In reply to "Residents Need to Clean Up Their Acts" (Aug. 5), as a former Residence Assistant at University Park I found it disheartening that the Daily Collegian's Board of Opinion would imply that RAs "were failing" to do their jobs. One of the many things Residence Life reinforced throughout my two-and-a-half year tenure with the office was that "you are a student first." It seems this notion was lost somewhere when the Board of Opinion formulated their stance.
While yes, it is our job to keep our eyes out for vandalism -- we cannot in good faith do this 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The incidents in Beaver Hall could very well take place past 11 p.m. or 1 a.m., which were popular times for final rounds to be conducted. So, to imply that RAs are the community's way to deter vandalism is deficient. We rely on residents to wake us up when they spot something out of the ordinary. I cannot count how many duty nights when myself or one of my co-workers would be on duty and the next morning find the building vandalized in one way or another. If residents do not see this happen or bother to report it while we are asleep, then maybe Residence Life needs to drive that point home even more during the year's first house meetings.
I know many people see us as "freshmen babysitters," but we play a far more important role in our residents' lives than most other people they meet in college. We help them transition from high school to college, we help them learn from their mistakes and we give guidance on a plethora of things.
Rick Rump
former resident assistant
Class of 2008
