A Day In the Life

A day in the life of an RA can be pretty eventful depending on the day. An RA might have an in-service to attend, a program to prepare for, a bulletin board to do and much, much more! We as RAs have to attend an in-service twice a semester. An in-service is any event Ball State holds that can be beneficial for an RA to attend. RAs receive a list of in-services that are available. For example, when Rev. Run came, that would have counted as an in-service, just as getting SafeZone trained is also an option. Bulletin boards are typically how RAs can be the most creative. We have to change one of our bulletin boards each month and try to make our bulleting boards accommodate the needs of our residents. Bulletin boards are a fun, creative, interesting and passive way to get information to your residents. Bulletin boards can cover most any topic including; alcohol facts, stress management, sexual assault and rape, safe sex and so on.

Programs are also a great way to engage your community in a fun yet informative way. If you have a program, there is so much prep that is needed. The purpose of a program is again, get information to your residents in a creative way. A good program tip is IF YOU BRING FOOD, THEY WILL COME. Besides formulating the content to your program, logistics are very important. You have to chose a location large enough to fit enough people and also make sure choose an appropriate time for more residents to come. Duty is another important part of the RA job. Whoever is on duty is essentially responsible for ensuring the building is running smoothly for the night. Duty rounds, or building walks, should happen about every two hours until midnight, or 2 AM on the weekends. During these rounds RAs check to make sure kitchens are locked, and also making sure no policies are being violated. Part of being on duty is being on call from 7 PM to 7 AM. That means you cannot leave the building during those times, and if there are any problems you are the first to be called. Fundraisers are also common in this position. Each staff is required to go on a staff retreat each semester, and the staff is in charge of raising funds. Typical fundraisers are Trash for Ca$h, Pie Your RA, and selling grilled cheese.

Staff Meetings are a time each week that the full staff gets together to discuss the upcoming week. Any building concerns or updates are discussed. Functional areas give an update on their status. This is a time to talk about any and all important information regarding our halls. One on ones are meetings that also occur every week between each RA and Hall Director. During one on ones it is a great time to talk about how your community is doing or any struggles you are having. International interactions are also gone over during these meetings as well as completing sociograms.

Reality

When it comes to being an RA, you have to face reality. Paperwork. Nobody loves paperwork, but we have to do it. Every RA does the basics: interaction logs, duty forms, My CoCo, program forms, and OTM forms. Each community is different and has different needs. Depending on the vibe of your residence hall, you might not have to do that many documentations (alcohol, drugs, noise, etc.). For example, I reside in the honors residence hall DeHority, while Emily resides in Lafollette, also known as the “party” hall. This means that the role you play in your community varies. In a typical freshman hall, RAs run into more paperwork heavy situations such as policy violations. While some communities need more policy enforcement, every RA in every hall has paperwork responsibilities. This part of the job is not commonly seen by residents, but as RAs it is out reality.

There are several different types of paperwork that are an important part of the RA role.

 The Duty Log: The Duty Log is filled out every night by the RA who is on duty. After it is submitted it is sent to each RA and Hall Director in the building. It gives an overview of how the night went and discusses any issues that occurred. This form helps our staff stay on the same page.

http://reshall.iweb.bsu.edu/braytonclevenger/dutylog.htm

The Program Proposal and Evaluation: Each month it is expected that RAs plan, put on and reflect on a floor program. These programs can range from academic initiatives, stress management, diversity, alcohol awareness, and basically any topic that the RA sees would be beneficial to the floor community. The Program Proposal form is meant to help the RA work through the logistics of the program idea. It is also how the Hall Directors can approve the program and supply funds from the RA’s floor budget. After the program is completed, the RA fills out the Program Evaluation form. The purpose of this form is to help determine what aspects of the program went well and what aspects could be improved upon if it were to be repeated.

http://reshall.iweb.bsu.edu/braytonclevenger/ra_programproposal.html http://reshall.iweb.bsu.edu/braytonclevenger/RA_programEVALUATION.html

PPACA: PPACA is how RAs clock their hours. Each RA is to work 20 hours each week, but it is different in the fact that the hours are not specifically scheduled for certain times. This form helps both RAs and Hall Directors keep track of what duties each RA is performing and holds you accountable for not only completing 20 hours but also completing all responsibilities.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BjeNWCRSHYp_2QXgwyeKciiprIapok9QZDvYHqM1eHw/edit#gid=0

Intentional Interactions: Intentional Interactions are basically every interaction an RA has with residents. We keep track of our interactions with our residents because as an RA it helps me see who I am interacting with and who I haven’t seen in a while. It is important to know your community in order to be able to help it. Intentional Interactions can be conversations about grades, friends, home life, stress, boyfriends/girlfriends, roommate problems, or daily struggles. Intentional Interactions can also be following up with various residents about previous situations or conversations. This form is seen by the Hall Directors and helps them get a better idea of how everyone on the floor is doing.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UUGvMZCA4vpTIV8VHaywsurNc9QsGpMn8ZVlgmrQGeA/edit#gid=0

The RA Manual: This manual is the basis to which all RAs base their decisions. This manual lays out our expectations for a variety of situations. This is a great reference when faced with a difficult or unusual situation.

http://housing.iweb.bsu.edu/staff/Documents/Resident%20Assistant%20Manual%202014-2015.pdf

SSO

STUDENT. STAFF. ORIENTATION. 

Let me take you on my SSO journey. It’s 2 weeks before residents move in and LaFollette was looking oh so empty and bare, but alas the B/C staff arrived. At the time we were no more than 8 strangers picked to live in a building and work together for 9 months. Little did we know the adventure we were about to embark on. The first day of SSO was filled with greetings, schedules and $300 worth of food. #reslife

The days after were filled with informative sessions, team building activities, demonstrations, ice breakers, volunteerism and ….. BCD’s. During SSO all the incoming RAs, CAs and MAs come together for an intensive training to prepare us for the upcoming year. We learn about circuit breakers *off and on and off and on*. We burnt marijuana. We Mocked and we Rocked. But most importantly, we bonded. We got to know our fellow staff members and we had the opportunity to learned together. We got to serve the Muncie community alongside our friends. We stayed up until 2 am practicing duty rounds and learning how to fill out paperwork. We lived in a ghost town and ran up and down the hallways hanging up 60+ door-decs with band aids covering our hands from hours of hot glue torture. We stared down the ever daunting empty bulletin board awaiting our victory. During these two weeks you became an RA. You became a student staff member.

dun dun dunnnn……

BCD’s

BCD’s or Behind Closed Doors are a first year RA’s best friend and worst enemy. BCD’s are simulations during which returning RAs act out situations as residents and first year RAs act out as if they were the RA. During this time you are putting everything you learned in SSO into actual practice. BCD’s cover everything. There are situations regarding: alcohol violation, marijuana violation, tobacco violation, noise violation, homesickness, roommate conflicts, conflicts of values, unconscious resident, suicide ideation, fire, inter-relationship violence, and many more. All of these situations are very common is residence halls and handling them are apart of the RA role. It is a nerve-wracking time. The RA who is participating in the BCD gets barely any background information. Basically you walk into a situation completely blind, which is what happens in real life. It may seem silly to see fellow staff members acting out these situations, but it is anything but funny. The returners take it very seriously and so do the first years. Not only are you acting out these situations, but you have an audience. Each room has two Hall Directors who are evaluating you, the returning RAs are also evaluating you, and fellow first year RAs are there watching. At the end of your situation, constructive criticism is given. While BCD’s are extremely stressful, they are also the most beneficial part of SSO. During this time you got to practice handling a variety of situations. In BCD’s it’s okay to mess up, it’s a learning experience. Sitting in lectures and discussions are helpful but until you can put that knowledge to work, it doesn’t matter.

SSO as a whole is very long, exhausting, stressful and so very amazing. It is the first time that the opportunity arises to bond with your staff. After SSO you become part of a staff. You become an RA. You become Beyonce. 

http://www.survivingcollege.com/7-things-r-beyonce-common/

Let’s Give This a Try…

The Decision

After making the decision to become an RA I knew the next steps were crucial. I registered for EDHI 200, which is the RA class and is required for all RAs to take. I filled out the online application and from then on it was a waiting game until interviews. Through our EDHI class we learned more in-depth what the role of an RA is and how to improve upon and learn the necessary skills RAs need to have. It’s so much more than policy enforcement and bulletin boards. Each week we learned something new, starting with:

1. Roles of the RA and MA and Managing It All
2. Conduct of Student Leaders
3. Developing Team Building Skills and Group Process Roles
4. Leadership and Styles of Leadership
5. Community Development
6. Communication Skills
7. Value Clarification and Self Development
8. Introduction to Difference 
9. The Filed of Student Affairs
10. Customer Service and Ethics

During the class we also had a semester-long group project. In the project we worked with fellow classmates to develop an imaginary community. We were assigned residents with varying backgrounds and needs. It was our job to asses the residents we were assigned and build a community that would be the most beneficial. It was our job to design mock door-decorations, or door-decs, mock programs, and mock-bulletin boards. While these residents and situations were fictional this assignment gave us an inside look as to what our job would be in our own communities. We also got a feel for what it would be like to work with a staff of other RAs.

Next was the interviewing process… 

This was the most intimidating and stressful part of the application process. There are two separate rounds of interviews. The first round is with a Hall Director, and Assistant Hall Director and two RA’s. Let me tell you, there is nothing more intimidating than sitting in front of four established leaders interviewing for a position that encompasses so much. Honestly, I can’t even remember my first round interview. After first rounds interviews, you play the waiting game. The RHD and ARHD’s sit down together and review each and every interviewee and evaluate their answers. Together they formulate a list of who will be asked back for second round interviews. If accepted back for a second round interview you are one step closer to being offered a position. A second round interview is conducted by two Hall Directors and two Assistant hall Directors. Talk about intimidating! The process after second round interviews was very similar to before. The Hall Directors come together and review all the second round interviews and from there each director forms his or her staff for the upcoming year. Again, for the interviewees its another waiting game. About a month goes by, and it is one of the most nerve-racking, scary and stressful months. And then you receive your letter..

The Letter

After months of classes, interviewing and waiting the day finally arrives…letter day. Housing and Residence Life sent out letters to all those who had second round interviews. The letters either, offered you a position as a RA in a building, offered you an alternate position or did not offer any position. About half of the candidates return for second round interviews, and around half of those candidates get offered positions. Letter day is such an exciting and happy day! For many people, myself included, it was the beginning to the RA journey.