After the Resident Assistant (RA) contracts for the 2005-06 year were e-mailed late last month, there were mixed emotions – some RAs signed the contract, while others cried and some even claimed they couldn’t eat.

“RAs came to me that afternoon [the contracts came out] with their concerns,” said Margaret Horton, president of the Resident Student Association (RSA).

RAs were mainly concerned with the mandatory proctor shift, the lack of guaranteed time off, such as winter break, and the language of the contract. In the previous contract, RAs were referred to first as students. In the new contract, RAs were referred to as “professional” and not students at Northeastern.

RSA collaborated with the Student Government Association (SGA) to create legislation which called for changes to the contract. The legislation was presented to the SGA senate Feb. 24.

“[The contract] hindered us,” said Nikki Joffe, a junior sociology major and RA in White Hall. “For some of us, the reason we are going to be an RA is to help people; our contract wasn’t allowing us to do that.”

Initially, after RAs looked over the contract, an online petition was created. The problem most of the 54 signers expressed through the petition dealt with the proctor shift which, in the first draft of the contract, was two eight-hour shifts per month – one being an overnight or early morning shift. RAs were previously expected to work one four-hour shift per week for a total of 16 hours per month.

“The policy regarding proctor shifts is damaging to our quality of life … it is unreasonable to ask a student … to dedicate an eight-hour block of time, twice per month, to proctoring,” the petition stated.

After hearing the concerns, RSA assembled a general council to write legislation in order to make changes to the contract. Their legislation was discussed with SGA e-board members, and presented later at senate.

“RAs were not represented. I think [the contract] alienates a great group of people who are dedicated and passionate about their positions,” said Grant Oberg, a co-writer of the sense of the senate.

The sense of the senate is not a resolution, but it conveys the general consensus of the senate directed to the Department of Residential Life.

During Spring Break, Horton and SGA President Bill Durkin conducted a conference call with Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Philomena Mantella. Horton and Durkin said they were assured they would hear back from administration by Monday. Horton said she had been in contact with RAs all week, keeping them posted with any updates.

“RSA and SGA, or any student for that matter, has the right to raise an issue to a higher level of administration to get another level of review,” Mantella said. She said the issues Horton and Durkin raised were concerns Department of Residential Life Director Bob Jose and Vice President for Student Affairs Ed Klotzbier had been hearing from RAs as well.

“Senior VP Mantella listened to all of our concerns,” Durkin said. “She was very receptive. She gave us reasoning behind some of the decisions; she met some of our concerns.”

The changes to the contract, according to a press release from SGA, are that RAs will no longer be required to do two eight-hour proctor shifts every month. They will have to do one eight-hour shift and two four-hour shifts per month instead of their previous four four-hour shifts per month; RAs will now be off during Christmas intercession; and RAs will be able to take one weekend off per month.

Horton said the response to the reworked contract was mixed.

“Some of the RAs were happy about the changes. I feel like the proctor thing isn’t where they wanted it to be, but we’re still going to continue to work on it,” she said.

The proctor issue is one ResLife will not bend on, Jose said.

“In order for the Residence Life program to move forward, I felt that certain changes had to stay in place. The reason for the overnight shift is because overnight is when we have the majority of the problems,” Jose said. “I want individuals who know the students in the community to address issues as they enter the building.”

Jose said he wasn’t surprised by the issues raised with the contract.

“People are generally resistant to change, even when change is good. I am confident that, in time, the changes made to the RA contract will be embraced by the RA community,” Jose said.

He said he was the “driving force behind the change in the contract.”

Durkin said many RAs were upset because they were not consulted in the creation of the original contract.

“It’s really unfortunate; you risk losing some of your best RAs; it’s unacceptable. It could really adversely affect the quality of student life,” Durkin said.

Jose said he consulted his professional staff for feedback.

RAs had to re-sign the contract by 7 p.m. Monday, forfeiting their housing lottery number. Joffe said she re-signed the contract with a letter attached saying she would accept her position again under the new conditions. Others, however, did not re-sign, she said.

“We lost a few very, very good RAs,” Joffe said. She said the changes, however, couldn’t have been done without the help of RSA and SGA.

Jose said position offers have been extended to 158 RAs, 92 of whom are returning staff members.

On Thursday, an RA representative from each housing complex will meet with Klotzbier and Jose to discuss next year’s agenda for Residential Life.