2008 Woodie Awards
Duties of RAs on campus
Letter
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Opinion
Originally published: 4/19/07 at 3:57 PM EST
Last update: 4/19/07 at 4:03 PM EST
- Page 1 of 1
This letter is in response to last week's commentary on RAs.
I am a first-year resident assistant in Whiteface Hall, which is a first-year dorm.
When I applied to be a RA, I didn't see in the job description "phantom watcher" because if I had, I wouldn't have applied.
I don't stand at my peephole waiting to write people up. You pose the question "Who are these people?", as if we were brought here from another country as spies to tell our commander all of your conspiracies. You also ask what my occupation is.
Well, I would be happy to answer.
My job is to make sure that the students of this school have the best possible college experience.
I keep the residents of my building informed of situations that are occurring on campus.
I help them with classes, registration, housing issues and all the aspects of college that a student may have questions about.
I sit and talk to them about friends and family issues because I genuinely care.
My other occupation is being a student just like you.
I have classes, an internship, job, club obligations, and the most important job of being an "assistant" to the residents of my building.
If you only knew the time and work that went into running a floor, let alone the job of running a building, you would probably quit on the first day.
Who do you think is the one that put up the name tag on your door so that you knew where you lived on your first day of college?
Who is the person who greeted you when you first arrived to school and handed you packets of information that you needed to survive in college?
Who do you think puts up all the signs around the floor to inform you of the events happening on campus?
Who do you think puts the time and effort to set up activities on the floor, only to have three people show up?
I think that person is me and the other 100 RAs on campus.
We are the people who were selected as the individuals who would be at your call when you need something.
We are the people who walk around the building at midnight to make sure no one is passed out in the middle of the floor from drinking.
We are the ones who help save the lives of the people who are thinking about hurting themselves.
So, if we don't have to pay for our room, I think it's payment for our services.
Don't you get compensated for jobs that you work?
You have this idea of an RA being this person who is out to get you.
I apologize that you had an RA that actually did their job by asking you to keep quiet after quiet hours.
You were the one who didn't follow the rules, therefore, you were confronted on it.
When you live at home, there are rules too. So if you don't follow the rules in your house, what happens?
My job is to protect the residents of my floor and help them through college. So for future reference, before you make assumptions about a person's job, know your facts.
Dana Forde
PSUC senior
I am a first-year resident assistant in Whiteface Hall, which is a first-year dorm.
When I applied to be a RA, I didn't see in the job description "phantom watcher" because if I had, I wouldn't have applied.
I don't stand at my peephole waiting to write people up. You pose the question "Who are these people?", as if we were brought here from another country as spies to tell our commander all of your conspiracies. You also ask what my occupation is.
Well, I would be happy to answer.
My job is to make sure that the students of this school have the best possible college experience.
I keep the residents of my building informed of situations that are occurring on campus.
I help them with classes, registration, housing issues and all the aspects of college that a student may have questions about.
I sit and talk to them about friends and family issues because I genuinely care.
My other occupation is being a student just like you.
I have classes, an internship, job, club obligations, and the most important job of being an "assistant" to the residents of my building.
If you only knew the time and work that went into running a floor, let alone the job of running a building, you would probably quit on the first day.
Who do you think is the one that put up the name tag on your door so that you knew where you lived on your first day of college?
Who is the person who greeted you when you first arrived to school and handed you packets of information that you needed to survive in college?
Who do you think puts up all the signs around the floor to inform you of the events happening on campus?
Who do you think puts the time and effort to set up activities on the floor, only to have three people show up?
I think that person is me and the other 100 RAs on campus.
We are the people who were selected as the individuals who would be at your call when you need something.
We are the people who walk around the building at midnight to make sure no one is passed out in the middle of the floor from drinking.
We are the ones who help save the lives of the people who are thinking about hurting themselves.
So, if we don't have to pay for our room, I think it's payment for our services.
Don't you get compensated for jobs that you work?
You have this idea of an RA being this person who is out to get you.
I apologize that you had an RA that actually did their job by asking you to keep quiet after quiet hours.
You were the one who didn't follow the rules, therefore, you were confronted on it.
When you live at home, there are rules too. So if you don't follow the rules in your house, what happens?
My job is to protect the residents of my floor and help them through college. So for future reference, before you make assumptions about a person's job, know your facts.
Dana Forde
PSUC senior
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