Students fined $640 for painting rooms

Schelegle is one of several undergraduates who expressed confusion about the University's rules against students painting their dorm rooms, though administrators insist there has been no change in policy.

“We actually painted our room last year, too, but we weren’t fined at all because, responsibly, we painted it back at the end of the year,” said Brooke Peterson ’11, who has been Schelegle’s roommate since their sophomore year. “So when we painted our room at the beginning of this year, we thought the same thing would happen, but after a couple of weeks into the term, we learned about the change in policy.”

Schelegle said she had heard rumors that students would be fined for painting their rooms this year, and her RCA also sent an e-mail advising students about the change.

“But by then, classes had already started, so everyone was too busy, and we didn’t even have the paint to paint the room back,” Peterson explained.

Theodor Popov ’11, who had refrained from painting his room in the past in fear of violating University policy, finally painted his room this year after asking around and learning that painting rooms was acceptable in previous years.

“It was an undercover operation that resulted in us getting fined a huge amount of money for something we didn’t even know we were doing wrong,” Popov said. “It’s outrageous. We called several Housing people, but they didn’t seem to be able to do anything about it. There’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

He added, “I’m on financial aid, my roommates are on financial aid, and $640 is a huge amount of money to just charge to a student’s account without ever telling him anything.”

Deputy Director of Housing for Operations Melissa Plaskonos said this levying of fines did not indicate a change in the University’s housing policy.

“It has been the policy for years,” she said in an e-mail. The current housing policy states, “Students are not permitted to paint and/or spackle their own rooms. Students who choose to paint their own rooms are charged for repainting.”

“The policy is in place for a few reasons,” Plaskonos explained, “to ensure a safe, healthy environment for students … to preserve and protect the facilities in which students live and … to maintain equality for all students.”

“Painting affects other students, in nearby rooms, corridors, etc., especially those with sensitivities to paint fumes,” she added. “When students paint, they often paint things besides walls, such as furniture, window shades, molding, flooring and fire safety devices — leaving them inoperable.”

Still, several students said they thought the crackdown on room painting was indicative of a new policy — or, at least, more rigorous enforcement of the old policy — and many blamed the large fines on poor communication between the University and the student body.

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“There was some confusion because there are inconsistent reports about the policy,” Schelegle said. “When we first found out that we would be fined, my friend contacted her dean, and her dean then e-mailed the head of Housing. They said we wouldn’t be fined, so that kind of exchange was confusing because it was contrary to the actual policy … The University failed to make the nuances clear.”

Popov also expressed frustration with the University’s apparent lack of transparency regarding the painting policy.

“We had heard rumors [about fines for room painting] but I never thought it’d be possible knowing how Princeton works,” Popov said. “We get e-mails about every minor detail. I didn’t think it was possible they would do this the way they did.”

“If I’d known I was violating the policy,” he added, “I wouldn’t mind paying.”

Besides the lack of communication and the hefty fine, Schelegle voiced strong opposition to the policy and the restrictions it imposes on students.

“The major disagreement that I have with the policy is that the University highly recommends that you live on campus. In doing that, they should provide you with the same rights as living off campus,” Schelegle said. “I spend a lot of time in my room, and it’s nice to have somewhere that feels like my own place.”

“There’s no additional penalty for not painting it back,” Peterson noted. “So we won’t be buying paint at the end of the year.”