From late-night duties to amazing dorm events, being a Resident Assistant has ups and downs every single day. But every RA will tell you, the residents are the best part and make the whole job worth it. Here are a few things RAs want to tell their residents on opening weekend.
1. I care about your safety…a lot.
Most of the rules I have to enforce are for your wellbeing and for the safety of all residents. Next time you get annoyed that I took away your extension cord, think about the O’Neill fire that displaced an entire hallway. Also, I don’t want to ruin your good time and it’s not my place to tell you not to party, but if it’s inside our dorm, it’s my responsibility to make sure everyone is safe. 2. If you see me around campus, say hi!
I love seeing my residents out of the dorm so I can learn more about their lives. I’m not some mystical creature you have to be afraid of so when you see me in the library, just say hey! 3. I always have to be an RA.
It doesn’t matter if you are talking to me on or off campus, if you tell me something that could put you or others in danger, I have to tell the RHD. I love being your friend, but I’m your RA first.
4. Bulletin boards and door decs are a lot of work.
So please don’t destroy them! If you really don’t like your door dec, just tell me and I can make one especially for you!
5. Dorm events are for you, so tell us what you want!
The worst feeling is putting all this work into an event and no one shows up because no one is interested. Tell me if you are into a certain show, food, or social issue and we’d love to throw an event about it. 6. If you respect me, I will respect you.
This is one of the most important things in my book. Writing up policy violations is never fun for anyone involved, but if you handle the situation badly and curse me out, for example, it makes it more difficult for us to build trust and move on.
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