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Giving Them Grace
Like their residents, RAs and IAs are students in the process
of learning about their identities, and their role in promoting
the RCM's social justice learning outcomes served as an
opportunity to recognize their own areas of personal and
professional growth.
learning. This education should begin during the hiring and selection process, when
the purpose of the RCM and the role of RAs and IAs in the social justice educational
component can be made clear to applicants (Johnson & Kang, 2006). The commitment
of future staff should be assessed early on because " advancing diversity and inclusion
in the residence halls requires all staff to be invested in the work " (Hornak et al., 2019,
p. 6). Based on the learning areas indicated by participants in this study, selection processes
could be more intentional about including evaluation of a candidate's active listening
skills and empathetic behaviors. Even before the selection process, departments
should clearly identify the skills and perspectives needed to facilitate conversations with
residents about their social identities, support students from various identities, and
address bias incidents (Stauffer & Kimmel, 2019). Then those skills and perspectives
should be assessed throughout the selection process in multiple ways, such as written
responses, oral responses, and approaches to case studies (Berg & Stoner, 2016).
Given the increasing complexity of RA roles, if some aspects of the social justice
and inclusion work cannot be given the necessary attention, departments should
consider creating IA positions specifically staffed by students prepared to fulfill these
responsibilities (Hornak et al., 2019; Williams et al., 2021). This strategy could also
be helpful in addressing the existing inequities in hiring RAs from minoritized backgrounds
(Healea & Hale, 2016). As demonstrated in the present study, RAs and IAs
demonstrated enhanced passion and commitment to the social justice role in the
RCM, as well as advanced content knowledge and skills.
Training
Robust training is needed to enhance the competency and confidence of RAs (Koch,
2016; Lichterman, 2016; Stauffer & Kimmel, 2019), and participants agreed that the
training process can enhance their feelings of efficacy by providing scenario-based
experiences that allow them to practice necessary skills in facilitating social justice
education. If RAs feel intimidated by any part of their role or if they feel that some
conversations are just too " challenging " or " scary, " they should be assured that they are
supported. Once training is completed, ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion education
and opportunities for skill development should be provided to RA and IA staff
throughout the year (Foste & Irwin, 2023; Stauffer & Kimmel, 2019).
Supervision
In terms of ongoing supervision, professional staff should explore each staff member's
comfort with and knowledge of the outcomes intended for their residents (Stauffer
& Kimmel, 2019) and then provide additional support as needed. Some RAs will
Volume 51, No. 1 * 2024 31

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