Article by: Tom Logan
Life at Miller Hall has taken a turn for the worse for the 6th and 7th floors. A couple of weeks ago our Resident Advisor, Ben Pong, was fired from his position and forced to move out of the dorms. An anonymous person printed out photos of Ben doing shots and handed it to our residency director, who then decided to get rid of him as quietly as possible. Fortunately for Ben, the residents of Miller Hall’s 6th and 7th floors, as well as other floors, weren’t going to stand for it. Petitions, flyers, and t-shirts were made protesting Ben’s termination.
Now I’m not going to argue about whether or not Residence Life was right to fire Ben because, even though nobody likes to hear it, when Ben became an RA, he signed a contract with Residence Life that gave them the right to terminate him if they saw fit. Ben drinking underage is definitely grounds for termination.
But let’s be honest. College students are going to drink and we’re deluding ourselves if we think otherwise. Now, if Ben was drinking in the dorms or if drinking was affecting his performance as an RA, then I think many residents could understand his termination, but that isn’t the case.
Ben is a person who went above and beyond his duties as an RA. He always had his door open to anyone that needed advice, condoms, quarters for laundry, and even candy. He organized fun events that almost everyone in Miller attended. When one of my floormates asked about the gyms in our area, Ben visited several of the local gyms to see what they were charging for membership and if we would receive discounts for being students. He is the kind of person that brings people together and inspires group solidarity. I think you’d be hard pressed to find people sticking up for an RA like the way we did. If anything, I think the dorms would be better if we had more RA’s like Ben Pong.
Finally, to whomever printed those photos out and handed them to our residency director, I think I speak for everyone on the 6th and 7th floors when I say that your actions are completely inappropriate and I honestly don’t know what you got out of getting rid of one of, if not the best, RAs in Miller Hall.
