Three semesters flew by in a blink of an eye because I was busy: making and hanging flyers, walking around the building at 2am, calling Public Safety, being woken up at 4am, and sitting at the front desk. I was a Resident Assistant. I think this job is the most criticized and misunderstood on a college campus. Here are a few things I would like residents to know, as a retired Resident Assistant.
1. We do not enjoy documenting you.
It may seem like some RAs, are power hungry and want to 'get you', but that's just not true. The amount of time and paperwork that is needed because we caught you with something that is forbidden in the dorms or playing your music too loudly, is more than you would ever expect. Some people choose to believe that RAs go around looking for problems, but believe me, the situations always seem to find us.
2, We are students too.
There are many misconceptions about Resident Assistant duties. Some believe that we are full-time employees or that we do not take as many classes, both thoughts are not true. RAs have many responsibilities: rounds of the building, enforcing policies, planning and hosting socials, health & safety inspections, the openings and closings of a 700 student building, desk duty, the list goes on. Our main priority, that can be forgotten, is being a full-time student. We have the same amount of work as all of our residents, (if not more since we are upperclassmen), plus all of our duties. We did apply for the job, knowing that it is a demanding position, but sometimes others forget how many "hats" we are wearing as students and RAs.
3. We have lives outside of the residence halls.
When an RA has off for the weekend, it is extremely obvious: bags are packed on Thursday night, the RA watches the clock until their office hour ends on Friday afternoon, and then he or she can be seen running down the stairwell and out of the front door to their car. I remember locking my door, grabbing my bags, running down four flights of steps, and getting into my car within the same minute. There were times when we wanted to leave and see friends or go to a family function, and we were not able to do so because of work tasks. When we were able to get-away, we did not waste anytime.
4. We enjoy uninterrupted sleep.
Hearing the pounding on my door always scared the you-know-what out of me, especially when I was in a sound sleep. We are always going nonstop, with little down time, and it was wonderful when we were able to sleep peacefully. There are times when RAs have to be woken up due to incidents, which is understandably part of the job. That being said, please don't expect us to be 'Buddy the Elf' and extremely excited to see you standing on the other side of the door. We just want to help you out with whatever you need and for you to be on your way so we can catch as many "Zzz's" as possible.
5. We have our own problems.
We took on this role to help you with any part of your college transition and life in general. We have office hours five times a week, and leave our doors open, so that you can come in and chat about whatever is on your mind. That being said, we are people too, and have our own sets of worries, fears, and stresses. Please remember to not sweat the small stuff, and to focus on whether the issue is really a problem or an annoyance in that moment.
6. We do not want to be at the socials (sometimes) either.
We know that the announcements and flyers can be annoying and over-the-top. We agree. We don't dream of cleaning up glitter off of the floors, or enjoy going into each bathroom stall to hang Stall Seat Journals. It is all part of our gig and we are paid to plan the socials, and we hope that you come and enjoy them. We spent more late hours than we care to share planning socials that we thought would interest residents, and the last thing we want to hear is how stupid of an idea it was.
7. We do not make the rules.
Did we want to document you for laughing too loudly or playing your music just a bit too loud? Absolutely not, but we needed to follow the rules. Did I mind if you flew a mini-helicopter around the lobby? No, I thought it was super clever! However, there are safety precautions that must be followed. Sorry if some rules seemed "stupid", I was just doing my job.
8. "Act like you just didn't see me".
When residents were caught stumbling or making poor choices, some would hope for the RA to walk away and act like nothing happened. When RAs did document the situation that was occurring, there were times when residents took the documentation personally and were angry with the RAs. To that my thoughts are that I enjoyed having a place to sleep and a paycheck every other week. Sorry, but I was not getting in trouble because someone else made the wrong decision.
9. We love our co-workers.
It may seem like we RAs, really stick together and are inseparable. It is true that we do stick together. RAs seem to cling together because of our shared experiences and struggles in the job. No one truly understands all that an RA goes through besides other RAs. In our case, twelve strangers met in August of 2015 and a family was created within the first two weeks on the job.
10. We actually enjoyed being your RAs.
When all is said and done, I loved walking onto my floor and talking to all of you. I did genuinely care about your families, Halloween costumes, and finals. I loved seeing you around campus. I wanted to be your friend and guide through campus. I hope you liked having me too.
Xoxo,
Your ex-RA
