As a spring admit last year, I looked up to my residential assistant (RA) as a role model and a helpful resource. However, it might be a little more challenging for the current residents of Mountainview College to receive the same experience due to a new two-year trial program implemented by Residential Life, called the Mountainview College Senior Resident program.
It is quite a big transition for new freshmen and transfer students to move into the BU residence halls for the first time. Each semester, these residents’ worries are assuaged by their RA who provides guidance for any concerns they may have. Since there are several RAs on a given building’s floor, with just a certain amount of residents each is directly responsible for, each RA has the potential to make very personalized relationships.
In the new pilot program, there is only one senior resident on each floor of Mountainview. As a senior resident, one will have the opportunity to develop leadership and case management skills with the increased amount of residents they are responsible for. According to the job description, senior residents “will collaborate with students to develop a system of community-based governance focused on strategies for college success.” Therefore, their goal is still to be a helpful resource to Mountainview residents.
Further, the money that is saved by ResLife’s decreased staff in Mountainview can be used to reduce the cost of on-campus housing to students in need. With fewer RAs on hand, residents may need to become more self-sufficient at times and learn to solve certain situations on their own.
While there are clearly benefits to the senior resident program and its potential, I worry that in the future, there is a chance that it will be more difficult to contain a sense of community. I feel that it is more important for each resident to have a comfortable and personalized experience, and having fewer staff members around to talk to and solve issues might hinder this opportunity. Of course, it is good to try something new, and it is certainly a unique program that has potential to succeed.
During the fall semester, several residents of Mountainview stated that they are unsure of who their senior resident is, which might be a sign that a personalized experience is being lost. Also, each senior resident has a large responsibility of being in charge of an entire floor of students, which can be pressure-filled and likely makes it more challenging to do an efficient job of ensuring the well-being of each resident. As a result, ResLife may receive complaints if the senior residents struggle to manage to perform what is on their job description.
Consequently, the traditional RA system in all other residential communities is more beneficial to both the staff and residents due to the more personalized experience and community feel. While I prefer this original system, I wish ResLife the absolute best in the success of the Mountainview Senior Resident program since there is still plenty of potential good to come out of it. Hopefully, Mountainview will keep its sense of community through this program.
Brad Calendrillo is a sophomore majoring in English