Ryan Kuramitsu said that at the time of his hiring, he and about 14 other resident assistants at Illini Tower were under the impression that they would receive free room and board, parking and meals.

But when he went to the private certified housing unit for spring training, the sophomore in DGS said he and his co-workers were informed that if they wanted to continue working there, they would have to pay $5,745 for housing fees.

The story gained attention among students after Kuramitsu posted about his experience in a blog post that has since accumulated over 140 Facebook shares.

Kuramitsu said upon being handed the new contract in May 2012, most RAs quit on the spot, with only a few remaining. He said he agreed to stay and pay the housing fees “for the experience,” but “the team was shattered.”

IT is owned and operated by Australia-based Campus Living Villages. Kuramitsu said he thinks management was trying follow the international trend of charging RAs for room and board.

“I know management is not evil,” Kuramitsu said. “They just have corporate breathing down their necks to implement policies that really aren’t going to work.”

Troy Bayham, vice president for operations of CLV, said the corporate office provides the framework and support for IT, as “the local level is an essential element of (their) success.”

“I can confirm that our employee practices comply with state and federal employment law,” Bayham said, but he declined to comment further on the situation.

Despite several attempts by The Daily Illini, IT management did not comment.

Kuramitsu said IT management was looking to fill the remaining positions throughout the summer, but nobody wanted the job because they would have to pay housing fees. Toward the end of the summer, the RAs got their benefits back. IT then hired a full RA staff.

However, IT was understaffed in other areas when the school year began, Kuramitsu said, and most of the housekeeping, maintenance and dining hall staff left over the summer, along with the head chef and marketing director.

He said the remaining employees had to pick up the slack because of these sudden staff changes. Kuramitsu said managers were working in the kitchen and dining hall, the resident director was taking on the role of the marketing director, and “unpaid, overworked, undertrained RAs” were substituting as receptionists.

“I’m not saying that it’s all management’s fault. I’m just saying it’s a terrible situation,” Kuramitsu said. “But that’s the whole pattern of that place: Undertraining us, not letting us ask questions and then punishing us when we do not live up to these exceedingly high expectations that were given on these terrible resources.”

Larry Harris, sophomore in LAS and former IT RA, also said he disliked the relationship between the RAs and management.

“It is one thing to work in an environment where the conditions aren’t ideal,” Harris said. “But it’s another knowing that your bosses don’t actually care about you — that you’re expendable to them,”

Kuramitsu said management’s relationship with the RAs continued to worsen after managers found a hookah and empty beer cans on the roof of the building outside the mezzanine level and assumed RAs were responsible.

The managers traced some of the possessions back to two RAs, who were fired, Kuramitsu said. They were given 24 hours to move out of IT, although Kuramitsu said the remaining RAs persuaded the managers to extend the eviction period.

“We thought we were supposed to get a three-strike policy, but there were no warnings and no write-ups,” Kuramitsu said. “Twenty-four hours is not enough time for a college student to find a new place to live when they are fired on the spot.”

He said IT management held a meeting for RAs shortly after the incident occurred, during which the RAs were given another ultimatum: either participate in 12 hours of community service in the dining hall or leave IT for good. Kuramitsu said they were told this was the punishment for RAs’ breaking the rules, even though many of them were not involved and weren’t fully aware of the incident.

Harris said he expressed his concern for his job security at the meeting and asked for the disciplinary system in writing so that the RAs would know where they stood with management. He said management simply told them to “use common sense.”

“One wrong move, and you’re gone,” Harris said. “It’s not a good situation when you’re working in fear.”

Kuramitsu said he is unsure of how much control corporate has over management, but he thinks they don’t truly care about their employees.

After the community service hours were “forced into (their) schedules,” Kuramitsu said he didn’t think he could keep up with the full-time responsibility of being an RA, especially if management was going to continue adding more work on top of it.

“I felt like I needed to be there for my residents. I didn’t want to leave them,” Kuramitsu said. “But if I’m not getting the resources and personal space to take care of myself, how can I think that I can possibly take care of a whole floor of people?”

Less than a week after the meeting, Kuramitsu and Harris found a new apartment, signed a lease and abruptly left IT.

Robert Lemiesz, sophomore in LAS, is a current resident of IT. Although he is aware of issues between management and the RAs, he said he is confused and unsure about the whole situation, and it is starting to take a toll on residents.

“I know that (management) fired a bunch of the RAs. My RA moved somewhere else, but we really don’t know what is going on,” Lemiesz said. “But I do know that with all the staff being fired, it took them a week to fix our shower. It does affect the residents.”

Since his departure from IT, Kuramitsu said more RAs have been let go, although he is unsure of the reasoning behind their dismissal. Kuramitsu stands by his decision to leave but has had to overcome the idea that he’s abandoning his residents.

“It’s been really hard because I put so much (of my) identity into this job,” Kuramitsu said. “But IT needs to realize that we’re not numbers, we’re people. We’re not leases or bed spaces, we’re actual human beings with souls who deserve to be treated in a decent manner.”

Lauren can be reached at [email protected].