JC and RA Jobs Selection Process Attracts Many

Author: Elizabeth Lathey


Beginning later this month the majority of us will experience the thrills, the joys and the tears of that special occasion we affectionately dub room draw. A select few, however, will get to bypass that whole system. How? you may ask. Where do I sign up? Residential assistants (RAs) and junior counselors (JCs) have the special advantage of getting their own single rooms and finding out where they will live next year well in advance of the rest of the Middlebury College student body.

The process of selecting these special student leaders for the 2002-2003 academic year has already begun. It all started on Feb. 18 in Le Chateau Grand Salon, where dozens of prospective JCs and RAs crowded in to find out the details of the job and to see if they fit the bill.

After a general overview, prospective JCs and RAs were separated into their respective groups. An explanation of the pros and cons followed, along with a question-and-answer period with current commons residential advisors (CRAs), faculty heads of the commons and the commons deans. Questions revolved around responsibilities, wages (for RAs) and the details of the job.

A significant responsibility for JCs and RAs is establishing a connection with their residents. In the meetings and the subsequent interviews that took place this past week, CRAs stressed the fact that JCs and RAs need to be involved with the students on their hall or in their dorm. The significant difference between the job of a JC and a RA is that the former work as volunteers, while the latter receive compensation for their duties.

An RA, contrary to popular belief, has many more responsibilities than lending out the vacuum cleaner after students have tracked mud all over their carpet. In addition to communicating with students as well as other residential faculty, they also have disciplinary duties — a significant time commitment.

RAs need to be aware of registered parties and keep an eye on other gatherings in their dorms. In addition, they are required to attend weekly Commons Council meetings to inform members about what's happening in their dorms.

RAs should be in their rooms or around their dorms as often as possible in case anyone needs them. If they hear about a problem in their dorm that happened when they were not available, they are expected to go and make sure things are under control. Furthermore, RAs have administrative responsibilities such as room check-ins and maintaining logs of facility-related concerns and general incidents in the dorm.

Each commons also has its own specific expectations.

Junior counselors, because they are volunteers, have somewhat different responsibilties.

Although they are encouraged to organize activities within their halls such as study breaks or hall meetings, this is not required. JCs' jobs focus more on good communication with the first-years in their halls.

Like RAs, they are also encouraged to talk openly with the CRAs about anything that's happening on their hall. Many juniors opt to apply for the JC position if they decide not to go abroad. In addition to being a great opportunity to get to know new Middlebury students, JCs also receive some advantage in room draw their junior year.

JCs and RAs are both encouraged to be positive role models for their residents, which is an ongoing challenge. To get used to their new positions, JCs and RAs give up their last week of summer to come back to school.

Dividing their week between the Bread Loaf and Middlebury campuses, novice JCs and RAs participate in activities and attend workshops to hone their leadership skills and familiarize themselves with problems that could arise.

They also learn how to manage alcohol-related problems and speak openly with their residents.

Interviews for RAs and JCs took place this past week. Three CRAs conducted the interviews: Ingrid DeLeon '00 of Ross Commons, Jamie McBride '00 of Cook Commons and Chris Kestner '01 of Brainerd Commons.

During the interviews, the interviewers took notes and answered any questions the candidates had about the position.

Now that the application and interview period is over, prospective JCs and RAs have a few weeks to squirm while decisions are made.