Resident Assistants (RAs) in Ashwood, Merion Gardens and the Morris Quad Townhouses, also known as Hawk Hill’s West Campus, are following a new policy requiring them to do late night rounds across the three buildings.
Rounds, which are walk-throughs completed by RAs to monitor their residents and ensure residence life policies are upheld, are conducted two to three times a night, usually across one to two buildings in close approximation. The new policy for West Campus RAs results from the end of St. Joe’s lease on Pennbrook Apartments. Formerly, West Campus RAs did rounds in either Pennbrook and Merion Gardens or Ashwood and the Townhouses.
“It definitely is a little weird safety wise, walking at night, but I felt like I was safe the whole time,” said Ryan Baker ’24, an Ashwood RA. “I know City Avenue is a pretty well-lit street.”
But Lleyton Winslow ’24, a Merion Gardens RA, said some staff members are worried about their safety, despite the fact that the Office of Residence Life has provided RAs with bicycles and safety vests.
“Some of the women on our staff are concerned about it because it gets dark out, and it’s not particularly safe just to be walking along the street,” Winslow said. “And they supplement this, trying to tell us, ‘Oh, we’ll give you a reflective vest and we’ll give you duty bikes.’ It’s not really addressing the heart of the issue: that the buildings are just far apart.”
Baker said while he doesn’t feel unsafe, he is remaining vigilant.
“I’m definitely on a bit of a high alert,” he said.
In hopes of making the RAs feel comfortable, Jessica Moran-Buckridge, Ed.D., associate dean of residence life, informed The Hawk in a written statement that RAs “may choose to walk, drive on their own if they have access to a vehicle, utilize the University shuttle or request a walking escort from Public Safety.”
This echoes a similar statement made by Millie Suero ’24, a Merion Gardens RA, who said residence life “has bikes that people can use on rounds to go back and forth.”
The Office of Residence Life prioritizes the interests and concerns of the RAs, said Moran-Buckridge, reporting that some RAs were included in discussing the new policy’s implementation.
“I always encourage RAs to voice concerns with their supervising Residential Area Manager or with me directly,” Moran-Buckridge said. “We understand that these are important issues, and we’re happy to engage in problem-solving with the RAs.”
