During Move-In Week at CSU, our beautiful campus was awash with emotion. Students began moving into residence halls, bringing their fears, excitement, and hopes for the coming year. For students on Riverpark and Main Campus, move-in occurred the week before classes began, beginning on August 9, 2022, and ending on August 13, 2022. 

     Students were encouraged to check into their dormitory assignments for the year to ensure ample time to prepare for the semester, make new friends, and get settled in. Part of this process involved students getting to know their support systems here on campus, better known as Residence Life Student Staff. 

     Student Staff has been on campus all summer, preparing for residents to arrive. This year, Residence Life Student Staff has several Resident Assistants who exist as a resource for students. Resident Assistants, or RA’s, live in the hall with residents. They oversee day-to-day activities, build a community inside and outside the Residence Halls, and ensure that all residents follow policies and procedures.   

     After moving into residence halls, students were encouraged to meet not only each other but their Resident Assistant as well. Each hall has one RA, and most RAs have a whiteboard notating whether or not they are in their dorm. Students arrived at their dormitory to find a Welcome Letter from their RA on the door, which they were encouraged to read as they contained important information. 

          “Floor Meetings are super important to make sure students know about all of our policies and procedures,” stated RA Max Kountz when asked about the importance of Floor Meetings. “They’re also a good place for residents to meet their RA and their floor-mates.”

     Just like Max, I am an RA. My Welcome Letter included my name, pronouns, major, and a short description of my role within the Residence Life community. I also included a time and location for my Floor Meeting, which is designed to introduce residents to the dormitories. Each RA conducted their Floor Meeting on Sunday, August 14.

   During these meetings, residents were able to learn more about Residence Life, the events put on each semester, express interest in intramural sports, and meet others on their floor. 

     Each resident was also introduced to the Roommate Agreement, which each dormitory is required to complete together upon their arrival. Roommate Agreements prepare all four roommates to live together and have specifically designed questions to ensure peace. Some of these questions asked each roommate about their sleep habits and guest preferences and concluded with each resident signing the document to signal their understanding. At the end of the Floor Meeting, RA’s met with each apartment to set up a time to review each Roommate Agreement. 

     RA’s were instructed to create a GroupMe for each floor and share community contact information. This information included the phone number for the CSU police department, the email and phone number for the Residence Life Housing Office, and an email address at which to reach their RA individually. Students were encouraged to go forth from the meeting with their new knowledge of Columbus State Residence Life and released to prepare for classes and create community among themselves. 

     The ending of the Floor Meetings signaled the end of Move-In Week and the beginning of a new semester here at Residence Life. I, on behalf of the CSU Resident Assistants, would like to welcome our Freshmen to CSU and encourage them to use us as a resource! Never forget that we are here to help.