Tucked away in the back corner of the Housing and Residence Services office in the Stormont building is the still half-set up office of Carleton’s new housing director.
At 34, Laura Storey is fresh from a stint as housing director at Trent University. She joined the residence and housing department on Sept. 15 and said she is already taking residence issues head on.
“My impression is there is still a lot of work that can be done,” said Storey, a graduate of Trent University and University of Toronto’s Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
She said the number one thing she wants to do is consult with students.
“I’m not sure if that has always been done,” Storey said. “I think that students need a voice in this office and in residence.”
Storey said her interest in her line of work is partly due to her experience as an undergraduate student 15 years ago.
“My don quit in November of my first year. I didn’t have the same supports that students here would have with their res fellow. I basically had to navigate things on my own,” Storey said.
She is replacing Dave Sterritt, who retired after 43 years working at the university.
“[I’m] coming in with not a lot of background and history about Carleton,” she said. “I am able to say ‘What if we try things this way? What if we look at things from a different perspective?’”
One of Storey’s goals is to encourage open dialogue through a committee made up of housing staff and residence fellows.
“I’m looking for representatives from every house, so 13 students and myself and the co-ordinator of training assessment, evaluation, and retention,” she said.
Last winter, residence fellows voted on whether to unionize. Several residence fellows were upset with how the housing department handled their complaints of poor and unsafe working conditions.
Storey said she sees the residence contract as another place where improvements can be made.
“The sanctions. I want to look at the fines that are being imposed. I don’t necessarily see it being an advantage for students. It can be very punitive,” she said. “I think it needs to be focused more on positives—what are students’ rights and responsibilities rather than the do-not’s.”
Storey said she also aims to renovate the Raven’s Roost, the entertainment space in residence.
“I want student spaces to be spaces where they want to be in,” Storey said.
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