While posters hang on the walls of many residence halls advocating students to apply for positions as resident adviser next year, Brian Stout is advocating students to do the exact opposite.

Stout, a sophomore advertising major and former RA at DellPlain Hall, was fired earlier in the year by the Office of Residence Life after he sent a group e-mail to members of the student organization Pride Union – of which he is a member – in response to threats he received from another student in the organization, he said.

‘Someone from the Office of Residence Life got a hold of it and yelled at me for not being a role model,’ Stout said. ‘As far as I’m concerned, whatever I do to handle things in my personal life is my decision. The whole thing was a real slap in the face.’

According to Stout, official protocol for RAs dictates that they contact the Department of Public Safety after receiving a threat.

Stout said he did not feel safe informing Public Safety about the threats, but because he took action on his own, ORL sent him a termination letter, forcing him to cancel his meal plan and find a new place to live in less than a week. He is also no longer allowed to enter DellPlain Hall.

‘I trusted myself to make my own decisions,’ Stout said. ‘I feel the ideal (RA) would be someone motivated to think for himself and create change.’

Anthony Buono, assistant director of human resources and communications at ORL, said that Stout was one of many RAs who have left their positions, as his office has received several resignations. Including Stout, there are at least four RAs who have been let go this semester. Buono said there are people to replace the vacancies. However, Stout is encouraging his friends not to apply.

‘(ORL keeps) RAs’ personal lives tied to their job,’ Stout said. ‘I don’t regret anything that I’ve done.’

Along with the situation with Pride Union, Stout also attributes his firing to other reasons he felt were equally unfair, such as filing a report with Public Safety after discovering a crack in one of the windows only to be asked later by the ORL to resign because he did not follow proper protocol.

‘They wanted to get rid of me,’ Stout said. ‘I feel that, given their guidelines, they could get rid of any RA they wanted to.’

Peter Vicario, a sophomore majoring in accounting and finance and one of Stout’s former residents, said he felt Stout didn’t spend enough time on the floor with his residents, however.

‘He wasn’t strict enough,’ he said. ‘People got a little out of control.’

Buono said that the recent rash of employee terminations will ultimately affect residents of the former RAs most.

‘It isn’t fair that students on the floor aren’t getting the right attention,’ he said. ‘The RA position is held in high regard and it’s important that they can contribute the amount of time to the position.’

Because it is not legal for employers to discuss details of the employment of people they hire, Buono was unable to comment on the specifics of Stout’s or any other former RAs’ situations.

Despite Stout’s distress, he agreed with Buono that his residents will be the ones most affected by the decision.

‘Ultimately, it’s my residents’ loss,’ he said. ‘I put so much time into programs I set up for these kids.’

Jake Murphy, a sophomore art history major and recently fired RA of Flint Hall, declined to comment for this story.

Published on December 5, 2004 at 12:00 pm