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SCOTT GULLEDGE / Scroll
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| One of the responsibilities for Kandyce Costley, an RA at Chapman Hall, is keeping track of important information. As an RA, Costley hopes to help students understand the purpose of the Honor Code. |
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Although living in a small apartment with five other residents and one bathroom may prove a somewhat difficult task, one group of people works hard to make BYU-Idaho approved housing operate as smoothly as possible. They are the “Resident Assistants,” or RA’s.
Kandyce Costley, a sophomore from Riverton, Utah, is working her second semester as a RA.
The job of an RA is demanding, and it involves much more than mere enforcement of the Honor Code, Costley said.
“Yes, we enforce the Honor Code when a violation has occurred,” Costley said. “But we are more than that. We are a support team to be there for the girls and to help them gain a better experience at this school.”
Although Costley enforces the Honor Code, “the main part of this job is to help our girls gain a better testimony of the Savior, and a better testimony of His gospel,” she said.
Last semester Costley and the other RA’s of Chapman Hall stressed the motto B.O.O.T. Camp, which stood for Bring Your Own Testimony.
In a welcome meeting it was explained to the new residents that when belief of the Savior is strengthened, so is the resolve to do better and live His laws, including the laws of His school.
In a devotional given on Jan. 10, President Kim B. Clark further explained this process.
“Giving your heart to the Lord is the great key to understanding the purpose of the Honor Code and its place in your life. I pray that you may give your heart to the Lord and see and feel the Honor Code as a blessing, as a source of strength and protection and a preparatory gateway to the marvelous blessings of the new and everlasting covenant that the Lord desires to give you,” Clark said.
Because of this, Costley feels the focus of her job should be less on reinforcement of the Honor Code and more on impressing the principles of the Honor Code in students.
Melody Smith, a freshman from Seattle, Wash., feels that the RA’s are doing a good job of this.
“They’re good examples of the Honor Code because they help make sure that we all stay in line so we’ll be able to live responsibly later because we’re living that way now as freshman,” Smith said.
Costley applied for the position after rooming with a R.A. during her freshman year. Joseph Cunningham, an RA at Biddulph Hall, applied for his position for similar reasons.
“The reason I wanted to be an RA originally was because I wanted to help people,” said Cunningham, a sophomore from Three Lakes, Wis.. “It’s great. I get to meet a lot of people.”
Both Costley and Cunningham agreed that at times the work is challenging.
For an RA, the last week of school is not only finals week, it is also checkout week, when they must approve all apartments before individuals can leave for the holidays.
“It’s kind of stressful and requires a lot of time, but things always seem to get done in a fair amount of time,” Cunningham said.
“The rewards of [this job] outweigh the emotional stress any day. This is a great job and I love doing it,” Costley said.
