University Residences have demonstrated carelessness and disrespect towards marginalized students and student employees. There is an attitude in the department that prioritizes students of color on promotional materials, in order to appear inclusive and diverse, with little consideration for those students’ feelings and comfort level. This has included contacting the Ethnic Student Center for photo requests with no care for the involvement those students have had in University Residences. University Residences has also deprioritized queer students as they do not have “visible” diversity. Resident advisers who hold marginalized identities often feel tokenized, disrespected, and devalued by University Residences and the response to this issue has been inadequate. We are demanding that University Residences cease these practices immediately and allow a member of the Equal Opportunity Office to evaluate the department and offer suggestions on how to improve treatment towards students who hold marginalized identities. Said suggestions should be implemented and University Residences should be held accountable for the actions they have taken thus far and the steps they will take in the future.
Immediately cease problematic and tokenizing tendencies in University Residences in trainings, programming, recruitment, and advertisements
Residence halls, particularly when undergoing construction or harsh weather, are often physically inaccessible to the people that live in them. On multiple occasions residents with disabilities were stranded in buildings after the elevator broke down and were not able to leave until the facilities from Seattle arrived. Many times, instead of addressing accessibility challenges within the residence halls, University Residences would instead place the resident in another community without offering any support in the movement of their belongings. University Residences needs to prioritize students who cannot access their homes in these instances. We recognize that standing structures can be difficult to renovate, but there are steps that can be taken in order to assist students who suffer from the inaccessible nature of Western’s campus. These steps can include marking clear, protected walk ways when construction is ongoing, prioritizing residence halls when salting walkways after snowfall and doing so in a timely manner. This is far from the end of the list and we demand University Residences to listen to students with disabilities and implement their recommendations when moving forward.
There is a lack of respect in University Residences toward transgender and queer people and their experiences in the residence halls. Gender inclusive housing is only offered on one floor in Buchanan Towers. Living on this floor means that students are not able to live in other communities, like the honors residence hall, alcohol-free floors, or quiet floors. This forces students to choose between their safety and their interests. We are demanding that University Residences address this systemic issue,implement, and enforce policies in order to correct the problem. This should include respecting names, pronouns, and gender identities by the Resident Advisers and the administration. More gender inclusive facilities should be implemented across campus in a variety of communities. Moreover, Resident advisers should be trained on how to have conversations surrounding gender identity and the importance of respecting those identities in and out of residence halls, as many people transition and “come out” during college.
Trainings on, and enforcement and implementation of, gender-inclusive policies and languages, as well as adding additional gender inclusive housing options
Recognize and take steps to fix accessibility issues within residence halls
University Residences has shown an insensitivity to religion and the people who practice. Resident advisers have been told that they are unable to practice important religious holidays, or attend services, when it conflicts with our training schedules. Administrative Assistants and Desk Attendants have also been denied positions on the basis of conflicts between religious retreats and trainings. To be clear, these were not permanent conflicts but were temporary and served a religious purpose. Potential employees were discriminated against for their involvement in these events. We are demanding that University Residences evaluate their treatment of religious employees and immediately implement and enforce policies that support and accommodate religious employees.
The immediate implementation of religious tolerance and accommodations within University Residences
Social Equity and Inclusion
Offer an alternative to the Identity Wheel program from REM 3
During Winter quarter we are expected to have conversations with our residents that surround identity. We believe this to be an absolutely necessary conversation to have but the current method we are forced to complete it through is not the appropriate approach. RAs are made to reveal their identities, even information on immigration status, with no guarantee of their safety. It is unreasonable to assume that everyone living on campus respects the various identities that RAs hold, and if we feel unsafe sharing this information we should not be made to reveal it. To be clear, we support the idea of talking about social identity within the residence halls but the current model of the Identity Wheel is not universally applicable to the experiences of Resident Advisers and the residents we live with. We are demanding more options be made available for these conversations and more adequate training be provided in order to conduct the conversations properly and respectfully.
This past year Fairhaven was left without an RA for an extended period of time because University Residences was looking for a male-identifying student to replace the former RA. It was unnecessary to do so because all of the stacks in Fairhaven are mixed-gender Residence Halls. By valuing male Resident advisers over other genders, University Residences is actively being sexist This is unacceptable and we are demanding that University Residences stop prioritizing the hiring of men when it is unnecessary to do so.
Stop prioritizing male-identifying Resident Advisers for hiring when it is not necessary to do so
According to our contract as RAs, we are obligated to “refrain from using the position as a platform to advance a personal, political, commercial, or religious agenda.” We recognize this as an important clause in the context of the power dynamics that are inherent in the RA position. However, an unintended consequence of this clause is that RAs are contractually stopped from calling out oppressive stances and tendencies when they arise in conversations with residents. This means that in conversations such as our one-on-ones surrounding social identity, if a resident takes an oppressive stance, RAs are contractually obligated to participate in their oppression by not combating said stance. In addition, as we are under-advised and under-educated in how to hold these conversations productively, we are automatically participating in an overt oppression that maintains privilege on a daily basis. We demand a departmental stance that acknowledges oppressive behavior so that RAs are not left to themselves to determine individual responses to these behaviors. This will create a consistent University Residences response to combat oppressive behaviors, allow the department to stand with those who experience oppression, and progress resident understanding about social identity.