BY KATIE GOSS ’23
STAFF WRITER
Beginning this past school year, the hours worked by community assistants and resident advisors increased substantially without a corresponding increase in their stipend. Prior to this year, CAs and RAs were required to serve on a weekend duty rotation “a minimum of five times per semester,” according to the 2019-2020 CA job description. These duty hours were from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and the CA or RA on duty had to stay in their residence hall during this time.
In the 2020-2021 CA job description, these duty hours were increased to “a minimum of two times a week per semester.” The new duty hours are from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays. The new RA job description for the 2021-2022 academic year mentions these same increased duty hours.
The Mount Holyoke News spoke to a student currently working as a CA, who requested anonymity for job security. “I’d say that the increase[d] duty nights have been a big time drain for me because I find it hard to study or work in a productive way if I’m always walking around or if a resident wants to talk,” the CA said.
Although there has been an increase in duty hours for CAs and RAs, there has not been a corresponding increase in their pay. Before these changes were made to the duty hours, students petitioned for a pay raise for these positions.
“This has definitely been an ongoing issue, even before COVID. I remember in my first year of being a CA, my sophomore year, when there was a petition going around to increase our compensation,” the CA said. “Since then, the compensation has been going up steadily, but it’s still nothing compared to [University of Massachusetts Amherst] RAs.”
At many colleges and universities around the country, RAs are not only compensated for their position, but also given discounted or entirely free room and board. At UMass Amherst, RAs get a partial room and board discount as well as hourly pay.
On top of the pandemic still putting stress on everyone’s personal lives, some CAs feel that these additional work hours have added to their mental burdens.
The school did hold a “CA/RA Appreciation Week” during the week of April 12, during which each CA and RA was given a gift card to Thirsty Mind and sent appreciation emails from their area coordinators, according to the CA.
Overall, with an increase in duty hours and no extra compensation, as well as having to follow new pandemic-related rules, current and future CAs and RAs feel they are justified in asking for a pay raise.
“Residents are going through a lot, both emotionally and mentally, and CAs are expected to be the first people that residents connect with,” the CA said. “For me, I’ve gotten by with the social support of friends and my staff. The support from the school is pretty minimal.”
In addition to the extra work hours, holding this job position during the pandemic has had its challenges. A current CA said that they have had to write “information reports” on some residents who had multiple people in their rooms when the current rule is for no more than two people to occupy a student room at a time.
Because they have to enforce stricter rules in residential halls, some CAs feel as though they are being avoided by other residents in their hall.
“In a way, I feel like I’ve taken on the role of someone who has to police other people’s behaviors, even though it’s not something that I want to do,” the CA said.
In the RA and CA job descriptions for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 academic years, it is outlined that the job duties of a CA can be changed or reassigned, and the CA’s job can be terminated “at any time, for any reason, at the College’s discretion, to accommodate the needs of the College.”