<p>3cats, if I was the mother I would have supported the woman also. There is difference between 3 adults (2 roommates and a “lover” for lack of better word) working on compromise as a first line of action before escalating. There is even a difference between 2 adult roommates one of whom wants their adult parent to “stay with them” for extending periods of time as they are all adults having a conversation. But 2 roommates and a small child family member…significant difference. As weird as it is it feels no different to me in my opinion than a student who has their family pet “come for visits or extended visits.” Neither the pet nor the small child are able to solely care for themselves. Both have liability issues. One could even say you could maybe leave a dog alone in the room for a short period of time, but you sure can’t leave a 4 year old alone in the room for any time (what was this student going to do when she had to go to classes – although NYU does have childcare so perhaps she was “hooked” into that). I am “glad” that the mother has not been exposed in all of this as the entire situation is bizarrely fascinating to say the least.</p>
<p>CuriousJane, under the guest policy the child could be present in the dorm room daily if the mother had wanted, such as every day after nursery school. In that case, some of these baby items I mentioned might indeed show up in the room. A university policy that would allow a young child to be there every day needs to be tweaked. This time it’s a 4 year old, but next year it could be an infant or 2 year old.</p>