On Monday, March 26, residents of the third floor of Walters Hall were notified by an email from one of their Resident Advisors (RAs) that after 5 p.m. the next day both the shower and kitchen facilities on the hall would be closed off to residents for at least a week.
The email stated that this action was the result of the residents’ failure to uphold community standards by keeping bathroom facilities clean, as well as increased complaints about theft from the community refrigerator. While the RAs had been warning residents for months that if these practices continued action would be taken, many people on the floor were shocked by the unilateral action. Residents were told to remove their food from the refrigerator or it would be thrown out. They were also told to go to other floors of the building to shower and use the kitchen sinks, doubling the number of people using the lower floors’ facilities and potentially pushing the problems downstairs.
“When the email went out, the Walters group message blew up,” says a Walters resident who wishes to remain unnamed. “People were furious. A lot of people see showering as a fundamental right that we should have because we pay to live here.”
For those living on the third floor with special dietary needs as a result of conditions like diabetes, the lack of access to a fridge was concerning. While Residence Life has allowed students in Walters to have mini-fridges in their rooms this year, not all students can afford them and must rely on the community fridge to accommodate their needs. Additionally, there are students on the third floor who have injuries that make it difficult and painful to go up and down stairs. The elevator in Walters has become unreliable, breaking down twice in the weeks preceding this event.
Within minutes of receiving the email, concerned students gathered to discuss how to avoid having their basic facilities be taken away. After a particularly concerned student met with an RA, the RAs agreed to let the student email the floor, notifying them that they had 48 hours to clean the bathroom and kitchen — otherwise, the disciplinary measures would go into effect. Many residents went to work cleaning the spaces, going as far as unscrewing drains to clean out built-up hair.
After this, the third-floor RAs agreed to hold a hall meeting to discuss the issue, but the email announcing this decision contained an ultimatum: “unless everyone on our hall can make this meeting, anything discussed within it will be voided.”
Many residents told this reporter they felt that the RAs were working against them during this process instead of supporting their rights and wellbeing as residents. During their interactions with RAs, students who wish to remain unnamed described the tone of the RAs “condescending” and “dictatorial.” In a meeting with third-floor resident Blu Laseter, an RA compared the students to children being punished by their parents. The Residence Life Handbook details one of the goals of RAs is the “interact with and support residents while fostering a strong sense of community.”
While issues such as theft and cleanliness are difficult to address within the residence halls, some residents of 3rd floor Walters say the Office of Residence Life does not have methods for dealing with these problems that often arise on halls every year.
“In a sense, we got what we wanted,” Blu Laseter told Her Campus. “They’re not closed. But it was a very distinct indication to me that Res Life is really failing in terms of addressing students and their needs, and how to do that appropriately.”