What was once a 24-hour job for residential hall desk assistants has turned into a 12-hour one, leaving students confused and worried about safety in the residence halls.

The desk at Biever Hall is still open 24 hours, but the desks in Budding, Carrollton and Cabra are now only open from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily. Prior to this semester, all of the desks were staffed 24 hours a day.

Amy Boyle, director of Residential Life, said the changes came as a result of Loyola’s financial limitations, which made them reevaluate when and where the desk assistant presence was most necessary.

“Evening time is more of a security reason, and daytime is more for service. When we made this change, we decided that Biever would serve as the service desk, and each desk would serve night time safety and service hours,” Boyle said.

Another procedure that changed due to the loss of desk hours is the way that residents check in guests. In previous years, guests would have to check in and leave their IDs at the desk. Now, guests are checked into a computer system by the DAs.

When there is no desk assistant during the day, the host student is responsible for ensuring their guest(s) follow residential hall policies.

While Boyle is confident the changes won’t impact student safety, some residents are feeling a little uneasy about them.

“I wouldn’t say it’s scary, but it just makes me uncomfortable to know that anyone could walk in during the day,” Abigail Perez, Carrollton DA and resident, said.

Perez added that having a DA in the middle of the night does not make sense.

“It contradicts the purpose of a desk assistant. I’m sure more people walk into the dorms from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. than at night, especially on the weekdays,” Perez said.

But Boyle said that the choice of 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. staffing wasn’t just because of traffic coming in and out of the dorms. Rather, it was so that assistants can be there to welcome students in the late hours.

“We believe that nighttime and early morning coverage at the front are important for the student experience in that someone is present if and when a student returns to the residence hall late night or early morning,” Boyle said.

She also said that the decrease in DAs’ hours does not affect the safety of students. According to Boyle, University Police presence has increased, so they do more rounds. She also reminded students to lock their doors and to not let strangers into the building.

“We do not have safety concerns with desks being closed during the day. However, I want to remind students that safety is a partnership between our department, University Police and our students,” Boyle said.

The number of DAs on staff has gone down since last year. According to the Residential Life office, there were 65 DAs last year. This year, there are 43.

That decrease didn’t come from any cuts, Boyle said, but from students quitting. Boyle said being a DA is a difficult job and one that is primarily filled by work study students who are paid minimum wage.

“I think there are different levels of expectation about what a work study job could look like. This is a very high attentive and highly interactive position,” Boyle said.

The high level of quitting, according to Boyle, is because the job is too much to handle for many work study students.

Perez sees a different reason for the high drop rate, though. She said that many of her fellow DAs quit because of schedule conflicts.

“I won’t say I was affected but other people definitely were. Other people can’t work as much because they planned their class schedules around working during the day. They didn’t say that the switch was happening until we were at school,” she said.

Because of the change, desks are now often staffed by two assistants working at the same time, something else Perez said doesn’t make any sense.

“Last year, we would never have two desk assistants working at the same time. It happens all of the time now,” she said.

According to Boyle, it’s during high traffic times that the desks are staffed by multiple people.

In addition to DAs, new rules are also in place for resident assistants, who now are required to spend at least an hour at the desk during their shifts.

In terms of why desk shifts start at 5 p.m., senior Biever resident assistant Aubrey Palhegyi says it’s because they are meant to serve as an extension of the Residential Life office, which is open to students from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

The move to staff RAs at the desk is because more staff is needed there at high traffic times, when the RAs are encouraged to sit at the desk, Palhegyi said.

“It fluctuates every day, but I think one of the most high traffic times is between 9 and 10 a.m. because that’s when people go to class. There is also a lot of traffic at 5 p.m. for dinner and between 10 and 11 p.m. when people go out,” he said.

He added that RAs are recommended to sit at the desk around 10 p.m., which Boyle said is necessary because the RAs help DAs and it creates bonds between the staff and students.

According to Boyle, the role of the DA has not changed and that it is important to remember the safety of the building is not dependent on one student sitting behind a desk.

“Their job to is to provide quality service to residents and guests of the building, confront policy violations and assist students in need. They are not the keeper of the building. We are all the keepers of the residence halls,” she said.

Boyle is also aware that students are adjusting to this change, and she wants feedback.

“Compliments and concerns can be directed to the community director of each residence hall. No one ever gives us compliments, but I know they have been satisfied,” Boyle said.