<p>So, quick q that popped in my head while I finish up alcoholedu before the drive to Duke:</p>
<p>How likely is it that RAs or any other official will pop into a dorm room to check if everything is in order (kids aren't drinking or playing drinking games) etc? Generally do they even care if there is alcohol in the room even though East Campus is dry? Or do most of them actually enforce this rule?</p>
<p>RA's probably won't ever just "pop" into your room to check on things. As long as you aren't loud/people aren't complaining about you you should be fine...just use common sense and chances are your RA will leave you alone. I've never heard of an RA being overly strict, but if you're being stupid and they're in a bad mood/trying to study anything can happen. </p>
<p>RC's can be a bit more strict...but they aren't around that terribly often.</p>
<p>You can just go off-campus or to West to party at any time - no drinking restrictions there</p>
<p>you can't have visible alcohol containers in your room...just use some sense...as far as drinking games, from experience, the sound of ping-pong balls bouncing off wood floors doesn't go over too well either...</p>
<p>Don't be obvious about it. If RAs see containers in your room or if you walk around carrying a solo cup of beer, then they have to write you up if you are on east. But if you at least try to be discreet and quiet most RAs will look the other way.</p>
<p>The first week or so (especially the first weekend) your RA may be popping in to say hi & get to know you better or to make sure everything's set in your room and that you've filled out whatever forms he/she needs, so I'd play it cool w/ the drinking in dorm rooms then.</p>
<p>Usually if you don't give them an excuse to come, they won't. This means don't be incredibly loud, don't be obvious, don't play beer pong, and don't go running around the hall screaming.</p>
<p>My freshman RA was incredibly cool, and we threw a party for my friend's birthday which was a Sunday night before Blue Devil Days, so we drank and were loud with our p-frosh... the RA lived right next door to her. I went to the bathroom, she came up to me and told me she knew we were drinking and that she didn't care, but that she was planning on going to bed around 2am, so if we could finish up by then / be quieter then, she's cool and that she wanted us to show the kids a fun time. On the flip side, my friend was stumbling drunk and probably loud -- we were COMING back from a frat house in January -- and she got written up by a different RA. </p>
<p>If you're storing bottles in your room, be discreet -- put them in a closet or keep them in the fridge. Don't put them on your shelf - it's silly and makes you look like a tool anyway.</p>
<p>Honestly the best advice I can give you is don't go overboard (with drinking) and get to know your RA. I find that the frosh that actually interact with the people on their hall and get to know their RA are not only more responsible when it comes to what is and is not accepted in the community, they are also more likely to experience a lenient RA. All RA's are different in what they will or will not tolerate but I know that my number one criteria for what action I would take was are they being a disruption to the hall, anyone on the hall. If you remember that you should be alright no matter who your RA is. (but again no drinking in the hall or anything)</p>
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On the flip side, my friend was stumbling drunk and probably loud -- we were COMING back from a frat house in January -- and she got written up by a different RA.
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<p>As an update, this happened to me (and my roommate). Funny thing is, I wasn't stumbling around drunk (heck I wasn't even drunk) nor was I loud. The guy came into our room (door was partially shut), didn't mention anything to us, just said hey and left. Two days letter an email comes telling me and my roommate to go into a meeting. Case thrown out. Kind of funny actually. </p>
<p>Oh yea, both my roommate and I are probably the nicest to this RA too. He still hasn't come up front and said that he was the one who wrote us up either (the RC did tell us tho). So yea, lesson is that a dbag of an RA will be a dbag regardless of however you treat em.</p>
<p>He really wrote you up without telling you? Most RA's wouldn't do that. (because we aren't supposed to do that)</p>
<p>Also, if you weren't being loud or stumbling around bothering people I really don't see why/how he wrote you up. (are you sure you weren't being loud/drunk? most drunk people don't think they are being loud when they are, nor do they think they are drunk)</p>
<p>Anyway, any RA worth their salt would never write someone up without telling them. (and most I know would give a warning before getting the higher ups involved if it was just someone being a little loud) But the key thing to remember is that if you put the RA in a position where the rules say they should write you up they have to write you up no matter how much they might like you. (it really isn't that bad anyway, you just go talk to the RC on the first offense; the important thing is to not take it personally as that is part of the job)</p>