Confrontation Campus Housing University of Illinois at Chicago Resident Assistant and Peer Mentor Online Training

What is Confrontation? Take a minute and think about confrontation: what is it to you? What are all the parts of confrontation?

Pre-Confrontation Preparation What do you need (on a duty night)? Duty Materials Duty Phone, Duty Binder, Paper, Pen, Duty Keys What do you wear? Close-toed shoes, comfortable clothes, slightly conservative, Campus Housing Polo, Name Badge How about a random confrontation? Clothes, pen, paper

Confrontation Process AEIOU Process Announce Explain Identify Observe Unload

Announce Who you are LOUDLY Assertively as possible! What would you announce when you knock on a door?

Explain Why you are there What brought you there. Let them know why you are knocking on their door, ie I was doing my round and heard bottles clanking, I understand that the owner of this room is under 21.

Identify All the people in the room Who do you already ‘know’ in the room? Get identification from those you don’t know. What if people say they have no ID? All should have an ID, if they do not live in the building they had to use an ID to check in.

Observe Everything that’s going on! Pay special attention to: Why are you there? What is (was) everyone doing? How is (was) everyone acting? Little details

Unload The information you’ve gathered! Type it into the form of an Incident Report (do on Microsoft Word first) The IR form will do spellcheck Incident Reports muse be submitted right away, they will be checked along with the 8am duty log.

Body Positioning Where do I stand? Keep yourself square with the door. NEVER enter a room by yourself. NEVER enter a room without asking the residents if you MAY enter.

Non-Verbal Tactics Eye Contact Make DIRECT eye contact when talking to someone Scanning Constantly (and subtly) scan the room when you are not in eye contact mode.

DO NOT : Enter a room without permission. Touch a resident or his/her guest. Touch their things. (you may take things they’ve handed you such as an ID but not alcohol). Open their fridge without permission. Dispose of their liquor or not-permitted items. (They need to do this).

Verbal Tactics Be ASSERTIVELY Loud. Do not AGGRESSIVELY Yell. Keep It Simple. “I’m here to record what happened and enforce policy”. No need for long explanations or arguments. Become a Broken Record. Don’t argue – Continuously repeat what you need, even if they are arguing or bargaining.

Verbal Tactics, Cont’d. Keep Things Moving Forward. Don’t let residents sidetrack you. BE NICE You should NEVER be rude. You are confronting the policy violation, not the person. Always ASK for things. “May I Come In” “Will You Open Your Fridge?”

What Will The Residents Be Like When I Confront? Typical Confrontation The Yeller The Philosopher The Crier The Bargainer

Typical Confrontation Residents will do as you ask. May ask a few questions about the judicial process. NEVER tell that what the outcome will be. You can explain the process. Refer them to the Policy Handbook.

Yellers Goal is to intimidate you as much as possible. Harass constantly hoping you’ll change your mind. Nothing is sacred, they’ll harass you about anything and everything. TIP : Let them be mad for awhile – within reason. Speak more quietly, they will want to hear what you say. Write down WORD FOR WORD everything they say. Put this in your IR. If they are out of hand, offer them Resident Director on Duty if they don’t want to cooperate.

Philosophers Will argue you until the bitter end Often Junior Lawyers – goal is for you to contradict yourself and to use this in his/her conduct meeting. “It’s my Constitutional Right” “Why Do We Have That Policy?” TIP: Be nice, be simple. Explain you enforce policies, and do not determine what will happen. If they CONTINUE to philosophize, they have a chance to discuss it with the resident director.

Criers May Just Be Scared May say, “My Parents Are Going to Kill Me” or “I’ve Never Gotten In Trouble Before” TIP: You can be Firm AND Gentle. Remind them he/she will meet with the Resident Director or Student Conduct Board and will have the opportunity to share his/her side of the story. After the incident, if he/she still wants to talk, you can do so, away from the incident and the other residents. Remind them the violation will still be documented.

Bargainers Will try to tell you why they SHOULDN’T get in trouble. May attempt to bribe you. TIP: Use Broken Record Tactic. Tell them you’re just documenting the situation. Don’t get caught up in the bargaining Document the fact they’re trying to bargain with you.

What If I Need Back-Up? Use the duty phone to call another RA/PM for back- up. If beyond the scope of your control, call Resident Director on Duty for assistance, or advice.

Confiscating Illegal Items Departmentally we expect: You confiscate anything illegal in room Store in designated area determined by Resident Director. After confrontation, escort Resident to designated area (Don’t Walk It Yourself). Alcohol After counting the alcohol, escort Resident to the bathroom or utility room to dispose of alcohol Drugs After counting the drugs, escort Resident to the bathroom or utility room to dispose of drugs If it looks like they could be dealing contact RD on Duty and University Police. More information regarding this will come during fall training.

Post-Confrontation Completing Rounds If confrontation happened DURING rounds, complete rounds, then write IR Writing the I.R. Write I.R. immediately. All Incident Reports must be submitted by 8am. You’ll remember details, will be more accurate. Venting Processing verbally ONLY Resident Director– NEVER discuss with residents.

Advice BE NICE!!! Can be Assertive, Confront & Be Nice. Always Say Hello to People As You Pass Them in the Hallway. Plan Ahead Don’t Plan on Homework That’s Due The Next Day!!! Duty Nights can be Eventful. Can Plan Programming on Duty Nights if RD permits. Should be Program You Can Leave.