Knowing your RD & RA
A residence hall is like a self-contained society. And as such, dorm life has its ups and downs. The ups result from satisfaction with physical space, facilities, and, of course, roommates and neighbors. The downs result – surprise, surprise! – from the opposite. For the sake of harmony and the protection of personal privacy and property, residence life also has its rules, expectations for conduct, and policies for dealing with problems. The number one cause of most of these problems? A failure to communicate effectively.
That’s where Residence Directors and Residence Assistants come in. They are your policy-keepers, your sounding boards when you need to air grievances, your dispute mediators, your advocates, and more. So it’s worth your while to know what they do so you can communicate effectively with them.
Residence Directors – The RD’s primary job is the general management of a dormitory building, which includes the safety and harmony of dorm residents. They are professionally trained, usually with an educational background in a relevant field, such as higher education or college personnel management, and are typically employed full time. What are their primary responsibilities? RDs:
Supervise RAs, administrative, and custodial staff
Enforce rules and policies
Counsel students
Mediate disputes
Function as liaisons with university administrators
Serve as the primary contacts with university law enforcement
Provide crisis management as needed
Lead classes, workshops, presentations, and social events during orientation and throughout the year
Serve as mentors for students
Residence Assistants/ Residence Advisors – Think of RAs as the team-builders of your dorm. Well-trained to offer peer support and know what’s going on in your dorm, they are essential to ResLife harmony. Knowing and communicating with your RA, therefore, is really important.
In fact, once you do, you might want to be an RA yourself! An RA’s job consists of many responsibilities and advantages. First, there are potential financial rewards, such as free room and board, eligibility for desirable housing options, reduced-cost meal plans, and stipends. RAs also:
Conduct inspections for health and safety
Document and report conduct code violations
Support the RD in administrative functions
Organize recreational and social activities
Facilitate events, such as educational, team-building, and community service projects
Participate in orientation to usher in the new crop of freshmen
Train for diversity awareness, crisis management, and conflict resolution
Cultivate leadership, management, and mentoring skills
Learn and practice problem-solving and communication skills
It’s not too soon to take action about applying; the competition can be tough. Application procedures require getting recommendations from professors and other staff who can attest to your academic performance, your reliability, and your integrity. The application may ask about your full-time student status, your judicial standing, health issues, and level of extra-curricular involvement.