RAs to get more duties, pay by Miriam Gottfried Assistant News Residential advisors (RAs) for the 2002-2003 school year will meet a changed set of policies, including an increase in duty requirements, a possible salary raise, and a proposed housing waiver to replace the biweekly check that RAs currently receive. On every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night this year, one RA is “on duty”—on call—in each residence hall. The RAs in each residence hall rotate the position to divide the responsibility and time commitment. Next year, one RA will be on duty every night of the week. Since each residence hall houses a different number of RAs, they will all share the “on duty” responsibility. On a given night, for instance, there might be no RAs on duty who live in Butterfield A, which has fewer RAs than anywhere else. However, Butterfield A residents would be able to reach the RA on duty in another residence hall. “This creates more structure around the RA position, which can be difficult to get used to, but once it gets implemented, I think the RAs and residents will find it works really well,” said Jeff Ederer, director of Residential Life (ResLife). “We don’t anticipate that it’s going to mean more responsibility for RAs, rather that it’s going to provide a higher level of reliability to students,” he said. Benjamin Block ’04, an RA in Nicolson Hall, wondered whether ResLife would actually achieve their desired effect. “I can understand why ResLife wants to increase the number of days for security and safety reasons, but I don’t know how much of a difference it’s going to make because most people are in on the additional nights anyway,” Block said. Block added that the higher number of required hours might also make it difficult for people who have night rehearsals, meetings, or sports practices to hold a position as an RA. He speculated on the University’s motives for change. “I think it’s a school push for its own concerns as well as general concerns for the students. It may be an insurance issue for the school,” Block said. Bridget Palardy ’05, a prospective RA, said that the changes won’t deter her from applying. “It will probably be annoying to have to stay in more often, but it still won’t keep me from trying to be an RA,” she said. Ederer also hoped to implement a higher salary for RAs. The current RA salary of $3,500 per semester only pays for a portion of the cost of a room. Ederer intended to raise it to $4,150, which would cover the entire cost of living in the residence hall. Four years ago, ResLife agreed to increase the RA stipend each year so that after four years, it would be sufficient to cover the cost of a room. Due to some oversight on calculating the effects of inflation, the stipend did not reach the desired amount this year, according to Ederer. This earlier commitment provides some incentive for next year’s change. Ederer clarified that the proposed salary hike was not a result of the increase in RA time commitment for next year. “The two are only connected in that they both should happen,” he said. Still, in the views of many prospective RAs, the raise lessens the impact of the increase in responsibility. “I don’t think being on duty two days a week would be that bad, and I think the pay increase would be nice,” said Katie Walsh ’05, who is contemplating becoming an RA. The real debate over RA stipends lies in the proposed change of payment from a biweekly check to a waiver that could be used to pay for University housing. “I don’t think it’s a good idea because they assume that people who do the job would get money back from their parents,” said Olubunmi Ogundadegbe ’04, an RA in the Butterfield C residence hall. “But as RAs if we are on financial aid or work study, we might depend on the money for our day to day expenses, and we might have to get another job to cover those. With the addition of more time on duty, having another job would be even more difficult.” Ederer and his colleagues said they are considering complaints such as those raised by Ogundadegbe to see if perhaps it would make more sense for them to stick to the previous system. Block also said that the change seemed unfair for people on financial aid. “It’s great they they’re raising the pay, especially with the increase in responsibility, but [a waiver] would create a problem for people on financial aid. They should stick with the paycheck or make it optional,” he said. Palardy also found flaws with the proposal’s effects on those in need of financial aid. “I don’t see what the point is. It’s the same amount of money either way, and I think having the cash would help people who need financial aid,” Palardy said. Ederer verified that the final decisions on the stipend increase and that the form of payment for RAs will be finalized by the time prospective RAs begin preparing to apply later this semester.

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