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Letters to the Editor

Writer should not criticize the work of RAs without knowing what they do

I am writing this letter in response to the editorial printed in The Skiff Oct. 1, regarding the idea that “hall events could be better.” Being a second year RA myself, I took offense to their words. In addition to being a student and fellow resident in the hall community (which is a fact that often gets overlooked), RAs also have the considerable task of doing their job. The writers of that editorial assume that knowing our residents’ names, writing them up for seemingly inane violations and creating “poorly organized” programs is all we do. In reality, the job entails much more.

The writers would be interested to know that a lot of work actually goes into planning and implementing programs-meaning a large time commitment. Also, each month, the Head RAs vote for “program of the month” and “all-hall of the month”. These are not easy decisions-many great programs are occurring all over campus? Perhaps the writers should do a bit more research. RAs are taught to also look for the specific needs of our residents, and cater to those needs accordingly. I frequently ask my residents what programs they would like to see happen. I don’t want to plan things that they don’t want to attend. I find it hard to take criticism for our programs, mostly because these writers have probably never been RAs. They could do better to walk a little in our shoes before criticizing us on items that they have little knowledge of.

— Laura Noneman, junior secondary eduction major and Jarvis Head RA