Cynthia: Oh Lordy, I– Again, disclaimer to please keep in mind that our experiences are subjective. Though our—mine and Jessica's—RA wasn't a bad person, it was clear he was biased toward the main group in our hall, making him blind to many of the problems that we had sharing a space with them. It would be unfiar to say that he was a terrible RA as it was his first time. Personally, I wish he saw though the rose colored glass more. I had a few good interactions with him, but ended up trying to avoid him for the better part of winter quarter. It was hard to separate our frustrations from our RA once he got involved in some conflicts.
Britanny: RAs are randomly assigned to a housing community.munity. Each classic is assigned one RA while for the towers, because there are 6 floors, one RA is assigned to floors 2-3, one for 4-5, and one for the 6th floor. Living on the 6th floor, it was nice that my RA didn’t have to spread herself too thin and we were in closer proximity to one another. A good RA will try to reach out to you, keep you updated with the GroupMe hall chat, and help resolve any conflicts you have. For example, my door was stuck for the first two weeks when I moved in (like we had to push our entire body weight against the door to get in or out) and my RA sent a work order form everyday to get it fixed which I really appreciated.
Khanh: RAs are like dorm advisors. In my experience, they are usually very chill and offer lots of advice and can be a great person to talk to when you feel down or excited about anything. They make sure we enjoy our dorming experience and can intervene if there are problems. Again, don’t set your expectations too high because from another perspective, RAs can also be a hit or miss.
Khanh: RAs are like dorm advisors. In my experience, they are usually very chill and offer lots of advice and can be a great person to talk to when you feel down or excited about anything. They make sure we enjoy our dorming experience and can intervene if there are problems. Again, don’t set your expectations too high because from another perspective, RAs can also be a hit or miss.
Vy: uh… it really is a hit or miss. In the summer, when I enrolled for summer classes and dormed for the first time at UCI, I LOVE my RA. She is caring, enthusiastic, and hosted many activities for us to get to know our hallmates. She has a switch so people can use it to play Smash, Just Dance, Mario, and etc. On the other hand, when I dormed in the fall, I rarely saw my RA. We don’t have many hall activities, and most of the time, the RA is just either busy or missing. So pray that you have a good RA or join your friends’ halls whenever they have fun activities. Don’t just stay in your room just because your RA sucks! Embrace the dorm life and make the best out of it. :)
Michelle: Again, I got lucky. My RA was the sweetest, and she even planned a zoom for us all to meet during quarantine when our time together was cut short. She often planned nights where we all went to the UTC for boba or frozen yogurt as a hall, which was a really fun bonding experience. She responded to texts and messages fast, and always let people come into her dorm anytime for questions or just a chat. But again, it really is a hit or miss, since you don’t get to choose.