As a former resident assistant, I can see where both sides of this 75-25 argument are coming from. I can see the need to create more spaces closer to campus for freshmen, but I also feel that upperclassmen provide valuable leadership to new students as well. The campus-wide retention rate for upperclassmen is under 25 percent, I believe, but UDA and RCA are higher than that. Towers brings that figure down.

Both sides make good arguments for their cases which leads me to believe a compromise could be made. A 65-35 or even 60-40 would be better than the current 75-25 plan and would leave a minimal number of students to change floors, and, in some cases, still getting the 75-25 ratio on some floors.

Having been an RA at Towers and RCA I can see the reasoning behind putting freshmen in halls closer to campus. Towers had an atmosphere that made it harder for students to stay on task or go to class regularly. It also consisted of a large percentage of freshmen lacking upperclassmen leadership.

From my dealings with the Department of Residence, it is not an unreasonable department and I would be surprised if the ratio isn’t tweaked before next year. However, students also need to show some maturity and present their case in a tactful and professional manner, not sound like a bunch of whiners if they want to be taken seriously.

Travis Simpson

Alumnus