Starting next fall, the Apartment Manager positions at the RAHP, Stacwyck, and Colonie complexes will be eliminated to make way for Resident Assistants and Resident Directors. Currently, there is only one apartment manager for each apartment complex, resulting in a Residence Life staff to student ratio of about 1:240.
Eight new student staff members will be added to the RAHP, Stacwyck, and Colonie complexes, supplementing the current staff of 78 spread across campus. Residence Life Director Peter Snyder and his Assistant Director Amanda Bingel were motivated not by any particular incident or even a need for more oversight, but rather a long term goal “to build a community up there.”
In the desire to create this type of community in each of the complexes, Snyder mentioned “the great close-knit community in many other residence halls.” To this end, Residence Life staff will not only be serving an administrative role as their predecessors did, but will attempt to bring each building’s residents closer together. Bingel spoke of many initiatives to building up a sense of camaraderie, including an increased amount of additional useful and entertaining programming targeted at meeting the needs of upperclassman residents.
Of the three current Apartment Managers, two are graduating, while one has opted to apply for a Resident Director position. As Residence Life goes forward with its staff application and evaluation process, it will be hiring eight additional staff members to fill these newly created positions. The addition of this staff to the RAHP, Stacwyck, and Colonie complexes will bring the ratio down toward the target of a 1:50 ratio found in most other halls.
Bingel pointed out that Residence Life staff in freshman halls tend to help with the college transition and upper-class staff tend to help with the academic side of college life. The new staff in the three complexes have the additional responsibility of helping bring all of the people in the their complex closer together.
Not everyone seemed to favor the plan, however. Josh Desjarlais ’07, a RAHP resident, commented “Most people go in the RAHPs for the idea of freedom—not having someone looking over your shoulder telling you how to live. I have seen no major incidents that would warrant keeping track of RAHPs residents.”
Karen Gollins ’06, president of the Panhellenic Council, said that the Council does not really see a need for the RAs and RDs to be added in place of apartment managers. Both Alpha Phi and Alpha Gamma Delta have their houses in the Stacwyck apartments. Gollins also stated that many do not know of the plan now, but she “think[s] people will be upset when they do find out about it.”
Though staffing is the single largest Residence Life budget expenditure, Snyder expressed confidence that the current budget would not be significantly affected by the addition of new staff. After the squatter’s rights portion of room selection occurs, Residence Life will be determining what specific rooms will be designated for the staff members. It is not anticipated that it will have a significant effect on the new entrants into next year’s room lottery seeking residence in RAHP, Stacwyck, or Colonie.
