If they are asking us to live in a certain place that has associated costs, they must provide us coverage for all of it. Part of their job requirement is to live and be present, and if we’re asking somebody to live in a certain place, then we are going to provide them with coverage.” Another requirement of living on campus is being on the meal plan. The Associate Director of Residential Life, Marian Aden, recently was quoted in The Mac Weekly saying that “They have the compensation of room because they are required to live on campus. This is not only unfair, but it is also unethical. The difference between room and board is $1,002 - meaning we work long hours for nearly ten months to receive the equivalence of $1,002. This means that a requirement of our job as RAs is to pay Macalester $6,270 for our meal plan in order to be employed as an RA. Unlike many other institutions, Macalester does not pay for their RA’s board (meal plans). While this may seem like a large amount of money, the majority of RAs living on campus are also required to be on the meal plan which costs $6,270 a year. Currently, we are only compensated for the price of our room which is equivalent to $7,272 a year. As your Residential Assistants (RAs) at Macalester College, we deserve better pay.
