Every student should have received a student handbook when they began school at Francis Marion University. However, most students probably did not read the entire handbook. This can cause some confusion around campus, and possibly fines and tickets to be given out. For all of those students that read the handbook cover to cover, you can skip this article. For the rest of you, here are a few rules that you may be breaking.

1. Residence Halls – These halls may be filled with all kinds of unapproved devices including coffee pots, hot plates, or George Forman grills. Candles and incense are also not allowed, as these are extremely hazardous materials, especially in female rooms with large amounts of hair products. Loud noises, including any loud verbal noise (anything out of your mouth), loud music (anything coming from your car), or large groups of people talking loud enough to make noise around any residential areas are also prohibited. If you must make noise, do so in a closed room off of campus.

2. Pedestrians – No matter how much you hate waiting for students to cross the street when you are late for class, there is nothing you can do about it. On campus, pedestrians have the right-of-way all the time whether they are in a marked crosswalk or not. Just remember, it’s better to be late for class than to have to fix your bumper.

3. Parking – Between the times of 2 a.m. and 6 a.m., parking lots east of the Fine Arts Center are off limits for any person that doesn’t have a resident parking decal or an Overnight Guest Visitation pass. So for any commuters that are into late night studying at a friend’s apartment, make sure you wrap it up by 2 a.m. or risk getting a $15 parking ticket. If you just cannot figure out that insane physics problem by 2, then put on your hiking boots and park in the UC parking lot. I’m sure it is much safer for commuter students to walk across campus at night than to park in a parking lot near any residential area [and run the risk of getting a fine.]

4. Smoking – Francis Marion University decided to become a smoke-free campus because it’s bad for you and me, so stop it. If you must smoke, go to a parking lot, where police officers can ticket you appropriately.

This has been a public service announcement.