Resident Assistants are a visible and large part of the Fairfield community, present from the very first day freshmen move into their dorms. However, due to a new Residence Life policy, some RAs may be less active next year.
Starting at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year, RAs will no longer be allowed to hold major positions in several Fairfield organizations – specifically president and vice president of either FUSA or IRHA, Editor-in-Chief of The Mirror, and the presidential position in any “large organization” on campus. Students who are RAs will also not permitted to participate in Orientation Board.
The new policy is based on the idea that if RAs are involved in too many activities, they may neglect their primary concerns: their residents.
According to Karen Donaghue, associate director of Residence Life who oversees all RA initiatives, if RAs hold these positions, there will often exist “a conflict of interest and time.”
RAs are still permitted to be involved in these organizations, however they must not hold certain stipulated high positions on campus.
“We would never say they could not be members of these organizations,” said Donaghue, “but we’ve found if they hold these high leadership positions, they don’t always do as good of a job being an RA.”
As a result, Residence Life decided to “ask every RA to choose the RA position or a presidency role in a larger organization,” according to Donaghue.
In addition to the time-constraint reasoning, the new rule is aligned with the school’s Strategic Plan, which calls for an increased amount of leaders on campus.
“We want to increase the amount of leaders on Fairfield campus,” said Donaghue, noting that RAs often hold other leadership positions throughout the University.
RAs have consistently held high positions in other Fairfield organizations, serving as presidents of clubs and organizations, as well as being high-ranking members of The Mirror editorial staff.
Although the new policy still permits RAs to be members of organizations and attain high leadership positions other than those stipulated, some RAs said they still disagree with the rule.
Michelle Gingras ’08, who has been an RA for three years, said such a broad approach to all RAs is unfair to those who can handle more than one responsibility.
“I think the rule should be individualized for the RA,” Gingras said. She added that through bi-weekly individual meetings with an area coordinator, Residence Life is already able to discern whether an RA has taken on too much responsibility. It is from there, and not a broad rule, that Gingras said decisions about roles in other organizations should be made.
“I think from those meetings the supervisor and the RA should have an agreement about how the RA is balancing everything, and decisions should be made from there,” she said.
Marc Hansel ’08, who was an RA during his sophomore and junior years, agreed with Gingras.
“It is a shame because RAs are supposed to be prominent leaders on campus, which means being involved in other things than just Residence Life,” Hansel said. “Putting this restraint on the position [may lead] to a candidate pool that is less qualified than usual. It is watering down the position.”
Mike Stahl ’10, vice president of the Inter-Residential Housing Association [IRHA] echoed the sentiment in a Feb. 28 letter to the editor.
“I understand that the goal is to make sure that each RA is able to give the appropriate attention to his or her residents; however, I feel like this is not a problem with every RA,” he said.
Like Gingras, Stahl said cases like these should be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Incoming FUSA President Jeffrey Seiser ’10, who is currently an RA, has said that he needs to investigate the issue more closely before taking a position. However, he does see problems with attempting to be both an RA and president of FUSA.
While the new rule would theoretically kick them out of office, both Sesier and his Vice President Emily Dragone ’10, who is also an RA, are willingly choosing to leave their RA positions at the end of this year.
“[Because of the new rule] I couldn’t be FUSA president and be an RA,” Seiser said. “I wouldn’t have done it anyway because the job of FUSA president is so demanding.”
According to Seiser, Dragone is also electing to leave her position.
However, Seiser said he recognizes this is an issue that deserves closer study and attention.
“I recognize it’s an issue that’s facing the students. As FUSA [president], I need to study it, see why it’s in place and then see the students’ views on it, and go from there,” he said.
Donaghue also said she recognizes that this choice between being an RA or head of an organization is an issue for many students and said that the rule “is not strictly black and white.”
“Any RAs who wish to talk to us should, we’re willing work with them,” she said.
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