted but intend to pass the room down can withdraw with no penalty. The new residents must enter the housing system like every other student, he said.

“We are trying to reset it back so that their advantages are no more or less than any other student,” Hicks said.

If students do not come forward, housing has no way of knowing if some students are legitimately breaking their housing contracts or trying to cheat the system, Bradley said.

“Without specifics, we can’t really do anything,” he said.

But officials are being more vigilant with monitoring contracts, Hicks said, looking for suspicious patterns, such as many students breaking contracts.

Amy Bell, a sophomore Kenan resident, said she has been approached three times by students asking her to recontract.

“I feel like it is rude for them to just come knocking on doors.”

Senior Tracie Holt said she has wanted to live in Kenan for three years, but this was the first year she was able to do so.

“I don’t think they should be punished, but I think it is a little messed up that people are trying to cheat the system.”

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