<p>I think in the real world, no one gets fired without notice. I think this is very heavy handed. Did the RAs get a written warning? This does seem heavy handed to me. It seems to me that Residence Life needs a new director.</p>
<p>Also, if the ones that have already been denied go to the press, help from the community might come for them.</p>
<p>AND it might help those who have not yet filed their appeals.</p>
<p>Seriously, if I had a lot of money and owned a local hotel or campground, I would open it to the kids, 4 to a room free of charge.</p>
<p>Good PR for me, helps the kids, only a 6 week duration. Win-win.</p>
<p>Someone should go to the press and ask for help from the community.</p>
<p>I can confidently say there was NO notice before the thursday firings. </p>
<p>Gotta love how the NEU blog is written to give tips on all the residents on how to avoid alcohol and pot-smoking detection now that the (remaining) RAs are going to be stepping up inspections. (Not sure when they are going to find time to study for their own finals with all that extra work.) It’s a thankless job, and as one of the posters on that blog stated, it’s a lot of the good, well-liked ones that are getting the boot. (yes, I’m admittedly biased).</p>
<p>I also wondered about the fact that this university is taking the kids’ tuition money and then literally making them homeless within a span of about 4-5 days!!?? (I note with a smile that the original title to this thread was edited {not by me} to remove the reference to the terminated RAs being tossed in the street :)}. I agree with you kayf, this is definitely not real-world; it’s like the bubble of the university can’t be penetrated by anyone with a logical thought (or heart).</p>
<p>FWIW. I do believe your story. The student relaying this story to you has the original letter and probably can get hold of an appeals denial. Fax copies to the newsroom with a cover letter and contact number to call. The students are probably worrying about further retribution for publicizing their plight, and are small in number and being driven off campus and separated. Some of those students are savvy in social media and should start a social media blitz as well. You have a good heart and I hope it gets resolved and the students are not homeless. Although, if they showed up as a group at a Boston homeless shelter that would make quite a story.</p>
<p>I said this on the parents forum thread, and I will say it here. My guess is that something very, very bad happened, something legally actionable, when an RA was not where he/she was supposed to be.</p>
<p>It may well be that the school is keeping the details private, for their own sake, or for the sake of anybody involved in the regrettable situation.</p>
<p>This is just my opinion, and I could be wrong.</p>
<p>that does make sense poetgrl, though I haven’t heard of anything. Even so, it’s a CYA move if I heard one – blaming the RAs and tossing them out on the street. As I said above, it’s a hard, thankless job (I was an RA in college, I know).</p>
<p>thanks marybee, I appreciate your thoughts. You might be onto something with that homeless shelter idea! </p>
<p>still waiting on my friend’s appeal outcome…</p>
<p>Complete CYA, if I’m even right. Which I might not be.</p>
<p>Poet, as I said on the parent’s board, there is no indication of anything terrible on the reddit link. EVEN if there were, throwing out a GROUP of people with 3 days notice is terrible management. They should have been given notice.</p>
<p>We’ll see. I’m betting a heroin OD in a place where multiple RAs would have seen it, and they done their jobs.</p>
<p>Mini – wow, lets jump to conclusions. Reading the reddit site, it seems that RAs at NU do not have the authority to search rooms, etc. So I really question how “multiple” RAs could have been responsible. But sure, punish a whole lot of kids. Its not fair. Why was the RD not fired summarily?</p>
<p>And in all the student posts on reddit, NO ONE mentions anything like an OD. Kinda hard to believe no one would know.</p>
<p>I’m speculating, not jumping to conclusions. But it would be far from the first:</p>
<p>[UPDATED:</a> Man overdoses in Shillman | The Huntington News](<a href=“http://huntnewsnu.com/2011/02/man-overdoses-in-shillman/]UPDATED:”>http://huntnewsnu.com/2011/02/man-overdoses-in-shillman/)</p>
<p>If the OD didn’t result in a death, it might not have made the papers, either. Overdoses are very common, both on-campus and off. The university has good lawyers. The behavior must have been egregious enough, and among multiple RAs, to result in such action. I can imagine other things (RAs involved in a drug ring), and would result in RAs agreeing to go quietly.</p>
<p>(BTW, when I was in college 45 years ago, I knew RAs who were in fact engaged in a drug ring. This wouldn’t be anything new.)</p>
<p>Mini, that was the story of a 28 year old non-student. Surely you arent holding RAs responsible for that. As to your story of drug ring, that is totally without substantiation. Ths school is saying failure to make rounds, and they are trying to figure out if more did.</p>
<p>Mannix said:
</p>
<p>You started this thread (and another thread on the Parents forum) with a startling statement based solely on what your kid’s friend told him. You stated it as fact. I do not feel that you are sorry at all. You could have started a thread asking if anyone on the Northeastern forum has heard about this without being sensationalist. </p>
<p>Also, some posters here, most of whom are not frequenters of the forum, seem quick to analyze and blame with no real facts. This “travesty” has not even generated enough interest to merit an update to the student newspaper.</p>
<p>To some what a kid’s friend tells him or what is is posted on an unmoderated blog is gospel I guess.</p>
<p>“Mini, that was the story of a 28 year old non-student. Surely you arent holding RAs responsible for that. As to your story of drug ring, that is totally without substantiation. Ths school is saying failure to make rounds, and they are trying to figure out if more did.”</p>
<p>No, and that was two years ago (but there were three deaths, not just one. And for every death, there are usually about 15 overdoses, most of which go unreported in the media.) </p>
<p>As I said, twice, it is speculation. It must have been pretty egregious. It was certainly reviewed by university lawyers and risk management, and they must have felt the action was necessary, and within bounds. The RAs must believe that they get off better if they collectively shut up and move out. </p>
<p>I am NOT jumping to conclusions. I am not blaming anybody. I am just trying to imagine what kind of action or inaction on the part of the RAs must have been so horrific as to warrant this kind of response. What awful thing happened when the RAs didn’t make rounds? What were the RAs doing when they weren’t making rounds?</p>
<p>I expect we’ll eventually find out. Things like this have a way of leaking out.</p>
<p>Moderators note: Until actual evidence of some article/copy of a letter is posted, do not start another thread. It is not acceptable for people to be starting new threads asking people not to enroll at NEU etc. </p>
<p>This thread is closed at this time.</p>