Recently, changes were made to the school's policy on Inter-Room Visiting. The new rule is that when a student from within your own dorm is in your room, "the door must be propped open with a Hotchkiss-issued trash can and the overhead light on". Additionally, students from other dorms, regardless of the category of the dorms (boys, girls or gender-free), must request faculty permission to enter a students room. The purpose of this petition is to instigate a thoughtful discussion within the administration on the practicality of these new rules and how they conflict with a student's sense of privacy. Many feel like these new rules are removing students of their ability to socialize among friends, something that is crucial for a high school student. In addition, those students with singles will feel especially isolated, as people in doubles and triples will have built in privacy with their roommates/friends. The point of these new rules is clearly to promote and enforce safer guidelines for the school. However, stripping a student of their right to share private moments or just to hang out with their peers, who in this environment feel more like our brothers or sisters, is not an effective way to do this. This was not the sense of community or "family" that many students felt connected to during their visits, re-visit days and during their ultimate decision to come to the school. We hope this petition will open discussion on why these new rules are not a valuable addition to our community.