Being Greek and Being an RA

[reverie]

I was just wondering if anyone has had the experience of being an RA in a residence hall while also being a member of a sorority or fraternity? Obviously some things will be different (like where you live) so I was just looking for a couple opinions on this...

I'm actually going to be going through recruitment at the same time while I'm an RA. Girls have done both in the past so I'm not too worried about it, but if anyone has any advice, I'd appreciate it!



(I tried to do a search for this, but RA was too short of a search term and I couldn't get anything under Resident Adviser or Assistant to come up, so I apologize if this has already been discussed.)

[Xylochick216]

One of my very good friends (and closest sisters) joined Alpha Chi when she was an RA. She said it was a little weird with all her hallmates going through with her, but she knew a lot of them and was happy to share her new member experience with them. I know at my school, she would not have been allowed to talk to people on her hall who were currently Greek except in matters of residence life. She was an RA over the next few years, and she said it was a great recruiting tool. Good luck

[winneythepooh7]

I was actually an RA in undergrad and many of the other RA's were Greek. The hardest thing for me in being an RA was that the residents only saw me as "THE RA" and when I was out with my sisters having fun, they couldn't make the seperation, even though I was 21, and I never wore my letters at parties/the bar (not that I was doing anything irresponsible but this is an issue ALL RA's face, not just "Greeks"). I remember overhearing my suitemates talking about me negatively once because I brought a sister back to my suite who had a roofie slipped in her drink and I stayed up with her and took care of her all night. I think this was something aimed negatively at Greeks in general but what are you gonna do? We always deal with this kind of negativity. I learned a lot from the position however and actually the Resident Director of the hall I was in was one of my sisters who was a Gamma (I was an Omicron) so it was great to meet someone who was a DPhiE before my time. It was a good experience overall and the free room and board was another great bonus.

[winneythepooh7]

Oh yeah, I re-read your post. We've had several sisters go through the new member process while being RA's. It was no big deal, they just had to miss a few things if they happened to be on duty but they usually knew their schedules ahead of time so they could participate. Actually it was good because they each made a DPhiE suite after they became sisters

[Little E]

I was Greek and an RA. To be quite honest it can be difficult. Both affiliations require absolute dedication and that can be tough to deal with and balance. I worked with first-year students so early on, I laid down the law with my house. I refused to use my role as an RA to recruit women. Perhaps it was selfish, but I didn't want to mix the role of an RA into rush. If I had women who I wanted to join. I would make sure to introduce them to my sisters, and then expect my sisters to do the rush portion. I just did not want to jepordize that RA/Resident relationship with my residents.

Make sure you are also clear with your chapter that your job may cause some conflicts that do not give you ample time to turn in excuses. For example, I had an emergency on my floor a couple of times, and there was no way I could make it to an event, or if I was up half the night dealing with something it was also difficult to get to events. I talked to the secretary, and the President and made sure they understood where I stood in terms of absences and that I wouldn't abuse the privlidge.

It was hard to balance at times, and bidding on women on your floor can be hard, but you just need to figure out your needs and relate them to your chapter. You will probably need some special privledges in regards to excuses and attendance etc, but hopefuly, esp cause it looks good for a chapter, they will be willing to understand and work with you and your needs.

If you have questions lemme know

[KappaSigKGB]

At Purdue you have to dissaffiliate with your house to become an RA or they won't take you. Pretty sh**ty if you ask me.

[AXOKatie]

Well, you could always become an RA for your House, that way the roles will be intertwined and you won't have to worry about sacrificing one for the other...are RA roles really big at your school? at my school, the upperclass RAs talk about it being really easy because, well, we're self-sufficient by the time we're sophomores!

[reverie]

Originally posted by AXOKatie
Well, you could always become an RA for your House, that way the roles will be intertwined and you won't have to worry about sacrificing one for the other...are RA roles really big at your school? at my school, the upperclass RAs talk about it being really easy because, well, we're self-sufficient by the time we're sophomores!

I'm going to be an RA in a freshman building so for the first few weeks they won't be quite self-sufficient yet. I don't think it should take much more than a couple months though.

[RedHot]

I was an RA. I had the best girls on my floor. They gave me the freshman floor in the GDI hall so after rush the sorority girls moved to the sorority dorms so it was a nonissue.

[chideltjen]

One of our alums actually became an RA. She was still in school for a bit longer but her sorority requirements as an active were complete. And she was in the upperclassmen dorm... so she didn't necessarily "influence" anyone to join. But I thought it was cute that her hall's "theme" was a hawaiian theme complete with Palm Trees. (Our symbol is the palm tree as well.)

[PiPhiGirl2005]

This past fall, two of our new members were RAs in the freshmen girls' dorm, as well as two active sophomores. Additionally, when I was a freshman living in that dorm, my RA went through fall informal recruitment and was a Pi Phi new member - none of the other RAs were in sororities.

I really looked up to my RA and she had such a good time pledging Pi Phi that, to tell the truth, her experience made me want to be a Pi Phi, too! She was always coming home with gifts from her big sis. And, needless to say, we had a lot of girls from that dorm become Pi Phis this year because they bonded with their RAs who were Pi Phis - but many chose other houses, too.

At Hillsdale, we don't have a system in place where the RAs must disaffiliate (I believe that's the proper term) for the year or semester. Our RAs are more than welcome to represent their Greek affiliation by attending house events, wearing letters, having paraphenalia in their room, etc. Panhel, however, keeps a close eye on the dorms to make sure nothing shady is going on.

If you have a positive recruitment and new member experience, regardless if you are allowed to inform your dorm-mates of your affiliation, then your experience may lead other girls in the dorm to want to go through recruitment, too. Thus, I could see the whole experience having a positive effect on everyone.

Good luck with recruitment!!

[Little E]

Another note of warning.

Beloit is odd, our house has 10 women, the rest live in the dorms. (our house is college owned and opperated) If you have sisters on your floor it can be a difficult situation. I had, my first year as an RA, 4 sisters on my floor (of 30), and it was difficult when one of them had an illegal pet and I had to put the kabosh on it. There was some tension. Also, because our house is college property, you never really loose your job, and when we had incidents in our house (which didn't have an RA) that unfortunatly fell on me occasionally. Like the rabbit and lizard in rooms, illegal lounge in the attic, and other things. It can jeapordize your job to look the other way, just my warning from a chapter where people tested me.

[Kevin]

Our chapter president a couple of years ago was an RA. Actually was a big plus for us during recruitment.

[Shima-Mizu]

My RA freshman year ended up being my sister since I joined her sorority. She really loved her hall, so while she was stuck with us a lot on night duty and other things, I don't think she minded. She still had plenty of time to fit in sorority stuff too.

When you want something to work, you make it work.

[DSTinguished1]

Does any NPHC members want to comment on this? i know my cousin was having questions about this. I gave her my advice but I know that its different for different schools and different people. please share thanks