Origins of Necessary Equality deserves an affiliated RA

Dear Babson Community,

Origins of Necessary Equality would like to bring your attention to an action that has made us feel targeted by the Office of Residential Life.

Residential Life has placed an RA in our living space that does not have any connection to our organization, even though there are several members in the organization that hold RA positions.

Although this is in no way an attack on the RA that we are currently assigned, we strongly believe that this assignment will be detrimental to our efforts and the work we do for the campus. We outline why we believe this in the following paragraphs.

ONE maintains certain standards and rules that allow the organization to operate efficiently and effectively on campus.Although the organization is accepting and inclusive, tower members serve as the face of the organization as a whole, and are consequently expected to act as ONE ambassadors and leaders everyday. This means they are tacitly a person that others know they can talk to about sensitive issues regarding race, gender, culture, etc. If tower members does not embody this quality, that is and will be detrimental to our overall goal of making Babson one of the most integrated and accepting campuses in the country.

Hence, the selection criteria for people that live in this space are very stringent.
This is for a multitude of reasons but the two main ones are:

1) Living in the tower is a very intimate setting; building a strong community within it is not only necessary for the success of the organization but also the individual (academic, social, extra-curricular) success of each resident. The tower is a safe space where tough conversations happen and everyone knows that what is done and said in there will not leave its walls. This trust and respect does not come because of a title. It comes on merit. We accept people into the tower that have shown an interest and commitment to ONE. We accept people who have shown they are willing to sacrifice for the other people in the tower. We accept people who know they are going to be held to one of the most exacting standards on this campus.

In meetings with residential life it was stated multiple times that the RA is not going to be held to the same standards as resident members. That sentiment is very blasé about the effect a person who is not living to the standards of everyone else will have. One person who does not abide fully by our community standards will undermine everything that has been built by this community over the span of the years since its inception in 2008. We are a special interest group that has made our tower into a home and haven for more than just the 15 residents. There cannot be any discontinuity between tower members for this to continue to be a fact.

This brings us to the second point: 2) An RA will do nothing to further build a sense of community in ONE. The only people that can contribute to building and refining the already stellar community we have are committed members of ONE. Someone who does not share the same commitment to social, racial, or cultural problems, or someone who does not take the time to be an activist and agent of change in the same issues we fight for will only serve as a pit of quicksand in front of us on our journey to change and equality. The common sentiment the Office of Residential Life has communicated is that an RA will help us build community because that is their job. This is wrong. There is no community on campus that even approaches our closeness and richness. All the communities that have an RA within them have not thrived better than we have. Simply put, an unaffiliated and especially uninterested RA has nothing to offer to this community. This is because they have not shown the commitment, dedication and effort necessary to live in this community. Worse yet, they do not even understand what this entails. It is not something that can be shown, rather it is something that our organization members see on a day to day basis as they interact with those that live in the tower.

Assigning an unaffiliated RA to our living space affects the organization as a whole and demonstrates that we are not given the same privileges as other special interest housing groups and that in itself is an injustice. History has shown that organizations with a living space are assigned RAs that are also involved in that same organization to help foster the relationship between that community and administration. ONE deserves the same respect and privilege.
We urge you to help us progress and continue our efforts to make Babson a more integrated diverse campus by maintaining our strong living community with a ONE affiliated RA. This allows us to keep our safe space rules and continue to positively impact the community as a whole by acting on Babson College’s goal to become one of the most intentionally diverse campuses in the country. We are the primary organization that can help the college achieve that. Help us make Babson a more integrated campus where everyone can feel safe and accepted.

Best,
Origins of Necessary Equality