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A friend for your new life
RA's work tirelessly to help residents transition from one home to another
By Chris Moore, Jayplay writer
Matt Brown, Grand Forks, N.D., junior, remembers the day he moved in to the dorms as a freshman and sums it up in one word: overwhelmed. "Your family shows up with three car loads of stuff. They help you move into this place you've never been in before and all your worldly possessions you've ever owned all of a sudden are in this ten by ten area." Brown, in his second year as a Resident Assistant — or RA for short — in Ellsworth Residence Hall, has seen his share of new faces move in over the last couple of years. As an RA, he is well-equipped to help new students with any problem they come across.
The dorms are usually an incoming freshman's first place of residence away from home.The size of the buildings and number of people,living in them can be extremely daunting for someone new to the college environment. But don't worry, freshmen. Your RA's are trained for exactly that situation and available for help.
Jacob Blasé, Great Bend, junior, is in his first year as an RA in Ellsworth. His goal for his residents is for them to have as good a time as possible this year while still not feeling as if they are staying at a hotel. He says that this should be a person's new home and wants every freshman to feel at home. He wants them to walk out of class and say 'I'm going home,' not 'I'm going back to the dorms.'
In the rush of packing everything up for their first year of college, freshmen tend to leave things behind. Brown says there are some things that students may not bring with them on the first trip - socks, towels and toiletries - because they take them for granted back at home.
Brown also says that there are plenty of other difficulties that his residents will face. He says that many students, especially those without siblings at home, can find it difficult to adjust to living with other people in the same room, or even on the same floor. And while
sharing a bedroom with a stranger may be worrisome enough for an incoming freshman, it pales in comparison to the problems and discomforts that many get from community showers. "A lot of people don't get used to them at all," Brown says.
One facet of feeling at home is the people that a person lives with. Brown says that students he saw tend to be very happy to get away from their parents at home but are often torn and upset to be away from a lot of the friends they have grown up with. But Brown says that those initial worries and concerns will subside in time. "They get through it."
RA's advise residents to talk to them if they begin to feel homesick. They've got plenty of tips for curing homesickness, the most important being to meet people. Blasé adds that the best way to meet people of the opposite sex — which can be a source of much undo stress for freshmen — is to walk down an all-girls or all-guys wing in the dorms, knock on doors and says something like 'Hey, I'm from Three North.'
Andy Marsh, Topeka, freshman, says that his RA has been really helpful so far. He says that his RA showed him where to enroll and where to find basic things like the laundry rooms in the dorms. Dave Roush, Manhattan, freshman, says that his RA even showed him how to set up his room to make it look cool. He says it has helped with meeting new people and that once that starts happening, the college atmosphere can get pretty chill.
It's also important to know that college isn't just house parties and kegs. So don't worry if you feel like you staying in, sitting on your couch and playing a video game. You can still make plenty of friends. It's really easy to walk down the hall and find someone to hang out with. Chances are that there are plenty of people doing and feeling the same thing.
Kit Leffler/ Jayplay photographer
Leslie Cnossen and roommate Paige Ward, Topeka freshmen, talk in their new dorm room at Lewis Hall. The two say their RA had already been of great use, helping them move in, lending her cell phone and even helping find lost friends.
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Jayplay 8.25.05