What are your responsibilities as a HOEMie? Here’s what you need to know!
As a HOEMie, there are a few things we expect of you! In addition to what’s outlined in your HOEM Residence Agreement, we also expect HOEMies to abide by the HOEM Code. This code outlines what our key expectations are, as well as what will happen should you break the code. If you have any specific questions about what’s outlined in the HOEM Code, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at jarvis@hoem.ca and we’d be happy to clarify any pieces. Building a welcoming, supportive, and fulfilling community starts with you!
We expect all HOEMies to follow the code. Building a welcoming, supportive and fulfilling community is important to us, and we want all individuals who live at HOEM to contribute. We know that you know that you need to follow all bylaws and laws of the City, Province and Country, so we won’t bore you with that reminder. Please don’t break the code! If you do, expect to hear from us.
Kindness
Kindness is defined as, the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. Living at HOEM you’ll be treated with kindness by the building team, and we expect that you’ll also treat other HOEMies and the building the same way That includes accepting individuals for being who they are, taking care of yourself, reporting any maintenance issues when you notice them, and just smiling or saying “hi” when passing people in the halls.
Community
We know you’re here for school, but what’s also important is spending time connecting with friends and building relationships with those you’re going to spend your stay with (and hopefully get some lifelong friendships, too!). Community is important at HOEM, in fact, it’s the reason we designed the building like this. Spend time in the Neighbourhood lounges, take a break from studying to do a yoga class, or connect with like-minded creators in the maker space. We encourage you to engage with the community in whatever way you feel most comfortable. However, HOEM has zero tolerance for bullying so please be mindful of how you treat your fellow HOEMies. Studies show being part of your res community can help you do better in school. It’s also just more fun!
Wellness
As you can probably tell – wellness is important to us, and we want to give you all the tools to balance your hectic academic schedule – that might mean hitting the gym to join a fitness class or taking a time management workshop with fellow HOEMies. Your wellbeing is our top priority and should be yours too! Please do your best to take care of yourself and your fellow HOEMies. We’re here to support you so please reach out if you have any concerns and we’re more than happy to help.
Living with Suitemates
Learning to live with someone who is different from you is a valuable part of your HOEM experience. Housemates should arrange times to discuss one another’s needs and wants as suitemates soon after moving in together. It’s helpful to outline the things you’ve discussed and agreed on in writing so that you can refer back to it if things come up (and they will, no matter how prepared you are!). Most issues are easily resolved with a conversation – and that’s much easier when you’ve got your Suite Agreement to refer back to!
Remember that respectful communication is the key to an enjoyable living experience. Feel free to speak with any HOEM staff if you need pointers for raising concerns with your suitemates. Each and every HOEMie should have the opportunity to enjoy their space – both bedroom and suite without negatively impacting the enjoyment of their suitemates or other students in the Neighbourhood or building. So please keep this in mind when you decide what time to play your electric guitar!
Guests
All visitors are welcome at HOEM, they just need to sign in at the HOEM Services Desk. Please make sure your suitemates are okay with you having guests before you invite anyone over. In order to make sure that all HOEMies get to enjoy their space, we also ask that you have 3 guests maximum at a time. If there’s ever a situation when you need to have more than 3 guests at a time, just check with us one business day ahead of time.
Breaking the HOEM Code
If you do break the HOEM Code, you’ll hear from us, and it will generally follow this process depending on how serious your behaviour was:
You’ll be invited to participate in the process and provide information to the Neighbourhood Leader (NL) or other staff member that you’re connecting with. If you choose not to be involved in the process that’s okay too, it just means that a decision may be made based on the information available regarding the behaviour in question without your input.
In cases where there is risk to the health and/or safety of fellow HOEMies or yourself, you may be assigned a relocation, temporary eviction, or permanent eviction. These outcomes are used in the most serious of cases and would be given with approval of the General Manager, at your expense.
Appeal Process
At HOEM we think that having policies and procedures makes living here easier – but we totally understand that sometimes our HOEMies are faced with situations outside of their control, or you just want an opportunity to explain the situation to us. For that reason, we have an appeal process where HOEMies can provide documentation and additional information for review by management. Appeals can be submitted if there are concerns that the decision was:
a) Biased: the student has reason to believe that the reviewer(s) were not objective in their review;
b) Unfair: the severity of the resulting sanction is believed to be greater than the initial action(s);
c) Incomplete: there is additional information or documentation that can be provided to support the appeal.
The appeal form is available on the website at hoem.ca, and also can be downloaded on your HOEM Portal.
Appeals will be heard by the Appeals Review Committee on a monthly basis. The Appeals Committee will meet the first Tuesday of each month, and students will receive a response to their inquiry by the end of that week. Any appeal to a decision made by the Appeals Review Committee will be reviewed by the General Manager.
The Appeals Committee is chaired by the Director of Administration and is comprised of the the Assistant General Manager, Student Life Manager, and Student Experience Director.
Internal Behavioural Response Process
Incidents can come to the attention of HOEM staff in a variety of ways. Depending on the level of severity of the incident, it will dictate how the team responds to it. In responding to any incident, it is important for any HOEMies involved, as well as staff members to be mindful of timeliness. The process should not extend beyond the guidelines indicated below unless there is a substantive delay caused by the gathering of information. Every effort will be made by the HOEM team to ensure that HOEMies are informed of a decision in the timelines indicated below.
Low-level incidents
(such as damage, guest policy violations, as non-exhaustive examples):
the HOEMie who broke the HOEM Code will receive an email warning letter from the responding HOEM staff member within 3 business days of the incident, ccing the HOEMie’s RA, who will then have a follow up conversation with that student within 5 business days.
Mid-level incidents
(such as larger damages, harmful behaviour – intoxication, as non-exhaustive examples):
The HOEMie who broke the HOEM Code will receive an email from the responding HOEM staff member within 3 business days after the incident, requesting a meeting that must occur within 48 hours of the email being sent. Should a HOEMie not willingly schedule a meeting with the HOEM staff member within the 48 hours, key card and turnstile access will be revoked until a meeting is scheduled through the HOEM Services Desk. Should the student not show up for the scheduled meeting, a decision will be made and the HOEMie notified without their participation in the process. Communication of decisions related to the incident will be sent out by the HOEM staff member within 5 business days of meeting with the HOEMie.
High-level incidents
(such as harassment, violence, discrimination, as non-exhaustive examples):
The HOEMie who broke the HOEM Code will receive an email from the responding HOEM staff member within 24 hours after the incident, requesting a meeting that must occur within 24 hours of the email being sent Should a HOEMie not willingly schedule a meeting with the HOEM staff member within the 24 hours, key card and turnstile access will be revoked until a meeting is scheduled through the HOEM Services Desk. Should the student not show up for the scheduled meeting, a decision will be made and the HOEMie notified without their participation in the process. Communication of decisions related to the incident will be sent out by the HOEM staff member within 5 business days of meeting with the HOEMie. In high-level incidents, temporary measures may be put in place to ensure the safety and security of all HOEMies.
