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ResidentAssistant.com
Newsletter: September 2006 Edition
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Newsletter Content:
- Getting
off to a Quick Start
- Resident
Assistant Blog
- ResidentAssistant.com
Internship
- Site
Resources
- CALLING
FOR IDEAS!
- Student
issues & concerns for September and October
PLEASE
FORWARD THIS TO THE OTHER MEMBERS OF YOUR STAFF!
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Article
of the month submitted by Andy Butler, author of New
House 5.
During my
three years as an RA at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, I learned
that a fast start is what makes or breaks community. It's essential
for you, the RA, to establish yourself as a trustworthy resource
right off-the-bat. This is particularly important when working
in a first-year area but it also holds true in upperclassmen communities.
You have to remember that most of your residents will be spending
much of their time out of class in their dorm, whether it's studying,
hanging out, eating, or sleeping. Establishing credibility early
will allow you and your residents to make the most out of the
time you have together.
Getting off
to a quick start can mean a lot of things. Programming is important
but I've always believed the most important thing is getting to
know each resident on an individual basis. This allows you to
decide how you want to go about programming and creating your
floor dynamic. During the first couple weeks I always tried to
find one thing in common with each resident that was important
to them. I used that as a starting point; if you like the same
music or sports team or restaurant, that's a stepping stone towards
a deeper, more rewarding relationship. I always observed the students'
environments to find common interests; you should be able to find
a common interest just by walking into your resident's room. Posters,
computer backgrounds, DVD collections, themed clothing, these
are all easy ways to find out what your residents like. The point
is, you wouldn't trust or respect someone who you didn't relate
to, so why would our residents? Knowing each the hometown and
major of your residents doesn't mean you really know them. Once
you've established an initial relationship, then it's up to you
to take it from there. It's hard to be a successful RA if your
community thinks you care about the floor more than the individuals
who make up the floor.
During my
junior year, I wrote a book about my experience as an RA on an
all freshmen floor. The goal of this book is to educate prospective
college students about what it's like to live in a modern college
dormitory, show parents what some of the different issues modern
college students face are and above all else, serve as a resource
for RAs. The book is slightly fictionalized to protect anonymity
but it's based on true story and one many of you can probably
relate to. I made a lot of decisions as an RA, probably just as
many good as bad. If you're curious, I'd encourage you to check
it out. I wanted to make my story available to others as a guide,
a tool and hopefully a source for inspiration. If you get a chance
to read it, I'd love to hear what you thought and how it may have
differed or coincided with your experience. The book, New House
5: How a dorm becomes a home, is available through
all major internet retailers.
Good luck
to all of you during the new school year. You are the people that
give our campuses life.
Andy Butler
To
order Andy's book click the link below:
www.newhouse5.com
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Come check
the ResidentAssistant.com
Blog page. Here are some recent posts:
See
Blog
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ResidentAssistant.com
Internship
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Are
you tech savvy? Creative? Enjoy res life? In need of an internship?
Let me know! We have a number of projects that could use your
creative touch. Preferred qualifications include graphic design
experience and/or web design experience. Projects will include
creating new resources for ResidentAssistant.com, and website
improvements. Denver applicants preferred, but we can do a long-distance
internship as well for a qualified candidate. E-mail me if you
are interested in getting more details.
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Site
Resources
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o
Bulletin boards – Find a great list of ideas and premade bulletin
boards
http://www.residentassistant.com/programming/bulletinboard/
- Also see the pre-made
bulletin board section.
o
Door Decorations (Door Tags) – Here is a list of ideas collected
off of the listserve and emailed to the site. Have fun seeing
what other ideas people have come up with! http://www.residentassistant.com/programming/doortags/
o
Use the message boards! – This is a great way for you to
interact with other RAs and Professionals all over the world!
Be sure to search before you ask a question to see if there is
already a thread with that topic. http://www.residentassistant.com/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi
o
Social Programs – As you have certainly learned in training
and noted above, the first 6 weeks of the first semester are the
most critical time in building community in your areas. The first
couple of weeks are especially crucial! Socials are an excellent
way to get your residents to know one another. Check out ideas
for social programs at http://www.residentassistant.com/programming/social/
o
Flyers
& other document templates
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Calling
for your ideas!
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Now that the
site is being re-vamped, we need new and fresh ideas... FROM YOU!!
IF you have done a great program, bulletin board, door dec or
even a creative flyer, upload
it to the site today!
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Student
Issues and Planning
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 These
are some issues students may face during this time of year. As
you will note, these are general guidelines and will vary from
student to student. This information can be useful to not only
be aware of what students may be going through but also to plan
relevant programs.
Each of the
following issues should spark programming ideas for you. For more
detailed ideas, also be sure to check out the
September Programming Planner and the October
planning page. To share your own ideas, visit the blog and
the discussion boards!
These are
some issues students may face during this time of year. This information
can be useful to not only be aware of what students may be going
through, but also to plan relevant programs.
September/October
- Homesickness
- especially for freshmen
- Roommate
conflicts caused by personality differences, lack of understanding
and unwillingness to compromise or the new experience of having
to live with someone. See
the roommate game program for a fun way to address these issues.
- Initial
adjustment to academic environment - feelings of inadequacy
and inferiority develop because of the discrepancy between high
school status and grades and initial college performance.
- Class size,
especially in mass lecture halls, lack of personal interest
by professors and performance expectations are also major factors.
- Values
exploration - students are confronted with questions of conscience
over conflict areas of race and alcohol experimentation, morality,
religion and social expectations.
- New social
life adjustments - including new freedom of not having to check
with parents about what time to be in, having the opportunity
to experience new areas, making your own decisions on when to
conduct social activities and establishing yourself in a peer
group.
- Initial
social rejections - creates feeling of inadequacy when not immediately
accepted in a peer group, or into a social sorority or fraternity.
- "En-loco
parentis" problems - students feel depressed because of
real or perceived restrictive policies and regulations of the
college.
- Campus
familiarization - includes becoming familiar with campus, classrooms,
buildings and meeting places. ¨ Long distance relationship -
torn between being loyal to your significant other from home
and going out with new people. Can the expectations of both
people be adequately met?
- Financial
adjustment - involves adjusting to a somewhat tighter budget
now that they are in schools opposed to when they were living
at home. Students who are supporting themselves have to adjust
to budgeting their money also.
- International
student adjustment - experience a sense of confusion, vulnerability
and a lack of any advocate in higher positions while trying
to make a successful cultural and academic transition.
- Family
problems seem amplified because the student may either be caught
in the middle, relied on for the answer or because they are
far away, feeling helpless in helping reach a solution.
- Adjusting
to administrative "Red Tape" with students soon realizing
that it is usually a long and frustrating process when trying
to find an answer to what seems to be a simple question, or
trying to work something through the administrative process
~ source unknow
- Academic
stress from mid-terms builds with the great demand for studying
and preparation. For some students this may be their first exam
of the semester. For many, the midterm workload pressures are
followed by feelings of failure and loss of self-esteem.
- Roommate
problems continue, but they are smaller in scope than previous
months.
- Values
exploration continuing, especially in the area of sexuality.
- Dating/non-dating/friendship
anxieties extremely high. Non-dating students feel a sense of
loss of esteem because so much value is placed upon dating.
For women who do date, the pressure to perform sexually increases
and consequently increases feelings of rejection, loneliness
and guilt and in some instances leads to unwanted pregnancies.
- Homesickness
may be still felt by a number of students.
- Job panic
for mid-year graduates starts with the onset of resume preparation
and interviewing.
- Students
decide to withdraw from school because they either realize that
college is not the place for them, they return home for personal
reasons or they transfer to another school.
- Grief from
not being part of a group develops because of inadequate skills
for finding a group, or from not being selected by one.
- Financial
strain sets in from lack of budgeting experience.
- Homecoming
blues develop because of no date for social affairs, and/or
lack of ability/opportunity to participate in activities.
- Graduate
school syndrome starts to emerge from graduating seniors. Signing
up for graduate school exams, wondering if you will be accepted,
wondering which school to apply to and questioning whether graduate
school is the right thing to do.
- Time conflicts
between academic and social expectation emerges.
- Signing
up for classes involves starting to think about he following
semester. Adjusting to new study habits includes not just being
able to study the way they did in high school. More time and
greater workload needs to be incorporated into their schedule
for studying.
- Disenchantment
with school - low reward level because student begins to realize
that life at college is not as perfect as they were led to believe
by parents, teachers and counselors. Old problems seem to continue
and new ones are added. An external reality they had put heir
hopes in has failed them.
See
calendar section for other months and for planning pages
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