Bags in the booths at A.J.’s, coats draped over couches in the Heritage Room, and mugs deserted in the library—these are the ways students try to mark their territory on campus. We also know it’s a perversion of the Honor Code.

These manipulative signals can be found across campus. Belongings left behind do not amount to an indefinite claim over all the study spaces on campus. 

These people deliberately choose to take advantage of their fellow students, and therefore they should face some consequences for their actions, like clearing off the table if the original owner hasn’t returned after a certain amount of time. Students must work together to address this pervasive problem on campus and establish a consensus on what to do about this issue. 

All incoming Hillsdale students must sign the Honor Code during freshman orientation. One of the clauses students pledge to follow requires them to be “respectful of the rights of others.” Hillsdale touts the self-government of the student. Yet, these selfish actions inevitably require draconian solutions to ensure harmony on campus unless students are willing to impose limits on themselves.

Ultimately, any solution requires student involvement by talking to people and informing them about the negative impact that these selfish acts have on campus culture. 

For one, it disincentivizes studying on campus. If no spots are available, people look elsewhere. For instance, when Hell Week rolls around and all the classrooms are taken, good luck finding a spot in the union or the library. Often the only choice is just to return back to your dorm and study there, which can make you less productive since you’ll want to hang out with your friends. 

Lack of study spots is especially a problem for off-campus students who have to walk or commute a greater distance than students living on campus. 

One solution is to open up more study spots. The college needlessly restricts students from using several spaces used sparingly, such as the dining hall, the Dow Hotel lobby, or the Searle Center. Opening these spaces for student use could alleviate some of the pinches on study spaces. Already, Metz Dining Service has begun to move in this direction by allowing students to use the dining hall nearly all day long during exam season. 

Possible solutions illustrate this point further. 

There’s always the subjective option just to move someone’s stuff after a reasonable amount of time. You could place the other person’s things aside and claim the spot as your own. 

Yet, this solution lacks consensus and authority. Ultimately, this will result in the same distorted interpretation of the Honor Code by arguing touching another person’s belongings and allegedly “steal” his or her study spot is an act of petty theft. 

Consensus and authority are the means to achieving a peaceful resolution. 

For example, the staff at AJ’s could post notes on all the tables telling students that they can keep their study spots as long as they’re in AJs or the bathroom. The note has the authority to change the popular interpretation of how long you can leave a table unattended, and there is now a clear limit. 

While a step in the right direction, this solution is not perfect because time can only be measured subjectively by the person that wants to claim the space. There is no ideal way to ensure fairness unless AJ’s hires a table watcher to ensure all people obey the limit. It is a temporary solution that works but is unlikely to be used. 

Of course, if the college felt like using a more high-tech option, it could use a QR code that, once scanned, could show whether a table is occupied or not and how much time is left until it expires. This solution eliminates the arbitrariness inherent in the other solutions because there is an objective measurement of who is in the right and who is in the wrong. 

Ultimately, The best solution is to impose limits on yourself and encourage others to follow. Move your things if you know you will be gone longer than 30 minutes. If someone else is not observing the rule, tell him or her that it is inconsiderate. Try to change culture one step at a time.

We must win the battle of ideas to make any meaningful change on campus. Speak up against those that abuse the Honor Code.