Each fall, Georgetown University residential assistants (RAs) begin their experience leading residential communities and serving as a resource to students living on campus. As part of the job, RAs are given a stipend, housing and meal plan. These benefits may offer a financial lifeline to students who have difficulty shouldering the high costs of attending Georgetown. Yet this semester, a series of unilateral decisions by the Office of Residential Living (Res Living) could jeopardize certain RA benefits, and in turn, RA applications.
After a seven-month process to create a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the RAs’ union, the Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition (GRAC), finalized a contract with the university in April. The contract includes agreements on a $1,750 semesterly stipend for RAs, automatic hiring for RAs in good standing, arbitration of grievances and the creation of a labor management committee to review issues affecting RAs and facilitate RA trainings.
Yet throughout the fall semester, Res Living has implemented a series of policy changes.
Going forward, RAs living in suite-style housing will no longer select all their suitemates; they will only select their direct roommate. Further, RA applicants will only be told their housing assignments after they have already accepted their employment offer, forcing them to make a decision without a full understanding of their future living conditions. Additionally, Res Living reorganized the holiday schedule for RAs, which GRAC has said will require twice as many RAs to stay on campus over the holidays.
These actions violate the spirit of Georgetown’s agreement with GRAC last spring. Our RAs are the backbone of our on-campus community. They keep residents safe and work to foster community on their floor. When RAs are harmed, the residential experience of every student on this campus is affected. With this in mind, Georgetown must reverse these policy changes and consult with RAs more thoroughly before implementing broad-reaching revisions to RA duties.
A university spokesperson said the university is working to establish communication channels with GRAC and their union representation, OPEIU Local 153.
“The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the university and the Georgetown Resident Assistant Coalition (GRAC) established multiple avenues for both informal and formal discussion and resolution of issues of mutual interest and concern,” the spokesperson wrote to The Hoya. “Out of respect for this legal agreement between the union and the university, which establishes OPEIU Local 153 as the sole and exclusive representative of GRAC members, Georgetown will continue to use these channels to discuss and resolve any concerns through good-faith engagement.”
However, many of these changes lack a rational basis and threaten the livelihoods of dozens of RAs on whom our university community relies. For example, the new policy dictates that RAs can only select their direct roommate to ensure “equity.” However, we fail to understand how these changes meet this purported interest.
Restricting RAs from choosing who they live with strips them of a right that every other student shares. Rather than increasing equity, the decision will decrease it: Wealthier students who dislike the new policy changes will be able to leave their roles; students who rely on the financial aid from the RA position, by contrast, will be trapped.
Res Living’s actions will further reduce inclusivity, as RAs may be forced to live with random students who do not share their values or are less accepting of others’ identities.
Izzy Wagener (SFS ’26), GRAC chair and an RA for Darnall Hall, said the new roommate selection policy adds unnecessary stress for RAs.
“Living with people you don’t know is no easy thing,” Wagener wrote to The Hoya. “In the event that conflicts between roommates occur, RAs will be put in the very difficult position of having to mediate within their own living space, which should be a place they can live and rest comfortably in.”
Indeed, the comfort of RAs does not seem to be a top priority for Res Living. Requiring more RAs to stay over holidays detracts from valuable time to rest and recharge.
Taken as a whole, these unilateral decisions are a direct assault on RAs’ ability to manage their personal lives. In a role that already muddles the work-life balance for its student employees, Res Living must do more to protect stress-free time for RAs, not systematically remove it.
These decisions disincentivize prospective students from applying for the RA position, shrinking the talent pool that Res Living can choose from. We do not see how the university can expect to retain high-quality RAs as benefits rapidly diminish.
Furthermore, as hardships for RAs rise, the application pool will increasingly be made up of more desperate students who rely on RA benefits to alleviate financial stress. This creates a potentially predatory situation in which these students and their financial aid packages are beholden to whatever policies Res Living imposes. In a school with significant financial disparities among its student body, these policies emphasize the economic divide.
Moving forward, the university must communicate more effectively with RAs. Instead of making unilateral decisions, Res Living must consult with RAs on each policy and work to make policies that benefit all student employees.
James Baust (MSB ’27), an RA for Hayden Hall, said he would like to see more information around the decision-making process.
“I want the administration to be transparent,” Baust told The Hoya. “As long as they provide information for the decisions they make, I’ll be a lot more happy with how we proceed as an RA team.”
Students must ensure RAs do not stand alone in their efforts. Consider signing the petition circulated by GRAC. Show that you stand firmly with the RAs to encourage policies that best connect with their needs.
The Hoya’s Editorial Board is composed of six students and is chaired by the senior opinion editors. Editorials reflect only the beliefs of a majority of the board and are not representative of The Hoya or any individual member of the board.
