messy dorm police at work at ASU dorms. i guess the 4th amendment is also null and void at ASU too Original Article ResLife increases room inspections Staff asked to check for safety, health hazards by Kristi Eaton published on Wednesday, November 2, 2005 Students living in residence halls may be cleaning their rooms a little more often, thanks to a new safety inspection policy enacted by Residential Life this semester. The policy increases the number of room inspections performed by ResLife staff from one -- during winter break when residents are not living in the halls -- to three a year, including one each semester while students inhabit the halls, said ResLife Director Susan Mulligan. The fall inspections began Oct. 17 and last until Nov. 7. Two Residential Life staff members go through each room with a checklist of safety and sanitary hazards to look for, including the working condition of sprinklers and fire detectors, greasy countertops and overflowing garbage cans. "We are not looking for one bag of trash in the trash cans," she said. "We are concerned about sanitary conditions when people do not take out trash for weeks upon weeks." Mulligan said ResLife hopes the midsemester checks will help students understand and learn about safety hazards in the halls. "This is a completely proactive educational experience for students," she said. Any room found to be in violation of the rules "will receive a letter from [ResLife staff] and have an opportunity to correct the issue before a second inspection," she said. According to the policy, students have 48 hours to fix violations. If they don't correct the violation, students will be sent to behavior education meetings, where they will learn about health hazards and safety. Mulligan said students were given an e-mail notice regarding the inspections one week before they began. The policy overview states ResLife staff must knock on residents' doors at least once before entering the room. If students are not in the room, ResLife staff are permitted to announce themselves and enter to perform the inspection. Aerospace engineer Tyrone Minton did not receive any violation notices when his room was inspected by ResLife Tuesday. "They didn't really do anything," he said. "They didn't rummage or anything. They did look behind the couch, though." Minton said he didn't mind the extra inspections, but did not like the idea of people entering his room without him there. "It's our room," he said. "They shouldn't come in just for safety hazards. If we're not here, they should just leave a note for us to call them." Anthropology junior Lara Lloyd, who also received no violation notices, said she didn't care for the actual process. "It was kind of socially awkward," she said. "I didn't really know where to stand as they checked {the room]." Lloyd was present during the inspection, but said she would be OK with ResLife staff entering her room without her there. "[Maintenance staff] can come in at any point if we have a request for them," she said. Before starting the additional inspections, ResLife discussed the policy change with the ASU Legal Department, said Nancy Tribbensee, the associate vice president for Legal Affairs. "They're doing it for a good reason," she said. "If someone has unsanitary conditions, it can affect other residents." Tribbensee said students were given "reasonable notice" of the inspections. Although ResLife staff is not looking for drugs, alcohol or other banned substances during the searches, action will be taken if substances are found, Mulligan said. "Regular protocol for any alleged policy violation will be followed," she said. Reach the reporter at kristi.eaton@asu.edu.