The students say the policies creates safety concerns and are unreasonable.
For two hours last night, WVU students sat in the common areas of nearly every dorm on campus hoping to convince the school to change its visitor policy.
Students also signed a petition asking for changes. Currently, WVU does not allow guests of the opposite sex to stay overnight.
The students disbanded at 11:59 p.m., one minute before opposite sex guests are required to leave.
Justin Griffiths is a theater major and president of the Residence Hall Association.
He spoke to West Virginia Public Broadcasting on his cell phone between classes.
"Not only can you not sign in a significant other, you can’t sign in people who you might want to be studying with," he said.
"Also, there’s a security risk. You don’t know who is in your hall because of the loopholes," he said, "you can bring someone in before 9, they don’t have to sign them in, so you don’t know who’s in your hall actually."
WVU Housing Director Corey Farris says he supports the student “sit-in,” but wants to make sure all sides get their voices heard before any changes are made.
"One of the things that we are always concerned about is that shy student who’s not comfortable with the boyfriend or girlfriend in the room when they need to change clothes or get ready for school in the morning, and they don’t want to get ready with someone of opposite sex in the room," he said.
Farris says the university is taking its own steps to examine possible changes to the rules.
"In Pierpont, which is mostly upper-class students, we’re experimenting to see if we change that policy and say you are permitted to sign in an overnight guest," he said.
"The current policy every place else is the guest has to be the same sex. In Pierpont, we’re saying it doesn’t matter what gender they are, they can spend the night," he said, "in that trial area, that's an apartment style set-up, that allows the student who is uncomfortable to take two or three steps and they will be in some other private area."
Marshall University has a restricted visitation policy for one of their dorms, which is a female-only residence.
Visitation is permitted at any time for all guests, regardless of gender, at the school’s other dormitories.
But roommates or suitemates must consent to an overnight guest staying in the room.
Shepherd University also allows guests of the opposite-sex to stay overnight.