Raising a Hall
Resident hall assistants deserve more recognition
Resident hall assistants are among the first people freshmen meet when moving into residence halls. Throughout the year, RAs and students get to know each other well, growing from strangers to friends or, in some cases, enemies.
Although the relationship is often a combination of love and hate, resident assistants rarely receive the recognition they deserve.
It is easy for students to view RAs as glorified hall monitors - strolling the floors and policing dorm rooms, waiting to write students up for alcohol or noise violations. This negative image proliferates and creates the “buzzkill” stereotype that, in truth, holds little merit.
RAs have to play “bad guy” once in a while because 3,000 incoming freshman no longer have mom and dad to supervise. Managing so many students who have yet to mature could wreak havoc on one’s sanity.
But RAs are more than just rule enforcers. In fact, that might be the least important part of their job.
Counseling, event organization and social interaction are just a few of their additional duties, which can be performed only with a healthy reservoir of patience and enthusiasm.
The transition from high school to college involves living away from parents for the first time. Budgeting time and money, while balancing a demanding class schedule and social life, all while coping with the ensuing emotions, can take a great toll on students. Leaving the safety net of friends and family back home can leave them feeling isolated and helpless, which only compounds the problems.
Independence can be overwhelming.
But in residence halls, never more than a few doors away, a friend is waiting to help. RAs are on the clock nearly every hour of the day. Whether they are tending to students who had too much fun on a Friday night, mediating roommate disagreements or simply listening to someone who needs to vent, RAs can be relied on.
We commend and thank them for being a constant source of support when the college going gets tough. They know the ropes around campus. They understand the magnitude of coming to college and initiating a new phase in life, and they have had experience overcoming the obstacles such a transition can include. They are waiting to share with students all of the knowledge they have acquired during their college career.
We urge students to look at RAs in this light. They are not your enemies, but just the opposite. Once you realize this, college life will become a whole lot easier.
