Download a PDF of the Principles of Our Equitable Community.
The Office of Residence Life is committed to the personal and intellectual growth of our students by promoting an environment of civility and respect within our residential community. We have joined with the entire University community to embrace The Principles of Our Equitable Community.
As members of this community, we recognize our collective responsibility to create and maintain a respectful environment and hold each other accountable for our behavior in the residence halls. We have adapted the original document to reflect the needs of our residence hall communities. Each hall discusses these principles and creates an agreement listing ways they as a community will uphold them.
Lehigh University is first and foremost an educational institution, committed to developing the future leaders of our changing global society. Every member of our community has a personal responsibility to acknowledge and practice the following basic principles:
- We affirm the inherent dignity in all of us, and we maintain an inclusive and equitable community. We promote mutual understanding among the members of our community. We take pride in building and maintaining a culture that is founded on these principles of unity and respect. We acknowledge each person’s obligation to the community of which we have chosen to be a part.
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We recognize and celebrate the richness contributed to our lives by our diverse community. We confront and reject discrimination in all its forms, including that based on age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economics, veteran status, or any differences that have been excuses for misunderstanding, dissension, or hatred.
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We affirm academic freedom within our community and uphold our commitment to the highest standards of respect, civility, courtesy, and sensitivity toward every individual.
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We recognize each person’s right to think and speak as dictated by personal belief and to respectfully disagree with or counter another’s point of view. We promote open expression of our individuality and our differences within the bounds of University policies.
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We agree to respect our residential community and the property of others. We agree to take responsibility for our own actions and behaviors, as well as those of our guests.
- We agree to... (more standards to be added by your community members).
By upholding these principles, we can establish and maintain a safe, enjoyable, and inclusive environment. As members of the Lehigh community, we recognize our individual responsibility to uphold these principles.
Principles of Our Equitable Community is an adaptation of the document created by Dr. Henry Odi and the Council for Equity and Community. This residential agreement was adapted to represent the needs of students living in our residence halls. It is signed by all residential students at Lehigh University.