By Alexis Edwards, crime, safety & justice reporter
Resident advisors (RA’s) are many times the first people students talk to when they have concerns about sexual assault, or personal safety on Virginia Tech’s campus. Throughout the school year, RAs live in residence halls with the students.
At Virginia Tech, sexual assault awareness can be seen in multiple campus organizations including the Virginia Tech Police Department, Title IX, The Women’s Center, and residential life staff. Resident advisors play a huge role in these situations because of their close connection to the students. Since they live in the dorms, RAs can have more comfortable conversations about safety, consent, and reporting sexual assault with the students. So, if a student is not okay with talking to police, their first option can be their resident advisor, someone who is closer to their age, and more familiar.
Brendan Roeting, a resident advisor at Virginia Tech, has been in the role for the past three years and is now a well-being RA in East Ambler Johnston Hall. As a well-being RA, he is mainly focused on student safety, education, and support. In this interview, Roeting talked about how RAs are trained to spread awareness about sexual assault resources, how students usually reach out for help, and some of the most common misunderstandings students have about reporting and support services.
Can you describe your role as an RA and the training that you receive related to late-night safety and sexual assault awareness in the dorms?
Every resident advisor goes through training on sexual assault awareness and Title IX policies at the beginning of the academic year, said Roeting.
Before the fall semester starts, RAs go through a full week of training, and have multiple days focused on Title IX and how to respond to sexual assault situations and support students if they report a sexual assault.
Roeting said this training has many different exercises that help RAs practice how to handle situations that happen in the dorms a lot, especially when a student comes to them looking for help regarding a sexual assault.
“We go through scenarios of how we’re supposed to react as RAs and what we can do for the person who asks for help,” Roeting said. “It’s really about knowing how to respond in a way that supports the student and puts them in contact with the right resources.”
How do RAs help spread awareness about sexual assault resources within residence halls and on campus?
Roeting said that well-being RAs play a huge role in spreading awareness through holding events that make it easy for students to participate in, rather than giving them a presentation that is intimidating. These events are designed to create comfortable environments where students can talk about safety topics without feeling overwhelmed by the subject they’re talking about.
“The events we host can be anything. Sometimes we play video games, watch a movie, cook something, but they always have a well-being and awareness theme that goes with them,” Roeting said. “One of those themes is Title IX protection and speaking out.”
Some events focus on sexual health resources, such as where students are educated where to get condoms on campus, and learn about consent, while also teaching what steps to take if an experience was not consensual. Roeting said the goal is to mix safety awareness into everyday life rather than showing it as something negative or something to be scared of.
“Just making the entire college experience safe for them is really important to us,” he said.
What kinds of questions or concerns do students most often bring to you regarding safety or reporting?
According to Roeting, the most common concern students express when approaching an RA is fear of getting in trouble.
“The biggest question is usually, ‘Am I going to get in trouble?’ or ‘What’s going to happen to me if I tell you this?” he said.
Roeting reassured that RAs are very transparent about their role as mandatory reporters. When conversations begin to involve sensitive information, RAs explain what mandatory reporting means to the student and what information may need to be shared with higher officials.
“We tell our students that we don’t go around telling everyone their story or business,” Roeting said. “We only share information with our direct supervisors and the people who need to know in order to help if it’s needed in that moment.”
In most situations, Roeting said students have full control over whether they want to pursue additional resources or legal action unless the situation is life-threatening or involves serious physical harm. Having these options, he said, reassures students who are scared to speak up for themselves that there’s multiple approaches to finding help.
“It’s more voluntary than forcing someone to do something,” he said.
How do RAs connect students with campus resources like VT Police, Title IX, or The Women’s Center?
Roeting said RAs connect students with campus resources both through educational programming and individual support when needed. One example he highlighted was self-defense training events hosted with a campus partner.
“I’ve done self-defense training events where students could practice techniques and also ask questions,” Roeting said. “They were able to ask things like what’s legal and what’s not legal in terms of self-defense. Which in my opinion is very helpful”
These events also allow students to interact directly with campus resources in a setting that isn’t scary or demanding. It makes the services feel more approachable for students. In addition to programming, RAs also turn to a resource binder that outlines available support services for a variety of situations, not just sexual assault.
“If a student comes to me and says, ‘I need help with this situation’, we can walk through together which resources can help them,” Roeting said. “It gives us the opportunity to help their situation without overwhelming them and scaring them out of reporting what happened to them.”
What do you wish more students understood about the resources available to them on campus?
Roeting said one of the most common misconceptions within the students is that sexual assault resources are only available to women.
“Title IX applies to everyone,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female. Everyone has equal protections and equal access to help.”
He talked about CARE a program housed within the Women’s Center, as an example of a resource that serves all students, despite its name only saying “Women”.
“The name can be misleading for some students, I even tried to get it changed,” Roeting said. “But the resources are always there for anyone who needs them.”
Roeting really pushed that sexual assault, and Title IX-related concerns can affect anyone and that no student should feel excluded from seeking help because of their gender and identity.
“If someone wants help, they should be able to seek the help they need,” he said. “Everyone deserves support.”
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