Duty Time!

Duty. Building walks. Rounds.

Duty is a vital part of a CA's life. During duty, not only are getting to know other residents, but we are checking on behavior issues and any building issues that may arise. To residents, duty means that CAs are "out to get us", to "ruin our fun", etc. While duty can be an intense time for CAs, it is for the best of the community that duty walks are done.

Every day of the week, someone is on duty from either 5pm-8am on weekdays to 8am-8am the following day on weekends. Being on duty means being on call for that building. If there is a behavioral issue with a resident that comes up or if there is a flooding in the building, the CA on duty is there to respond. But, it's not just the CAs that are on duty everyday. Our Professional Staff, ProStaff, are on duty too. However, they cover a wider area than we do. CAs just cover their building that they are in, ProStaff can cover between their "neighborhood" to the entire campus, all depending on their exact position. ProStaff are there to help CAs out and handle situations that we don't know how to handle.

During duty, several CAs complete two to three building walks. Two for weekdays and three for weekends. The number of CAs that are on duty vary from complex to complex but usually two CAs are on duty together and complete walks, together. Building walks or walks, as we call them, occur at night when most of the issues arise. During walks, we.. well.. walks the entire building, from top to bottom. We check to see if there is vandalism, trash, damages to the building itself and most issues with residents. Since we are in university environment, illegal drug and alcohol use occur fairly often in the residence halls. If we smell marijuana in a room, we call the police, ProStaff and wait for the police to come to confront the residents. While on walks, we spot a resident with a bottle of vodka on their desk, we confront the resident ourselves and make a report of the incident. If we someone vandalizing a poster or a wall, we confront the resident and make a report. CAs only call ProStaff when we call the police, paramedics, when there is property damage, when the press ask us questions and any plumbing issues. But CAs can call ProStaff when we are dealing with a difficult situation and need advice. ProStaff were once CAs/RAs and are more than willing to help.

In addition to looking out for floods and intoxicated residents, we also look for community standards violations. These are small infractions such as being too loud during Quiet Hours or leaving trash in the hallway. Usually, we talk to the resident and they are sorry and turn down the music or take out the trash. But sometimes, they are disruptive and cause a scene. Depending on what they do, we can document the resident or call the police if they get violent.

It's never boring when you are on duty.