By Julian Berkman & Gwen Frost
The RA movement at Western has escalated yet again following their April 17 meeting with administrators in Arntzen Hall. On May 21, students, faculty and parents alike attended a sit-in in the office of Leonard Jones, head of University Residences. This sit-in followed a message from Leonard Jones stating that University Residences had cancelled any and all meetings with RAs.
The AS Review hit the bricks to speak to participants of the sit-in, which lasted from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jones’s office was full to the brim with people, most on their computers or doing homework. The peaceful protesters even spilled over into the surrounding halls. According to RA Kara Alden, there were at least 30 people there at all times during the day.
Hailey Canady, a Fairhaven RA, has certain grievances with the University Residences administrators that are still not being addressed.
“Fairhaven has two handicap accessible buildings and they’re connected. I live in one of them,” Canady said. “The elevator breaks down a lot, and the elevator repair company comes from Seattle, so if it’s in the middle of the night or on a weekend, my residents are either trapped in their room for an extended period of time, or are trapped out of their room for an extended period of time.”
Canady stated that the elevator-repair company is contracted from Seattle because that is the least expensive option.
“It’s just really upsetting to to hear that administration is more interested in saving money than their own students and residents’ safety and well-being,” she said.
The lack of handicap accessibility at Western was a point of contention during the snowstorms this winter after a student broke her ankle on the ice. The student was unable to make it to classes for the rest of the week–classes that many suggest should have been cancelled, given the conditions. Other students with limited mobility were also unable to get to class or the dining hall, and had to stay in their dorms for days on end.
According to Ezekiel Nierenberg, a Western student, the lack of support from the administration is not a new thing.
“Western has continually pushed issues and student movements under the rug for years and years and years,” Nierenberg said. “You can go back in the archives and see different movements that have been picked up and then dropped as things are swept under the rug and as administration waits for people to graduate.”
Lee Elder, another sit-in attendee, agreed that these issues are not new.
“I lived in the dorms and I had a great RA,” Elder said. “I had a little bit of insight into what was happening three years ago, which is still happening now, it sounds like. And they’re just students on campus, like me.”
Freshman Kappa resident Madeline Zeiger was also present at the rally.
“[Admins] always hope the really passionate people will just graduate and move on,” Zeiger said.
Wayne Roque, 2016-17 AS VP for Student Life, echoes this sentiment. Roque has been an instrumental part of the RA movement. His work as a go-between for the RAs and University Life administrators has kept him busy since the beginning of Fall quarter. Unfortunately, those involved in the movement know that it won’t be over anytime soon.
“These are people that make $100,000 to $200,000 a year and all of those funds come from student fees,” Roque said. “If you’re not student-centered, you’re not doing your job as an administrator. If you don’t have students in the forefront of your everyday work or your vision going into the future and why you’re here and serving at this institution, then you shouldn’t be an administrator. Understand that these are the employees that work on the ground with students, and if you don’t take care of them, you are creating a very ugly precedent for the climate in university residences going forward.”
Roque pointed out that this issue does impact all of Western, but also that the focus of the movement needs to be on those most affected.
“We’re all affected by this, but we need to understand that right now the RAs are suffering the most in their jobs,” he said. “And it’s not just them, it is by extension their residents.”
Student protesting is especially powerful and necessary in a situation in which their oppressors are directly funded by their victims. RAs still pay tuition, as does every student who was present at the sit-in. Students have administrators by the scruff of their shirt and by the purse strings. They may try to devalue our grievances and undermine student movements, but in the end their job is to work for Western students to ensure we are being given the support and freedom to become successful people.
“Right now with this momentum, and with this RA movement being connected to the movement for an Ethnic Studies College, it’s always really important to push back against power and to push back against the administration, and to kind of take control of this university that is really ours.” said Nieremberg.
Unfortunately, many RAs and students involved in the movement will not be returning in the fall to see their vision competed. Despite that, the momentum that Be LibeRAted has picked up will continue far on into the future.
“These employees deserve to work in an environment that is free of violence, that is free of harassment, where they get compensated adequately, where they’re not overworked, where they can engage with issues surrounding equity and diversity without being shut out,” Roque said.
From the sounds of it, the fight will continue until Western’s RAs get the support they deserve.