The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 41

The Evolution of the Resident Assistant

In addition to their roles as
responders, RAs now play
critical roles as observers and
reporters of possible threats
and crises. As a result, training
practices for this more intense
expectation have evolved
to meet the new emergency
preparedness demands.

vise and sustain this control; they were the first
iterations of RAs through the early 1960s. Although institutions used students as long ago
as Colonial times, this was the first time "extensive use of students to supervise residents
was initiated" (Upcraft & Pilato, 1982, p. 4).
In 1970, Greenleaf predicted several major
trends for residence hall staff, one of which
was that they could take on more challenging
roles.
Most of us have used student proctors,
resident assistants, or house fellows
[but] have we really taken advantage of
the knowledge of peer learning and peer
relationships to challenge students? We have
used housemothers, but have we expected
any more of them than to be there to meet
emergencies, to lock doors, to teach social
graces or to meet parents? (p. 4)
Greenleaf set the stage for changes that began
in the 1960s, challenging professionals' think-

ing on the use of student staff as facilitators of
student learning and development.
The relationship between colleges and
students remained one of college-as-parent
until the 1960s (Upcraft & Pilato, 1982), a
decade marked by student activism in relation to various causes such as civil rights and
the Vietnam War. Upcraft and Pilato (1982)
observed,
The 1960s brought real revolution to residence
hall living. Students began questioning the
concept of in loco parentis as a basis for a
college-student relationship and successfully
killed off most of the rules and regulations
they considered offensive to their individual
freedom. (p. 4)
The decision in Dixon v. Alabama State Board
of Education (1961) further facilitated a shift
away from college-as-parent. In this case, students were expelled for participating in a civil
rights protest. As Melear (2003) explained,
"the Dixon ruling established that a publicly
funded institution of higher learning could not
condition the educative experience on a waiver
of the fundamental constitutional rights to
due process, thus squelching the traditional
notions of in loco parentis" (p. 129). Contributing to the end of in loco parentis was the federal
government ruling in the 26th Amendment
changing the age of majority to 18, the age of
most college students at the time (Blimling &
Miltenberger, 1990). Student life, particularly
in campus housing, changed dramatically:
In roughly a 10-year span (1962-1972), policies
regulating student behavior in the residence
halls moved from strictly enforced curfews
for men and women, sign-in and sign-out
logs, strictly enforced dress codes, strict rules
governing the use of alcohol, limited visitation

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

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