The semester has only just begun, and five University of Vermont RAs have already lost their jobs for getting the party "started" a bit prematurely.

According to Annie Stevens, the Assistant Vice President of Student and Campus Life, five residential advisors were terminated for engaging in some pre-semester binge drinking at one of the school’s dorms. Apparently, RAs must follow the same rules as the rest of us, plebes.

Who would have thought?

In any case, the rationale behind the administration’s decision to remove the five advisors is pretty simple: RAs that cannot follow the rules aren’t fit to enforce them. Makes sense, but the university’s subsequent “gag” order against the five students suggests that there may be more to the story than meets the eye.

The Vermont Cynic reports:

According to one of the RAs fired, who wishes to remain anonymous, they were contacted on the phone by Stacey Miller, the Director of Residential Life, and told explicitly not to relay any information about the incident to The Cynic.

 

A mass e-mail was also sent to the entire RA staff instructing them not to communicate with The Cynic.

 

"It's a personnel matter. No place at this University will publicize private personnel action," Stevens said.

If the RAs were simply axed for drinking, why order them not to speak to the press? It doesn’t seem like there would be much left to say about the matter.

It’s definitely suspicious, but unless one of the students decides to break the injunction, we may never know what really happened.