Living in a dorm gives a student more freedom than living at home. There are no parents, no curfews and no one prattling on about the rules… well, except the RAs on each floor. Different people have different views on the RAs on campus; are they there more to help, or to harm? Students may be unclear as to the real purpose of RAs.
According to Garrett Jordan, a freshman in mechanical engineering, RAs are put in place to regulate and unite the students.
“They regulate the students that live in their section and run events to help keep order and bring their students together,” Jordan said.
With a more rule-oriented view on dorm life, Vivienne Yi, a graduate student in civil engineering, thinks RAs are in place only to make sure the housing policies are being followed.
“We need to have them to enforce rules; like if someone is noisy, the RA can ask them to quiet down,” Yi said. “RAs handle arguments between roommates and enforce the drinking rules around the dorm.”
Jessica Jernigan, a junior in international studies, works as an RA in Alexander Hall. This is her first year as an RA, but she says she plans to do it again her senior year. She knows exactly what being an RA is.
“My job is to support and be a resource for my residents,” Jernigan said.
RAs are put in place by University Housing for many reasons, and they have several duties to fulfill throughout the year. Luckily, the compensation is one of the major perks to the job.
“I make $75 every two weeks, and I get housing and meal plan paid for. It’s sweet,” Jernigan said. She feels that the benefits of being an RA are absolutely worth the work.
“The chance for free housing is too good to pass up,” Jordan said.
Being an RA isn’t always easy, so it is important that they receive compensation for their work. “It can be difficult at times; it’s difficult to enforce housing policy,” Jernigan said.
However, even though it can be a tough job, being an RA can have serious benefits, even aside from the compensation.
“Building relationships with my residents is awesome,” Jernigan said.
Dorm life in college is a time and place for students to become independent from their parents and from house rules. RAs don’t impose or make themselves the parents; they are just there in case a student needs some help or advice.
“If I can’t get along with my roommate, I would need my RA, but right now everything is so great,” Yi said.
Being an RA is something that you have to work in order to achieve, however. To be an RA, you are required to take a course the semester before you start. You have to be a sophomore in the college, and you have to regularly attend learning and training sessions, some lasting all day.
“Training to be an RA is definitely not the most fun part of my job,” Jernigan said.
Another part of being an RA is being “on duty.” This means that the RA has to stay in the dorm for the assigned amount of time, and be in possession of the “duty phone,” a phone set-aside specifically for the RA that works at that time. It’s a very beneficial thing for the students to have, but it can be hard for the RAs, who are also students, to be pent up in the dorm all night.
Overall, RAs provide the students with a resource unique to their position; an adviser that lives in the dorm year round, with answers and solutions to even the most personal problems a student might have. It’s like having a parent in the dorm; one that is willing to keep distance and not be overbearing, but also who is willing to help and is just a knock-on-the-door away.
