by Kendra Bridel
Staff Writer
Over the summer, the office of Residential Life converted B-bottom of the Oaks into offices for the housing department.
The three area coordinators’ offices are located in one wing of B-bottom and the Resident Hall Association and resident assistants’ offices are in the other wing. The old R.A. office will be changed into a recreational room where there are plans for a pool table and ping pong table. This lobby will be available to all students residing in the Oaks.
Dr. Loretta Rahmani, dean of student affairs, said, “Over the years residents have complained about living in B-bottom because they didn’t feel they had their own private lounge.”
However, three students are left waiting for a room to open.
Nichole Ford, a senior who is on the waiting list, said, “It’s a waste because the Oaks is a living area and they have areas that they use for administrative purposes.”
Last semester B-bottom was the lounge for R.A.’s on duty and for all of the Oaks’ residents, leaving its residents feeling cheated.
Dr. Rahmani talked about how hard it was for the residential life officers to work together when they were so spread apart. Each R.A. was located in either Brandt Hall, Stu-Han or the Oaks, making communication among the board difficult.
“B-bottom is a wonderful area to consolidate so they can work better as a team,” said Dr. Rahmani.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me because the R.A. lives in and is the assistant in Brandt Hall, not at the Oaks. If I need my R.A. I don’t want to walk all the way over to the Oaks,” said Ford, who currently lives in Brandt Hall.
Par Nag, president of RHA, said, “I have mixed feelings. I see how people are needing space, but it’s easier for us to work in one central area.”
According to Nag, B-bottom was an all male floor and the three students that are waiting to get into the Oaks are women. Nag thinks that there is not a problem because the three women would not have been able to get admitted into B-bottom anyway.
“Student housing hasn’t always been full for the past five years, so taking those rooms off line wasn’t a big issue,” said Dr. Rahmani. “We know in a few weeks we won’t be full, students will be withdrawing, so we’ll see how housing turns out in the end.”
Nag hopes the relocation will be effective. “I hope it will stay. We did a lot of work in moving offices and this time was the only time enrollment has ever been full,” she said.
Nag feels that the students will benefit from the change with the R.A.’s being more accessible. The doors to the Oaks facing the quad will be open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The move was decided on by Derek Vergara and was supported by Dr. Rahmani, however, there was never a formal vote on the issue.
