When the University began to open Residence Halls and provide on campus living as an option for its students, the main goal was to provide as much housing as possible for as cheaply as possible.  As such, the Halls were built with efficiency in mind, rather than the students who would be living there.  As the Halls began to open, the University stepped into a new role- not only did it act as an educator now, but it also acted as a “parentis in locus” or parent to the students living in the Halls.  And as some parents do, the University instituted strict policies for the residents of the Halls.

Many of the students were not pleased with their new housing, and they were unafraid to express their opinions.  The Halls were described as “impersonal” and even as “student warehouses” where students were to be stored when they were not being taught.  Many students were also displeased with the University’s strict rules- they came to college expecting to be free and independent and were instead met with a different set of parents, in the form of University policy.  These negative opinions combined with growing enrollment lead to strong opinions, such as those belonging to student Steve Abbott who proclaimed in 1966 that “We should make our own rules”.

Over the next few years, many worked towards implementing changes that would give the students more and more freedom in the Halls.