Today was the first day back to work with students in 4.5 months. We had a full day of in-person, socially distanced, & masked-up Senior RA training. I think we are on the earlier side, so here are my thoughts, in case it helps your prep for student return. #reslife #sachat

This was the longest I had ever been in a mask. It was much more uncomfortable than I had anticipated. These past four months I had used it for super quick errands, so to go from 20 minutes in the grocery store to 7 hours was...a lot. (Shout-out to essential workers!!)

Common habits soon had to change. I am an obsessive water-drinker to stay hydrated during training so I often forgot I was wearing a mask. I stopped after a few hours and only drank about half of my normal intake.

Presenting with a mask was....bizarre. I am wearing the paper masks to help keep my glasses from fogging, so since they are a little less substantial, sometimes I would take in a deep breath and it would get sucked into my mouth and then I would cough and then it was awkward.

Looking into the audience and seeing our student leaders wearing masks and sitting six feet apart was...sad, and concerning, and alarming, and often felt like I was in some kind of alternate universe.

I never realized how much I rely on reading lips to understand what people are saying. My team would be talking at full volume, but I had a hard time "hearing" them. I realized it was because I couldn't see their lips, which of course made me concerned for our Deaf/HOH students.

I also never realized how my 10 second check-ins with my HDs I have a regular day. There were probably a dozen times one of them came over to whisper a quick question, but between the masks and the distance, we had to resort to texting.

We have always had a "must use a microphone" policy for training with the large group, but there were only six students today so we all thought we could present without the mic. Boy, were we wrong! The mic was 100% necessary, so add it to the list.

Not being able to see the faces of the SRAs was probably the hardest part. I couldn't tell if they were smiling or confused at something I was training them on, or if they were just checked out. I encourage you to think of creative ways to check in, because non-verbals are out.

Anything that we touched, we disinfected between use. Not only did this take time, but also resources. We found electronic-friendly disinfecting wipes, so the microphone, computer, and podium got wiped down constantly.

I am a glasses-wearer and it was *rough.* They were either fogging up or slipping off my face when I looked down at notes because they were on top of my mask ear loops. I used anti-fogging spray & I'm getting grips this weekend, but I wasn't anticipating that all day long.

I always look forward to lunch as a break in sessions, but this was the only time we could be without masks and it was SUCH a reprieve! Please don't schedule check-ins or meetings over lunch. It was truly a mental break as much as anything else.

We have cleaning kits in every space on-campus so we had to wipe down all tables and chairs before we left the space, yet again adding time to the day. It wasn't hard, just one more thing to add to the to-do lists.

In general, I don't think I had really mentally prepared myself for it. I literally thought to myself probably 10 times today, "Wow, this is really happening. During a pandemic. We are all actually in a room together."

UPDATE on 8/3: Wow, this really blew up! It seems like there is an interest, so I'll keep adding to this thread. Today was the first full day of training with the full Resident Assistant (RA) team. 65 students in the same (giant, socially distanced/masked) room.

This was the first time the reality of the semester fully hit me. Looking out into the audience of 65 RAs sitting six feet or more apart, in masks for the entire day was....dystopian. This is a group that is hard to settle down, but that was not a problem today.

We realized engagement needs to look really different. We usually rely heavily on pair-and-share, small groups, case studies, and the like, but all of that involves moving furniture and needing to get super close to be able to hear each other over masks.

We pivoted to using more worksheets, reflection questions and writing prompts, and asking questions of the large group and asking RAs to share out to the large group. However, since we were in a huge space with masks on, that meant we had to use a mic.

We will also use engagement software like Kahoot, WooClap and a few others to help them feel individually connected to the larger group without needing to be in small groups.

This meant me or one of my Hall Directors (HDs) was running all over the room like a talk show host to get the mic to the person speaking. This made more a little more of a stilted, piecemeal experience and the conversation did not flow as naturally as it had in the past.

This also let to an important realization. Masks. Are. Hot. Your breathe is hot. I know this is not revolutionary, but it was almost overwhelming for me. I needed to leave twice to sit in a private bathroom just to have five mask-free moments to cool down.

Speaking of bathroom breaks, we are encouraging our students to get up to take a break whenever they want. This not only lessens the crowding at breaks, but also normalizes someone getting up to take a moment without the inevitable, "Oh, what's going on with them?" from peers.

We made sure to let outside presenters know they could expect a quiet ebb and flow of RAs throughout presentations. I did not find it distracting at all and it was good to know the RAs felt empowered to do what was best for them in the moment.

We are also recording all our sessions over Zoom because we know people are understandably distracted, so they can go back to a session to review a concept as needed. All presentations will also eventually be posted on our training website.

We are super lucky in that our training room is on the 4th floor of our new Rec Center and there is an outdoor balcony terrace that can fit 20-30 people, with social distancing. If you are able to provide outside, fresh air, no mask breaks, it makes a huge difference.

Speaking of breaks, give them liberally! We gave at least a three minute stretch break between every single session today, and 5-10 minute breaks several times. They need it. We need it. Go over time on the schedule if you have to. Break times outside *almost* felt normal.

Something else that helped was our incredible Campus Rec team pre-set all tables and chairs at the appropriate distance and then put tape down to confirm where they should remain. Great visual reminder AND a small piece of mind that at least they were distanced properly.

Something new we added to our routine was an end-of-day wipe-down of individual tables and chairs. The HDs sprayed down surfaces and the RAs wiped down their station. This also meant I pre-ripped & sorted 400 pieces of paper towels last night. PS I have two Master's degrees.

We also created the expectation that the station you chose in the morning was where you stayed all day. This meant we did not have to do additional wipe-downs when we left for meals or breaks. Highly recommend!

In terms of my personal experience, I got about 2 hours of sleep. I woke up with a sky-high heart rate & a sick feeling in my stomach. There was nothing specific, just the realization that this is actually happening and RA training was the first step in 5,000 students returning.

Throughout the day, I kept finding myself inventing reasons to take the mask off for a quick break. Drink of water, mint, gum, adjusting my glasses, etc.

Eventually, I twisted the ear loops once, so they created an X before going on my ears and that created a very small "vent" on either side and it was an *immediate* sense of relief. I only did this when I was seated as a participant & about 20 feet away from others.

I seriously can't describe the immediate and visceral sense of relief this new mask-wearing approach took. I have also figured out the fogging and slipping issue from my glasses, so I was not nearly as frustrated as I was on Friday.

In terms of the RAs, they were the best of what I love about college students: Kind, smart, empathetic, understanding, and focused on doing their jobs and doing them well. We don't deserve this team. Not a single one of them had to be reminded they need to wear their mask inside.

In fact, I reminded many of them they were permitted to take their masks off when they were outside, as long as they could be socially distant. When I mentioned this, a new RA said, "Really?! Are you sure? I don't want to mess up & have someone think bad of the RAs."

I'm not worried about them taking this seriously. Not a single question asked today was about the thought-process or rationale behind decisions. All of the questions were about how to implement guidelines.

"How do I confront a resident who isn't wearing a mask?" "If someone isn't wearing a mask and I have to document them, I'm not comfortable asking to see their ID and be that close to them? What should I do?" "What are the consequences for not wearing a mask?"

"Will people be allowed to have guests?" "What happens if a parent refused to wear a mask during move-in?" "What happens when I get COVID? Do I still have to do my RA stuff? Should I tell my residents?"

It was this portion of the day that hit me the hardest: What are we asking 19-year-olds to face head on? Outside of the obvious health considerations, what are the long-term mental health impacts of asking these young adults to address behavior of their peers during a pandemic?

During the Q&A I actually got a little teary. The basis of #ResLife is safety. We have duty models and protocols and expectations. Everything else we do builds upon the concept of having a safe living environment and this is no longer a guarantee and it is jarring.

It is clear the RAs are (at least outwardly) excited to be back on-campus and step into these leadership roles, but my God, at what cost?

The last thought I'll add is that the need for human connection has not gone away during a pandemic. I can't tell you how many times I saw an RA go in for a hug with another RA they hadn't seen since March and stop themselves half-way through.

The students still wanted to be social. Our cafeteria is big enough that each person could have had their own table. But they wanted to eat and be in community. COVID can't take that away from us.

So our question, our charge, our goal must be how we can create community in safe, ethical, and responsible ways. Frankly, I would leave it up to my RA team. Based on what I saw today, they want to create great experiences for their residents in safe ways. The kids are alright.