The Rezlife Dictionary

Hi everyone,

Part of being in Rezlife includes all the fun terms you get to use!

(If you are a new advisor and have no idea of what I’m talking about, do not fear, AO is drawing near! AO will teach you everything you need to know.)

But just in case, here’s a head start of a few that you should become familiar with:

DOOR TAGS: Signs for each resident with their name, room number, and the residence building they live in. Door Tags might seem like the smallest deal, but it actually makes residents feel like that space is solely meant for them: a pretty good welcome when they first walk into a residence.

IN/OUT NIGHTS: “This is a pretty basic one”, said me, only after a month of being an RA (don’t fret if you don’t get it right from the start!). An “in” night is basically when you need to be back in your residence area by 8 pm sharp and ready to sign-in. All RAs that are “in” ensure that all is right in the world (your residence area) for that one night. An “out” night, is the opposite: you do not have to be back by 8 pm (or at all, if you choose to paint the town). Typically, you get 3 out nights and 4 in nights per week.

AWAY or OUT WEEKEND: These are the exceptions to the whole in/out rule. An away weekend means you get an extra “out” night that week(wut wut?). So, now, you get 4 out nights. You only have three Away Weekends in Term 1 and two Away Weekends in Term 2, so PLAN THESE AHEAD (times to take an out weekend: trips to Victoria/Whistler/Portland/studying for finals/four friends’ birthdays that week).

PARTNERS: Partners are great, although not every residence area works on a “partner” system. Your “partner” is another Residence Advisor on your small team with whom you work closely with to determine your In/Out nights (when one of you are in, the other is out – how convenient!), plan collaborative programs, and act as another resource for your residents (more insight!).

BIG TEAM: The collective group of Residence Advisors working in one area. For example, in Walter Gage Residence there are three towers with 6-8 Advisors per tower, so the 20-person group of Residence Advisors is known as the Gage Big Team.

SMALL TEAM: The Small Team is – wait for it – the smaller groups of Residence Advisors within the Big Team (Using the Gage example, the Residence Advisors in the North Tower make a small team). However, not all areas have small teams just because their Big Teams are pretty small already (aka, the PRC).

WEEKLY REPORT: Weekly Reports are kind of like a personal/professional diary that you write, but your Residence Life Manager or Residence Coordinator is the only audience. These highlight interactions you have had with your residents recently, the programs you’ve attended, the programs you yourself are planning, as well as how your academics and life in general are going.

RLM, RC, SA & HA: Okay, let’s br-br-break these down:

• RLM– Residence Life Manager. Each residence area has one (they hired you!) that manages the area’s Big Team. Stay tuned for updates – a future blog post will have all the juicy details about who the RLMs are for the upcoming year and their role in Residence Life.
• RC– Residence Coordinator. For traditional-style areas, RCs are part-time student interns who are responsible for the supervision of a Small Team of 6-9 Residence Advisors. I hear RCs will give you cookies if you pop by their office hours to say hello (hint hint).
• SA or “Senior”– Senior Advisor.    For suite-style areas, they supervise a Small Team of 6-9 Residence Advisors, but unlike an RC, the Senior has their own residents to advise as well and play a more prominent role in the planning of smaller programs.
• HA – House Advisor.  This role is specifically for Orchard Commons: they provide administrative assistance to the RLMs, support a Small Team of 20 Residence Advisors, and have their own residents to advise as well.

GSP: Growth and Success Plan. Training doesn’t stop after Advisor Orientation – as an Advisor you are privileged enough to get ongoing training that will be useful not only as an Advisor, but in all walks of life and your future careers. This includes series of workshops you will attend so you can ensure that you are the best advisor that you would like to be. 🙂

Kudos to you for bearing through all of that!

Bye for now,

Kirsten