Q&A with an RA

Interviewer: Cole Hersom

Q: So, with the elimination of triple rooms, how do they decide which student in the room of three gets reassigned?

A: The dorm they work in does not have triple rooms. I would look into whether or not people were assigned to triple rooms in the first place this year. From my understanding, most triple rooms are only existing because of housing overflow and people signing too many contracts. That or they have a few spare rooms and a group of three friends might want to be there. My guess is that they either approach all three and ask to decide amongst themselves or they choose whoever signed the contract last or if two people signed up to be roommates together specifically.

Q: Do you know anything about the quarantine/isolation process. Right now, the information available is vague. Important questions such as where it is happening, what the conditions are like, what you can take with you, etc. appear unanswered.

A: I personally don’t know any of those things, and from what I remember seeing it was just that there may be a separate building somewhere set aside for quarantine students. Honestly most of the information I’ve received about reopening campus either 1) came from UF’s reopening plan itself, or 2) came from a higher up in housing, but what he/she gave was really only information relating to how the RA position is changing in response.

Q: Are there any prominent examples of how the position is changing?

A: A lot is still unknown in regard to how we will function during the bulk of the semester. For one, the way that RAs do rounds are changing, and we will be trying to limit our movement as much as possible while still ensuring safety on the floor. We are still required to react to crisis scenarios in person, but we will have to wear masks/PPE and maintain social distancing while responding. We are generally required to create programming based on a certain number of values/things UF wants its students to espouse, but they are adding some additional teaching unites about COVID-19 expectations on campus. We are still required to engage with our residents, however I’m unsure how exactly that will pan out. Whether we limit the number of people we allow in a group program, focus on individual attention to residents, or do all virtual programming is yet to be seen. The move-in process itself is also being changed to limit the number of people moving in per hour so as not to create a large rush of traffic at once. Other than that, we are mostly up in the air, but Housing is definitely taking strides to limit group interaction and COVID spread. That being said, these are current expectations and may change before the semester starts or as the semester progresses.

Q: How feasible do you think enforcement of housing mandates (masks everywhere but rooms, no guests, etc.) will be? Are there measures in place to help with enforcement or is there a hope that residents help keep themselves and others in check.

A: That’s a good question! I am unsure exactly how that would work in this situation. UF Housing already has a system in place for reporting issues (like incident reports) that Ras can submit, and those are submitted at a higher level to be dealt with if necessary. While I haven’t received any confirmation of this whatsoever, my guess would just be that RAs who see people not abiding by the guidelines would most likely write an incident/information report regarding the residents participating, and that would be how it would go.

Q: What do you think that Housing has done well in response to COVID-19, and what do you think they could have done better?

A: Well a lot of the things I mentioned earlier seem to be good strides to me. I’m glad that triple rooms have been done away with as well. Other than that, I Can’t really say anything Housing could’ve specifically done better, both because UF itself only released the reopening plan 12 days ago, and because the residence halls have been closed and I’ve been unable to witness their guidelines in practice to see if they’re working.

Q: One last question: Do you have any advice for residents this semester/year, especially for incoming freshmen coming into this uncertain situation?

A: 1) Definitely follow the guidelines set out. We are in the middle of a global pandemic. Wear masks, carry hand sanitizer, do not go out in groups. UF had to tell students to leave campus – and their residence halls -0 this past spring. While I am unsure of whether they would make this recommendation again, and most likely they wouldn’t officially close the halls, if you don’t follow the guidelines set out, the possibility of a COVID-19 outbreak on campus goes up, which also means the chances of you getting sent home goes up. 2) Online learning can be difficult, so do not be afraid to reach out and ask for extra resources or help form professors, TAs, RAs, etc. Most classes are online now and that will definitely impact how you learn, so be prepared to adjust accordingly. 3) Hold yourself and your roommates accountable as much as possible. While it’s not your responsibility to watch after your friends like you’re their parent, it will help everyone on campus if you have friendly reminders about guidelines to follow, and encouraged your roommates to stay on top of their online work. Try to drum up ways you guys can keep a schedule of everything so that the days don’t blur together, which can happen when you aren’t going out much or socializing.

Disclaimer: Thoughts and views of this interviewee are not necessarily the stance of the University of Florida Housing Department