General Etiquette > Life...in general

Zealous RA

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Lysitheia:
I live in a dorm. My Residential advisor (RA) is a woman I'll call Janie. She seems okay (read: not insane), but she's a little on the odd side. To wit:

-She's supposed to bring us toilet paper for our bathroom and install it (it's non-communal, meaning four people share one vs. twenty). It takes her two to five days to respond to our written requests, and when she does, she dumps the paper outside our door and doesn't install it.

-She pounds our doors like there's an emergency to get us to come to 'floor meetings'. She once insisted I come to one when I was so sick I shook. The reason? To decide whether Tuesdays should be game night or movie night.

-She plans said meetings for weird times, like Saturday at 2:00 pm. Then she gets cross because no one shows up.

I appreciate that she has to do some of this stuff, but really...

We were supposed to attend a college wide propaganda meeting...er, a lecture about the evils of something or other. I was having a family issue and wrote a note telling her so. I slid it under her door and waited in my room for my mother to call.

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP I open the door.

"Come one, we have to go to X"

"Janie, I'm having a family problem."

"I know, I got your note."

"I'm sorry, but I have to take care of it. Good night."

Lots of people, even most people, didn't go. So why all the pushing if 70% of the floor was gone?

Do I have reasonable grounds to complain formally if things don't improve?

crazyone:
It seems to me that what you are describing are nuisances, I don't know if that is enough to make a formal complaint about. But that is just my opinion.

goblue2539:
Have you complained to her directly?  I mean, I realize it seems obvious, but it sounds like she might need the gentle nudge of a clue by four to realize that her expectations are out of line with your and other residents capabilities.  I would try talking to her before I filed any kind of complaint.

Chocolate Cake:
I agree with Newbie.   Since she has no formal authority over you, just handle her irritating behavior as you feel necessary as you go along.

P.S. With regard to the toilet paper, since you know she takes several days to fulfill your "order", plan to place your order sooner than you normally would (like when you get down to the last three rolls instead of down to the last two rolls, for example).   

On that issue, if I was the RA, I would dump the TP delivery at the door also.  No way would I install it --that's too demeaning.

kiero:
I think that the things you've mentioned are just annoying - not really anything serious enough for a formal complaint.

1) I wouldn't install the toilet paper either.  She's an RA right - from what I remember about university those are other dorm residents who get paid a little to help life run smoothly in the dorm right?  So why would another student do anything with your toilet paper?  I think it's just fine to dump them next to the door. 

2) I worked at a summer camp during university.  She's probably getting alot of pressure to make sure that people show up to things - and she's probably getting alot of 'excuses' as to why people don't want to.  I would cut her alot of slack about that.  Most people would rather do their own thing than attend a meeting to decide between game night and movie night.  But if the meetings don't happen or are badly attended then she'll probably get in trouble for a 'lack of dorm spirit'.  Some people will get upset because no one seems to care.  Or at least that how it always worked at the summer camp. 

3) Meeting times?  What's odd about Saturday at 2?  Again - my recollection of university was getting up at some point after noon on weekends.  So 2 seems like a good time. Even the people who sleep late (4 or 5 pm) can probably rise for a meeting once in a while.  And it isn't too late so that it wrecks the day.  Why do you object to this time?  I can see that most weeknights wouldn't work - some people have night classes and assignments are always due.  So that leaves the weekends.  I don't think many people would go to a meeting before 2pm - and after that people will be scattered all over. 

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