I am writing in response to Jon Schubin's recent article about the Office of Residential Life and Learning (ORLL) ("RAs speak out against ResLife," April 21).
The article was accurate in describing the Residential Life operation as going through a period of change and that the changes have not been received well by some. That's one side of the story. Those who provided the information for the story blame Yolanda King, the director, for what they don't like about the changes, and that's not fair.
For an extended period of time prior to Ms. King's arrival at Tufts, the ORLL did not have a permanent director running the operation. Don't get me wrong, we are all in the debt of Lorraine Toppi and Dean Gendron, whose love of Tufts and its students, and particularly the RAs, kept the halls running and the staff feeling supported. But after a series of failed searches and false starts, Tufts was looking for a strong leader to come in and take charge of the system. We found that person in Yolanda King. Change is difficult in any organization, but is especially so when the model moves from one of management by consensus to one of top-down management. Consensus usually feels good, but frequently it fails to bring about changes and directions by which organizations are measured.
I am disappointed that some members of the residential staff who don't like the changes have chosen to attack Ms. King personally rather than trying to help make things work. But I am far more disappointed that they would think that it is appropriate to assassinate her character in a newspaper article. Residential Assistants (RA) are students in their primary relationship to Tufts, but they also accept considerable compensation to carry out the mission of the ORLL. They do not have the ability to take a public stand against departmental policy or their employer without anticipating consequences. Employees won't always like a manager's style or the direction of their department or their company. There is nothing wrong with being vocal and trying to influence policy -- but it has to be done constructively.
This has been a challenging time for the ORLL. The demand for on-campus housing continues to be an issue, and waitlists are long. Sophia Gordon Hall, which was originally supposed to open in September, still needs building permits from the City of Somerville before construction can begin. The ORLL staff who knew most about the RA selection process and about the annual room lottery left the university just before those processes began their annual cycle. It is a tribute to Ms. King and all of the RAs and other university staff who volunteered their time that these major undertakings were completed successfully with no greater number of issues than those which have arisen in other years.
I support Yolanda King and the change that she is bringing about in Residential Life. She holds one of the most thankless positions in the university. So let me take this opportunity to publicly thank her for the difference she has made for all the staff and residents who don't use the Daily as their sounding board. It is on their behalf that I will be participating in a forum which Ms. King is organizing with the RAs to listen to and discuss their suggestions for improving communications and processes within the ORLL. I encourage RAs to participate in these discussions and look forward to their fruitful results.
Bruce Reitman is the Dean of Students.
