Do You Practice Safe Duty-ing?

Dear Duty Nation,


Do you feel safe when you are on duty?  What is done that allows you to maintain that safety comfort?  Do you have a partner when you go on rounds?  If you do not have a partner, is there a plan in place in case you run into a uncomfortable situation?


Sincerely,
Duty Dude

I pose these questions to you all because I was recently involved in a conversation that involved the topic of safety and how it affected different genders.  Some female coworkers shared that they do not always feel safe when they are on duty and/or need to respond to calls.  Whether walking to the car early in the morning to report to a situation or being in a room with intoxicated individuals, they can be intimidating situations for anyone.  How about you?  Have there been situations where you felt unsafe?  What did you do to help yourself feel more safe in the future?

Duty Before Phones

In a blog post last month, I talked about technology and how it has affected duty.  Today I had a thought, "what was duty like before phones?"  The concept seems so foreign to me because every duty round I have ever had involved carrying a phone (except the one time I broke the duty phone-I will save that story for another day).  I am most likely in the majority with that concept and it is quite possible that other current staff members have never thought about what duty would be like without a phone.  So I would love to hear from the "more experienced" Student Affairs members about what duty was like before cell phones came around.  

How were problems communicated to you?  

Were there other challenges that you faced?

It would be great for the current generation of on-duty staff to hear about what life was like in the past and how technology helps them today!  Leave your feedback in the comments or send it to thedutybag@gmail.com.

This Dream Scared the Duty Out of Me!

Last night was no different than the night before.  I chatted with some residents at the front desk, came back to watch some television and prepared for bed.  I was not thinking about duty (because who does that when they aren't on, right?) but clearly there was something deep inside my brain that needed to come out in my dreams!

During the course of the night, I had a dream nightmare that went a little something like this:

I picked up the phone like I normally would when on duty and set it down in one room.  I continued to have a great night.  Frankly, I do not remember what I did next; I could have gone swimming in the ocean, played basketball with a mountain lion or perhaps I wrote up Cheech and Chong for violating a certain policy (I'll let you guess which one).  What I do remember is waking up the next morning in my dream nightmare and finding the phone in the exact same place I had put it the night before.

I had never had the phone with me!  OH CRAP!  Well, maybe it was a slow night and I didn't need to respond to anything.  Wait...WHAT?!?  32 missed calls and 9 voicemails?!  Hmmm...well maybe I'll see what one of the voice messages is. "We are waiting for you in the lobby...WHERE ARE YOU?!?"  CRAP CRAP CRAP!  I am sooooo fired!

It was at that point that I woke up.  I had the feeling that I was going to be fired for sure.  Let's just say that the duty phone is going to be attached to my hip next time I am on.

Have you ever had a duty-related dream like that?  I sure hope your dream had a better ending!  If you have, share it with us!  Comment or send a summary of your dream to thedutybag@gmail.com to see it featured here.  Sleep tight and sweet dreams!

Excuse Me, Could You Please Turn Down Your Sex?

One of our readers sent a question the other day that I would like to share with you all:

Jordan asks,"Have you ever had to confront a room for excessive noise where the people were having sex?  Every time I am on duty I worry that I might have to but it has not happened yet, thankfully!"

I have never had to confront a room for such a "violation" so I wanted to ask for help from our readers.  It certainly would make for an awkward confrontation but also an interesting story.  Please share what helped you when confronting the "excessive noise" to help Jordan out if he ever has to do so.  You can either comment on this post or send your story/advice to thedutybag@gmail.com.  Thanks everyone!

How Does Technology Influence Duty?

Technology is ever-changing and because of that, we are also ever-changing.  I recall having a duty phone that was as solid as a rock...yet I still managed to drop it and break it one night (that is a story for another day).  Now we have phones that have cameras...OMG!  Wait...you can also change ringtones (although you shouldn't) and now you do not even need push buttons because you can touch the screen!  With the changes to technology, we now have a flip duty phone that has a camera which could be used in appropriate situations.  Will there come a time when we will be using a duty iPhone?

Let's face it...Apple comes out with a new toy every few months so there might become a time when the default phone is a smart phone.  Will it be possible to look up a student's information with an app on your duty iPhone?  Or will people have a duty iPad that they can take notes on and take pictures if needed?  What will the future of duty be like with technology continually changing?  Will it make duty easier or cause more challenges as we rely heavily on technology?  

Do you use a smartphone for a duty phone?  Do you feel it would make your life easier?  Feel free to comment or send an email to thedutybag@gmail.com to discuss how technology has impacted your duty!

Duty Lesson #47 Learned

A special thanks to one of our readers for this submission!

Tonight I gained a valuable lesson: never plan on being at a meeting when you are on duty!

I figured I would have a few hours of quiet time before the storm eventually would hit later in the night.  Based on my previous experiences, I thought everything would work out and I would be able to sit in the meeting (which I planned) for at least 10 minutes.  I.was.wrong!

With 5 minutes before the meeting was to start, I received a call about a room that had a marijuana smell to it.  Luckily others had met in our meeting location so I appointed someone to take charge and left to take care of the alleged policy violators.  My time was not used wisely because it was a false alarm so I then returned to my group to get caught up to speed on what had already been discussed.  Luckily I had 5 minutes for the members to explain what they had done before I received another bone-chilling call.

Another room with that odd odor?!?!  Oh...so it's going to be one of THOSE nights!  I excused my group for the night and thanked them for the work that they had done.  They understood that I did not wish to be running around but that it came with the territory...and shiny name badge!  For the record, the second call also resulted in a false alarm.  Go figure!  The rest of the night was surprisingly quiet.  It was such a backwards night but I certainly learned my lesson!

Thanks again for the submission and if you have a lesson that you learned, please send it to thedutybag@gmail.com.

There's Something Special About Tonight

Tonight is a very special night for anyone who is on duty!  Do you know why?  No I cannot guarantee that residents will be on their best behavior!  No I cannot magically cause your phone to stay silent so you can get a restful night of sleep!  However, I can take an hour away and give it to someone else in the fall!  Well...it might not be my doing but you can credit me if you would like.  Correction: This does not apply to everyone!  I'm sorry duty staff who live in Arizona and Hawaii!


If you guessed in the beginning that tonight is special because Daylight Savings Time (DST) begins Sunday morning, then you my friend deserve a "duty star!"  It is the wonderful time when you have one less hour where people can cause issues that you then have to respond to!  DST still confuses me a bit but mainly in the fall when everything falls back an hour.  I was always curious, does that mean people get to stay out at "local establishments" an hour later and drink their "beverages" or do they get kicked-out like usual?  I have never looked into that issue so if someone has the answer, I would love to know!

I have only experienced the magical phenomenon of DST duty once and I was on the short end.  I was one of the lucky staff members who gained an extra hour of duty during a fall night but I really don't have much to complain about because nothing happened.  The desk workers however were very confused and did not know if they should stay to check people in or if they could leave because their closing time was 2:00am.  They had never been told otherwise to stay an extra hour so they simply left.  I never did find out if that was the correct decision...

Well if you are on duty tonight...CONGRATS!  There is not another night all year where people on duty will have to hold the phone for less time!  You earned it...or you were simply assigned this day and lucked out!  Well for future reference, look for the next DST duty in Spring 2012 and switch for that night.  If that ends up being a long night filled with write-ups...then forget that I told you anything.


Thank you to the readers who have been submitting their duty experiences!  I promise to start sharing them soon!  If you have an experience to share please email it to thedutybag@gmail.com!

My Little Ducklings

We have a great submission from one of our readers:

Super Bowl Sunday – an exciting time all over the nation. Most people are getting pumped up for the big game. Me on the other hand, I’m dreading it. Why? Because I’m on duty. Super Bowl Sunday equals madness for any RA/CA on duty. As I braced myself for the night that was to come, I tried to assure myself that things wouldn’t be too out of control. “It’s only 6:00, surely nothing will happen until at least midnight,” I said to myself. Boy was I wrong. I, along with the other RA/CA on duty, start rounds at 6:00 in our building of over 600 residents. Not even five minutes into rounds, we smell that oh so familiar skunky smell. Unfortunately, the smell was hailing from one of my residents’ room, and to make matters worse, it was the room of the residents I had made the closest connections with. They weren’t just residents to me. They were my little ducklings, and I was Mama Goose.

Thus began my internal conflict: “What do I do? I love these kids; I don’t want to call the police. But we have to; it’s our job. But then I’ll feel like it’s my fault if they get in trouble! But it’s a consequence for their actions! But… but!” At that point, I just broke down crying. I cried because I was scared for them. I cried because I was disappointed in them. I cried because I hated that I was in a situation where I questioned my duty as an RA/CA.

Everything seems so easy in training, but when we find ourselves in the moment, it’s not as simple as “I’m going to need to see your identification”. Thank goodness the other RA/CA on duty had better control of his emotions and was able to provide me comfort while doing what needed to be done. After talking to one of my supervisors and attempting to pull myself together, we continued on.

A few floors later, we smelled the same smell. Really people? Are you TRYING to make my night miserable? It’s only 6:30! This time I called the police. We continued on. A few floors later…you have got to be kidding me. Again? Is my nose playing tricks on me? Nope. I’m sure our wonderful police officer was starting to get a bit peeved. We called, again, and I watched as one by one, my little ducklings filed out of the room. Again, I lost it. I tried so hard to keep the tears in, but they just wouldn’t stop. I had to excuse myself. I went upstairs to call my mother and just bawled my eyes out. I just couldn’t watch my ducklings in that situation. I felt terrible. I felt bad for leaving the other RA/CA to deal with things as I fell apart in my room. I felt bad for not being able to keep my emotions in check. I felt unprofessional. Thankfully my supervisor knocked on my door and let me cry my eyes out to him. He definitely helped me to feel better about the situation (Pro-Staff, FTW!) and encouraged me to talk to my ducklings.

It was about 8:30 by the time this was all over and done with. Almost time for 9:00 rounds. So this was the year I didn’t get to watch a single second of the Super Bowl. Ah well, this one night of duty taught me many things. It absolutely changed my perspective on a few things. When talking to my supervisor, he told me that my compassion/making other peoples’ problems my own was both a blessing and a curse. I guess I never looked at it that way before. I learned that I need to be true to myself and my job. I learned that I might need to work on controlling my emotions a bit better, but that it was okay to be upset. I learned some other things, but most of all I learned that if you’re an RA…stay away from duty on Super Bowl Sunday. ;)

I have had similar situations as Mother Father Goose, and my little ducklings getting in trouble brought a great amount of disappointment. It is often more difficult to confront an issue on your floor while on duty regardless of what day it is. A connection has been formed and we hate having to make our residents face the consequences for their actions.  It is a very difficult situation for any RA/CA but sadly it will happen to many.  It's an epidemic!!!  

Super Bowl = Super Duty?

As the largest NFL game of the season wrapped up, I couldn't help but think about all of the RAs/CAs in Wisconsin.  Sure the game might end before quiet hours start but the craziness surely continues not only throughout the night but most likely the entire week!  In fact, the idea of riots began to race through my mind and what I would do in that situation.  That would be a fun call, "um...there is a green and yellow mob coming my way.  What should I do?"  I have not seen studies but my guess is that vandalism and disorderly conduct tends to go up in relevant cities who have great sporting successes or failures.


Luckily I have never been in the situation of being on duty the night of a large sporting event.  Although I was not on-duty last night, there were thousands of RAs/CAs who were.  If anyone had an experience from last night or a similar previous experience, I would love to hear it!  Send it to thedutybag@gmail.com and then I can share it with everyone!


Shout-out to Virginia Tech for being Duty Bag supporters!  I look forward to some VT stories!

Ring of Terror

When I hear the duty ringtone go off, my heart stops.  What is going on?  Who did it?  How long am I going to have to stay up?


A duty ringtone stays with you for years!  When I am in public and I hear the ringtone, my heart still stops and I have to restrain myself from yelling, "Why would you choose THAT as your ringtone!!!"


I have contemplated using the duty ringtone as an alarm clock on my personal phone but I am afraid that I will 1) become used the ringtone and desensitized to it (is that a bad thing?!?) or 2) have a slight heart attack every morning (which could certainly shock my system thus not allowing me to go back to sleep).  Perhaps the alarm clock idea isn't so bad after all...


Regardless, I have always thought if I would have the same reaction if the duty phone ringtone were something less heart-stopping and more catchy.  It is hard to believe that I would start disliking Cee Lo Green's F*** Forget You if that were the ringtone.  But I simply can't say because I have never had the chance to change the ringtone (that crazy fear of getting in trouble got in the way!).  


What are your thoughts?  Do you have a cool duty ringtone?  Has your heart stopped a few times from the ring of terror?

I've got the doots!

Hello world!  Welcome to The Duty Bag!  This blog was created with one vision in mind: a central location where people can share stories, frustrations, anxieties, successes, etc. associated with being on-duty.  While I am aware that my feelings towards duty may not align with your feelings, it is my hope that some topics may hit home and you are able share!


If you have had a memorable experience that you would like others to hear about, please send your story to thedutybag@gmail.com.  I will try to share as many as I can so more people can hear about the amazing life of being ON-DUTY!  While I have only been on-duty in residence halls, I am open to your experiences in other aspects of jobs that require someone to be on-duty.


Please use this as an opportunity to express yourself!


Duty Dude