<\/p>\n[aesop_chapter title=”Business as Usual” bgtype=”img” full=”on” img=”http:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/UMAINE14.jpg” video_autoplay=”play_scroll” bgcolor=”#888888″ maxheight=”300px” revealfx=”inplaceslow” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n
Across the desk there was a collage of notes;<\/p>\n
room checks due, <\/em><\/p>\n
meeting at 7, <\/em><\/p>\n
project due Thursday<\/em>\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The stack of paper on my desk was nearly an inch thick. On top there was a flyer:<\/p>\n
Prepare your room for spring closing,<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The room was silent, save for the busy clacking of a keyboard.<\/p>\n
hang posters today<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I scribbled onto a sticky note before placing it on the wall.\u00a0A hot cup of tea sat atop a reminder,<\/p>\n
schedule one on one meetings<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
A jacket slid off the bed and hit the floor. I raised the tea to my lips, still hot.\u00a0A few nervous knocks rang out from my door. Through the peephole I saw a small group of students waiting outside my room, visibly troubled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes this mean we have to leave campus?\u201d a girl in the back of group asked the others.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think he even knows what\u2019s going on?\u201d asked another student,<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no way they didn\u2019t tell the RAs, right?\u201d.<\/p>\n
I pulled open the door. \u201cHey guys, something I can help you out with?\u201d\u00a0The flurry of questions was disorienting, I set my tea down on the desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre they seriously going to kick us off campus with no warning?\u201d asked one of the students, the group echoed the question.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019m not sure of the specifics right now, but I\u2019m sure my boss will know\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”http:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pexels-photo-1629212.jpeg” panorama=”off” align=”left” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n
As I hurried across campus to the complex office, anxious students lined the sidewalks.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t understand what\u2019s even going on, why didn\u2019t anyone tell us sooner?\u201d One walker muttered into her phone.<\/p>\n
Two students were loading up their car in front of the building, \u201cWe might as well get out of here sooner rather than later\u201d one said to the other. A few other cars were hurriedly loaded and took off. I squeezed through the doorway as a student passed me carrying a stack of boxes<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re headed the wrong way man; didn\u2019t you hear they\u2019re kicking us out because of corona.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”http:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Screen-Shot-2020-04-26-at-1.19.58-AM.jpg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n
With a few sharp clicks, I punched in my pin and entered the office. My boss Trina sat behind her desk in the empty room.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, what\u2019s going on?\u201d I began, before even sitting down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure, seems like we all found out at the same time\u201d Trina replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s this mean for our jobs? what\u2019s our responsibility here? What do we tell the residents?\u201d I rattled off every question that came to mind.<\/p>\n
I wish I had answers for you, just continue business as usual until we find out more\u201d Trina replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd when students come to me for help?\u201d I challenged.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell them you don\u2019t know anything they don\u2019t at this point.\u201d Trina concluded. Unsatisfied, I left for my room.<\/p>\n
On my way back, several students asked me what was going on;<\/p>\n
“You\u2019ve got to have some answers for us right?\u201d<\/p>\n
All I could do was reread my script; \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I know things are hectic right now, but unfortunately I don\u2019t know anything you don\u2019t yet, I\u2019ll update you if that changes.\u201d I don\u2019t know anything you don\u2019t<\/em>. For the first time during my time as an RA, I didn\u2019t have the answer, and neither did anyone else.<\/p>\n
Continue business as usual until we find out more.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This line stuck with me more than any other. Continue \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d as students leave campus without more than a few days\u2019 notice. Continue \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d as I\u2019m forced to tell every resident who approaches me that I can\u2019t help. Continue \u201cbusiness as usual\u201d while trying to figure out what my responsibilities are without any guidance.<\/p>\n
Room checks due<\/span>, meeting at 7<\/span><\/em>. A stack of fliers slid into the recycling bin. Prepare your room for spring closing. Hang posters today<\/span>. <\/em>The tea still sat on my desk, cold. Schedule one on one meetings<\/span><\/em>. The room was silent. I walked the hallways, dead silent. I sat behind the desk. RA on duty. <\/em>A resident assistant without any residents.<\/p>\n[aesop_parallax img=”http:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Hart-Hall-exterior-5-1024×680.jpg” parallaxbg=”on” captionposition=”bottom-left” lightbox=”off” floater=”off” floaterposition=”left” floaterdirection=”none” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n
Over spring break, I remained in the dorm. Someone had to stay on duty for the week. No boss, no schedule, no residents. What were my responsibilities now that I was alone? I walked the hallways twice a day, perhaps just to make myself feel busy. The first few days were full of nervous energy. I caught myself more than once walking to the desk to visit the RA on duty before realizing it was still me. I began pulling posters off the walls;<\/p>\n
Start studying for finals, <\/em><\/p>\n
50 things to do in Maine before you graduate. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
After walking the halls, I returned to my room. The web of sticky notes was gone. There were no flyers to hang up. The room was silent. No meetings to attend, nothing to plan. My jacket has hung neatly in the closet. If I had a duty log, it\u2019d read: all clear, uneventful night. I made myself a cup of hot tea and settled in for the night.<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”http:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pexels-photo-1409439.jpeg” panorama=”off” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[aesop_chapter title=”Business as Usual” bgtype=”img” full=”on” img=”http:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/UMAINE14.jpg” video_autoplay=”play_scroll” bgcolor=”#888888″ maxheight=”300px” revealfx=”inplaceslow” overlay_revealfx=”off”] Across the desk there was a collage of notes; room checks due, meeting at 7, project due Thursday\u2026 The stack of paper on my desk was nearly an inch thick. On top…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":4337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[58,100],"class_list":["post-4326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-58","tag-spring2020"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/pexels-photo-1409439.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pahVGy-17M","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4326"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4609,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4326\/revisions\/4609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jolineblais.net\/nmd343\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}