The tale of the two Flint Village community assistants who ran afoul of University policy last Halloween while attending a party in the university apartments is nearing a close, with both sides learning valuable lessons. The two students, Marc Stellrecht and Jordan Berry, realized the troubles of the professional environment where employers can act on whims, while the school's blurry relationship with their professional staff is now more defined.
After a party last semester, the Stellrecht and Berry were promptly fired by University Residence Halls and Apartments, only to have their positions restored shortly thereafter, with punishment being reduced to probation and 50 hours of community service. The ordeal dragged on until the end of the semester, and the two students have recently quit their positions and moved off campus.
They claim to have been treated rudely and unprofessionally by the UB staff at various levels, and say they are unhappy with the direction the CA program is going. The two former staffers indicated CAs are moving away from a facilitating role into one that is much more intense and time-consuming, and they were unwillingly caught in the transition.
Previously, The Spectrum applauded the rational decisions of both sides to meet in the middle after the harsh punishment of firing. The school has every right to deal out punishment in this case, as the CAs were clearly violating the rules of the university apartments.
However, the way they handled the punishments on the whole were illogical and unbalanced. Not only were different students given different punishments and held to different standards, the CAs were never trusted during the process or treated fairly as professionals. The Spectrum cannot verify some of the specific claims of mean or nasty comments, but the lack of respect was obviously enough to drive the dedicated workers away from their positions.
Stellrecht and Berry feel URH&A was being unclear about the goals and responsibilities. If there are legitimate changes in the way CAs are forced to operate because of this event, a set of concrete rules must be provided. Also, the bond between the CAs and complex directors must grow so that there is a level of trust and mutual appreciation for the rules and guidelines. Since those lines of communication were breached, it makes sense that both sides were irritated.
As a new semester begins, it is important to define roles and come clean. Both sides have an excellent chance to make amends and move forward. Everyone must use learning experiences, and there are certainly enough lessons to go around.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
