You know that person who lives at the end of your residence hall that has a whole room to themselves? You know that person who is always sitting at the front desk of your building asking you how your day was? You know that guy who took away the candle you were burning in your room? You know that girl who wrote you up for doing that thing you know you weren't supposed to be doing? Whether you know them personally or not, you should know by now that that person is your Resident Assistant (a.k.a. your RA).

RAs are best known for cracking down on all the bad things that residents do in their residence halls. This can give them a pretty bad reputation. No one likes to get in trouble, so when you get caught it is easiest to push all of your anger and frustration out to your RA, but this is unnecessary! Do you know everything that your RA does for you? Are you aware of all of the things an RA has to do on top of making sure you follow the rules? No? Allow me to enlighten you.

Programing:

If you've ever been to one of your RA's programs, you can probably tell it's a pretty elaborate event. RAs have to do a lot of planning in order to put on a fun social for everyone. Programs don't just happen, especially if they involve food or prizes. Programs are put on so you can learn something and have fun! RAs want to educate you on important issues and concerns so you can be more prepared for life. RAs don't just spend hours planning a program just to sit in the lobby by themselves because nobody wanted to come. Try to be appreciative of the effort that goes in to entertaining you.

Door Decs and Bulletin Boards:

RAs put in a lot of work into making the building look good. This includes making those adorable little door tags outside of your rooms. You probably aren't aware of how much effort and time are put into those. So why would you ever purposely sabotage someone's hard work? The same goes for those educational bulletin boards that go up in your hall every month. What good does it do for anyone by you tearing down an elaborate bulletin board that someone worked really hard on?

Knowing everything about anything:

Let's face it, you probably have a lot of dumb questions about stuff on campus. Part of your RA's job is to answer those dumb questions so you don't look dumb. It can actually be a lot having to remember things like "where to get a parking pass" or "who to talk to if your gullcard isn't working" or even "what happens after a citation?". This is a lot to remember and sometimes the questions are really dumb or really confusing so have mercy. Knowing everything about anything also includes having to know every single resident in the building. Do you even know everyone on your floor?

Paperwork:

Between roommate contracts and duty logs, RAs have to do a lot of paperwork for your benefit. RAs don't do paperwork for fun. Do you think they like staying up until 4am just to write an incident report?! The paperwork is done for the official and legal aspects of the job. NO ONE enjoys wasting hours of their day filling out paperwork on every little thing that goes on in this building. There are much better things they could be doing with their time.

Mediations:

When you have a problem with a roommate or suitemate or someone on your floor, who do you go to? Well, yes, you probably complain to your mom first, but then you trust your RA to fix the problem. Mediations can be a tricky thing because RAs have to stay neutral and keep the room calm while also trying to get both parties to resolve their issues. This can be a very awkward and uncomfortable environment for all, especially your RA.

Coming back early/staying late:

Did you know there is RA training at the beginning of each semester? Did you know that it can be as short as three days or as long as three weeks? That means missing a lot of winter/summer break. RAs also have to come back early to school to open the building and stay late during finals week to close the building down. So while you finish your tests early in the week and get to go home, your RA is barricaded in your residence hall against their will.

Shoveling Snow:

While you're snuggled all cozy in your nice, warm bed, your RA is shoveling snow in the freezing cold so you and your friends can actually leave the building. You may find yourself thinking, "Yeah, it looks pretty brutal out there with 30 mph winds and a mixture of sleet and snow coming down. I'm glad I'm not out there!" Unfortunately, your RA is out there. Your RA is suffering in below freezing temperatures and doing manual labor just so you don't fall on ice and sue the school.

Keeping you safe:

This is an RA's main goal. They are here to make sure you and your peers follow the rules in order to maintain a safe and comfortable environment for everyone. It's important to keep this in mind if you ever get written up by an RA. RAs are just doing their job. RAs are trying to make your life easier so you can have the best possible experience at your school. Imagine the anarchy that would occur if RAs disappeared from residence halls.

So thank your RA. Thank your RD. Thank your AD. Thank your housing department and residence life for keeping you safe and comfortable and putting a roof over your head. If these reasons aren't enough for you as to why you should be nice to your RA, just be a decent human being and be nice to them anyways because they have to deal with all of this plus every other thing that a typical college student goes through.

*all gifs from giphy.com