An Ogg Hall housefellow said he was given the option Monday to resign or be fired after he failed to return a pager to the Residence Life Office, inspiring fervent response from students.
UW-Madison senior Scott Hackl said he forgot to return the pager for the on-duty housefellow after a shift three weeks ago. He said he was alerted to the pager's absence two days later by another housefellow but could not find it immediately because it was set to vibrate and did not sound when he paged it. He said a residence life coordinator then called about the pager. According to Hackl, when he found the pager he was told by an RLC to give it to another housefellow and the issue would be discussed later.
In a meeting with Ogg Hall RLCs, Hackl said he was told Ogg was without security for two days because of the pager's absence and he would face disciplinary action. According to Hackl, he was told in a subsequent meeting he was being relieved of his duties Monday afternoon and had to turn in his keys and leave by 10 p.m. He chose resignation over being fired.
Hackl said the pager had only been used once in the past year and residents did not know about it.
\So, with one month left to go, they fired me because apparently I had some stupid pager for two days that never gets used,"" Hackl said. ""The whole staff in Ogg and elsewhere thinks it's absolutely ridiculous to get fired for this.""
Monique Minkens, one of the RLCs who, according to Hackl, told him of the decision, declined to comment.
""I think any questions I answer would probably get into the situation, and it's a personnel issue and I'm not allowed to discuss that because Scott has the right to privacy,"" Minkens said.
According to Hackl, he was not supposed to tell residents or staff about his resignation, but his residents found out when they saw him moving out Monday evening. He said residents started a petition on his behalf and were ""obviously upset"" to learn he was leaving.
Dan Roscoe, a UW-Madison freshman who lives in Ogg on Hackl's former floor, said he had been told very little about Hackl's departure other than receiving an e-mail which informed him Hackl would no longer be his housefellow.
Roscoe said a bulletin board outside Hackl's former room which normally showed his location or activities had been modified by residents to include ""looking for the pager,"" ""telling the truth"" and ""getting kicked out of Ogg."" Roscoe added he thought Hackl had been well liked by residents.
Hackl is now living in an off-campus apartment with friends. He repeatedly described the RLCs as ""out of touch"" and concerned with administrative rather than practical matters.
""What kind of impact do you think this is making on the housefellows and my community?"" Hackl said he asked at the final meeting.
He said one of the RLCs responded, ""What kind of message do you think it sends to have somebody do something like this and then we keep them around?""
""There's a huge separation between RLCs and housefellows, and this is why,"" Hackl said.
