Shakespeare used the above quote to question the truthfulness of a character because her expressions of love for her husband were suspiciously vociferous. The repeated statements seemed hollow, and as it turns out, the character was indeed disloyal. The support 14 administrators recently expressed for the Office of Residential Life and Learning (ORLL) seems similarly dubious.
It is natural for the administration to rally around the office's head, Yolanda King. But even if administrators want to publicly back their beleaguered colleague in Daily viewpoints, they should privately be concerned. Their published defenses simply do not square with the facts as we know them.
The writers attempt to paint the whistleblowers as students who dislike changes in ORLL policies. Rather than "attempt to effect change," they claim, the disgruntled RAs prefer "character assassinations." This does not seem to be the case.
Though the merits of the RAs' complaints are open to debate, the fact is they have become public only after attempts to make positive change failed. The students writing say they have met nothing but roadblocks throughout the year in their attempts to solve problems. Many RAs say they made no headway during one-on-one discussions and closed-door ORLL meetings over the past year.
The complaints are not, as asserted by the administration, simple disagreements with ORLL policy. The office is accused of inconsistently applying standards, communicating poorly, and simply failing to get its act together after two years. The unproductive and inefficient environment is blamed on what many call Yolanda King's combative attitude.
The mass exodus of ORLL administrators is perhaps the most telling sign. Dean of Students Bruce Reitman praised the deep "love of Tufts" displayed by Dean Gendron and Lorraine Toppi. But Reitman et al. dismiss their sudden departure as nothing more than organizational restructuring. Toppi left one week before the housing lottery she organized. The "health reasons" cited as Gendron's reason for leaving are widely believed to be a cover story. For people who loved Tufts so much, one can only imagine how unhappy they were to depart they way they did.
Though the administration might have us believe otherwise, the nature and sheer volume of complaints suggests that the problem might rest less with the staff, and more with King. The situation has completely undermined the "consistency" administrators say King brought to the ORLL. It seems like RAs are increasingly disregarding many of the policies because of the problems they cause.
It goes without saying that King has one of Tufts' most thankless jobs. Her charge is difficult and frequently she must adopt unpopular positions.
But regardless of whether King's leadership decisions are right or wrong, she has failed to achieve the support of the very people charged with carrying out the ORLL's mission. This represents a shortcoming in a central aspect of her job and is worthy of investigation.
