On a college campus, the rules change when it comes to searching rooms for suspect materials, according to Michael Humiston, director of the Department of Public Safety. At Waynesburg University, security only needs to have ‘reasonable suspicion’ to commence a search of a dorm room, backpack or vehicle.

“We have to have reasonable suspicion to enter somebody’s room, and it doesn’t matter if they are there or not,” Humiston said. “Any time we do that, security has to have somebody with us. If it is in a female dorm, we certainly have to have a [Residence Director] or a [Residence Assistant] with us.”

Reasonable suspicion is a standard of proof that weighs less than probable cause. According to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University, the standard is based on the objective viewpoint of a reasonable officer.

When commencing a search, it is not required for security to have members of Residence Life with them to search an empty dorm room. However, Humiston said it is highly preferred, to avoid further complicating a problem.

“Sometimes [Residence Life] staff is not available, so we don’t want to get into a situation of ‘he said she said,’” Humiston said. “Our officer responded, searched, found narcotics and the individual wasn’t in the room at the time, [so they] say ‘that’s not mine, they must have put that there.’”

Outside of the dormitories, Humiston said the same search procedures apply to student’s vehicles as well.

“Somebody may have just gotten out of a vehicle from a ride over to Walmart,” Humiston said. “[We] notice there is a case of beer in the back floorboard of a vehicle…we go there, contact them and write them up for it because it’s on college property.”

If a student refuses to allow security to commence a search, Humiston said the local police department may be contacted.

“If they don’t allow us to [search], then we could contact the [Waynesburg Borough] police and tell them about our reasonable suspicion that a violation is being committed,” Humiston said, “whether it is a policy here or a procedure on campus.”

In the end, with safety being one of the biggest concerns, Humiston said searches follow suit of the university’s policies and are for the wellbeing of the students and staff.

“It’s up front and personal with every student here,” Humiston said. “Because at the end of the day, we want to make sure everybody is abiding by the policies and the procedures of the institution. We want to make sure everybody is safe.”