News from Residence Life

The start of the spring semester has been quite busy for all of us in the residence halls. We were happy to welcome back returning residents, and to welcome a number of new students as well. Over the past month, our Resident Assistants (RAs) have been busy at work holding floor meetings and implementing social and educational programs for our students. Their efforts really help with the development of community here at Dominican.

Our department is currently in the process of selecting students for the 2010-2011 RA staff. In addition to community development and programming, RAs serve as role models within the residence halls, helping mediate conflicts, participating in an on call duty rotation, enforcing university policy, and serving as a resource to resident students. The RA selection process includes individual interviews with current staff members, a group process interview, and submitting a resume, cover letter, and two reference letters. Offers will be made by Spring Break. Needless to say, this is a busy and exciting time for our department.

In addition to RA selection, we are looking ahead towards our work with summer residents and conferences, Room Selection for 2010-2011, professional staff selection, and much more. While it is exciting to think about what's next for our department, there are also a lot of exciting things happening now.

The Resident Student Association is hard at work helping make the residence halls feel like a home away from home. Earlier this month, they hosted a Town Hall Meeting with members of the Residence Life staff. Resident students were encouraged to attend as this was an opportunity to learn more about the department, and to ask questions they may have about living on campus. Additionally, RSA has been offering a number of great programs, including a road trip to a paint your own pottery studio in the city, a scavenger hunt for RSA points to be used at the semi-annual RSA Auction, and much more. On the horizon for RSA is the annual Battle of the Bands "Rock Out for Relay". Every year, RSA hosts a Battle of the Bands on campus to raise money for charity and to showcase local and Dominican musicians. This year, RSA will be raising money for the upcoming Relay for Life program, happening in April. Relay for Life is an annual event sponsored by the American Cancer Society. "Rock Out for Relay" is scheduled for March 21st.

As always, please visit our website on the myDU site here. You will find information about room selection, RA selection, and much more on this site. Should you ever need to contact us, feel free to call us at 708-524-6217 or email us at reslife@dom.edu.