I haven’t smoked weed in roughly six months because my wonderful girlfriend doesn’t like smoking. So it came as a little bit of a surprise when, for the second time in two weeks, I was rudely awakened the night before a 9 a.m. class.
The first time was because one of my suitemates was smoking in his room. Not exactly unheard of. But smoke in the dorms long enough, and odds are up for getting busted. He deserved to be written up. What I don’t appreciate is dealing with rude Resident Assistants (RAs) who have no respect for the residents who live in their building.
Threatening to write every member of the suite up because someone won’t confess to smoking marijuana is a joke. Doing it right after waking up half the pod by rudely pounding on their door is a joke. And using the “calling the cops” tool to threaten and mistreat my suitemate after already writing him up is a joke. On top of that, Housing’s Conduct Board sending him to a narcotics anonymous meeting when weed isn’t even classified as a narcotic medically (synthetically produced opiate) or legally (not labeled as a narcotic under the Federal Controlled Substances Act) shows just how over-bloated and under-educated the Conduct Board is.
Speaking of the Conduct Board, I have to attend one of those hearings because according to the housing report, my suite “smells dank.” One week after getting busted for pot, five guys (some of whom have questionable personal hygiene) living in a very small suite, eating awful college food, and using crappy Dollar Store Febreeze so girls don’t run away screaming, and the best housing can come up with, to charge our entire suite with “Drugs Use Sale Possession Consumption” and “Smoking” is that it “smells dank.”
Being nothing close to a lawyer, even I can see legally what a laugh-riot something like this is. However, this does show egregious and idiotic abuses of power by the entire Housing Department to crack down on a non-violent crime using nothing but “smells dank.”
What really has smoke coming out of my ears is that Housing has the power to come down groups of residents for a singular crime. I am not responsible for what my suitemates do with their free time and legally, I shouldn’t be. The wife of a drug dealer isn’t charged with the same charges and his brother isn’t hauled into court.
Housing doesn’t deserve respect unless they act like they deserve it. Having Grumpy the Dwarf threaten to write up my whole suite because a female RA verbally abuses my suitemate isn’t something I’m going to respect. Writing up an entire suite and making five innocent residents waste a Thursday night at a Conduct Board hearing isn’t something I’m going to respect.
The entire Housing Department needs a refresher on how to do their jobs. There are situations where the police are needed and where they are not. Draw that line, and act accordingly. Internally, make sure RAs are treating residents with respect. My RA treats me with respect, and I respect her. She makes my college experience fantastic. Unfortunately, the RAs during the first bust of my suite didn’t do the same. There should be strict disciplinary actions on RAs who violate rules. They should be fired outright and they definitely should not be kept on scholarship like they often, and recently, are.
Because Housing has decided to cast a wide, hole-filled net, I have to spend a Thursday night that I could be using to study, write a completely sarcastic Sarah Palin column, or hang out with friends standing in front of a conduct board that doesn’t distinguish marijuana from heroin.
jameyer@mesastate.edu
You make some interesting points here, but I feel obligated to tell you that if you would like anyone to take you seriously, you should not begin an Op Ed piece with the words, “I haven’t smoked weed in six months,” or refer to a housing staff member as “Grumpy the Dwarf.” Also, the world of academe rarely acknowledges temper tantrums thrown by children.
But let’s move on to the more pressing matter. I am not referring to your complaint about an abuse of power. I refer to the deplorable hygiene of you and your suite-mates. First, I realize that you probably were not smoking anything in your room. But if your suite-mates have been smoking cigarettes (or anything else), it would be very hard for you to ignore a smell like that especially because you are a non-smoker. Therefore, it would be your responsibility to stop said suite-mates from doing so. Secondly, if you and your suite-mates took the time to clean, and I mean seriously clean, the “dank” smell would not be emanating from your living space. Spraying “crappy dollar store febreeze” as to not scare away the girls won’t cut it. You should all take the time to sweep, mop, vacuum, dust, and do your laundry at least once a week. Performing these actions on a regular basis will keep your room from smelling like a foot.
Next, let’s address what you call disrespect. I venture to guess that you weren’t exactly agreeable to a search of your living space during the wee hours of the morning which probably led to an argument between you and a staff member of the college. I am sure they weren’t thrilled to be in your room either. The next time you want to complain about a search of your room, read a copy of your housing contract. I’m sure it clearly states that agents of the college have the authority to search your room, regardless of the reason.
Lastly, I don’t think that the RAs or housing staff need a refresher on their job. From the way you described this incident, they are following the protocols set for them to the letter. Someone that does need a refresher is you on how to be a decent human being. Did you ever consider bringing your concerns to the Director or Assistant Director of Housing and Residence Life before spitting your vitriol into a public forum? These people are hard working, honest, and respectful. And if you took the time to address these issues with them in a clear and rational conversation, they would be very quick to listen and address these issues with their staff members. Instead, you decided to throw a temper tantrum in the school newspaper. Talk about a lack of respect!
I assume you’re asking, “Who is this person to call me out on my obvious shortcomings?” I am not an RA or an employee of the college. I am an alumnus of the class of 2006. A friend of mine pointed out this letter to me and I found it difficult to ignore. I have a great job and proudly display my diploma from Mesa State College over my desk. If you ever want to be able to do the same some day, I will leave you with three pieces of advice that will serve you well for the remainder of your college career: Stop crying, grow up, and clean your room.
Matt,
You show yourself to be completely ignorant of your housing rules and rights, as well as common sense. you should have read your housing contract before writing this opinion article. You probably need a journalism class or two as well. While living in the dorms, I despised my RA’s more than anybody. Despite that, I knew my rights and obligations while living in the dorms, and respected theirs. Its students like you that make RA’s acts like that in the first place.
Gosh! THANKS MOM AND DAD! You two sure are swell, and I don’t know what I would do without your guidance!
It’s so nice to see people on the internet who care so much about collegiate editorials that they’ll take time out of their day to compose 580-word essays to point out how flawed that person is. I’m sure once those people are done doing that, they still have plenty of time to finish polishing their nice, new diploma and get some lunch. I’ll bet its reflection in what is undoubtedly an immaculate desk is downright impressive! Good thing you’re here to make sure this silly college student pays the same attention to cleanliness that you do!
I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made all those assumptions about you and your desk. It was very rude of me. I sincerely apologize.
As for Mr. McMillen, I’m glad that you managed to finish what Mr. mikedj13 started so eloquently! I’ve never enjoyed such luscious prose! The part where you pointed out that Mr. Meyer was completely ignorant of common sense was very hard-hitting. I also really enjoyed the criticism of his journalistic abilities; it was absolutely necessary that he be stopped before he made any more noise about authority.
Fortunately, you related to him with your own experience with “RA’s” before he could say anything that might undermine your scolding. I’ll bet he never thought of doing that when he started this article!
Anyway, I should probably go now, but I just really needed to praise the two of you for all your hard work keeping the internet safe from those darn college kids and their opinions. Glad you could share your own and God’s blessings to you!