RIT students living in the dorms have complained that conditions are cramped, loud and frustrating. In response to these complaints, Student Government (SG) has posed a challenge to the RIT administration. Approximately 45 RIT administrators have been invited to live in various campus dorms for three days and two nights. Move-in begins on Sunday, January 18. The 21 administrators who have accepted the challenge, including President Destler, will have an 11 a.m. check-in, and will then meet their new student roommates.

Matt Danna, creator of the challenge and SG vice president, commented, “As a category of one university, we shouldn’t be benchmarking ourselves against other schools’ poor habits.” The goal of this challenge is for administration to learn more about student life at RIT. By living in the residence halls, administrators will have firsthand knowledge when making any future decisions regarding student living on campus.

Caty Stuires, a Sol Heumann Hall resident and first year Art major, explained that her biggest issue with living in the dorms is the noise level at night. “Quiet hours aren’t enforced because either the RAs aren’t there or they’re hanging out and being loud too.” Stuires doesn’t think that much will happen to change her dilemma. She noted, “If people know the administrators are living in the dorms, then everyone will follow the rules better.”

Besides bunking up with students, administrators will also be eating at Grace Watson Dining Hall and dealing with the scarcity of parking spaces.

SG has also planned an open forum for move-out night on Tuesday, January 20. The Forum will be held at 8:00 p.m. in the Panara Theatre in Lyndon Baines Johnson building. Here, administrators will reveal what they learned and what they feel should be improved. SG hopes a few hundred students will attend to express their concerns.