Question: What if I want to date my RA? (Technically he’s the boy’s side RA, but still on my floor)

Dear Resident Admirer,

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to date an RA. Unless you have alterior motives like wanting special treatment or leniency with certain rules. As long as you’re both consenting, there shouldn’t be any harm. The only thing I will caution is things could get messy if you do date and then break-up while still kind of living together. Even though it is in a dorm, you’ll be forced to see each other at meetings and could randomly bump into each other in the hallway or elevator. Things could get awkward and that’s never fun. Additionally, an RA is technically someone in a position of power over students. As a rule, this imbalance is typically considered inherently unhealthy unless you’re able to navigate that dual relationship with care. Others in the dorm could judge you guys for crossing a socially constructed boundary. On the flip side, you guys could fall madly in love, stay together forever, get married, have 2.5 kids, a dog, a cat, a basketball hoop and a house with a white picket fence! Check into the rules about it with another RA, they don’t need to know who you’re crushing on. You might have to wait until you move out!