Less than two weeks into the school year, Greg Solak, a resident assistant in Rutgers new Livingston Apartments, invited his floor mates to play Minute to Win It.
The students had 60 seconds to meet a series of challenges: empty a box of tissues one by one, assemble a puzzle or pick-up brown bags from the floor without using their hands. Solak gave out free T-shirts and free donuts and gave residents a chance to get to know their neighbors better.
Inviting students to an ice-breaking activity at the start of the school year fulfilled one the primary responsibilities of a resident or apartment assistant on campus – building a community.
“When you do activities early, students have a chance to bond with everybody,’’ said Solak, a junior engineering major from West Windsor. “Hopefully one activity will lead to more interaction. I am just trying to be that spark.’’
Rutgers has more than 300 apartment and resident assistants on the university’s three campuses in New Brunswick, Camden and Newark who take on the responsibility of being student leaders.
The assistants are selected through a competitive interview process – Housing and Residence Life for the New Brunswick Campus alone receives about 500 applications a year and may have only 80 open positions. The assistants, who receive free housing and a meal plan, go through about 100 hours of training before they are put in charge of a floor in any of the university’s residence halls.
Resident and apartment assistants are the people that students turn to if they get locked out of their room. They teach fire-safety, alcohol and diversity awareness, are trained to mediate disputes between roommates and might have to break up a party. But they also help build relationships and create memorable experiences for the more than 17,800 students who live on the university’s campuses.
“They are our community builders,’’ said Marques Johnson, the Residence Life Coordinator for the Livingston Apartments. “They are the go-to person. For all of our residents if they have concerns or questions after hours we like to make sure we have someone available to them . . . they are our front lines.’'
The 1,500 bed Livingston Apartments are a coveted assignment because students get to live in the center of anon-going campus revitalization. The apartments are a short walk to the newly renovated and expanded student center and the new Livingston Dining Commons. With the opening of the apartments, Rutgers now has the most students living in on campus housing of any university in the country, Johnson said.
“I was happy to be placed at Livingston because I believe it is the up and coming campus at Rutgers,’’ said apartment assistant Kenneth Nyamekye, a junior exercise science and public health major who grew up in Newark.
“This is where all the students want to be now,’’ Nyamekye said. “I feel like the focus of Rutgers is going to fall on the Livingston Campus.’’
Solak expects that being assigned to the Livingston Apartments will be a different than his first year as an RA, when he lived on a floor of mostly floor of mostly first-year students. His first year he organized a trip to a football game, took his floor mates to the dining halls, held regular “family dinners” in the building, tutored students and helped some improve their study habits.
But the Livingston Apartments provide more opportunities for students to live independently. The apartments are equipped with kitchens and bathrooms so students don’t have to make trips the dining hall or pass neighbors on their way to the shower. And fewer students will likely have their doors propped open to welcome visitors because they are made to close automatically.
Regardless, Solak is determined to make sure all students on this floor meet each other and spend time together.
“Sometimes students hit difficult times,’’ Solak said. “Having the ability to talk to your roommate, or having the support of an RA or students on your floor can really help you get through it.’’
Nyamekye echoed the sentiment. He said he was inspired by his first year RA – who was approachable, kept her door open and regularly checked up with students – to take on a leadership role in the residence halls.
“I want residents to feel like they can stop by my apartment and watch Sports Center or anything they want to do,’’ Nyamekye said. “I want them to feel like this is a comfort zone and they can talk to me about any problem from classes to family.’’