Being in college comes with different responsibilities, coexisting with others being one of the most important things. For the most part, each floor has an RA, and their jobs are hard. Not only do they have to be on duty, but they have to coordinate different activities, such as movie nights, decorations, and floor meetings. It isn't an easy job, and as residents, there are little things we can do to make their jobs just a little bit easier.
1. Don't cover smoke detectors.
This should go without saying, but the smoke detectors are there for a reason. Smoking is a habit, but doing it in your room is a problem for multiple reasons. Aside from the fact that you're hurting yourself and roommate(s) if there was an actual fire, but you're more likely to fail your room inspection if you get caught.
2. Don't have illegal items in the room.
Going with the first point, having anything illegal, ranging from drugs to extension cords can get you into serious trouble. Every college is different, but be sure to check the rules before move-in day so you won't come into trouble later. On that note, most colleges do room inspections sometime in the first quarter of each semester, so make sure you check with your RA to clarify the rules if you aren't sure.
3. Obey quiet hours.
Quiet hours are a thing, and they are important. On weekends they'll be later because no one has class, but on weekdays it's really important to abide by them. As someone with a couple of 8:30 classes, there is nothing more frustrating than trying to sleep and hearing people screaming the hallway or outside the window. It really isn't that difficult to lower your voice so others can sleep.
4. Don't set off emergency doors or alarms.
This one is so important! Most dorms have alarms just in case an intruder walks in, but if you open the door, an extremely annoying alarm will go off until the RA on duty shuts it off. Not only does it wake people up, but it's a false warning of an intruder and makes the RA on duty's job just a little more difficult.
5. Do nice things for the RAs.
The RAs are there to help you. They come to college earlier than you so they can train to be the best RA they can be. Their jobs can be easy or tough depending on how you behave, but it isn't that hard to do a random act of kindness. For example, my friends and I gave little bags of candy to our RAs on Halloween. Chances are they'll be super surprised and they'll definitely remember you in the future.
6. Give them their privacy.
When on duty, an RAs door has to be open, When they're not on duty, the board on their door will tell you where they are. If it says "here", it means you're allowed to knock if you have a question, but constant knocking to ask questions with easily accessible answers is just plain annoying. Don't forget that they're students too, students who have social lives and probably more homework than you, so don't just ask them to help you with random things.
7. Say thank you.
As stated before, the RAs do a lot to make sure you feel safe and comfortable throughout your time at college, and acknowledging their job is a good thing to do. A simple 'thank you' goes a long way.
