USC RAs are in uproar over decreased financial compensation and are taking matters into their own hands this week. Myriam Alcala spoke with several RAs and students to get their perspectives on the situation.
RAs, students who serve residents in USC housing, have complained about unfair compensation. USC’s financial aid office took away the cost of room and board from students’ tuition when considering grant aid. This resulted in a decrease of thousands of dollars in aid. The USC RA Organizing Committee organized a strike that will begin December third at 6pm. During the strike, RAs will not report to work until their financial aid is fixed.
Carol Alata, a junior and RA at Gateway apartments shared she feels it’s unfair that RAs work over 20 hours per week and don’t receive much in return.
As RAs, like, we’re just really not compensated at all for a lot of the time that we put into everything it is that we do.
Alata shared she was physically pushed by a resident while on-call in the middle of the night last month yet received little support in response to the assault.
I did receive a call from my supervisor, of course, who checked in on me. But the only thing he recommended me to do was to go to CMH. Or I think it’s like the Center for Mental Health on campus to seek free resources.
She added that although she really cares about her residents, the state of her job now has inclined her to take part in the strike.
If residential education or USC housing or whoever’s in charge refuses to give us any form of support and refuses to listen to our claims, then we are going to take the initiative to strike.
Junior Sofija Radulovic is an RA in Webb Tower who is helping organize the strike. She shared that she has now had to take out loans to help cover the cost of attending USC. She noted that the job is appealing to low-income students but has now forced them into a position where they are accruing late fees and facing obstacles when registering for classes.
Student reactions to the organization of the strike have been mixed. Some students, like freshman Webb Tower resident Hagar Eldeev, are frustrated to hear that her RAs are not being compensated fairly. She shared that she knows RAs have been upset about their situation, and rightfully so.
I mean, in a sense, they feel like they’re being exploited and they deserve to be able to speak out on that and to, like, be treated fairly.
Other students, particularly those who don’t know much about RA compensation are not entirely convinced that the uproar is necessary. Here’s freshman Fisher Johnson’s take.
From what I understand, they get free room and board and a meal plan. And I think that’s pretty fair because I know that like my parents are definitely paying a lot of money for my room and meal plan. So I don’t know if they want an extra salary, if that’s what they’re looking for. I don’t know a lot about it, but I feel like they get compensated like in other ways besides just like an actual salary, I guess.
However students may feel about RA compensation, the strike is still set to take place this Friday. In addition to fair compensation, RAs are demanding a seat at the table in higher-up meetings and a stipend of $10,370 per semester.
USC also released a statement to Annenberg Media. They said that most financial aid packages for RAs were finalized by July 15, but encourage RAs to work directly with the Financial Aid Office before accepting their position. The Financial Aid Office also stated that they will continue to work with Student Affairs and RAs to address the concerns raised.