Section 6.4: Who and When to Call
When to call
As an RA you'll be responding to a number of different situations. During these situations you may find that you're not able to remember an exact policy or procedure, or that you or a resident may have a question that you don't have the answer to. Should a situation like this arise please don't hesitate to contact other Residence Life staff members, including the professional staff to seek advise or ask for clarification.
Occasionally you'll be involved in a situation in which you may need some additional staff presence to help ensure a proper response. If you're not able to handle a situation by yourself don't hesitate to contact another RA or call Campus Safety for assistance.
There are some situations in which a professional staff member from the college should be contacted. These are generally any situation in which there is a concern for someone's physical or emotional safety. Some examples of this include:
- When a student is taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning or severe alcohol intoxication
- Concern about the physical or emotional wellbeing of a student
- Animal bite (especially urgent if a student is bitten by a bat)
- Death of a student
- Missing student
- Serious illness or injury
- Suicide attempt / threat / gestures
- Suspicion or confirmation of sexual assault (DSA must be consulted, though the student may remain anonymous at the student’s request)
- Verbal threats / harassment
- Fire or unusual facilities issue in the residence halls
- Any situation that makes a student’s current room unsafe or unusable
- Broken glass
- Fire / Fire alarm
- Flood
- Non-working safety and security systems (exit doors or room doors that won’t shut or lock properly, card swipes not working properly, etc.)
- Power outage
- Vandalism
- Vomit or blood in a common area or bathroom
- Significant behavioral concerns
- Confirmed or suspected drug use
- Fight (either physical or serious verbal)
- Student arrest
- Report of illegal items or substances
- When the situation involves or is likely to involve the media
While this is not a comprehensive list, it provides a guide for the types of situations RAs should be passing along. If you're involved in a situation and are unsure if you should contact a professional staff it's best to go ahead and make the call. When in doubt, it's always better to be a little too proactive than potentially regret not being proactive enough.
Who to Call
If a situation requires immediate attention from a professional staff member please go about notifying them in the order listed below:
- Campus Safety Cell Phone
- ADRL responsible for the area affected by the incident
- Director of Residence Life
- Dean of Students
Once contact is made with a member of the Student Affairs professional staff, that professional staff member will advise any other appropriate staff of the situation at hand. This notification will continue up and down the chain until all the appropriate staff have been notified.
***In an emergency situation please dial 911 first, and then attempt to make contact with the professional staff using the above list.***