For the second year in a row, Morrissey parietals have been changed from 2 a.m. to midnight as punishment for vandalism in the dorm.
Rector Father J. Steele sent dorm residents an email Wednesday citing "the intentional destruction of peg boards, the sounding of a false alarm and the damaging of a wheelchair" as his motivation for moving the parietals time. In addition, he castigated residents for not admitting to vandalism or urging those responsible to turn themselves in.
"There is a persistent notion that we should not rat on our friends," Steele wrote in the email. "We should cover for them and never make them take responsibility for their actions. This is the Honor Among Thieves ... However, it is the duty of real friends to encourage each other to become men rather than remain boys. This is a matter of True Honor."
Residents said they found the decision unwarranted and the email offensive.
"I just didn't think it was very fair of him to suggest that we had a code of thieves and to question our manhood, when the vast majority of us didn't even know this was going on," said sophomore Tom Johnson.
"It happened to us last year, but last year it had been a much bigger deal before [the parietals had been changed]," he said.
Freshman Andrew Sheedy also said he considered the decision to be "a tad overboard," and the email to be "really cheesy and overboard and just really stupid."
However other students, though still unhappy with the parietals change, said they understood Steele's motives.
"I don't know what would be better," said sophomore Mike Wittman. "I think some people realize that he cares about the dorm and he just is trying to protect the dorm."
Junior Brian Donnelly agreed that mixed opinions exist within the dorm.
"I think some people understand what's going on, and other people are upset by it," he said.
Steele did not return a message left by the Observer.
