Several Ohio University resident assistants were given letters of termination Friday as a result of an alleged drinking incident that occurred before residents returned to the halls following winter break.
Editor’s Note: In order to protect a source from professional retribution, The Post has chosen to withhold their name.
Several Ohio University resident assistants were given letters of termination Friday as a result of an alleged drinking incident that occurred before residents returned to the halls following winter break.
The nine RAs, who served in Cady, Foster and Brough, appealed their terminations.
Wednesday, the RAs received an email notice that their terminations had been overturned and their jobs would be reoffered to them.
Allegedly, underage RAs were drinking while on duty Jan. 7th before the building’s residents returned from winter break. One RA admitted to drinking while on phone duty.
The remaining eight RAs were supposedly fired for their failures to report a violation of the RA Job Description and the Alcohol and Drug policy, one of the RAs, who wishes to remain anonymous, said.
Another one of the RAs is Taylor Maple, a Post reporter.
If an RA chooses to accept the job back, he or she will remain on probation as long as serving as a resident assistant, according to an email sent to RAs from Director of Residential Education Sarah Oleksy and Christine Reghetti-Feyler, assistant director for South Green, that was obtained by The Post.
“We believe your failure to meet several expectations listed in the RA Job Description and the Alcohol and Drug policy still warrants some form of employee discipline,” according to the email.
None of the RAs were forced to leave their rooms.
“I feel like they could have gone through the process without firing us all immediately,” the anonymous RA said. “They could have put us on probation until they looked into the situation, so I guess I’m just a little confused.”
Erin Lambka, residential coordinator and her Martzolff Complex staff took over the duties of making late-night rounds in the absence of Cady, Foster and Brough RAs.
Officials are “still working through the situation,” said Pete Trentacoste, executive director of Residential Housing.
He could not confirm or deny specific details of the case, citing student privacy.
Without the RAs, residential housing would have had others to fill in, as this year was “one of the largest years we’ve ever had for RA recruitment,” Trentacoste said.
He said Residential Housing has changed how it seeks RAs in recent years. In the most recent RA selection, 650 people applied for the position, Trentacoste said. “It’s a very popular position.”
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