Mental Health
A resident tells you they haven’t been sleeping, are stressed about classes, and feel overwhelmed.
What is:
Listen to them with empathy, let them know their feelings are valid, help them think through healthy coping options, and connect them with campus mental health resources like the counseling center or academic support. Make sure to check in with them afterward and submit a CR?
A resident reports twisting their ankle while walking home from class and is having trouble walking but is alert and stable.
What is: help them stay seated, avoid moving the injured area, encourage them to see a doctor and or have a friend for transport to hospital if they choose and write a CR?
You notice a small leak dripping from a resident’s ceiling, but no water is spreading across the floor.
What is: ensure the area is safe, place a bucket or towel if appropriate, notify maintenance and your on‑call staff, and document the incident?
A resident tells you their roommate has been mildly annoying lately — leaving dishes out, being messy, or keeping odd hours — but they aren’t fighting.
What is: listen to the concern, encourage open communication between roommates, review the roommate agreement if applicable, and offer to facilitate a low‑stakes conversation if needed, write a CR?
While doing your Intentional Conversations, you walk knock on a resident's suite and someone you do not recognize opens the door. They tell you the resident invited them over earlier, but the resident has since left and hasn’t come back.
What is:
Get the guest’s name and see if they can safely wait outside the suite. Remind them of the guest policy, and if their host isn’t there, ask them to leave. If they refuse or things feel unsafe, call on‑call staff. Make sure to document the incident.
You get an email from a resident saying they’re really stressed and need someone to talk to. You read it but figure you’ll deal with it “whenever you have time next week.
What is: ignoring a resident’s concern or delaying support instead of responding promptly or connecting them to resources. Instead respond promptly and let the know of your working hours?
A resident confides they have been isolating, skipping meals, and feeling hopeless for several weeks.
What is:
Show genuine concern, ask open‑ended questions to understand what’s going on, connect them with counseling, submit a CR, and check in later to make sure they’re getting support.
You find a resident vomiting repeatedly and unable to keep fluids down.
What is: stay with the resident, assess if they are alert and responsive, avoid giving them food, call EMS to arrange for medical attention if the vomiting is severe or persistent and write a CR?
A resident reports that their bathroom floor is flooding because the toilet or shower overflowed.
What is: assess the safety of the area, help residents avoid the flooded space, contact maintenance immediately, clean the area with a mop and get fans if needed to dry the areas further, notify on‑call staff, and document the situation?
You hear loud music and shouting from the games room past quiet hours.
What is: approach the space calmly, remind residents of community quiet‑hour expectations, ask them to lower the volume, and document the interaction according to policy?
Residents on your floor complain that someone’s emotional support animal is barking loudly whenever the owner is away.
What is:
Acknowledge the concern, but don’t treat it like a rule violation in the moment. Check in privately with the ESA owner, connect them with Accessibility Services or Housing staff who handle ESA guidelines, and document the concern for follow‑up.
A resident reports that something was stolen from their room. You immediately start questioning their roommate for stealing it.
What is: investigating an incident on your own instead of gathering basic information and documenting it for RLCs to follow up?
A resident reports their roommate is talking very rapidly, hasn’t slept in two days, and is acting unusually energetic and impulsive.
What is:
Check if there are any immediate safety risks, stay calm, get the basics of what’s happening, encourage them to reach out to professionals, loop in the on‑call staff if things seem unsafe or escalating, and submit a CR.
A resident reports feeling dizzy, anxious, nauseous, or panicky after smoking too much weed. They say their heart is racing and they don’t feel in control.
What is: stay with the resident, help them sit or lie somewhere safe, keep them calm with reassurance, encourage slow breathing, assess if they’re alert and responsive, contact on‑call manager, and contact EMS if symptoms worsen, they become non‑responsive, or you are unsure of their safety and write a CR?
You or a resident notices a strong burning smell in the hallway but no visible smoke.
What is: investigate safely without entering any dangerous areas, notify on‑call professional staff, call campus security or emergency services if the smell is strong or concerning, and follow building safety procedures and document the incident?
During your community meeting, a resident interrupts while you’re explaining an upcoming event and says, “This meeting is pointless — no one cares about these rules anyway.” Other residents look uncomfortable or irritated.
What is:
Pause the meeting calmly, remind everyone about being respectful, and keep things professional. Afterward, talk to the resident about their behavior and submit a CR.
While checking your floor’s residence Discord, you see a resident post a message about another student: “That guy is such a pathetic loser, I can’t believe he even shows his face around here.” The message starts stirring conflict in the chat.
What is:
Listen and collect the basics without jumping to conclusions. Validate how they’re feeling, remind them of the correct reporting options, let your supervisor know, and encourage them to speak with an RLC if they have more concerns. Document the situation.
After a long shift, you vent to another RA and say, “Honestly, I don’t know how Jordan still has this job. They never help with rounds, and everyone knows they’re the weakest one on the team.” You continue complaining about their work ethic and behavior.
What is: gossiping about a fellow RA to another staff member instead of keeping conversations professional, maintaining team respect, and bringing legitimate concerns to a supervisor through proper channels?
You notice a resident acting paranoid, saying others are “out to get them,” and expressing fear of being watched.
What is:
Make sure you’re safe first, stay with the resident, speak calmly, contact the on‑call manager right away, get emergency mental health help if needed, and write a CR.
A resident is shaky, sweating, confused, and says they haven’t eaten in several hours. They tell you they have diabetes and feel like their blood sugar is low.
What is: stay with the resident, help them sit down, offer a simple source of sugar if they are fully alert (juice, glucose tabs), contact on‑call professional staff, monitor their condition, and call emergency services if they become disoriented, unable to swallow, or unresponsive, and write a CR?
A large leak starts dripping rapidly from the ceiling of the movie room during a thunderstorm, and water is beginning to pool on the floor.
What is: keep residents away from the wet area, check for hazards like electrical outlets nearby, notify maintenance and on‑call manager, move belongings out of harm’s way if safe, grab towels and fans if necessary, clean with mop if necessary and document the incident?
A group of residents approaches you privately and starts venting about another RA on your team. One of them says, “Honestly, we don’t trust James as an RA — they’re always rude and ignore us when we ask for help.” The group continues criticizing them and wants you to “do something about it.”
What is:
Stay professional and don’t participate in gossip. Acknowledge their concerns, guide them toward the proper ways to report issues, and encourage them to use official feedback channels. Let your supervisor know what happened, and don’t discuss staff performance with residents.
A resident tells you they feel uncomfortable because a maintenance worker entered the hallway on their floor and was “acting weird.” No specific behavior is reported, just vague discomfort.
What is:
Make sure no one is hurt by the broken glass, ask about any immediate safety concerns, and call maintenance. Don’t touch the bong—just note it as visible paraphernalia. Finish the conversation if it feels safe, or reschedule. Document the safety issue and the policy‑related observation, and let the resident know it’s a violation.
Two roommates are arguing, and without hearing from both, you say to one resident, “Yeah, I can totally see why you’re annoyed — they’re definitely in the wrong.”
What is: taking sides or making judgments instead of remaining neutral, facilitating conversation, and involving professional staff if needed?
A resident tells you they are having thoughts of harming themselves but have no specific plan. They say they don’t feel safe being alone tonight.
What is:
Stay with the resident and call the on‑call manager and emergency services. Don’t leave them alone. Once the manager has handled the situation and the student is safe, submit a CR.
You witness a resident suddenly collapse and begin having involuntary muscle movements consistent with a seizure.
What is: stay calm, clear the area to keep the resident safe from injury, time the seizure, avoid restraining them or putting anything in their mouth, call emergency services and on‑call manager, and stay with the resident afterward until they fully regain awareness and write a CR?
A resident reports an active fire in their suite, or you see smoke coming from inside a room.
What is: activate the fire alarm if not already sounding, evacuate the area, call emergency services, notify on‑call manager, keep residents away from danger, and wait for fire officials before re-entry, and document the incident?
A resident comes to you upset and says, “People are saying I kissed someone after our date, and now they’re telling everyone in residence that I forced it. None of it is true, and now everyone is talking about me.” The resident is distressed and says they feel targeted and embarrassed.
What is:
Listen with empathy but don’t take sides. Focus on their well‑being and avoid trying to investigate the situation. Explain your role and boundaries, let the on‑call manager know since this involves non‑consensual behavior, help the resident connect with the right campus reporting and support options, and document the situation as required.
You go to a resident’s suite to have a scheduled intentional conversation. When they open the door, you immediately notice a broken window with glass on the floor. While talking with the resident in their living space, you also see a bong sitting out on the kitchen counter in plain sight.
What is: ensure no one is injured from the broken glass, ask the resident about immediate safety concerns, notify maintenance, avoid touching the bong beyond documenting it as observable paraphernalia per policy, complete the conversation if safe or reschedule, and file documentation including the safety hazard and policy‑related observation and let the resident know of the violation?
After dealing with a stressful situation on your floor, you post on your private story, “You won’t believe the drama on my floor tonight…”
What is: violating confidentiality by discussing any resident situation on social media or with anyone who does not need to know?