-- My first year as an RA was spent trying to
get my residents to take individual responsibility for
things getting broken on the floor. This year
I came up with a solution: The COMMUNITY CONTRACT!
At my first floor meeting for the year, I had all of
my residents talk about what problems they could foresee
happening during the course of the semester and how,
as a floor, they should deal with those problems (staying
within the confines of the University's policies, of
course).
Some of the rules my residents came up with ranged from
cleanliness ("Don't throw your junk in the hallway!
Keep the trash chute clear of cardboard", etc)
to serious ("Keep the noise down by the elevator!")
to fun ("NO SEX IN THE STUDY LOUNGE!")
The residents really got into it, and the residents
seem more concerned now with taking care of their community.
Materials: big sheet of paper
variety of color markers
I had each resident sign the contract by tracing their
hands and signing their name on their hand in the color
of their choice.
During each subsequent meeting, we would reevaluate
our contract and make changes where the community felt
an area needed improvement. It's a great tool
for first year RAs and for dealing with unruly residents!
("You signed this contract, but you're not keeping
up your end. How is that fair to your floormates?")
--Jessi Bounelis, Towson University
PS...I didn't come up with the idea of the Community
Contract on my own, but this is my version of it!!!
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