Extra News Alerts
Get breaking updates as they happen.
Tufts resident assistants want to be compensated. Readers say ‘then don’t do the job.’
For many readers, they felt a student’s university covering their room and board costs is enough compensation.
Resident assistants at Tufts University went on strike Tuesday morning during new student move-in.
RAs at Tufts are currently in negotiations for a new contract with the university in which they want to receive a “modest” yearly stipend of a few thousand dollars in addition to free room and board, according to the Tufts Daily. The current compensation plan for RAs covers housing only. The university has offered to cover meal plan costs, but not a stipend.
Julie Francois, a member of the organizing team at United Labor of Tufts Resident Assistants, or ULTRA, emphasized the importance of a stipend to Boston.com.
Advertisement:
“I feel like that stipend would allow for a lot of RAs to have more flexibility with either paying for a meal plan or making ends meet,” Francois said, noting that a good amount of Tufts RAs had some form of financial aid, and others work multiple jobs on top of being an RA.
According to Francois, the strike was held on move-in day to “not only alert the incoming class and get their attention on this issue, but also to show the university just how important [RAs] are.”
We asked Boston.com readers how they felt about RAs receiving a stipend in addition to free room and board. Of the 249 readers that responded, 77% disagreed with offering a stipend.
Do you believe Resident Assistants should be paid, in addition to getting free room and board?
Yes
23%
No
77%
For many of these readers, such as Billy from Norwood, feel that the university covering room and board costs is enough compensation.
Advertisement:
“College students know the deal when they sign up to be RAs. In exchange for free room and board, you are the disciplinarian when it comes to your residence hall,” he said. “If a student feels free room and board is not enough, then don’t do the job.”
Francois emphasized how many RAs took their jobs in order to get through their undergraduate studies, and a stipend would help them to do so financially.
“A lot of us are doing this job to get through our undergraduate experience and are being strained and being forced to take other jobs on top of that,” Francois said.
About 23% of readers, however, agreed that RAs should receive a stipend along with free room and board. Some of these readers, such as Wendee A. from Brighton, highlighted the many additional duties RAs have beyond the job description, such as handling assaults and other safety issues.
“RAs are expected to do a lot more than most people realize,” she said. “They handle assaults, all kinds of emergencies and are looking out for the safety of their residents. Forget the way it’s always been, pay them fairly for what they actually do today.”
Advertisement:
Read below to see what readers had to say about RAs receiving a stipend in addition to free room and board.
Some responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Should RAs receive a stipend along with free room and board?
No
“Most importantly, they applied for and accepted the position knowing the compensation. I’m sure there are plenty of qualified students who would gladly accept that compensation. I do however believe meal plans would align Tufts with other campuses in the area. As an RA for three years at Bryant University, we were compensated room and board. I think about the thousands of dollars that I saved on my student loans as well as the experience it provided me. I am forever grateful for being accepted into the program.” — Sonja V., Lawrence
“An RA is a volunteer role in exchange for free housing. If universities are to start paying RAs, then they should not give free room and board. I’d be fine if RAs got to choose either free room and board or a stipend, but I don’t see why they should get both.” — Andrew, Dorchester
“College students know the deal when they sign up to be RAs. In exchange for free room and board, you are the disciplinarian when it comes to your residence hall. If a student feels free room and board is not enough, then don’t do the job.” — Billy, Norwood
Advertisement:
“Room and board is a major value, and the RA experience can be helpful in getting future education and work opportunities.” — Karen S., Arlington
“If they don’t want to do the job in exchange for free room and board then find another job. No one is entitled to anything.” — Walter K., Brighton
“They already getting free room and board at an expensive Boston university. The job of an RA hasn’t changed. If they want to get paid, they should have applied to a job that gives monetary compensation.” — Sarah P., Dorchester
Yes
“They do a lot of work, and though free room and board is nice, they do a lot more and should be compensated.” — C.J. L., Newburyport
“RAs are expected to do a lot more than most people realize. They handle assaults, all kinds of emergencies and are looking out for the safety of their residents. Forget the way it’s always been, pay them fairly for what they actually do today.” — Wendee A., Brighton
“They’re on-call 24/7 and handle a lot of issues especially from immature drunk students.” — Sarah
“Places like Tufts act like they don’t have a dollar for anything, but meanwhile have an approximate $2.4 billion endowment. I think they have a few bucks to fairly pay their workers.” — Joe, Methuen
Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.
Be civil. Be kind.
Read our full community guidelines.To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address