In the 2015-16 school year, the college will implement changes to the current budget, which will result in the cutting of the meal plan as part of the payment for resident assistants.

Resident assistants currently receive 150 meals, room, board and a stipend as payment.

“The cuts do not honestly affect me as much because I only have one year left, (but) I imagine it will be more of a burden for incoming sophomore resident assistants because they will have to deal with the extra cost for longer,” said Joe Van Oss, junior criminal justice major and resident assistant.

With these kinds of cuts, the question arises as to whether people will still find the resident assistant position to be an attractive one.

Despite the loss of the meal plan, Jim Bajczyk, director of residence life, still expects a good turnout for applicants.

“If resident assistants are in the position just for the compensation, they are not going to have a very good experience,” Bajczyk said. “You need to be internally motivated to be a resident assistant.”

The stipend system will remain the same.

For each year a student is a resident assistant, his or her stipend will increase as in the past.

“Because resident assistants live where they work, they always have to be looking out for things that are going wrong and problems that could happen,” Van Oss said. “That is what makes the current benefits appropriate because even when you’re not working, you are.”