Students at Florida universities are increasingly being subjected to the rules their parents had to follow in the days of chaperones and bed checks.
Campus curfews, dormitory restrictions, dress codes and dating policies that generally were dropped during the 1960s and 1970s are being reimposed by school officials who say they are concerned about morality, security and safety.
Florida A&M; University in Tallahassee, for instance, slapped a midnight-to-6 a.m. curfew beginning on Nov. 9 on a section of the campus.
At the University of Florida in Gainesville, a new regulation will bar students and instructors from dating each other.
And women at the University of South Florida in Tampa are prohibited from entertaining guests in their rooms after 2 a.m. on weekdays.
Penalties range from fines to dismissal.
"A lot of students are complaining because they feel (a curfew) is the first step toward telling them what they can and cannot do," said Johnnie Mae Bush, a FAMU senior. "When students leave home, they feel they should be able to do and not do what they want."
In an editorial titled Romper Room, the FAMU student newspaper opined: "Enough is enough. There are rules in everyday life, but no one tells adults when to go home. If the administration wants to treat us like children, maybe they should build a playground."
Representatives from the university's student government plan to meet with administrators today to try to negotiate a partial easing of the curfew.
"We're certainly willing to have an open mind and to consider whatever proposals they come forth with, but I can say the curfew will in all likelihood remain," said Henry Kirby, FAMU's associate general counsel. "That is a permanent policy to protect the health, safety, welfare and morals of the university."
Previous protests against school rules generally have been fruitless, especially at private universities in Florida -- most of which never joined the move during the last two decades away from such restrictions.
At Clearwater Christian College in Clearwater, for example, women unsuccessfully requested changes in the code that requires them to wear dresses and prohibits men from donning jeans or shirts without collars. Clearwater Christian also bans drinking, smoking and going to the movies and has a 10:30 p.m. curfew enforced by full-time resident assistants. Lights must be out by midnight.
"We have an overall concept of what is a traditional dress standard and a traditional standard of conduct," said Walter Grubbs, dean of students at the predominantly Protestant school.
Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach briefly allowed its students to have guests in their dorm rooms but has returned to a policy restricting visitors to public areas such as study rooms -- and only until 11 p.m. -- despite a petition drive by students.
"There was a little period of experimentation with dormitory visitation during the time that was happening around the rest of the country, but we became concerned about the safety of our young women students," said Clarence Childs, the college's vice president for student affairs.
FAMU administrators also once agreed to allow dormitory visits between the sexes for upperclassmen, but it turned out to be too difficult to control, and such activities continue to be banned there.
"Our parents support the visitation policy, and most of our students support it," Kirby said.
Palm Beach Atlantic College in West Palm Beach prohibits dormitory visits between the sexes and has an 11:30 p.m. curfew. Students under 20 are required to live in dormitories.
At Florida Southern College in Lakeland, some male students attempted to register with hair longer than the school allows, and they were barred from classes until they visited the barber.
"We expect our students to show an appearance that's neat and clean and in good taste," Dean of Students Hugh Moran said. He declined to be specific.
But most students accept the regulations. At FAMU, the student government even has expanded them by imposing a dress code on itself in October that requires men to wear ties and women to wear skirts no shorter than knee length during meetings.
"I had mixed feelings about it in the beginning," said Elise Durham, a senior senator. "But what it has done is make us appear more businesslike as well as act more businesslike. When we go out into the professional world, there is a dress code that must be abided by daily."
Students at USF, the state's second-largest university, also appear to be content with the school's restrictions on guests in women's dormitories.
"As far as I know, this isn't a big issue," said Darbi James, student government president. "The fact is that we're living in an area with a very high crime rate, rapes, killing, stealing. Women are, I think, by and large happier with a little more safety."
Many universities now ban alcohol, even for people who are of legal drinking age. Students caught with alcohol on the Bethune-Cookman campus, for example, have to pay a $100 fine. At FAMU, which also is "dry," the penalty in most cases is instant dismissal. Stetson University in Deland and the College of Boca Raton both prohibit alcohol. And Palm Beach Atlantic forbids not only drinking but also smoking and gambling on campus.
But some schools have consciously refused to shorten the leash on their students.
Florida Atlantic and Florida International Universities, in Boca Raton and Dade County respectively, and the University of Miami so far have resisted the trend toward harsher regulations.
Despite concerns about security in its urban St. Petersburg setting, Eckerd College has no plans to restrict dormitory visitation or other activities, said Mark Smith, dean of students.
"Despite all trends nationally -- and that's a heavy, heavy trend this year -- we're simply strengthening our security," Smith said. "We really don't want to introduce changes that would be negative in terms of student morale."
THE RULES
Some of the rules at Florida's colleges and universities:
-- At Florida A&M; University in Tallahassee, a midnight-to-6 a.m. curfew was imposed this month on one part of the campus. The student senate last month passed a dress code for itself.
-- At the University of Florida in Gainesville, a new regulation will bar students and instructors from dating each other.
-- At Clearwater Christian College in Clearwater, students are not allowed to drink, smoke or attend movies. Men are not allowed to dress in T-shirts or jeans and women must wear dresses. There is a 10:30 p.m. curfew and lights in the dorms are switched off at midnight.
-- At Palm Beach Atlantic College in West Palm Beach and Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach, visitors are not allowed in dormitories.