Can't Have That in Here
Scenario: During a weekend shift, you notice someone walking through the hall. They tell you they are here to visit their friend but can’t remember the room number.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: Unsupervised guest
RA Response:
Escort them out.
Do not confirm anyone lives there.
Ask them to contact their host.
Document the situation via Advocate.
Notify RDOC.
Adding police if they refuse to leave / escalate
Scenario: You are heading back from a lounge shift and upon arriving at your room, one of your residents is knocking at your door. They share with you that there has been (what they perceive to be) excessive noise coming from the next room over. However, they have not reported it to you prior to this interaction with them as they are fearful of retaliation.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Alleged Policy Violation: Noise/Disturbances
RA Response:
Check to see if the noise is sustained and can be heard from 3 doors down.
If so, knock on the door and ask them to quiet down and document the situation.
Check-in with the resident of concern
Inform the resident of proper ways to report noise in the moment
I.e. calling the ASD, Finding a CA on call, confronting the resident if they are comfortable
Offer a potential mediation between the the rooms
Submit an Advocate Report
Scenario: You call up to the RD on call because one of your residents claims they have an active toilet leak in their apartment. You tried to call after hours maintenance, but they are not responsive.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: None
Call up to the RD on Call
Attempt to get in touch with after hours maintenance
Wait 15 minutes for a response, if no answer, let your RD on call know
Get your eyes on the toilet to get a better sense of the situation
Pay attention to if the toilet is truly leaking or clogged
If there is another restroom in the apartment unit, that can wait for office hours
Submit an Advocate Report
Scenario: During rounding, you are approached by a resident who mentioned someone has posted a flyer promoting a controversial political view on their door.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: None (assuming it doesn’t incite harm)
RA Response:
Ensure it does not violate community guidelines (hate speech, harassment).
If unclear, consult RD.
If content is protected speech, allow it to remain.
Provide support to residents who may be impacted or have concerns.
Document if any potential policy concern arises.
Scenario: Two of your residents are getting home from the grocery store. Upon arriving to the parking lot, they mistook a tandem parking spot to be theirs (parking both cars there). Later that evening, they wanted to run an errand and upon getting to the lot, they noticed that their cars were no longer in the spot. At this time, this is when they realized their car was towed. Once they retrieved the vehicle, they realized that there were multiple scratches on their cars.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: None
Call your RD/RD on Call
Provide the residents with UCDPD’s information in case they want to submit a police report
Encourage residents to take pictures of the car and to call the towing company
Check-in with them to see how they are feeling
Submit an Advocate report
Pets/Service Animals
Scenario: You are about to walk out of the building to lunch when you see your resident walking into the building. You greet them and ask them how their day is. As they are talking you realize they are holding a cat in their hand. They have never owned a cat to your knowledge prior to this.
What is the policy violation (if there is one)? How do you respond?
Policy Violation: Pets/Service Animals
-Ask if the animal is a service animal required for a disability. If the answer is yes, you can ask what work or task the animal has been trained to do.
-If the answer is yes to both, the RA should ask if the service animal is registered to live on campus, and contact the RDOC and/or contact their RD depending on work hours to see if this animal is registered to be in the building.
-If the answer is no for both, the RA can ask if their animal is registered to live in housing and the RA should call the RDOC and/or contact their RD depending on work hours to see if this animal is registered to be in the building.
-If the animal is not registered to live on campus the student may be asked to remove the animal until they go through Student Disability Center Accommodations
-Submit advocate report
Scenario: A room on your floor is asking if they can have a temporary space. They share with you that their third roommate has had a few incidents throughout the quarter where they have been sleepwalking and occasionally yelling in their sleep. They say that this has been waking them up, causing them a lack of sleep. Additionally, they share that when the sleepwalking occurs, they wake up to the door being dead bolted.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Alleged Policy Violation: None
RA Response:
Offer the residents that have the concerns support
Would they like an attempted roommate mediation?
Do they just want you to meet with the resident of concern?
Don’t make any promises for a temp space/new space until you touch base with RD
Inform your RD/RD on call
Call Health 34
Submit an Advocate Report
Bonus Question:
What are the two animals that can be a service animal?
Dogs & Miniature Horses
Scenario: You’re walking down the hallway when you see that someone has written "You don’t belong here" on a whiteboard outside a resident’s door. You recognize the room belongs to an international student who has recently mentioned experiencing uncomfortable interactions in the building.
What is the policy violation (if there is one)?
Policy Violation: Harassment, Bias Incident, Potential Vandalism
How do you respond?
Do not erase the message.
Take a clear photo of the whiteboard and the writing.
Call the RDOC immediately.
Provide emotional support to the impacted resident.
Submit an Advocate report with all relevant details.
Contact HDAPP (Harassment & Discrimination Assistance and Prevention Program) for follow-up.
If the language is threatening or the resident feels in danger, contact UCDPD as directed by the RDOC or based on the severity of the incident.
Scenario: You walk past the outdoor grill area and see a group of students all over 21 drinking from solo cups. You smell alcohol and notice beer bottles.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: Open container/public alcohol use
RA Response:
Approach calmly and assess safety.
Inform them of the housing policy prohibiting alcohol in public spaces.
Call RDOC.
Document the situation via Advocate.
If things escalate or feel unsafe, call UCDPD.
Scenario: While doing rounds, you smell a strong odor of marijuana outside a resident’s room. When you knock, they open the door and the smell intensifies.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: Possession/use of controlled substances
RA Response:
Do not enter the room.
Call RDOC.
Document the situation via Advocate.
Ask residents, if they say “No” to having marijuana still mention they are not allowed to have it in the unit and document.
If they say yes, still remind them it’s not allowed (medical card does not make you exempt)
If health/safety concerns arise, contact UCDPD.
Scenario: You’re hosting a study break event when a resident tells you their laptop was stolen from the lounge while they went to their room for a quick phone call.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: Theft
RA Response:
Express concern and gather basic details (when, where, what item).
Call RDOC.
Suggest resident file a police report with UCDPD.
Submit an Advocate report.
Encourage the resident to notify their insurance provider (if applicable).
Remind community not to leave valuables unattended in public spaces.
Scenario: You are rounding and notice an entry door broken and graffiti is written on the walls with permanent marker. No one is currently in the hallway, but there is a name written in the graffiti that might be a clue.
What is the policy violation (if there is one)? How do you respond?
Policy violation: Vandalism, Property Damage
How do you respond?
Do not attempt to clean or touch anything.
Take pictures of the damage
Call the RDOC to report the situation immediately.
Submit a service request to address the graffiti and broken door
Document everything in an Advocate report.
If the resident named in the graffiti is known or located, speak with them calmly and take down any information, but do not accuse—leave investigation to professional staff.
Depending on the nature of the graffiti (e.g., if it contains slurs or threatening language), you may also need to:
Contact HDAPP (Harassment & Discrimination Assistance and Prevention Program),
Support impacted residents, and
call UCDPD, especially if directed by the RDOC.
Scenario: You receive an email from one of your residents sharing that their guardian is having cramps that they haven’t typically experienced in the past. The resident seems a bit frantic because they do not know how to move forward.
Policy Violation: None
Policy Violation: None
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Call up to the RD on Call
Contact Health 34
Encourage them to connect with resources (i.e. Advice nurse)
If they are still worried and want to be medically seen, contact EMS
Follow-up with the resident after a few days
Submit and Advocate Report
Domestic Concern
Scenario: You find out that one of the families that lives in your community has loud noises (such as banging on the walls, the sound of something being thrown, and yelling). A resident tells you that they also hear someone crying.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: Potentially Physical Assault
Knock on the door (pending safety and comfort levels)
Call up to the RD on Call
Call UCD PD immediately
Meet both PD and RD on call
Take care of yourself and remember it is okay not to be okay after an incident like this
Submit an Advocate report
Scenario: During a weekday evening round, you see several residents playing beer pong in a suite, with a keg in the unit and the resident over 21 mentioned that it is theirs. There are 3 residents under 21.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: Underage drinking
RA Response:
Do not enter the suite.
Call RDOC.
Document the situation via Advocate.
Do not remove alcohol yourself, accompany them; do not engage in debate.
Confer with RDOC if the alcohol should be removed
UCDPD may be contacted based on severity.
Refer to RA Manual
Scenario: During rounds, you hear shouting and see two residents yelling at each other, soon after as you approach you see one resident swing and they begin to exchange blows in the hallway.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: Physical violence
RA Response:
Do not intervene physically.
Call UCDPD immediately.
Call RDOC.
After safety is ensured, provide support to impacted residents.
Submit an Advocate report.
Offer resources like the Counseling Services
Scenario: You are doing rounds and a fire alarm starts going off. As the building evacuates, one resident tells you they were cooking and the fire alarm went off due to burnt food.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: Potential negligence, fire safety
RA Response:
Ensure full evacuation.
Call fire department if not already contacted.
Notify RDOC.
Document in Advocate.
Remind residents of cooking safety procedures.
Scenario: Midway through fall quarter, one of your residents approaches you about their roommate snoring too loudly at night which keeps them awake and incapable of falling asleep. The resident shares with you that they confronted them directly and the response they received was “well just get some ear plugs”. The resident feels like they should not change their habits for something someone else is responsible for, causing more tension. Ultimately, this results in the resident video and audio recording them snoring in their sleep without them knowing or consenting to this.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy Violation: Videorecording/Camera Use
RA Response:
Ask the resident for more information and timelines
See if the resident is open to sharing how the conversation went with their roommate
Ask the resident if they would like you to facilitate a mediation
Inform the resident that videotaping without consent is not permitted and you can’t watch nor listen to recordings
Inform your RD
Submit an Advocate report
Scenario: You receive an distressed email from one of your residents that someone was yelling and crying. You decide to approach the apartment but did not hear any yelling or loud/sustained noise. You knock on the door and are able to speak with a resident who seems to have been visibly crying. They shared with you that they are okay and didn’t want to speak to anyone. They do share that this stemmed from an argument that they got into with their significant other and they had since left the apartment and potentially building and turned off their phone.
What is the policy violation (if any)? How would you respond?
Policy violation: None
Call the RD on Call
Email the report you received to the after hours contact information in case anything escalates
Potentially call UCD PD (both RA and resident)
Age is important - if the missing resident is under 18, call UCD PD immediately
Send follow-up email to the distressed resident that includes resources
Submit an Advocate report