Parents Away from Home - Recognizing RAs on the front line

February 16, 2000 is the first annual "International Residence Hall Student Staff Recognition Day." Student staff in residence halls (or dorms) are the resources for some 3.5 million students living on campuses all over the nation.

Resident Assistants (RAs) act as a resource, a friend and a policy enforcer in their residence halls. On average, each RA has 35 residents on his or her floor. The RA is responsible for creating an environment conducive to academic success and personal growth. This responsibility is carried out through various social and educational programming.

ResidentAssistant.com, a resource website for RAs, and the sponsor of the International Recognition Day, is a collection of ideas from RAs around the world on how to better serve residents. Here, RAs share ideas, concerns and questions with professional staff and peers on every topic from homesickness to suicide threats. There is also an interesting listing of famous RAs, including the First Lady, Wesley Snipes and many others.

The idea for the recognition day came from Grant Anderson, a hall director and master's student at Colorado State, who proposed it to Dan Oltersdof, the creator of ResidentAssistant.com. Oltersdorf jumped at the idea, stating that "RAs are active student leaders making a difference on their campuses, and deserve recognition and praise for a hard job well done."