On Oct. 19, two resident assistants (RAs) at SUNY Oswego updated an online petition expressing their grievances with the current standards placed on them by Residence Life and Housing (ResLife). 

Spearheaded by village community assistant (VCA) Aziz Sarimsakov and supported by Waterbury RA Horane Daley, the student representatives made this unprecedented move following a meeting with vice president of student affairs Kathleen Kerr and assistant vice president of Residence Life and Housing Sara Rebeor. 

This meeting intended to address the various concerns of Sarimsakov and Daley, who acted on behalf of students working under ResLife. According to the now-closed petition, critical points included the “reduction of meal benefits,” “lack of fair compensation,” and “concerns about potential retaliation.” 

“Last year, nobody wanted to step up really and do something like [this petition],” Sarimsakov said. “But then this year, this semester a couple of weeks ago, I was just not having it, I had to prioritize this job over my school work a couple of times, which should never happen. But, because I was afraid of getting a job action for not meeting the deadline, I had to do it.”

Sarimsakov emphasized why some felt overwhelmed by the demands of the position, specifically those working in The Village.

“There’s only four of us, and each of us gets three blocks of houses,” Sarimsakov said. “So it’s very similar to what an RA does, but it’s a bit more work, you know, because there’s only four of us. I have 74 residents under my supervision… while a regular RA has anywhere between 25 to 30 residents.”

RAs in dormitories such as Scales or Waterbury are not at risk of becoming oversaturated with students due to their building’s occupancy limits, though they have seen some degree of strain with added duties. 

“All I will say is that as [ResLife takes] away our benefits, they’re adding responsibilities,” Daley said. “We have to do Laker Connections, we have to do the roommate agreements, we have to do the bulletin boards. Same as [being] on call every single week. And those on-calls, we’re basically working for free because there’s no compensation for that. And anything can happen on those on-calls.”  

Sarimsakov and Daley acknowledged that Kerr and Rebeor facilitated some progress. Notably, they promised to increase the number of VCAs in the coming semesters, study the compensation other RAs at SUNY-affiliated schools receive and immediately void the 10-hour extracurricular activity limit imposed on RAs and VCAs.

In an email, Kerr included her inputs regarding the meeting. 

“It was a productive and informative conversation for all present, as was a listening session Sara and I facilitated with RAs in September,” Kerr said. “I have offered a standing invitation to any Resident Student Staff member who has a concern about their position to meet with me and I welcome these conversations.”

Kerr stressed the importance of communication between staff and upper management and how crucial RAs and VCAs are to the functionality of residence halls across campus. However, some of the demands from the meeting require more research; Kerr thus promised future conversations.

Regardless of the abrasive start to the unionization efforts, the acknowledgment of Sarimsakov and Daley’s key points has temporary halted further union talks. As long as SUNY Oswego follows through with its promises, Sarimsakov is “going to be happy with leaving it at that.”