Students find support with University resident assistants

When life becomes difficult some people need a person to talk with, someone to tell their problems to and get advice in return.

For some people, finding this person may be difficult, but on-campus residents have to look no further than a few doors down the hallway.

Resident assistants are ready to offer assistance to those who choose to seek their help.

Lea Girsh, an RA in Tener Hall, said her responsibilities are more than those of a disciplinarian.

"I love it," Girsh said. "I really like the responsibility. By talking, I feel that I can help them overcome their hardships."

Girsh, who is assigned to the coed seventh and eighth floors of her East Halls dorm, said the intense training program for RAs has prepared her for any type of problem she may have to face -- whether it be resolving a roommate conflict or helping a student find a counselor for alcohol and drug abuse or an eating disorder.

Her residents are also her friends, Girsh said.

"I have people in my room 24/7. It's a big Melrose Place," Girsh said.

"She's always there to listen," said Aabha Sharma (freshman-division of undergraduate studies). "Me and my friends had a fight and she got us all together and we talked."

Sharma's friend, Margaret Chun (freshman-communications), likened Girsh's two floors to one ongoing soap opera, with a new girl/guy conflict arising every day. Coed floors can cause those kind of problems, Chun said.

"Part of our role is to maintain peace when people are not willing to cooperate," said Katherine Traeger, an RA at Hastings Hall in East.

The key to resolving any situation is communication and teamwork, Traeger said.

Both Sharma and Chun agreed that being an RA has to be one of the most difficult jobs to undertake.

"She doesn't want to take one side or the other," Chun said of her RA. "She tries to hear both sides of the story."

It is difficult to avoid bias, Sharma said.

"It's really hard to stay neutral. I always have my own opinion and I always want to express it," she said.

Many people do not realize the full worth of her job and just see her as an authority figure, Traeger said.

"People just see us as just a disciplinarian," she said. "People take this job to counsel people. We are there to help and educate."

Girsh also has trouble being a disciplinarian when her residents are her friends.

"If they're my real friends they'll respect me; with alcohol they'll realize I'm an RA and not their friend," she said.

"You are challenged to look at yourself," Traeger said. "We've all made a commitment."

Developing a sense of community is important, said Christine Woytowich, residence life coordinator in East Halls.

"We want to teach people to live together and be an active community member. We're trying to develop the whole person," she said.

Their position has self-rewards and means more to them than the free room and board they receive for being an RA, Traeger and Girsh said.

"My priority is spending time with my girls," Traeger said.