I thought that after my freshman year I would have a little more freedom. I thought I would be able to walk into my home without showing identification every time I entered the building. I guess I was wrong.

I understand that we have to show ID for the purposes of keeping students safe in the residence halls. However, I think that in some cases, such as when my hands are full, it should be okay that I don’t show my ID. There have been several times when I have had my hands full with grocery bags and a desk assistant has yelled at me because my ID was not out as soon as I walked in the door. Give me a break. I walk in and out of my building several times a day, so they know that I live here. Do they really think I would be carrying groceries in if I didn’t live here? I don’t think so.

I am not saying that people shouldn’t have to show some form of identification when they enter the building, but I am asking for a little bit of respect. I don’t deserve to be yelled at because I don’t have my ID out as soon as I walk in the door, or because I have my hands full. I also believe that just because the desk assistants sit at a desk and monitor who comes in and out of the building, that does not make them better than me. I think students will not give Residential Life Desk Assistants respect if they don’t give their fellow students respect in return.

Most of the time when the desk assistants scream at residents to have them show their ID, it is their own fault that they haven’t seen it. On more than one occasion I have witnessed rude attitudes from desk assistants asking to see identification after the resident has already shown it, because the staff member is sitting there with two or three friends standing in front of the desk. I don’t think residents mind that desk assistants are talking to their friends, but they do mind the negative attitudes that they sometimes project at the residents.

This year I live in New Residence Hall, an upperclassmen dorm, which would make most people think that the staff within the building would treat us like adults. I lived in Biever Hall last year and even though it was primarily a freshman building, the staff there was much more polite. If you forgot to show your ID they would politely ask to see it. I was never once screamed at. At this point I have given up the hope for any leniency from the New Res desk assistants, but I would like to at least have the politeness that I experienced last year in Biever. Sure, there are staff members who are polite, but my experience for the most part has been nothing but rude comments and screaming when I am asked to show ID.

Some of the desk assistants also display inappropriate behavior. Recently, two of my roommates were walking out of the dorm when one of the desk assistants commented to one of them that her roommate is weird. It is not their job to make judgments on the people who live in the dorm.

I will not be able to respect the staff until they respect me. Many of them need to have an attitude adjustment and be a little bit more polite, because a little kindness goes a long way.