Resident assistants are expected to be accessible figures for freshmen experiencing the chaos of first-year life here on campus. They answer calls to mediate conflicts at 2 a.m. and try to create a close-knit community out of a hallway of strangers. When an RA goes back to their room for the day, it is often the only boundary they have where they can escape the pandemonium. However, for many RAs at USC this year, that quiet retreat is no longer theirs alone.
With 7,829 new freshmen enrolled for the fall 2025 semester, the largest class in university history, USC is celebrating a boom it has worked years to achieve. The student body has climbed past 40,000, but numbers don’t always tell the full story. This growth is reflected in parking garage signups that fill up the second they open and in RAs who have to share their rooms with the very students they are responsible for overseeing.
Charlie*, a returning RA, remembers when his freshman class was considered the “biggest yet.” Back then, it simply felt like an exciting sign of momentum. Now, it seems that this momentum has outpaced USC’s infrastructure.
“It hasn't really affected me much until this year, when they truly over-admitted, and now RAs have freshman roommates,” he said. “So, as a senior, I have a freshman roommate who shares a space with me.”
When the notice arrived over the summer, Charlie described it as a “slap in the face.”
“I thought RAs were supposed to have their own space to compartmentalize from the stressors of the job,” he added. Charlie had always felt that his room was the only place he could relax, especially after days spent holding a duty phone from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. that can ring at any hour.
This can also affect the freshman with whom he shares a room, who never signed up for the emotional burden of living next to someone responsible for handling student crises.
In the past, Charlie was the only one awakened by emergencies, but this year, sharing the space has meant sharing the late-night disruptions and emotional toll that comes with the job.
“Now, my roommate has been affected, which isn’t really fair to them,” he said.
University Housing compensated student staff members who received roommates, and Charlie acknowledged that effort.
“It's just, when I received the email that we had roommates, they were like, ‘RAs aren’t usually receiving monetary compensation, but we fought for you to have this,’ which is all well and good, but it kind of just felt like they were covering themselves,” Charlie said.
One of his fellow RAs even quit over the situation.
The growing student population doesn’t only stretch housing. Charlie shared stories from residents who couldn’t get into classes they needed because seats were filled too fast. He also talked about waiting for a parking garage signup to open at midnight only to find that every spot had disappeared moments later.
“What’s truly grievous, I think, in regards to the over-admittance of students, is the fact that this year, we have a record-breaking number of incoming freshmen; however, we’re closing McBryde in the spring and then...some building on the Horseshoe is closed, so why admit all these new people when we don’t have the facilities to accommodate all of these people?” he asked.
The closing of residential buildings makes the decision to admit nearly 8,000 freshmen seem even more confusing to student staff who are navigating the consequences.
Evelyn Wiggins, another RA, raised a similar concern. From her perspective, the transition into college is supposed to be liberating, since it’s a first taste of independence for many students. Instead, some freshmen are sharing a room with a mandatory reporter.
“You just left your parents’ household,” she said. “You don’t want someone watching over your back.”
She believes the arrangement risks making freshmen feel like they are still under surveillance and that their ability to settle into college life could be compromised before it even begins.
These living situations have also complicated conflict resolution. Housing has fewer open beds available, so students stuck in uncomfortable roommate pairings often have nowhere to go.
“This year, we don't have a lot of flexibility for that,” Wiggins said. “It's not just the students we have to deal with, it’s also the pissed parents, because now the parents are like, 'Well, we're spending all this money on not just tuition but also housing, and you're telling me I can't move my kid?'”
Despite the challenges, both RAs insist there are bright spots. Larger communities have led to more resident engagement, and Wiggins reflected on the “bonus” of having additional students in the facility.
“I'm very lucky with my residents that actually do come to my events even though there's so many of them,” she said. “They're very cool and they all have their own personalities, which I enjoy, and having that community area makes it easier to get to know our residents.”
Wiggins also talked about receiving support from her supervisors, who are trying to adapt in real time alongside their student staff. Charlie added that his own roommate has been respectful and understanding, which shows that not every pairing is a disaster waiting to happen, but the tension lies in uncertainty.
RAs sign a contract months in advance, believing they know what they’re agreeing to. When the expectations shift after those agreements are made, it becomes harder to trust the promises associated with the role.
Wiggins put it plainly: “We signed a contract, and then out of nowhere, everything changed.”
In a statement to Garnet & Black, university spokesperson Collyn Taylor defended USC's decision to admit more freshmen this year.
“USC is in high demand with more and more students who are admitted choosing to attend,” he said. “We are careful to keep our growth projections within our capacity to house freshmen and achieved that goal this year.”
Taylor also discussed the university's policy on assigning freshman roommates to RAs.
“Having incoming students room with resident assistants is something we do only when absolutely necessary,” he said. “Because of this, we’re awarding additional stipends at various points throughout the semester for RAs with a roommate.”
The university reiterated that communication has been ongoing and that flexibility is appreciated during this period of growth. However, flexibility has an emotional cost absorbed by students who are asked to be both caretakers and college kids.
While the university celebrates booming enrollment numbers, RAs are the ones actually ushering those students through the doors and building a sense of belonging in a campus that is stretching to its limits.
The RAs Garnet & Black spoke to remain proud of their role. They deeply care about the freshmen adjusting to life away from home and reflect on how much these relationships matter in the long run. They just hope that, as USC continues to grow, the wellbeing of student staff will not become an afterthought.
“We have our responsibilities, and it’s an important role," Wiggins said. “We should have an opinion about it. We shouldn’t be the last group who finds out.”
*Name changed for anonymity.
