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Erin Dunne, a University of Michigan senior from Northville, gives a glimpse Monday into her "dual role as counselor and peer" at the South Quad dormitory where she has been a resident adviser since August 2015.
The international studies major describes "plenty of opportunities for awkward and embarrassing one-on-one interactions" in an opinion page column at The New York Times headlined "Friend, Counselor, Supplier of Condoms."
Erin Dunne: " I was firm but realistic with residents about their new freedoms, telling them: If you drink, don’t drink too much. If you smoke pot, do it off campus." (Facebook photo)
Dunne gives examples from this past semester:
A casual trip to the shower could easily turn into a long hallway conversation where I found myself answering questions about academic tutoring or roommate concerns, wearing nothing but a towel. . . .
More than one resident thought that having wine delivered to the dorm was a brilliant way to circumvent underage liquor laws, and students regularly came to the front desk demanding free condoms. (We have them, of course, but just not at the front desk.)
Like other student members of UM's Residence Staff, this peer with responsibilities navigated "a tricky balance," she writes. "I was not always successful at balancing my dual roles."
In intimate conversations with my residents, I was never just another friend, and I had to remind them of that. I wanted to be as available as possible but R.A.s are obligated to report some things to supervisors — like sexual assault — even if it goes against the wishes of the resident. While bringing this up often changes the tone of a conversation, I didn’t want a resident to share something that she wouldn’t want to leave the room.
Still, this was a conflicting feeling for me, as a fellow student. . . .
But . . . even if it meant being awakened in the middle of the night to discuss a boy problem, a good conversation always trumped a good night’s sleep.
-- Alan Stamm
