Yellowjackets in Ball Hall cause RAs to ask for more support from the university

by ABIGAIL SLAUGHTER

Staff Writer

When Rachel Frantz, an undecided junior, and her roommate moved into Ball Hall this semester, they noticed yellowjackets in their dorm room and put in a work order.

“We would find a bee, and if it was dead, we would pick it up and flush it down the toilet, but if it was alive, we would cover it with one of our cups or bowls,” said Frantz. At one point, Frantz and her roommate had almost completely run out of cups and bowls to cover the yellowjackets. 

Weeks after the first work order was placed, Frantz’s RA called the professional on-call because the yellowjackets were still there. The non-emergency police came and killed the yellowjackets that were in the room, but yellowjackets continued showing up after that and spread throughout the residence hall, according to an RA, who asked to remain anonymous.

Days later at approximately 11:20 p.m., Frantz was stung by a yellowjacket. Since she had never been stung before, she went to her RA as her hand started to swell. The RA alerted the professional on-call, who told Frantz’s RA to call an ambulance. Frantz was okay, but that was not the end of the yellowjacket problem.

Two weeks after the initial work order was placed, Frantz and her RA had submitted additional work orders since the yellowjackets had not been addressed. Facilities then visited multiple times and found an entire nest in the wall. 

“Facilities assigned the work to our contracted exterminator for resolution,” said Nolan Akau, Facilities Maintenance Services director. “[Our] contractor responded the next day as issues [were] reported.”

Frantz and her roommate were relocated to Jefferson Hall while pest control treated the room. 

“[Facilities] took care of it, but the bees just kept coming,” said Frantz. 

Frantz and her roommate were told that the nest could not be removed—they could only spray down the room. The nest still remains in Ball Hall, according to the anonymous RA. 

Residence Life could not comment on this specific issue.

“We routinely work with students if a situation requires them to be relocated or if they would feel more comfortable being relocated,” said Hunter Rauscher, the associate director for Residence Life and Housing. “I can not comment on specific students.”

Ball Hall’s yellowjacket problem is just one of the recent issues that RAs have had to respond to this year. Some RAs have said that a lack of effective communication between Residence Life, Facilities and the University Police has increased the burden on RAs and made their jobs more difficult.

According to the UMW website, resident assistants serve several roles—community leader, role model and administrator, among others. However, exterminator is not something some RAs foresaw as one of their responsibilities.

“Our responsibilities have kind of extended to pest control,” said the anonymous RA. “It’s not a small list anymore.”

According to Akau, Residence Life and Facilities’ response times depend on the severity of the situation.

“During normal work hours, Res Life and Facilities’ response is immediate,” said Akau. “During non-work hours if emergency issues are communicated to dispatch our Call-Out mechanic responds within one to four hours. [The] resolution and/or remediation timeline is contingent upon the emergency.”

A pattern of insufficient communication between Residence Life and some of their employees has made some RAs’ jobs increasingly difficult.

“It has become a lot more difficult and a lot harder to manage time because sometimes communication isn’t the best, and I don’t necessarily blame anyone for that,” said Kiarnan Kaleshefski, a junior in the education program and second-year RA. “I don’t really know if what I’m saying is a true reflection of how it was before the pandemic, but if I’m basing it off of last year to this year, my responsibilities have increased. We don’t have time to do the things we need to do as people to refresh and recharge.”

On Sept. 1, the Office of University Public Safety announced on Eagle Eye, a campus news source for UMW faculty and staff, that Michael Muckinhaupt quit his job as Director of Emergency Management and Safety. Muckinhaupt worked with Residence Life on fire drills and emergencies and reported to UMW Police Chief Michael Hall. Muckinhaupt could not be reached for comment for this article. 

According to Kaleshefski and the anonymous RA, they have not scheduled fire drills in their respective buildings since Muckinhaupt’s departure.

“Without Mike, we can’t proceed forward,” said the anonymous source. “At this moment, we’re at a standstill, and standstills are not appreciated within Res Life.” 

Residence Life plans to keep its RAs updated on any changes. 

“We continue to work with campus safety on drills as we do each semester,” said Rauscher. “As the university updates relevant policies we will adjust and make sure our staff is up to speed on these changes [in standard operating procedure],” said Rauscher. 

Captain Mark Sandor of the Department of Police and Public Safety will serve in Muckinhaupt’s place for the time being.

“When someone leaves, then we put someone else in place to oversee it,” said Hall. “We’re actively searching [for] a replacement,” said Hall. 

UMW Police officers work with Residence Life and may step in during emergency and some non-emergency situations in residence halls. 

“Any time that the RA, or anyone for that matter, feels uncomfortable or concerned and they don’t understand [the situation], then it becomes our [responsibility],” said Hall. “[If] a law enforcement officer knows that it’s clearly not a law enforcement situation, then they’ll call the lieutenant or either call the professional-on-call or the next level.”

The anonymous RA hopes for more support from other UMW departments.

“When you’re dealing with a situation, you just think, ‘Man, I’d like some back up right now’ or ‘I would like to not have to jump through all these hurdles,’” they said.

When asked why they think their responsibilities have increased, the RA said, “The reason that it’s not simple anymore is because the cooperation of the UMW police, facilities, maintenance … is just not effective anymore. It doesn’t provide a level ground of support for RAs, so we’re now kind of thrown into a pool of ‘you need to just figure it out as you go’ type of thing.”

Kira Flinn, a fifth-year student in the education program, is experiencing her first semester as an RA. 

“I think [an RA’s experience] really depends on where they’re placed,” she said. “Other people have a lot more incidents that they have to deal with.”

Despite her job’s challenges, Kaleshefski said she enjoys working with Residence Life.

“I enjoy the fact I can have more of a leadership role in the community and be able to reach out to students who may not feel like they have a place,” said Kaleshefski.

Flinn was recently in the hospital and said she feels that Residence Life has been helpful and supportive. 

“I’m just glad that my bosses and everyone else that has been involved have been really understanding and [have been] there when I need it,” she said.