{"id":25,"date":"2018-03-01T17:31:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T17:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wcsu.wpengine.com\/housing\/housinglingo\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T19:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T19:02:29","slug":"housinglingo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/housing\/housinglingo\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing Lingo"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What did they say?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes the language we use to talk about our campus and our activities is hard to figure out.\u00a0 We've put together a little guide of some of the things you may see or hear us talk about, and an explanation of some of our acronyms.\u00a0 We hope it will make things a little easier!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHousing Office and Staff\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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HRL<\/b> \u2013 Housing & Residence Life<\/u>.\u00a0 You\u2019ll often see us condense this to initials, just to save some space.<\/p>\n

RD<\/b> \u2013 Assistants to the Director \/ Resident Directors<\/u>.\u00a0 These are the professional staff responsible for the day-to-day management of the residence halls.\u00a0 They are all college graduates, most with their master\u2019s degrees. People may also call your RD the \u201cHall Director\u201d, which is another term used at colleges around the country.<\/p>\n

Central Office<\/b> \u2013 Often referred to as the Housing Office, this is where the administrative offices for the department host the director, the director for residential programs & staff, the associate director for operations, and the department\u2019s secretary.\u00a0 The Central Office is currently located in Pinney Hall C21.<\/p>\n

Housing<\/b> \u2013 Often, our department\u2019s name is shortened to simply \u201chousing\u201d.\u00a0 Whether you call us Housing or HRL or Housing & Residence Life, we\u2019re here to work with you to provide you with an excellent campus experience that enhances your college years.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStudent Staff\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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RA<\/b> \u2013 Resident Assistants<\/span> (RAs) are peer students who help with the oversight of the building, and provide service to smaller groups of students within the halls.\u00a0 RAs usually oversee a section or floor of the building, and provide leadership, community-building, socialization, and development programs.<\/p>\n

ARM<\/b> \u2013 Academic Resource Mentors<\/span> (ARMs) are peer students who serve as academic coaches to help students who are struggling, or who simply want to improve their academic performance.\u00a0 They do this through individual meetings, group study sessions, programs on academic skills (like time management or note-taking), interactions with professors, and access to campus resources.\u00a0 Each building has one or two ARMs available who live in the hall.<\/p>\n

SAA<\/b> \u2013 Student Administrative Assistants<\/span> (SAAs) assist the RD with administrative tasks, such as logging maintenance requests, entering priority points, etc.\u00a0 The SAA also helps to supervise and schedule the Info Desk staff.<\/p>\n

Info Desk Staff<\/b> \u2013 student workers (including the building\u2019s RA staff) are hired to work at each building\u2019s info desk, helping to assure those entering the building are residents.\u00a0 They are also responsible for distributing mail, as well as checking out games and other equipment available to residents of the building.<\/p>\n

Senior Community Assistant\u00a0<\/strong>- the SCA is an experienced RA or graduate student who provides leadership and community development within a residence hall. Working under the supervision of the RD, the SCA focuses on the day-to-day operation of the hall, assisting with Info Desk operations, maintenance issues, student conduct and conflict resolution, and other issues.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLeadership\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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Hall Council<\/b> \u2013 each residence hall has a hall council, which is comprised of volunteer students who plan programs and assist RAs and ARMs with programs intended for students in the hall.\u00a0 Hall Councils also may do community service, review damage billing, and other tasks.\u00a0 Any student in the hall may participate in hall council, including running for Exec. Board offices.<\/p>\n

IRHA<\/b> \u2013 is the Inter-Residence Hall Association<\/span>.\u00a0 Made up of representatives from each residence hall, IRHA provides campus-wide programs, as well as funding to support Hall Council, RA, or ARM programs from time to time.\u00a0 IRHA is a conduit for comments between students and food service, meeting each semester with Sodexo management for feedback.\u00a0 They also provide feedback to the HRL staff about the student residential experience on campus.<\/p>\n

PASS<\/b> \u2013 students who\u2019ve been on campus at least one semester, and whose grade point average is above a 3.0, may wish to join PASS, the Peer Academic Support Services<\/span> team.\u00a0 PASS volunteers may opt to offer tutoring assistance to fellow residents in subjects they excel in. (*There is also a PASS program offered through the EA2P program, which is different than this program.)\u00a0 PASS members are identified within the building by special door decs which indicate their subject matter(s) of focus.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBuilding Specific\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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Midtown<\/b> \u2013 the campus located in downtown Danbury on White Street.\u00a0 It is home to 3 residence halls (see abbreviations below) , along with White Hall, Warner Hall, Haas Library, Berkshire Hall, Higgins Hall, the Student Center, Old Main, University Hall, the Science Building, the Kathwari Honors House, Campus Police, 190 White Street warehouse, and the White Street and 5th<\/sup> Ave. parking garages.<\/p>\n