Parietals are visitation policies for dormitories that restrict guests by gender and hours. At Notre Dame, parietals foster student development but also limit student privacy and autonomy. While parietals may increase dorm camaraderie and end parties at a set time, they hinder social growth and prevent students from making their own decisions as adults. An alternative proposed extending parietal hours, which 80% of students supported in a referendum. However, resident assistants argued that without parietals to relieve pressure, students would not develop as well.