Carleton’s residence is running differently this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with newly instated rules and policies intended to keep residents and staff safe.
These changes have left residence fellows (RFs) with a new set of responsibilities, in charge of monitoring and enforcing the strict policies.
Under normal circumstances, RFs are usually in charge of cultivating community and the residence experience—encouraging social interaction and academic success through floor events, activities, and meetings.
This year, RFs are also responsible for enforcing the school’s COVID-19 rules, which include mask-wearing, physical distancing at all times outside dorm rooms, and limited lounge capacities.
Due to the pandemic, residents are only allowed on the floor of their own building, are prohibited from having off-campus guests, and are allowed only one other person from their floor in their room at a time.
Jillian McArthur, an RF in the residence building Grenville House, said RFs are learning how to best handle COVID-19 guideline violations in residence.
When RFs see any violations, the resident is spoken to in a conversation geared around learning, according to McArthur.
The RF then documents the conversation for residence community managers, who keep track of violations. One violation results in a meeting, two result in a $75 bond being introduced, and after three violations, the bond is issued.
“We remind everybody that we are living in a shared space and we are in a community, and everybody’s actions affect the whole community,” McArthur said.
Olivia Little, an RF in the residence building Glengarry House, said this year’s role comes with a lot of added pressure.
“In previous years, residence standards are just to make a nice community to live in, but now, [with] COVID guidelines … There’s a lot of weight behind the rules and it’s very important to understand the seriousness of them,” she said.
Hannah Velle, an RF in Stormont, said she’s noticed increased hostility from residents this year, who have been avoiding her and even closing doors while she walks by.
“Because there’s been a fair number of documentations for mask violations and violations of the guest policy, people see you in your red vest and they’re like, ‘oh, they’re here to document me,’” she said.
Apart from dealing with the added COVID-19 safety measures, RFs also have to maintain a sense of community for their residents during a time of physical distancing and online transitions.
Velle recently hosted a distanced and masked paint night for her floor, and McArthur has divided her floor into smaller teams so residents can socialize face-to-face while still maintaining proper distance in the lounge.
Little has been promoting Carleton’s residence-wide virtual events, such as Zoom bingo, through her floor’s Instagram account.
“It’s been challenging to get students on my floor connected and making friends, which is starting to happen now and I’m really happy about that, but at the beginning, it was just kind of tough,” Velle said.
Despite COVID-19 safety concerns in residence, RFs agreed that they felt safe living on campus.
“It’s a constantly changing level of restriction and the policies are always evolving. I’ve been really impressed with everybody in the residence staff who have been working to make this place operable during a time like this,” McArthur said.
Although RFs have only been working for a few months, Velle said she’s optimistic for the rest of the year, and like her peers, is confident that sticking with the job despite COVID-19 will be worth it.
“Now, it’s more important than ever that students still have a chance to build connections and friendships with each other,” she said.
Featured image by Isabel Harder.
