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Letters to the editor: R.A. Edition


The following letters are part of the large response to Wednesday's special report, "ASU department dominated by fear," which dealt with the work environment for Residential Life employees, specifically Resident Assistants.

Res. Life not so bad

I really wish I could've reached you before the RA story was written. I'm currently an RA, in my second semester, and haven't had any problems similar to the ones written in the article. I would've liked to give my perspective on Res. Life and being an RA. I really love my job. The pay isn't horrible (although more would always be better). And although I know there are problems higher up, in central office, none of them have yet to affect me. I do wonder why those RAs in Manzi were terminated though, without warning ... because from what I've heard Res. Life is pretty desperate for RAs and usually gives a couple of warnings for people to stick around. It must've been pretty bad if they were terminated suddenly. Anyway, it was a good piece I think -- a little wake up call to central office to take care of us.

-- Jessica Kentgen

education undergrad

RAs fill many roles

I loved the article you wrote. I worked for Res. Life as an RA from January 1997 to May 1999. I loved my experience. I am still close with lots of my residents, fellow RA staff and hall directors. We all agree that we were not treated with as much respect as we should have received from Res. Life. We were merely bodies filling a role to them. Funny how it seems that things have gotten worse over there. I am so glad that I did not have to be an RA who was judged on program numbers. That is not what it is all about. Being an RA is a job where you are a social leader, educator, best friend, therapist, parent, security guard, guidance counselor and academic adviser. You are not someone who should be judged on numbers. I hope your article makes things better for the RAs by shedding some light on the situation.

-- Thomas Cook

Many RAs love the job

After reading your story on the current state of Residential Life at ASU, I was a little put off for a number of reasons. First of all, the fact that the reason your two main interviewees would not divulge why they were fired totally discredits anything they had to say. I worked as an RA about two years ago, and though the policies may have changed somewhat, I know they don't fire their employees without good reason. While there are problems with the administration -- that is in fact why I left my position after a year-and-a-half -- it's a great opportunity for people who are willing to put in the work. I guarantee that had you searched a little harder you could have found plenty of former and current RAs who loved their jobs and managed to obey the rules. It is a tough job that is probably not worth what they pay you but if you're in it for the money, you're in it for the wrong reasons. Journalistic integrity includes showing both sides of the story, which you conveniently failed to do. Next time, before you put the state of a department that interacts with the majority of the incoming students in jeopardy, do your homework.

--Teri Bromberek

All hail Kevin Cook

Obviously, there exists only one logical conclusion to the horrifying liberties currently enjoyed by 5,700 residents. Residential Life must implement, for our safety, benefit and convenience, 24/7 video monitoring of all residence halls. Furthermore, because the privilege of modern plumbing is routinely abused, cameras must be installed in all restrooms. Don't forget the stalls. Personally, I'd like my mail to be steam-opened as well, so those things I shouldn't be seeing can't infiltrate my fragile mind. With next year's centralized mail facilities and outsourced corporate ownership, that shouldn't be too difficult, should it? I, for one, welcome our new -- well, old -- Residential Life overlords. All hail Kevin Cook!

-- Zach McKinney

political science sophomore

RAs with a voice

Not all RAs at ASU have had the same awful experience as The State Press reported in the "Special Report" on Wednesday. I'm a first-year RA, and have shared little in common with the blanket statements and "realities" of being an RA according to the report. The hall directors and coordinator in my hall definitely let us voice our opinion, and we rarely feel "scared" about saying something about bad policies, or being marginalized and underappreciated.

Cholla's RA supervisors are awesome; they really care about the hall, the residents AND the RAs. They listen to us, because we know what goes on and work around our schedules. I think the benefits are pretty decent, and even though it's stressful, it can be fun. I know that other halls are much different, but in my experience, being an RA isn't the worst job. It's better than working at Jack in the Box and living in your parents' basement. And no, Res. Life didn't brainwash or manipulate me into writing this letter.

-- Corinne Widmer

Cholla RA

Baby sitters and security

I commend you for your excellent story about the RA situation as of this year. As an undergraduate, I can tell you that tons of students living on campus can tell you more bad things about RAs than good. When all the RAs quit this spring, I applied and was probably rejected for thinking outside the box -- I guess you could say a blessing in disguise. I think that it is appalling that RAs are made to baby-sit and act like security officers in dorms, rather than mentors who give direction, resources and involve the student body. This reflects poorly on the Residential Life entity, which will find itself short of future RAs if something does not change. RAs need to be paid more and released from the position of patrol officer 24/7 because in doing this they are endangering themselves -- something that hasn't occurred to Hall Coordinators and Advisers.

I envision change when a lawsuit is filed against Res. Life by an RA who will be put into a threatening situation, and choose to protect him or herself instead of writing up someone for the sake of a job "responsibility." Thanks again for the article.

P.S. if this is published in the opinion section I request to remain anonymous because if not, I'd probably be written up by Res. Life just for having an opinion.

-- Anonymous

The following letters were submitted anonymously in print.

Potential RAs be warned

As an RA, I stayed awake 50 hours to make door tags, paid for out of my own pocket, for all the residents in my hall. The Hall Director is notorious for playing favorites among the RAs, and after contributing much of my time and effort, I was dismissed on accusations that were made by my prejudiced peers. As an RA, I trained over my break and committed to memory the full names and biographies of all my residents. Ridiculous! Claims followed to the extent that the accusations violated privacy acts, leaving me homeless and monetarily stranded.

Thrown out, I had 48 hours to vacate, and as an out-of-state student, they took away my life and dignity. Res. Life mooched me dry and threw me out as it has done to too many good people for minor mistakes without consolation or even a second chance. RA work is not an opportunity; it is serving a jail sentence for less than minimum wage without benefits. Potential RAs be warned: wednesday's article deserves a second look.

--Anonymous

Squeezing RAs dry

In the March 24 article, Noah Austin forgot to mention the four definitive pillars of Residential Life: Inconsistency, Inflexibility, Double Standards and Lack of Customer Service. The RA job takes a likening to the Jamba Juice on campus. They pick ripe, fresh oranges in the beginning of the semester, put them in the grinder, squeeze the juice out and throw the pulp away. Advice to new applicants: you have no clue what kind of hell you're getting yourself into.

-- Anonymous RA


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