I work as a Community Assistant in one of the apartment complexes near my college campus; sort of like an RA, but much more laid back. I work with two other CAs at the moment, one who was an RA in the dorms for five years 
Q) and the other who was actually an Assistant Resident Director until her position got cut, so she accepted this position as a way to end her last year of graduate school. I'm in my third year of undergrad.
This is a conflict apparently between me and the ex-ARD, stemming from two separate issues.
First, I've been attending RA Council throughout this year (a way for a couple RAs from each hall to meet with some higher ups and voice their opinion on things - useless, but it placates people); few of the issues we discuss relate to my apartment complex, but we are affiliated with the university and some of the decisions made could possibly affect us (none so far!), so I asked my boss if I could attend as a way to stay acquainted with the RA community and to keep abreast of what's going on on campus. Plus some of the female RAs are hot.
Second, returning RA placement is happening within a week, and because our position as CAs is not well understood or even known amongst the RA community (as evidenced by discussions with about 20 RAs with whom I've come into contact), I sent an email to the RA listserv inviting anyone who was interested in applying for the position to ask me any questions about the job that they may have, and to come see my apartment if they so wished. I've gotten a few replies so far.
My female coworker is angry at me because she feels as though I came off as though I was speaking for the entire staff when I did both of these activities, and that I should have consulted them (the other two CAs) before sending out the email. My response is that a) I had both these actions approved by my boss, both of which he discussed with his boss before consenting, and b) I'm hard-pressed to see how I'd be making any sort of statement that would come off as representing the opinions of the entire staff.
I can understand her concern with RA Council, but I would counter that we've never voted on anything in the group, I've never said explicitly or implicitly that I'm representing the entire staff, and whenever I've spoken it's been to voice an opinion; I've never been asked nor have I ever said something to the effect of "what my staff thinks is:".
Thoughts? Was I being too presumptious in my actions?
Cheers!
Nate
Cliff's Notes:
- work as a CA (like an RA) on campus
- participated on RA council and sent an email advertising the position for next year's hires and offered to answer questions
- coworker is pissed because she feels as though I'm trying to speak for the entire staff by my actions
Q) and the other who was actually an Assistant Resident Director until her position got cut, so she accepted this position as a way to end her last year of graduate school. I'm in my third year of undergrad.This is a conflict apparently between me and the ex-ARD, stemming from two separate issues.
First, I've been attending RA Council throughout this year (a way for a couple RAs from each hall to meet with some higher ups and voice their opinion on things - useless, but it placates people); few of the issues we discuss relate to my apartment complex, but we are affiliated with the university and some of the decisions made could possibly affect us (none so far!), so I asked my boss if I could attend as a way to stay acquainted with the RA community and to keep abreast of what's going on on campus. Plus some of the female RAs are hot.
Second, returning RA placement is happening within a week, and because our position as CAs is not well understood or even known amongst the RA community (as evidenced by discussions with about 20 RAs with whom I've come into contact), I sent an email to the RA listserv inviting anyone who was interested in applying for the position to ask me any questions about the job that they may have, and to come see my apartment if they so wished. I've gotten a few replies so far.
My female coworker is angry at me because she feels as though I came off as though I was speaking for the entire staff when I did both of these activities, and that I should have consulted them (the other two CAs) before sending out the email. My response is that a) I had both these actions approved by my boss, both of which he discussed with his boss before consenting, and b) I'm hard-pressed to see how I'd be making any sort of statement that would come off as representing the opinions of the entire staff.
I can understand her concern with RA Council, but I would counter that we've never voted on anything in the group, I've never said explicitly or implicitly that I'm representing the entire staff, and whenever I've spoken it's been to voice an opinion; I've never been asked nor have I ever said something to the effect of "what my staff thinks is:".
Thoughts? Was I being too presumptious in my actions?
Cheers!
Nate
Cliff's Notes:
- work as a CA (like an RA) on campus
- participated on RA council and sent an email advertising the position for next year's hires and offered to answer questions
- coworker is pissed because she feels as though I'm trying to speak for the entire staff by my actions
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