diff --git a/campus/__init__.py b/campus/__init__.py
deleted file mode 100644
index d48fab68..00000000
--- a/campus/__init__.py
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,20 +0,0 @@
-"""campus
-
-Campus namespace package - contains all Campus ecosystem modules.
-
-This package serves as a unified namespace for all Campus services:
-- campus.auth: Authentication and authorization service
-- campus.api: Main API endpoints
-- campus.audit: Audit and tracing service
-- campus.common: Shared utilities and schemas
-- campus.model: Data models
-- campus.storage: Storage abstraction layer
-
-Note: This is a namespace package using pkgutil.extend_path().
-Submodules are not imported here to avoid circular dependencies.
-They are discovered dynamically at runtime and should be explicitly
-imported when needed (e.g., "from campus.auth import resources").
-"""
-
-# Namespace package marker - allows extending with campus-python package
-__path__ = __import__('pkgutil').extend_path(__path__, __name__)
diff --git a/campus/yapper/backends/__init__.py b/campus/yapper/backends/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cb6da04e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/campus/yapper/backends/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+"""campus.yapper.backends
+
+Storage backends for yapper event databases (SQLite and PostgreSQL).
+"""
diff --git a/docs/PACKAGING.md b/docs/PACKAGING.md
index 3edf78b8..1d8c0175 100644
--- a/docs/PACKAGING.md
+++ b/docs/PACKAGING.md
@@ -46,6 +46,38 @@ yapper → (nothing — self-contained)
   database URI arrives via argument, provider callable, or environment
   ([yapper.md](yapper.md))
 
+## Namespace Package Rules (PEP 420)
+
+The `campus` import namespace is a **native namespace package**: no
+distribution ships a `campus/__init__.py`. Python merges every `campus/`
+directory found on `sys.path` into one virtual package, so each
+distribution owns its own subtree and consumers import one flat namespace:
+
+- `campus-suite` ships `campus/auth/`, `campus/api/`, `campus/model/`, ...
+- `campus-common` (planned, #970 phase 3) will ship `campus/common/`
+
+Rules:
+
+- Never add `campus/__init__.py` to any distribution. One stale regular
+  package shadows every other dist's portions **silently** — imports
+  resolve from the wrong place with no error at install time.
+- Each distribution's own subpackages (`campus/common/`, `campus/auth/`,
+  ...) remain regular packages with their own `__init__.py`; only the
+  shared ancestor level is init-less.
+- After `poetry build`, audit the wheels:
+
+  ```bash
+  python scripts/audit_wheel_namespace.py
+  ```
+
+- When upgrading environments across this conversion, rebuild venvs
+  instead of layering installs: leftover `campus/` directories or
+  `__pycache__`-only portion dirs from older installs keep serving stale
+  imports under the merged namespace.
+
+The `campus_python` client library uses a separate top-level namespace and
+is unaffected by these rules.
+
 ## Installation
 
 ### For Production Use
diff --git a/scripts/audit_wheel_namespace.py b/scripts/audit_wheel_namespace.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..84abef4e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/audit_wheel_namespace.py
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Audit built wheels: verify they ship init-less PEP 420 namespace portions.
+
+`campus` is a native namespace package (PEP 420): every distribution that
+contributes subpackages under `campus/` MUST NOT ship `campus/__init__.py`.
+A single stale init file silently shadows the namespace - whichever dist
+ships it wins, and every other dist's submodules stop importing, with no
+error at install time. This audit turns that failure mode into a build-time
+exit code.
+
+Checks per wheel:
+1. No `campus/__init__.py` (the shared ancestor level must stay init-less).
+2. Every subdirectory of `campus/` containing .py files ships an
+   `__init__.py` (each dist's own subpackages stay regular packages).
+3. The wheel ships something under `campus/` at all (catches a `packages`
+   include that drifted empty).
+
+Usage:
+    python scripts/audit_wheel_namespace.py               # audit dist/*.whl
+    python scripts/audit_wheel_namespace.py dist/foo.whl  # audit specific wheels
+
+Exit code 0 when all wheels pass; 1 on any violation or missing wheels.
+"""
+
+import sys
+import zipfile
+from pathlib import Path
+
+NAMESPACE = "campus"
+
+
+def audit_wheel(wheel: Path) -> list[str]:
+    """Return a list of namespace violations for one built wheel."""
+    with zipfile.ZipFile(wheel) as archive:
+        names = set(archive.namelist())
+
+    problems: list[str] = []
+
+    top_init = f"{NAMESPACE}/__init__.py"
+    if top_init in names:
+        problems.append(f"{wheel.name}: ships {top_init} - a regular package here shadows all other dists' portions")
+
+    # Subpackage dirs shipped by this dist must remain regular packages;
+    # only the shared ancestor level is allowed to be init-less.
+    py_dirs = {n.rsplit("/", 1)[0] for n in names if n.endswith(".py") and "/" in n}
+    shipped = {d for d in py_dirs if d.startswith(f"{NAMESPACE}/") and d != NAMESPACE}
+    for directory in sorted(shipped):
+        if f"{directory}/__init__.py" not in names:
+            problems.append(f"{wheel.name}: {directory}/ ships .py files without __init__.py")
+
+    if not shipped and not any(n.startswith(f"{NAMESPACE}/") for n in names):
+        problems.append(f"{wheel.name}: ships nothing under {NAMESPACE}/ - packages include is misconfigured")
+
+    return problems
+
+
+def main(argv: list[str]) -> int:
+    wheels = [Path(a) for a in argv[1:]] or sorted(Path("dist").glob("*.whl"))
+    if not wheels:
+        print("no wheels found: run `poetry build` first (or pass paths explicitly)", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+
+    failures = 0
+    for wheel in wheels:
+        problems = audit_wheel(wheel)
+        if problems:
+            failures += len(problems)
+            for problem in problems:
+                print(f"FAIL {problem}")
+        else:
+            print(f"OK   {wheel.name}: init-less {NAMESPACE}/ portion, subpackages intact")
+
+    if failures:
+        print(f"\n{failures} namespace violation(s) across {len(wheels)} wheel(s)", file=sys.stderr)
+        return 1
+    return 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    raise SystemExit(main(sys.argv))