OUR VIEW: Housing policy infantile, unfair

Recently, a TV was stolen from the common area of Snow Hall, a residence hall on the Utah State University campus.

If the TV doesn’t show up, residents will pay – all Snow Hall residents.

USU Housing Services has a policy that requires all the residents of a building to pay for damage or theft when the source can’t be determined.

Although the reasoning behind the policy is understandable, it simply isn’t fair to residents who haven’t done anything wrong.

Students who choose on-campus housing often do so because it is a convenient way to enjoy a community, make friends and focus on education.

But when students have to worry about being punished for things they had no control over, the convenience goes away, and campus housing becomes more of a burden than it’s worth.

Of course, Housing has to have a way to pay for things when irresponsible residents abuse the things residence hall life provides them, but there should be a better way.

One would think Housing could have an insurance policy to cover this sort of thing or some money set aside or something.

Threatening to punish the whole building unless the one guilty party turns himself or herself in is not effective. It’s the way to punish children, and it is not the way a fair, free society should operate.