On-campus housing provides many benefits for the students who choose to live there, such as proximity to the campus, well-maintained rooms and a full-time staff equipped to deal with everything from lost keys, to packages, to living issues. Residents, particularly those in South Campus Commons, pay handsomely for these privileges – anywhere from $8,000 to $9,000 a year. These fees pay for much of the staff in Commons, including resident assistants and their supervisors, resident directors, making them quasi-employees of the students who live in these buildings.

As a resident of Commons, one of the main reasons I pay exorbitant rent is for the safe, quiet environment. I chose not to live on Knox Road or in the neighborhoods behind Fraternity Row because I didn’t want to live in a dilapidated house with thin walls, constant parties, cockroaches and broken fire codes. I love a good party as much as the next person, but when I want to sleep or study, I want to do so without the sounds of Ludacris blasting and kids cheering on their friends doing beer bongs.

RAs are supposed to serve as enforcers in Commons. As most of its residents are of age to drink, RAs are not primarily party poopers as they are in traditional dorms; they are there to ensure residents are following the rules of courteous living and to deal with problems as they arise.

My neighbors are some of the most obnoxious people on the face of the planet, but I’m lucky enough to have some winners living above me as well. My roommates and I have been plagued by a pounding bass, constant stomping and the privilege of listening to some “squeaky nocturnal activities” at 5 a.m.

All of us have done everything imaginable to get these people to stop: talking face-to-face, leaving polite notes on the door, calling our RA or the one on duty, banging on the wall, e-mailing the RD and even having a mediation. Unfortunately, nothing has resolved this problem, which has been going on since August.

In the words of my roommate, Nicole Corse, “When we all move into Commons, everyone should have to sign a contract to be respectful of other people. If that agreement is broken … they should be out. If [Capstone] is going to be running a business, they need to have a better protocol in dealing with these things.”

There are rules: Bulletin boards proclaim not only the quiet hours (after 10 p.m. on weekdays, midnight on weekends), but the “24-hour courtesy hours” as well. Repeated e-mails and meetings have done nothing; I am told I am the one who has to change, either by wearing earplugs, turning on a fan to drown out the noise or just “dealing with it,” even though I am the one following the rules.

There are thousands of people who want to live in South Campus Commons; consistent rule-breakers need to be threatened with eviction if they cannot follow very simple rules. Capstone would have NO problem filling their slots. Why some RAs and RDs refuse to enforce this is beyond me, since its one of their main job responsibilities.

A few weeks ago, a fire alarm went off at 1 a.m. in one of the South Campus Commons buildings. The desk worker had to call an RA to sit at the desk while the worker trekked to the building in the frigid night air. The RA came with an attitude, even though it is part of the job. Does it suck to get roused from bed at 1 a.m. to come sit at the desk? Yes, but this is why you get to live for free in a beautiful apartment building while the rest of us are taking out loans to afford it.

Let me be clear: This is not typical of all RAs or RDs. However, a great many of them seem to be annoyed when called upon to do their jobs. If these problems were resolved right away, they would not drag on and require multiple late-night calls to RAs. RDs need to be firm with rule breakers instead of waffling on punishments and future consequences for offenders. They need to ditch empty rhetoric and actually resolve the situation.

Nikkee Porcaro is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at cole120@umd.edu.