Resident Assistants R.A. 's make the effort to be a friend , as well as to plan actiuities to unite their wings. They stayed up late with you talking about your homesi ckness , the boyfriend or g irlfriend you le ft bel1ind and tl1 overload of c lasses you w ere sure you could handle. On duty, R.A. 's served as fire marshals . They "worked desk" and th irs w re the faces that poked into your room every night to make sure you w ere there at curfew. Listening was one of the most important responsibiliti es expec ted of a resident assistant (RA.). Jacob Moran . a senior R.A. in Graduate Dorm. desc ribed a v,isit with a yo ung m an in his room one nigl1t . "We started talking. In this case, he·d been having struggl s with his faith , so w e each talked about our own struggles. " Balancing his rol e as fri end and his role as R.A. was oft en hard for Moran. He said that situations could becom e awkward. "Every once in a whil e ," Moran said, "there are tensions b e tween two guys and remain a fri end . Requesting anonymity, th y named a few of the situations reported in t11e dorm : a cake fight at a birthday party early in the sem e ter . tackl e football in the halls , a resident dumping a buc ke t of cold water on anotl1er in th bathroom stall, a frightened female resident who had just seen the ghost of Gertie in her room - be fo re she'd ever heard the legend. What most R.A.'s be lieved to m ake the job wortl1 the e ffort was the c loseness developed in relationships. R.A.'s w ere required to conduc t regular m eetings . whether relig io us o r soc ial in nature , to get to know the residents for whom they w er responsible. and these proved to be a positive aspec t of th job. Glenda Gaston and Debra Bland organiz d a pi cnic for the ir wing in Kendall and a wing in Armstrong a t th beginning o f the fall sem ester. Aram ark ca tered and more than 30 young m en and on the same wing . sually the guys will m ention it to m in p assing . worn n spent two hours eating, soc ializing and play ing volleyball, ljust try to diffuse the situation. It's not hard if you just stay focused ." To ensure that R.A. 's arri ed out the ir duties r sponsibly , Deans Peggy Huckeba and James Anderson conduc t d training sessions the w eek be fore scl1ool started . During tl1is time, til e student handbook w as explained. a local fireman spoke and students partic ipated in problem-solving ac tivities. As responsibl e upperc lassmen , R.A.'s w ent through a bit o f a rol rev rsal as th y became r sponsibl for assisting with discipline probl ems. Whe ther dorming residents for lat minutes or reminding them of the dr ss code , R.A.'s w ere expec ted to l1o ld upright morals J\I eoun ,\/cCorklc - El F'aso . Ark Sectri ck .\/c/)Ulli C'I - :\1kins.. \rk . S h ew ,\/cCo l wy - 11 ealcllon. Okla. Josl 1 ,\/cGou o l 1 - 11<igcrs1own. ~ 1 c1. 1\ s l1Jee ;\re Kinn on - Kimberl mg Ci1;·. ~10 . JOJ H' I ICI ,\/cKinz ie - Miller. ~ l o. Greo .\Ic L eun - Ban1e,,,·111e. Okl<i Tod(/ ,\f cL eod - Searcy·. , \rk . Emily ,\/ c.\luck in - Tuscumbia. Al<1. C l l(l ci ,\fCS OIT - Cl1a11anooga . Tenn . L m iro .\fc,\ '11 11 - conwa;·. 1\rk Kry.sw l ,\/c\\ 'lwrwr - 1wgers. r\rk . A lo n ,\leodo<t '.S - El Doraclo . :\ rk. Korlu ,\lee/el/in - ~IPxico C11 y . ~ l exico Be1/1 .\leeks - 11e11clerson. N.C. V ick i ,\/e rc/l(l ll f - Fryeburg . M<iine A n n ,\/e r r i 11 - Ldpone . Tex;1s Cl iff .\I i i/er - Hl y 1l1e, ·i llc . ,\rk . I' C' op I c 120 F r C' s h Ill <' n soccer and foo tball at Berryhill Park. Gaston and Bland also formed "Secret Sisters ." Each resident drew a name and then secre tl y sent encourag ing notes and small g ifts to the p erson whose nam e they had drawn . Like other R.A.'s on campu . Gaston and Bland also hos ted wing parti es and celebrated birthdays each month. Wl1en these students appli ed for the position of R.A. , it is doubtful tllat they understood all that the ir j ob w ould entail. However. most m ainta ined a balance as listeners , disciplinarians and Christlike xamples for the ir residents. - G orgia Choate
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