RA pros and cons - Page 2

jessiehl · 03-14-2008, 07:56 AM

Many people have stated the clear positives. As negatives:

- Depending on what the RA's duties and privileges are, it can isolate you from your peers.

- Do RAs have legal protection if something goes wrong (e.g. a student on the floor committing suicide)? You would want to find that out, because you don't really want to get sued.

Columbia_Student · 03-14-2008, 11:13 AM

I don't think you can sue RAs. If people want to sue, they have to sue the organization that employs these people, in this case it's the college that employs these RAs, not the RAs themselves. A side note on suing, before suing someone, you also want to make sure they can pay for the damage if you win, otherwise winning the lawsuit does not mean anything.

jessiehl · 03-14-2008, 01:10 PM

Quote:

I don't think you can sue RAs. If people want to sue, they have to sue the organization that employs these people, in this case it's the college that employs these RAs, not the RAs themselves.

Hmm, really? I know that university employees (such as a university med center psychiatrist or a dorm housemaster) can be named individually in lawsuits in cases like this, so I'm not sure why RAs couldn't be.

Columbia_Student · 03-14-2008, 01:36 PM

It depends on what the dormmaster did?Was he being malicious?Neglectful? Not follow guidelines? I found MIT lacking something in its process as far as security is concerned. I'm referring to last year's incident regarding a Wellesley student stabing an MIT student in the dorm. The security guard gave the Wellesley student a key to the MIT student's room. He thought they were still dating. That is a no no as far as process is concerned. But then again if this person is poor as in case of a student, you waste your own money by suing people. I would go after MIT people because they have more money and they hired this person as a guard.

billsbillsbills · 03-15-2008, 07:29 PM

Thank you all. I feel like we're waiting for fat or skinny envelopes again!! A girl she knows from class is an RA who was helping with the group process part of the interviews, told her that the RDs were impressed with her. That has her hopes up - I'm not sure if that's good or bad!

momrath · 03-15-2008, 08:42 PM

bills, at my son's LAC the RA positions were unpaid but still highly competitive. For my son who chose to be an RA (they called them JAs -- Junior Advisors -- at his school) in lieu of going abroad, the experience was profoundly good. He picked up all kinds of life skills: leadership, empathy, problem solving, crisis management plus added a significant line to his resume.

Most importantly, he really enjoyed the opportunity to lead and counsel first years, to pass on the practical and emotional support that he received from his JAs. He is gratified that two years on, three of "his" first years are now JAs.

Good luck to your daughter and let us know how she does.

avcastner · 03-15-2008, 10:12 PM

Bills, some schools limit the number of units RAs can enroll in. Also, I know at some schools, the RAs are required to enroll in a leadership class just for the RAs and the other student staff. This class is usually the same weight as a regular class--3 units or so. That means, RAs could be limited to taking only 4 classes toward their degrees while employed as RAs. (Source--Humboldt State).

On the other side, I had many friends who were RAs. In retrospect, though the job could be tought at times, they think the experience was one of the best in their lives--and many have found out that their RA experience is one thing that has helped them get jobs later on.

billsbillsbills · 07-15-2008, 10:52 AM

Update: She will be an RA in a mixed dorm, only a small number of freshmen. She's excited and we're doing the jolly jump over the free room.

MiamiDAP · 07-15-2008, 11:17 AM

My D indicated that she would not wanted the RA job b/c it is too much. Her situation is different becuase she will have SI job (7-8 hour/week) and volunteering commitment (4 hour/week) at school that she would like to continue. She also needs to maintain high GPA to retain spot in her program and Merit scholarships.

NewHope33 · 07-15-2008, 12:56 PM

"I'm referring to last year's incident regarding a Wellesley student stabing an MIT student in the dorm."

Gotta watch out for those Babes with Blades. But seriously, being an RA is usually a good experience, and invariably a valuable one. Besides, I'm sure your D will have a better appreciation of her Mom afterward!

sybbie719 · 07-15-2008, 01:41 PM

billsbillsbills,

Congrats to your D. I hope she has an amazing time as an RA. Like momrath's son, my D was an RA (UGA) where they did not get free room & board (just a stipend) however it was still a competitive process. She had a great time, learned a lot of transferrable skills and I saw how she grew as a person from the experience.

momrath · 07-15-2008, 07:45 PM

bills, congratulations to your daughter and thanks for letting us know how things turned out. As a sidenote to my son's RA experience, his RA (when my son was a first year) was just ordained as a Catholic priest. His outlook contributed interesting and unusual dynamic to the run of the mill freshman anxieties.

billsbillsbills · 07-15-2008, 10:29 PM

Hmmmm, sure would be surprised if DD suddenly went the religious route!

golferdad · 07-16-2008, 10:16 PM

My son was an RA his soph. year at W&M. He enjoyed the private suite & I appreciated the room & board savings. He found crisis management & problem solving fine, but found most of the decorating & activity aspects of the position lame. He moved into a frat house junior year & decided not to be a RA because he felt the policing aspects of the position would interfere with his social involvement in the frat.