Zakrie Mazloum staples red letters onto a large black cork board outside his room.
“Every resident advisor has to come up with an idea themselves to put on their board,” says Mazloum, 18, a first-year civil engineering student and an advisor himself. “I show it to my manager and they approve it or not.”
Mazloum’s board shows large red words that read “NO GLOVE NO SENSE ITS CONDOM.” It has images of hearts and various facts about why you should wear a condom. His board can be seen for all resident students to view in the hopes that it will encourage them.
Mazloum was looking for a leadership role and a new experience when he applied to be an RA.
“Every two months we have what we call ‘knock-and-talks’,” Mazloum explained. “I knocked on my residence’s door, talked to them and introduced myself.”
However, being an RA isn’t always about talking to people. Mazloum explained that there have been many interesting situations with students that he has had to deal with and that he has to keep a constant eye out for any inappropriate or disruptive behaviour, strange smells or excessive noise going on in the residence.
Many of the residents find that the RAs are kind and organized. They often plan a variety of activities for the students living in residence.
Many of the students living on the second floor remember during Halloween when the RAs went door-to-door giving out candy.
“They gave us treats for answering the door,” Tyler Morgan, 19, a first-year gas and environmental science student explained. “They ask how you’re doing and if there’s anything they can do to help.”
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