“The Waiting List”

Jessica DeSalvo

Waiting in anticipation may be one of the most nerve-racking experiences to undergo,especially when the news you’re waiting for pertains to your dorming fees! Resident assistant,also known as your residence hall floor manager, is a job many people are fighting for. To apply, you must go through a process of activities, projects and interviews before being accepted.

Fifty students completed the Resident Assistant application process for the start of our 2011 school year. Out of those 50 applicants, C.W. Post only had 12 positions available to join the resident assistant staff for the fall 2011 semester. So, once those 12 spots are filled, what happens to the other 38 students who applied?  Students who do not make the final cut are put on a waiting list. “Any student on the waitlist maintaining the minimum criteria of a 2.5 GPA, a clear judicial record, and who is registering full-time may be considered for a Resident Assistant position, should one become available,” said Raymond Gordon, the director of residential
life. Students on the waiting list are reviewed at a later point, in the case where positions become available.
There are two ways to go about viewing the waiting list. Being put on a waiting list is neither an acceptance nor a rejection. I, personally, feel that this list gives false hope to students who are waiting in anticipation for this job. On a more positive note, Residential Life actively continues to hire students from the wait list through the months of the fall semester. This hope of getting the position means that students are strong enough to potentially be given a job, which is why I feel that there could be a chance that a few lucky students may be offered an R.A. position when one becomes vacant and ready to be filled.
“Being wait-listed is not so bad. I was wait-listed the first time I applied and got the position the second time,” said said Jacqueline Favaloro, a current resident assistant in Riggs Hall. “During the period I was wait-listed, I was able to meet with [the] Res-Life staff and go over my application process.” The waiting list gives off a sense of false hope for most students, but the chance of becoming an R.A. is what keeps them waiting in anticipation.