St. Kate’s Resident Advisors Demand Change
By Ella Tracy
On Sunday April 13, the newly-formed St. Kate’s Resident Advisors Demand Change submitted a formal collective bargaining proposal to members of St. Kate’s administration, Campus Life staff, Student Senate and more.
The purpose of the proposal is explained to be the following: “...as the role becomes increasingly demanding as years go on, our ability to care for both ourselves and our residents is depleted. It is often alluded to by pro staff that if an RA can not meet these demands they do not have the functional capacity to be an RA. In reality, the majority of RAs agree that no student can adequately accomplish all that is being asked of us—especially alongside a workplace culture of fear that has been created by our supervisors and directors.”
The authors also state: “As student workers for St. Catherine University Campus Life we have been overworked, misled, underpaid and even emotionally depleted by supervisors in the department. We demand change and accountability in this dysfunctional system for our wellbeing and, in turn, that of our residents.”
The proposal extensively details the concerns of the resident advisors, their requested changes and suggested solutions. Sections address changes to policies and procedures, training requirements, on-duty responsibilities and decorum.
RA’s concerned about poor work-life balance, lengthy trainings and threat of job loss
Since the release of the document, the Wheel has spoken with several current and former resident advisors about their experiences as RAs.
Caroline Anderson ‘25 (Biochemistry, Health Policy minor), a current resident advisor, said her time as an RA began well, but has since noticed a severe decline in work-life balance. She said, “The upper administration has become increasingly unstable, uncommunicative, and disorganised. Due to this, I and other RAs have been forced to pick up the slack for our superiors and perform our job under the weight of also ensuring things are running smoothly for ourselves and our superiors.”
Anderson added, “While I love interacting with my residents and creating fun and meaningful moments for them, the constantly changing work environment and expectations have made it difficult as my job increasingly requires me to be overbearing with respect to my residents rather than a friendly and helpful presence that they can rely on.”
A former RA who wished to remain anonymous said that “from the moment I became an RA, I didn’t feel like a student” because of how “profoundly exhausting” the work was. She also reflected on resident advisor training, saying that “deadlines were assigned on the spot which took us hours to get done, so we stayed up till midnight.” A current RA requesting to be anonymous said that “there was more training on making connections with the other RAs rather than on procedures and expectations that come with the position” which resulted in many new RAs relying on returning RAs to learn the ins and outs of the position.
Former RA Elianna Johnson, ‘27 (Psychology, Biology minor) reflected on the 2 weeks of training. “I remember coming out of 8 hours of training and staying up for hours working on door decs/bulletin boards, going to bed and repeating it over the next day.” Anderson, who joined the RA staff after the traditional start of semester training had occurred, said she had short 1-on-1 training with her direct supervisor that was “direct, simple, and took a total of 4 days to completely understand my role and responsibilities.” She said the 2-week trainings have been “hectic” and “more confusing than helpful” and believes the 4-day model she was trained with would be much more effective for the entire RA staff. She also claimed that “the training documents that I was trained with 3 years ago have been noted to be ‘incorrect’ according to a secret policy that I and other RAs are currently not allowed to see.”
A concern brought forth in the bargaining document was that RAs do not have access to an employee handbook containing policies and procedures. Johnson said that she was shown the handbook when she was offered the position, but “beyond that point, the handbook was never discussed again.” Two RAs requesting to be anonymous said that they never saw the handbook.
Johnson also shared that she was let go from her position after a challenging semester dropped her GPA below the minimum requirement for working as an RA. She said that she forgot about the requirement due to the handbook not being shared after she saw it upon her job acceptance. While preparing for spring semester and doing much better, she was called into what she thought was a check-in meeting with her supervisor, and was shocked to learn she was being let go instead. “There was no indication of losing my position, warning, or grace period; the rug was just pulled from me.” Johnson said she had to scramble to find roughly $5,000 with which to pay for spring housing and meal plans. She said that the support she received throughout her position felt “false” because of how easily she was let go.
Overview of bargaining document
The document states that “there have been many instances where even senior RAs have broken rules they were not made aware of and otherwise would not have broken” due to lack of clear access to an employee handbook. This has created a “culture of uncertainty and fear” among the RA staff. The RAs include demands requesting consistency and clarity surrounding communication, shift change notifications and absences, coaching meetings and incident reports. They also request more flexible meal plans for RAs with dietary restrictions and the choice to select roommates should housing placements require roommates.
Requested training changes include having a week-long training with clear hours and “no last minute tasks assigned that require us to work during evening downtime.” The authors of the report demand a walkthrough of the employee handbook and having an off-campus professional conduct bias, white supremacy and Title IX training. They also request training to not include enactments of triggering “Behind Closed Doors” situations and breaks between intense training sessions.
RAs are required to spend time “on duty” each week, where they conduct rounds in campus dorms. The proposed changes to these shifts include limiting the number of rounds to three overnight on weekends due to unspecified safety concerns, allowing RAs to leave campus for more than 15 minutes while they are on duty and clarity regarding whether a professional staff member or an RA will answer to duty/safety calls.
Finally, the RAs request changes in general decorum. This section demands that “housing security and job security should not be held over our head or used as a threat or ultimatum so regularly, if at all by pro staff.”
The RAs request professional Campus Life staff arrive on time and prepared to staff meetings and be held accountable to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) laws for the protection of student information to the same extent that RAs are. The document also notes situations in which professional staff members “used tones and approaches that could be considered verbal abuse or bullying.” The examples described by the RAs include “pro staff calling staff names that are inappropriate for the workplace as well as admitting that during Pro Staff meetings they mock the vulnerable moments that RAs experience.”
The RAs note that this is not a strike, resignation letter or attack, but “an invitation to a bargaining meeting.”
The full bargaining document can be found on the Wheel website.
University response
According to an email sent by St. Kate’s president Marcheta Evans, PhD, and shared with the Wheel by Student Senate leadership officials, an “internal review” of the document is underway. The president referred the RAs to the Vice President of Human Resources, Latisha Dawson, who will “support the process and ensure that [their] voices are heard as we work toward a constructive path forward.”
Dawson said that the internal review includes “listening sessions, documentation review and direct feedback from those involved” in collaboration with Student Affairs and the Centers for Equity and Belonging. Dawson also reported that a bargaining session will be scheduled with the RAs once this investigation is complete. She reaffirmed the university’s commitment to “transparency and integrity,” explaining that the investigation involves “verifying facts, timelines, roles and policy applications to ensure clarity and accuracy.” Any inconsistencies will be “addressed directly through the proper channels.”
According to Dawson, “this is the first time a comprehensive, collective document has been submitted.” She did note that some of the issues from the bargaining document “have been addressed through existing university processes in the past, often on an individual basis.”
Dawson concluded, “We appreciate and recognize the leadership these students showed as they elevated their concerns to the University level when they felt they were not being heard. St. Catherine University takes these concerns very seriously, we are listening, and we are committed to a thorough and fair investigation.”
The full bargaining document can be read here.
Last updated April 29, 2025 at 8:10am.
