While last semester’s conflict between Residential Assistants (RAs) and the Department of Residential Life may have died down, the issues raised during the clash are still on the minds of many RA’s and Residential Life staff members.

Last February, in an effort to clamp down on improper RA conduct, Assistant Director of Residential Life Ramon Knox met with a number of RAs to discuss their behavior. According to these former RAs, Knox criticized them for violating their leadership positions as RAs by drinking at on-campus parties—an act which Residential Life considers highly inappropriate. Between February and March of last year, at least three RAs were terminated for on-campus alcohol use, and several others resigned under pressure.

Current and former RAs agree that many of last year’s RAs did drink. Keon West ’06, who replaced one of the RAs that left during last year, said that 50% of the RA’s consumed alcohol on campus.

Last year’s problems with RA drinking have brought into question the role of the RA as defined by Residential Life. Director of Residential Life Sarah Griesse said that she thinks RAs step out of their leadership roles when they drink on campus. “Being a leader means you’re a leader in all circumstances,” Griesse said, “You have obligations to fulfill.”

Griesse explained that whether they are on or off-duty, on or off their floor, RAs bring their jobs and related responsibilities with them. She said she feels strongly that it is unacceptable for RAs to drink on campus because it is against the very policy that they are responsible to uphold and creates a troublesome double-standard when it comes to enforcing policy.

Some former RAs take issue with this connection between off-duty drinking and responsibility. While they agree with Griesse that the role of the RA is one of leadership and community building, they feel that sobriety and leadership do not necessarily go hand and hand.

“I think you can still be a good role model and participate in social activities,” said Gillian Lavik ’05, an RA who resigned last year. “I don’t feel like because I drank, that made me a bad RA.” Lavik added that while she began the year with the intention of avoiding alcohol, she eventually felt that occasional drinking was not always irresponsible.

Some of the former RA’s question whether it is reasonable for Residential Life to expect a staff of 35 RA’s to stay away from alcohol on-campus for a whole year, especially when this can often mean staying away from parties with friends.

“You’re a student first, and then an RA,” said Niranjan Arulpragasam ’06, a former RA who resigned after what he described as an “unfair” disciplinary meeting with Ramon Knox last winter. “Drinking doesn’t mean that you’re not being a leader,” he said.

Griesse acknowledges that the RA position is a difficult one, but insists that once people take the position, they are expected to act within the parameters of the job. “When you accept the role, you have obligations to fulfill,” she said.

Current RA Demoya Gordon ’06 said that she agrees with Griesse. “If I were the kind of person who thought drinking and partying were important, I probably wouldn’t have taken this job,” she said.

However, not all RAs are as willing as Gordon to refrain from consuming alcohol. They say that drinking plays a large role in the on-campus social life at Macalester.

While most RAs that were interviewed said that changing the official policy to allow drinking would be too extreme, they said that Residential Life should slightly “lower the pedestal of the RA,” as former RA Cassie Hartblay ’06 suggested.

One Residential Life staff member, who wished to remain anonymous, said that drinking is not necessarily the problem. Rather the concern is with the inappropriate behavior in front of residents that often results with on-campus drinking.

Griesse said that Residential Life will not make any changes to the role of the RAs or their relationship with Residential Life. She said that if the same situation were to arise again this year, she would respond in the same fashion.