The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 107

On Becoming Batman

were minded, and they were instructed to stay
back and wait for instructions. Reluctantly,
they did.
In retrospect, the RAs and RDs who were
not actively involved in the emergency response reported feelings of helplessness and
anxiety. They felt disappointed, and even guilty,
that they had not contributed to an event that
was both culturally significant in the department and shared among the residential life
staff. Even those involved as first responders
remember feeling somewhat empty when
professional emergency personnel took over
and dismissed them from the scene. Given a
scenario where early-career practitioners could
not proactively engage in the act of helping
those in crisis or in times of need, they wondered whether they had lived up to the residence life persona they had come to expect
of themselves. Did their omission from key
emergency response responsibilities signal a
shortcoming on their parts? Were they failed
heroes? Or were they just civilians, like the rest
of the ordinary students on campus?

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS
The findings outlined in this paper suggest
that professional identity may play a significant
role in dictating how early-career residential
life practitioners view their roles in emergency
management on college and university campuses. More specifically, it calls into question
the tendencies of practitioners to assume hero
dispositions as they begin their careers in residential life, the factors that contribute to such
ideologies, and potential antecedents. Accordingly, the research suggests important implications for both research and practice.
First, this research challenges practitio-

ners and scholars to deliberate the origins of
hero dispositions. For instance, are individuals
with a predisposition for heroism inherently
drawn to residential life work, or is that quality
nurtured by the responsibilities that residential life work requires of them? If the former,
then upper-level administrators must assess
whether RA hiring decisions, promotion processes, and rewards systems all reinforce that

Batman's success is built upon
the wisdom of trusted partners
who create the conditions
necessary for his heroism.

disposition. If the latter, residential life administrators must alternatively take heed of the underlying cues sent to early-career professionals
(intentionally or subliminally) via professional
development opportunities such as training
and supervision.
Further, this study challenges residential
life personnel to consider whether heroism is
an identity beneficial or detrimental to RAs.
For example, a hero disposition may be an
asset to RAs as front-line responders by giving
them the courage to address complicated, ambiguous, or threatening situations. Yet a hero
complex may be a liability by imbuing early-career practitioners with a false sense of courage.
A hero complex could also cloud RAs' understanding of personal limitations such that they
ignore mandates to safeguard themselves. In

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3

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