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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Dan Oltersdorf
280 Edwards Hall
Fort Collins, CO
PHONE: (970) 495 4131
EFAX: (707) 276-2054
/archive/contact.htm
International Recognition Day
Puts the Spotlight on RAs
February 16, 2000 is the first
annual "International Residence Hall Student Staff
Recognition Day."On the third Wednesday of every February campuses around the
world are recognizing those individuals who are hired or volunteer
to be the leader of their floor. While many titles are used
to describe this position, the most commonly used is Resident
Assistant (RA)."Student
staff in residence halls (or dorms) are the resources for some 3.5
million students living on campuses in the US, and many more
around the world.There
are an estimated 100,000 RAs in the US alone, with 50,000 new RAs
stepping into the position every year.
Resident Assistants (RAs) act as
a resource, a friend, community builder, and policy enforcer in
their residence halls.On
average, each RA has 35 residents on his or her floor.The RA is responsible for creating an environment conducive
to academic success and personal growth.This responsibility is carried out through various social
and educational programming.
ResidentAssistant.com, a
resource website for RAs, and the sponsor of the International
Recognition Day, contains over 400 pages of ideas and information
from RAs around the world on how to better serve their residents.Receiving over 160,000 page views a month, the site is
where RAs share ideas, concerns and questions with professional
staff and peers on every topic from homesickness to suicide
threats.There is
also an interesting listing of famous former RAs, including
Hillary Clinton, Sheryl Crow, Katie Couric and many others.
The idea for the recognition day
came from Grant Anderson, a hall director at Colorado State
University, who proposed it to Dan Oltersdorf, the creator of
ResidentAssistant.com.Oltersdorf,
an RA himself, was excited about the idea, stating, "RAs are
active student leaders on their campuses, and deserve recognition
and praise for a hard job well done."
For more information about RAs
or about the International Residence Hall Student Staff
Recognition day, visit /archive/.
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