Legal Question in Constitutional Law in New Jersey

Re: campus security searching dorm rooms

The answer depends on where you go to school. Private universities have greater leeway in matters like this, because the Constitution is mostly a limitation on what the government can do and not a grant of rights which must be respected by everyone. Limitations on the power of the government apply to public colleges and universities because the government owns them.

If you attend a public university and live in a university-owned dorm, then the campus authorities have to respect the same rights as police dealing with ordinary citizens in their own homes.

If you attend a private university, the rules are most likely part of an agreement you signed or part of some disclosure document you received before enrolling. Your housing contract and/or another agreement you have entered with the school will probably describe the circumstances under which your room can be entered and searched.