Corey Davidson ’16
Staff Writer
It’s no secret that Merrimack College had stepped up its police presence on campus this year, along with the addition of stricter rules and regulations.
By putting these new regulations in place, Merrimack administrators hoped to send a message that recent dangerous and disrespectful actions by certain individuals would not be tolerated. These changes not only affected the quality of life for the student body, but they also made the resident advisor (RA)’s jobs that much more demanding. As the rules and policies became tighter, it forced more RAs to be more responsible as well as perform tasks that are not necessarily enjoyable.
“The most difficult part about being an RA is the responsibility of taking care of your own people. These are people who you have known for years and people who you can call your friends and family. We at Merrimack are a close community filled with great people, and the responsibility to keep them safe comes with a great burden,” explained Student Government Association President and RA Anthony Preston.
Several RAs who did not want to be quoted said they are seeing a spike in the number of write-ups they are doing in comparison to previous years. But sophomore RA McGee Hines said she hasn’t felt pressured to write people up.
“That’s not how I start the night,” Hines said. “It’s actually a lot of work for every person you write up. It takes an hour of work to go through the documentation process.”
Hines stated that her experience as an RA this year has been “a lot more work than I was expecting, but at the same time is doesn’t feel like a typical job; it’s better than a typical job and I feel that it’s more rewarding.”
The Mack Meeting with President Hopey gave the student body, as well as RAs, a chance to express their opinions in an open forum. It became evident that the student body as a whole was outraged about the recent regulations and their voices were heard as President Hopey promised change.
When Preston was asked what steps were being taken moving forward regarding the tight enforcements he replied, “The Student Government’s Executive Board has had a meeting within the President’s Office about these issues on campus. Things are changing but the root of all this change comes the need to keep the students safe. There are good intentions within all of this, but constructive change was and is needed.”
