The dorm room is a home away from home for Penn State students preparing for the holidays, but decorating must be done under campus and national regulations.

Christina Hopkins (freshman-education) said she and roommate Lauren DeWitt (freshman-biology) have decorated their dorm room for other holidays this semester, and Christmas is no exception.

"We decorated because we really like Christmas and because the dorm rooms are really boring," Hopkins said.

Hopkins and DeWitt replaced their door nametags with personalized stockings, hoping their neighbors would leave some candy.

"We just wanted to be festive," Hopkins said. "We missed home."

Housing Director Sandy Harpster said fire safety is the main concern when students decorate their rooms.

According to Penn State Housing and Residence Life, fire hazards, including live trees, foam materials and candles, are prohibited.

Lights are allowed in all rooms, but housing encourages them to be used minimally, Harpster said.

Fire Protection Engineer Steve Triebold said students have been asked in the past to remove decorations that didn't comply with campus regulations and were deemed potentially hazardous.

"The safety of the students is the most important thing," Triebold said. "We're proactive when it comes to safety measures."

Fire safety regulations are enforced in all university buildings, and there have been no incidents involving decoration hazards this year.

Harpster said housing and residence life enforces the dorm regulations.

"We're in the buildings every day and, if we see any violations, we follow up with the student," Harpster said. "But we don't go door-to-door looking."

She said there have been dorm fires in the past during non-holiday seasons, meaning winter decorations were not the cause.

Harpster said that, regulations aside, hundreds of students have showcased their decorations this year.

"Some years are more popular than others," she said. "Some are more caught up in their work than decorating, but people do try to get into the spirit."

Nicole Bloom, a Pollock Halls resident assistant, said she has hosted door-decorating competitions in the past, but she hasn't gotten enough participation to continue it this year.

"Sophomore year my RA did it, and there was a pretty big turnout," Bloom said. "I remember having a lot of fun."

Abbey Sheetz (freshman-business) said she and roommate Lindsey Vida (freshman-division of undergraduate studies) decorate their room for all occasions, including television premieres.

Sheetz said they put up their Christmas décor "to make it warm, festive and bright." The pair lined their windows with old-fashioned, colorful lights and hung stockings.

"We love Christmas a little too much," Sheetz said.

Vida said the pair saw the dorm decorating regulations in the residence life newsletter Stall Stories and were a little disappointed that they couldn't have a tree.