Got a leaky bathroom? Having a fight with your roommate? Those loud suitemates keeping you up on a Tuesday night? It’s likely that if you’ve experienced any of these situations, you’ve called your RA. Most of us may take it for granted, but RAs are the pillars that hold dorm life together. Having spent my summer working as an RA, I got to experience for myself some of the (often bizarre) occurrences that happen in the dorm day to day. As you can imagine, we’ve seen a lot. Here are some of the top misadventures I encountered during my experience:
1Weird Phone Calls
Some RAs will give out their personal phone numbers for students to contact them in case of emergency. This is all good and fine–that is, until you begin receiving midnight calls from overbearing parents or thirsty friends-of-friends. Note to self: if you’re going to give out your number, make sure you emphasize that it is to use for emergencies, and emergencies only.
2Lock-outs
Everyone loses their keys once in awhile; it happens to the best of us. Running down six flights of stairs to rescue a poor locked-out soul for the fifth time, however, isn’t a fun workout for anyone. Perhaps wearing a lanyard around your neck isn’t a bad idea after all.
3Passive-aggressive hallway trash
We’re all guilty of throwing food wrappers in the bathroom garbages on occasion. But as a result, maintenance staff will sometimes throw that “illegal” trash right outside the RA’s room. This means that, from time to time, RAs have to throw away this trash that no one else wants to deal with. At least I can put “Expert in disposing neglected garbage” on my resume…right?.
4Nightly rounds
Doing rounds is every RA’s favorite pastime. There’s nothing like inspecting every corner of a dorm for unsanctioned paraphernalia to make you feel like a highly trained spy. Illegal or intolerable behavior? Not on my watch. A party of thirty in a tiny single at 2am on a Wednesday? I don’t think so.
5Kitchen nightmares
Between prelims and meeting last-minute deadlines, people sometimes forget to clear away their dishes from the communal kitchen. RA to the rescue: flies, nasty smells, and greasy unclaimed pans are no match for an RA with lots of dish washer liquid, a scrub, and a passion for cleanliness. But while we’re obligated to clean up those messes, don’t take it as an invitation to leave your dishes behind. Cleaning our own dishes is a chore in itself, but it’s something else to have to clean up someone else’s mystery grease and gunk.
6Being a voice of reason
Though it may be part of the job, there’s nothing more awkward than doing write-ups. We don’t want to get people into trouble–especially people who become our friends, who we consider our equals, and who we have to see day to day. In truth, giving demerits can be more painful than waiting in line at Okenshields during peak hours–but it’s part of the job.
Being an RA can certainly be challenging at times. But having the opportunity to meet new people, be a support system, and have a front row seat to the craziness of a college dorm has been one of the the most rewarding and memorable experiences I’ve had here at Cornell. RAs work super hard, so be sure to give yours a shout-out every once in awhile!
