Res Life Lamentations

There will be plenty of awesome Res Life Lamentations once training starts again…or once I go back on duty in two weeks…and then I’ll be in the RA office all like:

studentleaderproblems:

Break the rules and I will document you,

You want that RA swagger?

I got that RA swagger.

I got that ARRRR-AYYYY swagger.

studentleaderproblems:

I ONLY HAVE ONE MORE SEMESTER?? THIS MEANS THAT MY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT LEADER CAREER IS OVER.

Oh wait, I’m still doing the whole awkward RA graduate student thing…

empote:

“Yes, you’re free to say ‘retarded’ in a negative way, but it makes you look like a complete and total jackass who’s not worth the time of day”. 

Any ideas?

Thought I’d throw in my two RA-cents here and it was too big to put in a reply. Judging by the tags I’m assuming this is an RA problem.

My residents use that word all the time and I always tell them not to. True, they do have freedom of speech, however, they live in a community, and they have signed off on community guidelines before they even moved in. Those guidelines often include being respectful of all ways of life. At my University, if someone is offended by something you have said, you may face EXPULSION. If they pull the freedom of speech argument, remind them what the first amendment says and that you are not the government. You will not throw them in jail, but that does not give them freedom from other consequences from the University.

After a resident with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder basically melted down after someone used that word, I stole a program from a fellow RA. It was called “That’s so…!” and basically, on a poster board, residents came up with alternative phrases to “That’s so retarded” or “That’s so gay” to make them raise awareness of who they’re affecting. People who think it’s okay to use words like that in any sort of public area (including residence halls) disgust me a little. Obviously, by saying the word “retarded,” you are not intentionally making fun of people with mental disabilities, but that does not mean people will not get offended by what you say.

Hope that helped a little =)

This is a true story, btw.

‘Twas the night after closing, and all through the hall
The RAs were eating and having a ball
The doortags, once hung by the doorknobs with care
Had now been thrown out with a rip and a tear
The students had gone home, or at least gone away
Excepting a group staying through Christmas day
And so though there pretty much wasn’t a sound
The RA on duty still had one last round
When out of a room, there arose such a shatter
That he knocked on the door to deal with the matter
As the knob turned he knew that this would not amuse…
Then the RA on duty smelled the obvious booze
He then rolled his eyes and let out a soft moan
And proceeded to call his staff on his cell phone
Two of us climbed up the stairs with great haste
Though IRs on closing were never our taste
“Hey big guy who’s standing in front of our view
Get out of our way so we can document you!”
We thought to ourselves as these children played dumb,
In spite of it smelling like vodka or rum.
Perhaps we’d be gen’rous close to Christmas day?
After all they could not go home from far away.
But then again it was not our fault these tools
Could not remember how to follow the rules.
“Yes of course we drink too, we’re of age, though!” we cry
“And we’re always off-site, for this campus is dry!
“You signed off a contract before receiving your key
“So do not play dumb here, let’s see some ID.”
So we wrote down the names as we watched the time pass
And housekeeping came to clean up all the glass
Then writing and writing and writing some more
The narrative of the report—what a bore
Our finals were over, we should be relaxing
More than anything this job is really quite taxing
And so with a sigh we then closed the lounge door
And continued to watch Adult Swim like before

To all the RAs ‘round the world now on duty
Do not forget that res life has profound beauty
And though students like these can oft lose their way
You’re never alone…even on Christmas day.
Though I’ll be home this year, I was not last time
And it’s days like these where your job seems least sublime
But remember this as my bus pulls out of sight:
We appreciate you on these long duty nights.

To all RAs stuck on duty Christmas Day, this is for you. To all of you who go to schools where your buildings ACTUALLY close…I hate you =P.

Logging the last lock-outs as we speak. Of course I checked out a resident who didn’t need to check out with an RA at all…but to be fair, I was TOTALLY that one resident my freshman year. Happy Holidays (finally!)

daringartisticadventurer:

This does not mean you continue to hang around and take advantage of this offer.

I mean you’re cool and all, but

Only a few more hours until GTFO day!

ridiculously-awesome:

I wanna follow youu :)

So I lied before…THIS is my new RA blog. <3

I wish residents understood that by not documenting them and warning them, we’re doing them a favor, and that if our superiors had their way, everyone in our residence hall would be in the system without discretion.

When we say “we hate to be the bad guys” we really do. The problem is that they make us be the bad guys when they call in our “bluff,” basically.

The RA that yells or speaks sternly at you but waits until the last minute to document you is not an RA that is a pushover, nor an RA that is a jerk. That person is a Resident Assistant that wants you to learn without getting you into trouble, but cannot ignore the blatant disturbance to the community that you are causing.

We are not sadists, we’re students. Don’t demonize us because you decided to live in a community and cannot abide by the guidelines you have agreed upon, and you signed a contract saying that you did. Also, do not try to tell us what you think the rules are or how you think we should be doing our jobs. While I am willing to admit that I am wrong, I do not challenge rules if I only have a vague idea of them.

If you do know, though, then my question is, what would you expect us to do? If someone was being so loud that you could not sleep or study at odd hours of the morning after warning you repeatedly, do you think we can simply let it slide? Do you think we have that choice? We don’t. We also do not sign up for this position to yell at people…

Residents also do not realize how often we have to speak to them, not because we feel like being jerks, but because other people are complaining and have asked us to handle the situation. We cannot blame someone else, and so the blame falls upon us, further turning us into giant douches in their minds.

I’m a little sad right now because right after writing on my door how much I loved my residents and wished them happy time off, I came back to a smeared whiteboard. True, I had just gotten done yelling at some loud residents, but like I said, I did not actually do anything. My colleagues, on the other hand, were cursed at and harassed.

I am not mad at my residents…of course not. I don’t hate them either. Personal feelings cannot permeate into this job or else you will drive yourself insane; if we feed into a resident’s personal attack, we become a victim and the very thing we wished to avoid. But I am sad.

I am sad that they do not see or understand that we do this job because we love the community in which we live. They do not see or understand that we signed up for this, not just for free room and board, but because we believed we could help to enrich others’ res life experiences for the better.

But no, they will not let us try to reason with them, because to them, we are just those busybodies in the polos who get their kicks from yelling at others. I know people who enjoy that power…and those people would never get hired. Documentation means more work for me and more animosity from you…and you think I enjoy that?

Fortunately, these few instances are exceptions to the rule. Most of the people I live with are kind, courteous, and even inspirational. I just wish the few who demonize us would realize that we are people…just like them.