As this year draws nearer to a close, I find myself reflecting more and more. This is my fourth year here at MSU, and my second year serving the community as a senior mentor.

All I can say to Michonne Omo (“Dorm standards should be higher for all,” SN 1/16) is I’m sorry. I’m sorry that her experience in the residence halls is so intolerable, and that she is being withheld from all of the opportunities such a community has to offer.

As a mentor, it is my duty to be available for advice and “to be a last-ditch effort if you have problems.” However, and more importantly, I need to be challenging accountability with my residents, and helping them to reflect on each person’s role in the community. If she is uncomfortable with the actions of her fellow residents, then I have obviously failed to address not only the behavior of those residents, but also her inability to readily represent herself on the floor.

Each and every resident living on a floor has as much power and authority as everyone else, including the mentor. This is the point of community standards. This new system says the mentor is no longer the sole responsibility factor for a wild or uncooperative floor. It is equally the blame of every single resident, including Omo.

So what am I saying? Basically, I do not condone the behavior set forth by the women living on her floor. Yes, it is your primary right to sleep and study in the residence halls (”Spartan Life,” p. 83). Your right to live is just as important as theirs. As a community member, as a resident, as a student and as a human being, you need to address such actions that threaten your physical, mental and academic health.

This is the accountability that needs to be implemented. Let them know that their actions are affecting others, and it will not be tolerated. You can even hold accountability meetings with the floor to decide what measures should be taken. Believe me, peer pressure is quite effective. This is how change occurs. I do not want you thinking, “They’re gonna hate me,” etc., because you matter as much as they do. Your right to live is just as important as theirs, especially when theirs is purely social and yours is academic. Got it?

So, take a deep breath, understand that the power is yours (but can be accompanied by your mentor), and take back what you feel is not yours. The residence halls truly are a great place to live, learn and find out who you are. Why else would I have stayed in them for four years?

Alia Fox
senior multicultural mentor
Lyman Briggs medical
technology senior