ORL staff want their voices to be heard

By Rachel Makabi
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

When housing officials implemented their consolidation policy
late last quarter, residents and On Campus Housing Council members
fumed over the lack of student input in the decision.

But Office of Residential Life staff, including the resident
directors and assistants who dealt with aggravated students and had
to maintain a sense of community in the dorms, did not have the
right to speak out against housing officials when they
disagreed.

Consolidation required students living in rooms with vacancies
to upgrade their contract, move to a new room, or accept a new
roommate.

In unwritten but widely understood guidelines, ORL officials are
limiting what staff can say about policies.

There are no definitive consequences for staff members who speak
out, said ORL Director Alan Hanson, but the office will deal with
students on a case-by-case basis.

While officials say the guidelines prevent the dissemination of
inaccurate reports by allowing only “the most knowledgeable
and accountable person” to talk to the media, staff members
say the rules stifle their views.

“It’s silly that we can’t speak our
minds,” said one resident assistant who did not wish to
disclose her name.

Another RA, who also asked for anonymity, said the consolidation
policy “is just trying to maximize the amount of money
Housing is trying to make,” and that the guidelines
preventing him from speaking are “pretty lame.”

Officials implemented the guidelines a few years ago after
certain staffers spoke to the media without “sufficient
knowledge” on housing information, Hanson said.

“The result was inaccurate reporting and in some
instances, it has led to interdepartmental
misunderstandings,” Hanson said, adding that the staff can
talk to the media if they omit their official titles so that they
are not speaking on behalf of ORL.

Although staff cannot speak about housing policies, they can
discuss their specific experiences with the media, he
continued.

“They might have direct experience with a situation or two
on the floor, but they wouldn’t have knowledge of the overall
picture,” Hanson said, referring to the consolidation.

OCHC programming commissioner Dria Fearn, speaking to The Bruin
as a council representative, said discussing isolated incidents
doesn’t give the whole picture.

“Resident assistants are the best advocates for the
residents,” said Fearn, adding that RAs and RDs have
different roles from the housing administrators who speak for
them.