By
The Wildcat Opinions Board
Students, and especially freshmen, living in residence halls often find themselves in an unfamiliar environment. Not only are most first-semester freshmen on their own for the first time, they also struggle with the responsibility of balancing the academic, personal and social sides to their lives.
To help smooth this transition - not to mention enforce rules and ensure student safety - resident assistants (in dorms) and community assistants (in UA-occupied apartment complexes like Sky View) live on the property. Based on their grades, letters of recommendation, personalities and a series of weekly classes and interviews, these individuals are selected by the University of Arizona Residence Life department.
Last year, RA and CA hopefuls needed a 2.25 grade point average in order to be considered for the position. This year, that requirement has gone up to 2.50, and while that might not seem like a drastic increase, it is nevertheless important and beneficial to the people RAs aim to help the most - first-year students.
The RA and CA positions aren't glamorous by any means. First, they are asked - actually required - to act as role models for their residents. This means they can't consume alcohol in the presence of their residents, even if they are 21 years old. Further, they have to make themselves accessible at all times to students wishing to talk about their major, vent about roommate problems or simply shoot the bull. In short, they are always at the beck and call of their residents.
For the most part, they do this 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for as long as they have the job. Resident and community assistants do get rewarded for their work, as they live rent-free in their own room (although they're often asked to forfeit this luxury at the beginning of each overcrowded semester), receive a substantial $750 stipend each semester for food, as well as a few other perks, including free soda refills on campus.
The job is very time-consuming, and besides tending to the needs of their residents, RAs and CAs also have to look out for their own interests. So, considering the requirements that go into the job and the time commitment necessary to be an effective RA or CA, it's obvious that Residence Life wants only the best candidates for the positions. Students who can't maintain a 2.25 GPA are not the best people to act as role models for the university's incoming students living in dorms. True, those attaining at least a 2.50 might lack slightly in other areas that would make them less qualified, but the increased required grade point average does show one very important thing - Residence Life is committed to providing freshmen with mentors who can take care of their own responsibilities first.
