Letter to the Editor: Amherst’s Commitment to Student Leaders

Dear Amherst Student Editors: 

Residential community is at the heart of Amherst’s educational mission, and our community advisors (CAs) play an essential role in fostering a campus environment of connection and support. We deeply value the contributions and perspectives of our CAs, and we are grateful for the ways that we have worked collaboratively in recent years to enhance the role.

It is with this foundation of respect and a commitment to collaboration that the college considered the CAs’ recent request for voluntary recognition of their proposed union and ultimately decided to encourage the CAs to proceed with an election to consider certification. We want to share the thinking behind that decision, provide context on the recent updates to the CA role, and reiterate our commitment to the importance of continued direct collaboration.

As President Michael Elliott and Dean Angie Tissi-Gassoway emphasized in their response to the CAs on Friday, Amherst fully respects their right to explore union representation. While we believe the goals they have articulated can be addressed most effectively through direct engagement, we also recognize that there is value in ensuring that all CAs have the opportunity to understand what unionization entails, to discuss these questions as part of a democratic process, and to make individual choices through an election overseen by an independent third party. The college will support such a timely election and will respect its outcome. 

We also want to assure CAs and the Amherst community that the college has been actively engaged in strengthening the CA program. In part to better understand the feedback raised by CAs since the pandemic, the college commissioned a comprehensive external review of the Office of Community Living (OCL) last year. One outcome of that process was the creation of a formal CA Advisory Group, open to all CAs and charged with considering potential updates to the role. The group has met throughout the fall, and the conversations have been constructive, candid, and collegial.

In late October, the Advisory Group submitted a series of specific recommendations. The college carefully reviewed each suggestion and implemented several changes, including adjustments to stipends, study-away policies, and job security processes. We also provided additional context where requested changes were unfortunately not feasible. 

A few of the key updates include: 

• Given the significance and variable nature of the CA role, we have transitioned from a stipend to an hourly model that more accurately reflects actual workload, including during peak or late-hour periods. This approach offers flexibility for student staff in residence to work fewer or additional hours as needed. 
• For those who wish to invest more fully in the role, the model creates opportunities for higher earnings and may reduce the need to take on additional jobs on campus. CAs who work the minimum number of expected hours can anticipate approximately $6,000 in pay; lead student staff on the First-Year Quad could receive more than $8,200. Importantly, because hours will be clocked, staff picking up additional shifts, supporting colleagues who are out, signing up for additional work during break periods, or supporting students in crisis would see a significant increase in wages. 
• CAs in non-first-year communities now have the flexibility to study away during the 2026–27 academic year. 
• The Student Staff Agreement now provides student staff in residence the option to request additional reviews of accountability processes to ensure fairness and clarity. 
• The Student Staff Agreement also makes clear that while we ask student staff not to speak on behalf of the OCL or the college — an expectation shared by all Amherst College staff members — they are free, and indeed encouraged, to engage with the media as individuals. 

In areas where changes could not be made, we have sought to offer more information about the underlying constraints. We could not offer the CAs an exemption from mandatory reporting requirements under the federal Clery Act, which considers student staff in residence as campus security authorities (CSAs). We are also unable to place all student staff in their preferred locations when certain residential communities are much more popular than others. We are committed to continuing to explore ways to address the concerns that led to these questions, even where immediate change is not possible. 

We recognize that balancing the needs of CAs with the needs of the broader student body is an ongoing process. Throughout, our intent has been to act with flexibility, respect, transparency, and collaboration. We remain grateful for the leadership of the CAs who have worked to strengthen the role. 

We also fully support their right to a fair and orderly election. Whatever the outcome, we are confident that Amherst will continue to recognize the contributions of our CAs, incorporating their feedback to improve residential life and ensuring that their work is appropriately supported and compensated. 

Sincerely, 

Megan Lennon 

Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Senior Associate Dean of Students