Spring Break
The Daily OrangeRSAs aid security
By Mike Vance
Posted: 9/8/03, 3:15 AM EST Section: Feature
Every time you stumble into a residence hall, you're greeted by a Residential Security Aide. The RSA will ask you for your ID, will sign in your friends and will definitely be wearing a red polo shirt. RSAs run the show in the dorms from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., but their jobs aren't quite as exciting as they seem.
RSAs are the student side of Public Safety and are predominately work-study students. Base salary is $6.50 an hour, and the job description is simple: Make sure no one gets by, no matter how drunk, without showing identification first.
"The overall role of the RSA is to promote a professional, non-hostile presence of authority - recognizing, observing and reporting suspicious and unlawful activity at residence hall points of entry," said Jill Lentz, the Residential Security Programs operations supervisor. And that's exactly what they do.
When a student tried to slip through security at Shaw, the RSA on duty chased her down the hall and stopped her before she could enter the building without ID. It turned out she did live there and was just trying to avoid the waiting in the sign-in line. Other than that minor altercation, it was a calm weekend.
"A lot of (students) realize that this job is for their safety," said sophomore management major Tyrell Bell. "It's an important job and most people understand that." Bell works three shifts a week between Shaw and Watson. He said the job was easy and uneventful and spent most of the shift doing homework.
RSAs at Booth, Shaw and Dellplain echoed Bell's description of the job. They agreed that it was great to get work done on the job and didn't mention any downsides other than the late hours. Friday night came and went without one fight or serious attempt to penetrate security.
The RSAs suggested that the real party was up on Mount Olympus. But at the entrances to Day and Flint halls, I found nothing but more of the same. The staff there was doubled from midnight to 4 a.m. because of heavy student traffic, but still there were no problems.
RSAs are the student side of Public Safety and are predominately work-study students. Base salary is $6.50 an hour, and the job description is simple: Make sure no one gets by, no matter how drunk, without showing identification first.
"The overall role of the RSA is to promote a professional, non-hostile presence of authority - recognizing, observing and reporting suspicious and unlawful activity at residence hall points of entry," said Jill Lentz, the Residential Security Programs operations supervisor. And that's exactly what they do.
When a student tried to slip through security at Shaw, the RSA on duty chased her down the hall and stopped her before she could enter the building without ID. It turned out she did live there and was just trying to avoid the waiting in the sign-in line. Other than that minor altercation, it was a calm weekend.
"A lot of (students) realize that this job is for their safety," said sophomore management major Tyrell Bell. "It's an important job and most people understand that." Bell works three shifts a week between Shaw and Watson. He said the job was easy and uneventful and spent most of the shift doing homework.
RSAs at Booth, Shaw and Dellplain echoed Bell's description of the job. They agreed that it was great to get work done on the job and didn't mention any downsides other than the late hours. Friday night came and went without one fight or serious attempt to penetrate security.
The RSAs suggested that the real party was up on Mount Olympus. But at the entrances to Day and Flint halls, I found nothing but more of the same. The staff there was doubled from midnight to 4 a.m. because of heavy student traffic, but still there were no problems.
