With freshman housing near, UR must use the D?Lions organization to help build the sense of community that the new housing model proposes to bring.
D?Lions should be placed on the Residential Quad, where they will be sorely needed to offer advice to and program for the freshmen. They do not belong in Susan B. Anthony Residence Halls, where upperclassmen do not require their resources as much.
However, the D?Lions now face a greatly expanded role.
As freshmen have more needs, D?Lions on an all-freshman hall will find they must expend more time and effort to ease their residents? transition to college life. Finding themselves the lone upperclassmen on a hall, in addition to the resident adviser, D?Lions will carry the sole responsibility for addressing freshman concerns.
Furthermore, the incentive to be a D?Lion has decreased. While D?Lions currently get the bonus of desirable rooms near their friends, future D?Lions will find themselves living among strangers.
Therefore, D?Lions should receive funding to support their increased programming role and personal compensation to cover their expanded duties and hold them accountable.
D?Lions currently receive $50 per semester ? a stipend that barely covers hall decoration. D?Lions should be able to bring programming proposals to a board like the Students? Association Appropriations Committee in order to garner sufficient funds. With funding, they will be able to schedule more hall programs and help get freshmen involved in campus activities and organizations.
As for compensation, D?Lions should receive a discount on their meal plan. Under the theory that sharing meals fosters community, going to eat as a hall should be a D?Lion?s responsibility.
After all, if D?Lions cannot adequately program and be held accountable for their job, what kind of community will the all-freshman quad be?
