Your Resident Assistants (RA)s are your best friend! If you have any problems, we are here for you no matter what. BUT! Here are somethings that you should probably not mention to your RAs (or any RAs):
“Dorm”
If you are looking for a death wish, this is definitely the word you should mention to your RA. “Dorm” is only for residents to sleep in. If you are living on campus, you are most likely living in a “Residence Hall” or “Residence Center”, which provides residential programs and services, not just a couple beds and toilets. NEVER SAY “DORM”!
Most of the time, RAs would transfer “Parents Calls” to our supervisors, because our responsibilities are focused on residents living situations, not residents’ parents. Parents are a bit out of our league.
This is a HUGE equivalent to saying “I don’t like you and the floor I live in” (at least for me, it is). And sometimes, different residential halls/centers have different regulations and rules, so it would be better to go to your own floor meeting. Plus, going to floor meeting isn’t THAT bad! Sometimes there is free food to lure you to attend.
Can you not live here? First, we would probably be in bigger trouble if RAs don’t report you. Second, writing up reports is part of the responsibility, it’s not that easy to ignore this. Third, why would you put RAs into this position in the first place? Just follow the Residential Hall regulations!
Inappropriate language + bad attitude
Yeah… no… DON’T DO THIS! It’s normal that many residents do not like their RAs because of our authoritative figures. But even if that’s the case, don’t throw your tantrum out there. If you do, you are labeling yourself as a “bad resident”, so RAs will always be checking on you.
So you only have to be quiet during quiet hours? If you are being loud, you should quiet down regardless if it’s quiet hours or not. You are loud!
I’m sorry that I’m not riding a purple unicorn to be significant enough in this building…
Yeah, because making bulletin boards, programming, resolving conflicts, communicating with residents, having meetings, having A LOT of meetings, doing rounds, writing reports… are not work at all!
Take away from all these?
Please be considerate and be nice to your RAs! We are humans too!