Recent cuts to Resident Advisor (RA) and House Manager (HM) program budgets may, at first glance, be disconcerting, viewed as yet another student resource slashed in the wake of the economic crisis. And while it is distressing that the University must continue turning out its pockets, the reduction of such budgets actually provides several positive outcomes for our community.
It is, first and foremost, commendable to see that the Administration is prioritizing programs like financial aid over residential programs; the use of such discretion is a sign that the University is adhering to its larger commitment to students while taking vital steps to brings its budget in line with its finances.
Furthermore, the reduction will allow RAs and HMs to spend their budgets in more focused and constructive ways. With larger budgets, communal residential endeavors have often been relegated to activities, like ordering takeout, that are expensive, but do not necessarily cultivate the sense of community for which they are intended. We hope that the reduced budgets will encourage RAs to be more discrete with their spending and innovative with their activities; that they may find creative ways to bring their residents together that are focused more on interaction than consumption. A recent “baked goods potluck” was facilitated by a LoRise Community Advisor and brought a large group of juniors together in a single apartment. And while the event may not have been as luxurious as students were accustomed to in years past, it was certainly more intimate—and just one example of the more fruitful events that can be held as a result of the budget cuts.
Extra funds remain available for students who wish to plan more elaborate community activities, such as those with professor participation or a collaboration between program houses. We hope that continued access to these funds will also encourage students and residential staff whose budgets have been reduced to pursue programs that are more creative, interesting, and elaborate than they would have been under the old budget.
While the Administration continues to realign University expenditure, we hope that future spending cuts will be made in such a judicious manner, and that such positive outcomes will continue to result.
Leave a Reply