This year, Housing and Residence Life has eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion and multicultural training for resident advisors, according to anonymous resident staff. In addition, HRL’s Committee on Multiculturalism has been absorbed by the Resident Staff Engagement Committee without any formal announcement to resident staff. These changes follow national mandates to dissolve DEI programs and pressure on the University from the Justice Department to comply with federal law prohibiting these programs.
Resident staff began their annual Orientation Week, also known as “O-Week” — a training period that aims to prepare them for their roles — in early August. During O-Week, resident advisors go through different training modules, such as “Intro to Safe Grounds” or “Emergency Management.”
Alongside these modules, RAs and SRs also went through multicultural and DEI-adjacent training in 2024, such as modules titled “Inclusivity in Your Hall” and “DEI Resources.” according to former resident staff. This training was not covered this past O-Week, according to a training calendar which was provided to The Cavalier Daily by a resident advisor…