Residence Life: RA’s provide invaluable resources

posted in: Opinion | 0

Resident Assistants (RA’s) pose as some of the most important resources a student has on a college campus. They are able to help with most problems students are having, and also provide incredible support services.

This being said, are all of these responsibilities RA’s have to deal with too much to handle?

“RA’s are asked to do a lot of work but I also feel like we are very well compensated for it,” sophomore Erin Dahl said.

One of the perks of being an RA is Pacific University will pay for their room and board. Another perk, depending on the the type of person someone is, is that they are able to help people with all kinds of different things.

“RA’s make sacrifices from other areas of their lives, like sports, to keep from being completely overwhelmed,” sophomore Carli Feist said.

It is definitely a lot to ask for, but it is manageable, if the right type of person who can control their time management and productivity takes the position.

To become an RA, students arrive at the beginning of August to start a month of training. During this month, they go over policies, how to confront people, inclusivity and diversity training, and work with the counseling center to help students that might be struggling.

“We’re dealing with people all day every day and we have to account for all different kinds of people and their emotions,” Feist said.

During this month they are also trained in the basic RA tasks, like how to do rounds, be on call and how to check people in and out of their rooms. Every week, RA’s have to meet one-on-one with their supervisors, plan events, attend staff meetings, get together with the other RA’s for team time and throw hall socials.

So, while a student might be sacrificing a lot by becoming an RA, they are also aware of the time commitment it will take when they sign up for the task. If the right person is dedicated to completing these tasks and to helping people, the position may be a god fit. While it is not an easy job and nor is it for everyone, students should understand this and other impacts when signing up.

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