Unofficial gag order crowns Foraker king
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 25, 2002 9:00 p.m.
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Constructive criticism from resident assistants and other
lower-ranking Office of Residential Life employees is the most
reliable protection against an On Campus Housing monarchy that is
more interested in the bottom line than in student welfare ““
except when those employees are forced to work under an unofficial
gag order like the one banning RAs from being publicly critical of
university housing policy.
The gag order supposedly ensures that only “the most
knowledgeable and accountable person” speaks on behalf of
Housing ““ this decision has left King of the Hill Michael
Foraker, accountable to no one.
Offices with so little responsibility to their constituents grow
chronically ineffective and oppressive. Students are living in
quads, with two roommates and a pesky rodent ““ but RAs must
stay quiet. Residents are being forced from the environments
they’ve grown comfortable in to appease Housing’s
ruthless efforts to save money and space ““ yet resident
directors can’t voice their concerns. Remedies to these and
other problems would be easier found if the important, informed
opinions of RAs and RDs could be released in a public forum.
Instead, students are forced to live in sub-par conditions because
King Foraker is afraid of people disagreeing with his decisions or
revealing that he hasn’t been doing his job. But the most
important part of that job is responding to the concerns and needs
of the students paying his salary.
