Being Part of a Neighborhood

You will find that living off-campus is a very different kind of experience from living in a University residence hall. Unlike the residence halls, the neighborhoods surrounding Brown are full of people whose lifestyles, schedules, and living arrangements may vary greatly from yours. This encounter with diversity can be enjoyable if you adapt your lifestyle to the community you have entered and adjust to its priorities. For example, just as you would not appreciate your neighbors making excessive noise while you study for exams, they will not appreciate your making excessive noise while living in the neighborhood.

As a Brown University student, you are governed by the Brown University Standards of Student Conduct. Students have been placed under disciplinary sanction resulting from their wrongful conduct while in their off-campus housing. Engaging in disruptive behavior is the violation students are most commonly charged with in off-campus housing; for example, hosting loud and overcrowded parties.

Your interactions with your neighbors should be guided by the Principles of the Brown University Community, which state, “The University expects that students will not indulge in behavior that endangers their own sustained effectiveness or that has serious ramifications for the safety, welfare, and academic well-being of themselves and others.”

Good communication between you and your neighbors will be the best tool for preventing conflicts. The key is mutual respect and cooperation.