College Life & COVID-19: How Students Have Adapted to a New Reality

Throughout the world, universities have been forced to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow students and staff to live and learn in a safe and supportive environment. At the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, these struggles became a daily reality. To learn more about these challenges on campus, Carly Legner, a resident advisor at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, was interviewed to gain further insight on her experiences on the job.

At the time of the interview, Legner was in her third year as a resident advisor based in Ranger Hall. Normally, she would have been responsible for 50–60 students, however, the pandemic left her dealing with close to 38 students total. Legner decided she wanted to become a resident advisor to make connections on campus. This included current residence, former residence, and those who currently shared courses with her. When it came to the impact that the job has had on her social life on campus, Legner stated that the position has allowed her to get to know fellow students and staff that she most likely would not have known otherwise.

When asked how the pandemic has affected her job, she stated that it had been “interesting” and that her job “mostly consists of virtual communications rather than in person”. In contrast to other years, 2020 consisted of only three days of on-the-job training and adopting strict guidelines to protect herself and others from the virus. Some of these new policies included a max guest capacity for all students, no off-campus guests, and normal programming being put to a halt.

When it came to the major changes on campus, Legner found herself relying on her managers direction and advice, including forming teams consisting of managers and RA staff to be based on a single floor. Resident advisors must also prepare for emergencies on campus, such as a resident contracting the virus, injuries, and even mental health issues. One example of a new emergency protocol put into place was to promote COVID-19 self-reporting forms for all students to fill out if necessary. If a form would be filled out, that student would be asked to quarantine until officially tested and reliable results are obtained.

When dwelling on a typical day on the job, Legner explained that she is used to “answering phones whenever the main office is closed and talking with students and checking in on them”. She explained that being a student and a resident advisor could prove very difficult at times because she is “always on the clock but not on the clock”. In other words, she never knows what needs may arise when she is on campus or at home.

According to Legner, her job has its fair share of pros and cons. She stated that she enjoys running programs for students and being able to “see them smile” when they are happy or having a good time. When it came to the cons of her job, she is sometimes forced to deal with on campus issues such as domestic violence, suicide threats, and title 9 issues. She went on to say that the worst experience she had so far was having to ask a resident if they were suicidal. “That was probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to do”.

When asked if there was anything she did not expect when becoming an RA, Legner explained that she did not consider the fact that she would be on duty during holidays (ex. Christmas or New Year’s) and break times such as winterim and spring break. However, she addressed that “someone had to be there to do the job”.

While dwelling on her experiences as a resident advisor, Legner shared that someone interested in taking on the position should investigate joining the Residence Hall Association (RHA), a club for current student residents which helps them to run programs and gain a better sense of what it is like to be a resident advisor. “It’s a really helpful program”.

After speaking with Legner, a student and active wrestler at the university named Drake Regenhardt agreed to speak on his experiences with resident advisors and life on campus overall. When discussing his life as a student during the pandemic, Regenhardt explained that it had been “very different”, and that he had been forced to deal with less freedom on campus even though he was still enjoying his time at the university. “Everything changed, that was hard to get used to for sure.”

While Regenhardt stated that he had not had a formal experience with a resident advisor, he explained that his roommate has now taken on the position and he is able to ask him questions and speak to him on a more personal basis. He felt that this experience would give him “the opportunity to get to know someone in the position in a very positive way”. Before his roommate, he explained that he was “not a big fan” of RA’s until he learned more about their job and what they really do. He went on to explain that he had seen how they are always “keeping things under control and making sure that people are safe every day”.

When asked if he had ever considered becoming a resident advisor himself, he explained that he “had thought about it once before since they receive free housing and a free meal plan”, however, because he is involved in athletics, he felt that it would be “difficult to juggle everything”. Since spending more time with his roommate, Regenhardt stated that he would be “100%” comfortable opening up to a resident advisor in the future and that it would “not be a big deal at all”.

From these interviews it is evident that resident advisors are a crucial part of the campus community and serve the residents of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside well. The relationships between RA’s and student residents are not always kind, but they prove to be of great importance. The service of residential advisors is vital to the safety and well-being of the day-to-day actions and practices of resident life at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and universities everywhere.

Photos by Mohamed Mohamud

Interviews by Cameron Zigas and Mohamed Mohamud

Video Edited by Carl Sechrist

Written by Adam Joncas