“There is no Proper Protocol”: Head Resident Claims Unfair Termination due to Messaging to Residents and RAs

Students enter Niebuhr Hall on Oct. 5. Niebuhr Hall is the residence hall Alejandra Galvan served as head resident for at the beginning of the academic term.

Alejandra Galvan, the former head resident (HR) of Niebuhr Hall this fall, was terminated from her position on Tuesday, Sept. 23, for encouraging other HRs and resident assistants (RAs) to send a message reminding resident students of Elmhurst University’s anti-tailgating policy in what Galvan’s termination letter deemed was a “failure to follow policies and procedures associated with this position.”

The incident leading to Galvan’s termination followed rumors of ICE presence in the City of Elmhurst and on EU’s campus originating in the evening of Sept. 18 at approximately 11 p.m. An anonymous student submitted a tip to multiple RAs, EU public safety, Student Government Association (SGA), and a variety of other campus organizations and offices that ICE was likely to be on campus the next day.

An RA in Niebuhr Hall informed a group chat of other Niebuhr RAs and Galvan of the tip, and Galvan reached out to the original source to confirm the tip. RAs in Niebuhr and other halls who had received a similar tip began drafting messages to residents that evening.

“I told the RA to say, ‘Nothing is confirmed,’” Galvan said in an interview with The Leader.

Around the same time, Galvan and HRs from other residence halls began discussing the tip and forming a message of their own to share with each building’s RAs.

“Let’s try to send out a message without provoking fear but just reminding residents to be careful, to not let strangers in,” said Galvan.

Galvan sent a draft message to other HRs via text reading, “Hi everyone! This is just a reminder that you should not let anyone into the building if you do not recognize them as residents. We have an anti-tailgating policy. This is for your own safety and for the safety of your fellow peers!”

Galvan was not the HR on duty that evening.

Part of the decision for specifically communicating EU’s “anti-tailgating” policy was in reference to an incident occurring on Sept. 6 in Niebuhr Hall, where individuals with no relation to EU or its students trespassed to the third floor of the building, attempted to enter dorm rooms, and began cussing when asked to leave the premises.

“Three non-students were in the hall and harassing female students,” said Galvan. “They were basically knocking on doors and provoking fear. We thought this reminder was reasonable.”

The next morning, Friday, Sept. 19, Galvan emailed “pro-staff,” the group of full-time employees in the office of housing and residence life (OHRL) who oversee RAs and HRs, informing them of the situation that had transpired the previous evening.

After this email, Bridget Stearns, director of housing and residence life and community standards, sent a text message to all HRs requesting “who all sent a message to their residents last night about possible ICE presence on campus today.”

A student leaves the office of housing and residence life Oct. 5.

Galvan made it clear in a text message to Ursula Magsayo, assistant director of residence life, that none of the messages sent by RAs in Niebuhr Hall mentioned ICE explicitly.

Galvan then clarified via text, “I know that information has been spreading online, so it’s likely that students made the connection themselves.”

EU President Troy VanAken sent an email to the broader EU campus community roughly 15 minutes afterward addressing the rumors of ICE on campus and stating there was “no credible information regarding ICE activity in Elmhurst at this time.”

The following Tuesday, Sept. 23, Galvan was called into her regular one-on-one meeting with Magsayo, joined by Stearns. Immediately upon entering, Galvan was handed a termination letter.

The letter, signed by Stearns and Magsayo, stated “rather than calling Pro-Staff or Public Safety to follow proper protocol, you told your RAs to send a message to their residents regarding safety and the anti-tailgating policy. You also informed the other HRs about the situation and suggested they tell their RAs a similar message.”

Galvan noted “there is no proper protocol” regarding what to do if there is the potential for a federal agency to attend campus, but no official sightings yet.

“I still alerted the office of housing and residence life of everything in a timely matter and I still abided by the 24-hour communication rule that’s stated in the head resident description,” said Galvan.

All HRs are given a document outlining specific circumstances in which they are required to “call up” to pro-staff on duty. These circumstances include a missing student, significant mental health issues, or a “federal agency on campus in halls like the FBI or ICE.”

The document does note that “this list is not all inclusive” and “we need you to be able to determine if you should call about something even if it isn’t on the list.”

Galvan alleged that because ICE was not spotted on campus or in residence halls, she was not required to call up to pro-staff immediately and instead elected to wait until the next morning.

“If you reference Key Responsibilities line 14, the contract states, ‘monitor EU email account, official voicemail account, and respond in a timely manner (within 24 business hours),’” continued Galvan. “I emailed Pro-Staff on Sept. 19 at 7 a.m., which was about eight hours after the incident occurred. I responded to all their requests afterwards in a timely manner as well.”

Galvan was not given the opportunity to appeal the decision. According to a meeting Galvan had with Alioto after her termination, this was because she was hired as an at-will employee of EU.

Alioto and OHRL declined requests to comment. Desiree Chen, senior director of communications and external relations responded, “we cannot comment on personnel matters.”

Numerous RAs and HRs spoke to The Leader following OHRL’s decision to terminate Galvan. All elected to remain anonymous out of concern of retaliation from OHRL.

All RAs and HRs who spoke with The Leader echoed Galvan’s statements.

“We don’t have any ICE protocol,” said an RA. “If anything, [Galvan] was following what previous years have done.”

This RA referenced a specific email sent in the spring by Kevin Krauskopf, the former director of housing and residence life, outlining that OHRL and HRs were planning to “revisit our department protocol for ICE being present in the res halls.”

Krauskopf’s email continues to outline that “all of us in the central office are here to support you” and “if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

“We were so shocked when Alej didn’t even mention ICE and got fired,” said the RA.

Another RA corroborated this statement, saying, “My understanding is there quite literally isn’t protocol for it.”

The RA continued, “We got trained for parties or drugs on campus. We did not get trained for, like, what to do if people are going to get detained. Or what to do if ICE is going to be on campus. Or if ICE is going to be in town. There’s no protocol for that. It’s nowhere in the handbook. The only time we can call up is if ICE is on campus, which they weren’t.”

“They still haven’t tried to communicate a standard,” said the RA. “It’s very vague.”

A third RA noted, “Last year, they sent us RAs flyers and papers to hand out regarding ICE, and they talked about it more about how to handle it, but that was under Kevin’s leadership.”

The RA reiterated that there is no official protocol from the school regarding what to do if ICE, or another federal agency, may be on campus.

“I looked through our contracts, our student handbook, there is nothing related to the situation that I could find,” said the RA. “She asked for future guidance on the situation.”

RAs and HRs were ill-informed of the termination. No advance warning was given to any student involved in the incident.

“To the shock of everyone on the HR staff, she got fired,” said an anonymous HR.

One RA said the way they found out was through receiving an email allowing them to apply to fill the new vacant HR position.

“They sent out an email to returner RAs titled, ‘Positions available, please apply.’ No context,” said the RA.

RAs who were not in Niebuhr Hall or given the opportunity to apply for a new HR position were not informed by OHRL.

“I wasn’t told anything about that,” another RA said. “I only found out because [their co-RA] told me.”

Despite feeling unfairly removed, Galvan does not want the position returned to her. Instead, she wants EU to improve and clarify their policies.

“In my opinion, it’s easier to respond retroactively with sympathy after a student is taken than with a preventative measure,” said Galvan. “There has to be better inclusivity training across all departments to support the idea that the university has everyone’s best interest at mind.”