“Snitches get stitches.” That’s how the saying goes, right? 

With that logic, depending on what your definition of a snitch is, VAs should be all sewn up. However, I don’t subscribe to that way of thinking about my role. 

A lot of students see us as floor police, another layer of Campus Safety or yes, snitches. This is because we do nightly rounds, submit duty logs and write reports when needed. 

The snitching reputation mostly comes into play on the weekends when there’s the most resident activity and when most of the policy violations occur. 

Let’s consider university policy: Augustana is a dry campus. This means that alcohol is not allowed in on-campus housing even if you’re of age (excluding apartments and theme housing). I am 22, for example, but I still can’t have alcohol in my dorm room. Additionally, intoxication and alcohol-related behaviors are not condoned, according to the student handbook. 

Now, let’s consider some residence life community standards: There are quiet hours in place for each residence hall on campus. For the freshman dorms, the hours are 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. on weeknights and midnight to 10 a.m. on weekend nights. 

This is the tip of the iceberg for policies we are required to enforce. However, these are the ones we come across the most. 

So, sure, it may seem like when we report these things that we’re snitching. But, we’re not. We are placed in residence halls to ensure the safety of all residents. And we’re not stupid. We know that residents are going to drink and have candles and make a lot of noise until the wee hours of the morning. 

We don’t report students because we’re power-hungry floor dictators. We report students because we’re trying to keep them safe. We’re also trying to help the students that are directly affected by the prohibited behavior because not all college students, contrary to popular opinion, participate in policy violations. 

Therefore, VAs are also there to help those who can’t sleep because their neighbors are bumping their music at 3 a.m. Or help those who are just trying to have a quiet weekend night in their rooms but can’t even hear themselves think over the clinking of glasses and loud bass next door. 

If that means I have to get out of my warm, lofted bed and go knock on the door of a noisy room, so be it. I do it for those who don’t want to confront their fellow students. I do it even if it means busting a party of freshman football players who try to intimidate me with their physical stature. 

I do it for the safety of all residents, not just the ones on my floor.

As a VA, I have seen many ambulances called to the dorms because of alcohol poisoning. I have seen students holding each other’s hair back in the cramped bathroom stalls. I have seen a student with a severely sprained ankle from racing his friend down the stairs. I have seen too many intoxicated residents leaving the building and praying for them not to get behind the wheel. 

I do it for these students, who want to have fun rather than thinking. Who get their first taste of freedom and run too far with it. 

I report them not because I’m trying to kill their buzz or take away their college experiences but because right now, they don’t know better. Or maybe they do and they’re simply ignoring the rules and putting others at risk. It doesn’t matter why they do it. It matters why I do.

Now, that’s not to say I report every policy violation I see. I don’t. But when I do, it’s for the safety of the student and those around them. 

It’s so easy for students to blame it on us. It’s easy for them to put their clinking alcohol bottles in backpacks when they walk past the front desks on weekend nights, as if we actually believe they’re going to study. It’s easy for them to think that we believe that the liquid they have in the bottle they carry out actually is Gatorade or Sprite. 

But when we bust them, they get offended. We’re fellow students, how dare we write them up? But when it comes down to it, I’m the offended one. How dare you make me write you up? Do you think it’s fun to throw fellow students under the bus? Do you think it’s super exciting to fill out a communication report? No. It’s not, and I really don’t want to do it, but will I? Yes. 

So for the residents who think that we’re snitches—some advice for you: Either follow the rules or don’t get caught next time.