Politicians get sweet cars. Cops get out of speeding tickets. The guys at Dunkin' get free lattes all day. We all have perks. Even the humble desk clerk gets to steal a few staples now and again without it being a big deal.
Resident assistants get stuff too. Depending on where you work, you get free housing, free food, maybe a little off your tuition. I got a badass tee shirt. I always talk about the fine, grey line though. Abuse of power can mean a lot of things to a lot of people, and it's not easy determining what's "too far."
Locking yourself out of your room and just taking a master key upstairs instead of signing one out? Yeah, that's acceptable. Having nightly ragers with your underage residents? That's obviously not. But what about the little things? We aren't allowed to have candles anywhere on campus, but walk one foot in my apartment and you'll see shelves lined with red tealights. Pets are forbidden in all dorms, but I know someone with a fish tank. I have no intention of reporting it.
So how do we determine what's all right and what's not? I know the rules. I know I'm responsible. I know I'm in charge. I let myself have candles because I know I won't light them. I let myself have over the alcohol limit because I know I'm not drinking it all at once. So what gives me the right to decide I can do something and others can't? And what do you do when you encounter someone close to you violating a policy you wouldn't let anyone else get away with?
An example for you. Last Saturday, I was on call. My Very High Up Boss happens to live in the building I help oversee, and he decided to call me to complain about the noise in the room below his. Now, he has a wife and two small children living with him. He's also THE Boss. When he calls, you take it very seriously.
So I saunter up to the room in question and knock. Who answers? A fellow RA. Uh oh.
The police officers in the United States have something called the Blue Wall of Silence. It means that when a fellow officer breaks a law or does something questionable, you just let it go. While I won't pretend being a resident assistant is anything like being a police officer (I promise I don't take myself THAT seriously), we too have an unspoken code. Your coworker has a party. Someone sleeps with one of their residents. Someone violates the guest policy. These are all things that are expressly forbidden, but I don't know anyone who would report their fellow RA.
So here I am with a coworker answering the door to a room that is drastically pissing off a very important person. In literally any other situation on earth, I would have documented these kids. They were extremely loud. They were huge pains in my ass. On top of all that, my own coworker was no help to me at all.
I let it go.
This is, by definition, an abuse of power. And it is one I would extend to anyone on my staff. It is one I would expect to have extended to me. It is one I have had extended to me in moments of drunken idiocy.
Is this ok?
I don't know the answer to that, honestly. Your staff is your support system. Any tiny rift, any awkwardness, and the whole thing falls apart. In a situation where someone's happiness or safety was in danger, I'd report that. But violations by people close to me? I'm not sure where the line is crossed.
I'd love to hear your take on it. What would you have done? Has this ever happened to you before? How do you justify it?
