Editor’s Note: The Daily Orange was able to confirm that our reader is a resident adviser at Syracuse University. They requested that their identity remain anonymous out of concern of retaliation from the Office of Student Living.

On Thursday, the Syracuse University Office of Student Living sent out an email stating that it will be holding two Zoom sessions to discuss how New York state’s 14-day quarantine order for people entering the state from 22 COVID-19 hotspots impacts resident advisors’ return to campus for RA training. 

We were instructed to register for one of the two sessions. During the session on Friday, OSL officials announced that RAs from hotspot states were expected to return to campus Aug. 1. Those who returned to campus Aug. 1 would be designated a bathroom on their floor specifically for them and would be provided with meals throughout the 14-day quarantine. RAs from hotspots who returned to campus after Aug. 1 would be fired.

Terra Peckskamp, senior director of OSL, explained the rationale behind this decision. RAs from hotspots need to return to campus on Aug. 1 so they can complete their 14-day quarantine by the time residents start moving in, Peckskamp said. Essentially, if RAs are unable to help with move-in, they lose all value for the rest of the year, an odd concept if you ask me.

On Saturday, after complaints from RAs, Director of Residence Life George Athanas announced the reversal of this policy. RAs from hotspots will be able to arrive after Aug. 1 without being removed from their position. OSL is working to accommodate RAs arriving from hotspots after Aug. 1, but the details are still to be worked out. While I am pleased with the reversal of this policy, I am still disappointed that SU officials continue to enact disturbing policies and only reverse their behavior when called out.

When asked during the meeting when the initial Aug. 1 return date was decided, Ashley Veney, assistant director of residence life, avoided answering the question and responded that “the date was determined based on the 14-day quarantine imposed by New York Gov. Cuomo. There were many involved in this decision that we continue to work with to figure out what this looks like. We hoped that we would have been able to communicate it sooner and recognize this impacts many of our student RA staff.”

When asked how OSL plans to prepare for the potential loss of numerous RAs from hotspots who are unable to return by Aug. 1, Veney responded that the office “(does) not have the answer to this question. We recognize that this leaves many RAs with hard decisions to make regarding the RA role and/or travel back to campus and we wish that we were able to provide more flexibility.”

I found the policy announced on Thursday disappointing and disturbing for two main reasons. The first is the lack of urgency around the matter. 

Announcing the expectation on Thursday gave RAs like myself only two weeks to rearrange our plans and to come up with the money for flight change costs. This is made even more difficult by the circumstances accompanied by the coronavirus pandemic. As stated previously, when I asked when this decision was made, I was not given an answer.

The second reason is the lack of regard for the wellbeing of RAs. I don’t know the exact numbers, but from my two years of experience as an RA, I can say that RAs generally come from low-income families that rely on SU to cover the cost of room and board in exchange for their work to attend the university. OSL offering zero flexibility despite a last-minute announcement and telling RAs from hotspots to comply or be “removed from their position” is cruel and unreasonable. 

We are already being hit financially by the pandemic, but OSL’s sudden announcement that we had to arrive on campus in two weeks or lose our job that covers our room and board was unfathomable to me. All because we wouldn’t be able to assist with move-in? Would the rest of our work for the other 29 weeks not matter because we were unable to work the first week due to a government mandate? Not to mention that, if removed from our position, we would have to scramble to find housing just four weeks before returning to campus.

The wellbeing of RAs should have been at the forefront of the conversation among OSL officials. After all, the university will be relying heavily on RAs to enforce social distancing policies throughout the year.

A Syracuse University resident adviser

Published on July 21, 2020 at 4:21 pm