Abstract
Lucas, a Residence Hall Director for Woodforest Cane University, has a history of trouble with setting and maintaining boundaries with his student staff. An example of the challenges he has faced emerges in an out-of-office, leisurely meeting with Zariah, a Residential Assistant (RA) he supervises. Zariah makes Lucas promise not to tell anyone her secret and proceeds to share that she was sexually assaulted off campus and that it is now affecting her work, schooling, and mental health. Lucas understands that he needs to do something as he is a mandatory reporter, but he is unsure how to move forward without compromising trust with this student staff member.
Keywords: supervision, housing, boundaries, Title IX, sexual assault
Primary Characters
Lucas (he, him, his) – Lucas is a Residence Hall Director in his fourth (4th) year at Woodforest Cane University. This is his first full-time role out of his master’s program, and he has thoroughly enjoyed the position. Every day is filled with new learning opportunities. Lucas has historically had issues establishing and maintaining boundaries with the residential assistants he supervises. He recently had a conversation with his supervisor, and they told him that his hall director hat never comes off, so he must act accordingly.
Zariah (she, her, hers) – Zariah is a junior Political Science major at Woodforest Cane University. A first-generation Black student, Zariah obtained a job as a Residential Assistant (RA) to help pay for her tuition and housing. She works for Lucas and has always been eager to learn more about supervision and the “real world” from her boss. Zariah is a more reserved student who prefers staying in and spending time with a few close friends. She does not bring drama to staff meetings and does not enjoy making a scene. It has always been difficult for her to establish trust with people due to past personal experiences, and she does not like to share her emotions with anyone.
Context
Woodforest Cane University (WCU) is a small private institution with an enrollment of about 3,500 students. There are only three residence halls on campus that house mainly first-year students. About 80% of continuing students move off-campus after the first year. Because the institution is smaller, many staff members are expected to wear multiple hats/fill various roles within the Division of Student Affairs, which includes housing.
WCU has a history of sexual assault on campus. While the university has and abides by a sexual misconduct policy, students rarely report sexual assaults to university personnel. Anecdotally, there have been at least five sexual assaults on campus each semester that Lucas has worked at WCU. Students have shared with him and other staff that they and their friends do not report issues because of significant faculty and staff gossip at the institution. Because staff work across functional areas, students have heard stories that it is common for employees to share information, which compromises student privacy.
Case
It is 11:45 am on a Saturday, and Lucas is sitting in a local, off-campus coffee shop waiting for one of the student staff members he works with, Zariah. Zariah has been a Residential Assistant (RA) for three years – ever since her first year at WCU. She has worked for Lucas as an RA the entire time, and they have established a solid supervisor/supervisee relationship. As Zariah is moving forward in her academic career, Lucas has been helping her apply for graduate programs. This is the reason for their meeting today.
Lucas and Zariah drink coffee and discuss programs to which Zariah has already applied. After Zariah finishes speaking, Lucas shares insights about each program and campus and offers to connect her to others who may have helpful information.
Lucas then pivots the conversation, asking Zariah how she has been. She responds, “Fine,” but Lucas probes a bit more. Lucas mentions that Zariah’s work ethic is not what it has been in the past and that he has seen a shift in the quality of the work she has been putting into the RA role. “You just don’t seem to be enjoying the work as much recently,” he adds. Lucas reassures her that if she does not feel comfortable sharing with him, there are many resources on and off campus that could be helpful.
Zariah immediately responds that she does not want to talk to any of the campus resources. She tells Lucas that she is willing to share why she has been so distant from her job and school recently if he promises not to tell anyone. Lucas pauses and then reminds Zariah that he is not a confidential resource. “I will do everything to protect your privacy, but I may need to share information through the proper channels of communication depending on what you share with me.”
Zariah was not happy with this answer and reminds Lucas that they are not on campus, “We are meeting outside of supervision, Lucas. Neither of us is wearing our professional hats right now.” Though Lucas was still hesitant, he thought that she was right. They were not operating within their official roles at the time, so maybe this conversation would be okay, and he wouldn’t be obliged to share anything.
After he agreed to keep the conversation between the two of them, Zariah shares that a few weeks ago, she had gone to pick up one of her good friends from a party. While she was looking for her friend, she had what she thought was a non-alcoholic drink and asked a few people if they had seen her friend. One guy volunteered to help her look upstairs for her friend, but once they reached the top of the stairs, Zariah felt weak and lightheaded before passing out. When she woke up, she realized that she had been drugged and sexually assaulted. Though she is currently going through the legal process and has filed a police report to press charges against the person who assaulted her, Zariah is still being affected by the aftermath of the situation, and it is beginning to reflect in her school and work life. “I’m in therapy, and my counselor says that I’m making progress, but she keeps reminding me this work is slow and can take a long time.”
Lucas is shocked that this happened to Zariah, and he is upset that she has not taken any time to recover. Lucas reiterates that he still feels like he is obligated to share this information with someone who is more equipped to handle the situation, but Zariah reminds him that he promised he would not say anything since this isn’t a supervision meeting, it isn’t on campus, and the assault did not happen on campus.
Zariah pauses for a moment. Seeing that Lucas is still unsure, she adds, “You know WCU’s reputation related to gossip among professional staff. You told me this could stay between us. If you tell anyone, you’re doing exactly what others have done that keeps us as students from reporting things on campus. I am trusting you will do what you said, Lucas.”
At that moment, Zariah gets a call from her mother and has to leave. Lucas sits at the coffee shop with conflicting feelings. He wants to ensure that Zariah receives the proper help and attention that she needs, but he also wants to maintain the trust and friendship that he has established with her.
The next day, Lucas is still thinking about the situation at the coffee shop. He reaches out to his boss for advice. Lucas shares that he is concerned about a student who has had an unpleasant experience. He tells his boss that he wants to report the situation to another, more confidential resource, but he does not want to break the trust established between him and the student. “She has another year at WCU, and I don’t want to share information and contribute to the gossip culture on campus. I’m not sure what to do next.”
Questions
- How would you respond as Lucas’ boss? What would you advise Lucas to do now? How might you advise him to do things differently in the future?
- How might Lucas be able to provide Zariah with the campus resources without compromising her privacy or their rapport? How might he find resources both on and off campus for Zariah?
- What legal obligations does Lucas have in this situation? What ethical obligations does Lucas have?
Author Bio
Kamariah (Kai) Hammonds (she, her, hers) is a second-year student in Clemson University’s Master of Education in Student Affairs program. She is a first-generation African American/Black college student passionate about working with underrepresented student populations and creating safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ and allied students.