Virginia Tech RA
(by Michael Ferenczy)
At Tufts I was an RA for three years. I broke up a few parties (only if they were too loud or out of control), mediated numerous roommate conflicts, and counseled students on love issues. Only once did I feel unsafe, when some drunk guy from another school called me homophobic slurs and threatened me, but I am pretty big, and one of my residents, a black belt in karate, was right around the corner when I kicked him out of the dorm, so I wasn't even that worried. I always thought of myself as a good RA, sometimes even as a great RA because I cared and would drop what I was doing to handle my reponsibilities. My friend Al, who also went to Tufts and was a three year RA, posted today about the Virginia Tech tragedy, and that the first death identified was the RA (link). When something like this happens, I sometimes imagine what I would have done if I had been there (I believe this is a fairly common thing for people to do). Anyway, when I imagine myself in a situation like that, I like to think that I would be brave and be the hero. Unfortunately, that's probably not true. Probably, Ryan Clark, the RA, didn't even have a chance to react. He responds to a disturbance and gets shot, just doing his job, caring about what happens on his hall and to his residents. That's a true shame, because most of the RAs I have known are great people, doing a job because it helps pay for college, but also because of the feeling of satisfaction derived from helping others through the up and down emotions and stress of school. According to news stories (for example), Ryan Clark was a great person, friend, student, and RA, and he, along with dozens of others, did not deserve to die in a senseless shooting. I hope Virgina Tech honors him for all his work (marching band, multiple majors, etc) as well as for being a good RA. I also hope that those of you reading this post take a minute to appreciate being alive and having loved ones you care about who also care about you. It's a shame that it takes something like this to remind many of us how good we have it and how wonderful it is to have friends and family, but since that's the sad truth, we can try to honor the dead by loving the living just a little more.
Tuesday, April 17 at 6:51 AM
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