RA Forum by Amy Wulf, Resident Assistant, Schneider Hall

Hello everyone, my name is Amy, I am a second year Resident Assistant (RA) here at SIUC and I am writing to tell you about RA Forum. RA Forum is a group of RAs who meet weekly to discuss our positions, related policies and/or procedures, and present possible solutions for any concerns to our supervisors who can help implement changes. RA Forum has assigned advisors, which are Hall Directors and Assistant Hall Directors from the various areas of Residence Life; our advisors help facilitate our discussions, give the group insight into the discussed topics, assist in accomplishing goals set by the group, answer questions, and serve as liaisons between RA Forum and the other members of the professional staff in Residence Life.

RA Forum began meeting in the Spring 2010 as a direct feedback channel for RAs to address their concerns related to their positions in a professional, but comfortable environment. Here at SIUC, we have a wide variety of housing options, so the needs of RAs from one area of campus to another can differ drastically. RA Forum is currently comprised of 10-15 RAs that represent each of the living areas. At each meeting, minutes are taken and sent out via email to all Professional Staff and any RA that has expressed interested in receiving them. Furthermore, time has been allocated during weekly staff meetings for the members of RA Forum to update their staffs, collect any feedback, and discuss selected topics and/or ideas.

In just a little over one year, RA Forum has achieved quite a bit. We have discussed and given feedback on a wide variety of topics including, the PAWS programming model, compensation, RA training, comparison of duty across campus, among others. We also discussed new policies as they become available to us and are established. Each semester, we prepare a presentation of all of our possible solutions and invite the Residence Life Leadership Team to attend our meeting where we present our ideas.

In the Fall 2010, RA Forum hosted a bulletin board contest for RAs. The idea of the contest was for RAs to showcase their most creative bulletin boards, while incorporating the topics in the programming model. This semester, RA Forum has created a sub-committee providing programming for RAs. Currently, this sub-committee is planning a trip to St. Louis, Missouri and a pool-side movie night. RA Forum is planning these events to provide an opportunity for RAs to socialize with other RAs they may not see regularly. Some future topics that we will be discussing are: equipment and supplies for resource rooms and feedback on the new RA selection process.

As we look forward, RA Forum will continue to play an important role in allowing RAs to voice their opinions and address concerns related to their positions. Our goal is to improve our positions to benefit residents, as well as, the RAs that will hold our positions once we have moved on.