Student files case against Office of Residential Life

 

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3, 2013

 

BY MARAM SHALABY

 

An AUC student filed a case against the Office of Residential Life because they entered her room to confiscate her cats in her absence, but after they notified her in an e-mail.

In a report sent to the Student Court, Leila Khalil, a resident in the on-campus dormitory wrote that she had been “dealt with in the most unethical way.”

Khalil kept five cats in her room for a month, thinking it was permitted as neither housekeepers nor housekeeping supervisors told her it was against rules and regulations, she said.

 

“I’m not the type of person to break the rules. I am the assistant coordinator of a program under the Gerhart Center, which trains its students on how to be proper leaders in their community; this shows that I am a model citizen and I value rules,” Khalil said.

After notifying Khalil that she should get rid of the pets and finding no response to their request, the Office of Residential Life entered her room and took the cats themselves.

“I understand that Khalil has a passion for cats and I am sympathizing with her but when a resident commits a violation to university policies or residential rules and regulations, I have to act upon it,” said Fatma Abou Youssef, associate dean of the Office of Residential Life.

According to the residential rules and regulations, “The Office of Residential Life, in the interest of the safety and welfare of student residents, reserves the right to enter a room for an emergency or routine inspection and confiscate items which are found to be in violation of residence and/or university rules and regulations (with or without student’s attendance).”

Khalil said that she had talked to people in different positions at the university including members of the Student Union and they all agreed that her case isn’t an “interest of the safety and welfare of student residents” as the kittens were in her room where no one else enters.

Abou Youssef explains that the most important concern they had was the hygiene. These cats might be carrying dangerous diseases and bite any resident and this would be her responsibility as she has an obligation to ensure all residents’ safety.

Also, Lamis Morsy, Residential Director, said that residents have complained about the cats’ smell and that this gives them enough reason to enter Khalil’s room especially that they tried calling her before doing so but she never answered.

However, Khalil wrote in the case statement she sent to the Student Court that no one had tried contacting her before entering her room and that by doing such action they had violated her rights as a student.

She added that the reason why she filed the case wasn’t because of the fact that the Office of Residential Life took the cats but rather because they entered her room without her being there, which is, in her opinion, “unacceptable.”

“Our only faulty action is that the housekeepers/ housekeeping heads informed us very late that there is a resident who kept pets in her room and I know that this made the girl get attached to the cats more but if we committed a wrong action, it doesn’t mean we should continue committing it and disregard the rules. It is a complicated matter indeed,” added Abou Youssef.

Khalil said that as soon as she knew that having pets were against the rules, she tried to find someone to take them but couldn’t find one right away.

The Office of Residential Life were keen to protect the kittens as per Khalil’s request and put them in a safe place till they figure out what they were going to do.

Lamis Morsy, residential director, said the initial plan consisted of putting the pets in a box because they thought they would not go out as “[they] were told they were kittens,” and then putting them in the residential reception.

“But after finding out they had grown and could get out easily, we spent three hours negotiating a solution that would please Khalil as she did not want them out in the cold nor exposed to other male or big cats,” said Morsy.

Morsy then added, “we agreed that putting them in a room on the [men’s dormitories’] side was the best option so we did not put them out in the cold as per her wish.”

Khalil said that the kittens were helpless, that they would not harm anyone and that her flat mates were fine with the pets’ presence.