The use of preferred names has become increasingly common over the last decade, though they have always existed. This increase is especially noticeable for students entering higher education as higher education is an environment that typically encourages students to explore and showcase their unique identity and background. Many college students have just become adults and are perhaps leaving home for the first time, so it’s a natural time for a person to start using a preferred name when they may not have done so previously.
RAs and student staff members help to set the tone for on-campus residents’ experience in higher education. Knowing residents’ names and how they preferred to be addressed is a major part of making new students feel comfortable in dorms and on campus. This is because feeling known and recognized aids in creating, “higher levels of belongingness, satisfaction, and success—and lower levels of depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior” (Source). Working in Housing and Residential Life means encountering a wide variety of people with a variety of different backgrounds and experiences. There are a variety of reasons why a resident may use a preferred name rather than a legal name. Respecting that preference regardless of the reason for it, helps show students that they are welcome in a space.
How to use Preferred Names as an Student Leader
There are a variety of things that student leaders in residence life can do to reach out to residents to find out if their residents have or use a preferred name.
1. During initial outreach to residents before move-in, be sure to ask if residents have a name that they would like the RA to use. Oftentimes, this will be asked through their housing application and provided to the school then, but sometimes students let us know later on.
2. Explain what Door Decs are, if the university uses them, and ask residents what name they would like on their Door Dec. (If a student has a preferred name, it may not be something that they are comfortable with using in public. Asking a resident what they would like to be displayed helps avoid any discomfort.) If a student removes the door decoration you make, it’s okay, but worth following up with them to see if everything is okay. Sometimes a student’s door dec has the wrong name on it, other times they are concerned about someone knowing where their room is or they simply didn’t want a door dec out on the door. It doesn’t hurt to ask when door decs go missing from the door.
3. Take the time to meet with your residents on move-in day and ask if the name on their door dec is correct, and if they would like it to be remade if they indicate another name is preferred (or even if you just accidentally misspelled a name…it happens!)
4. Get familiar with your school’s preferred name change process. There are often ways one can work with Information Technology to get their email, classes, and transcript to match their preferred name, but it typically isn’t automatic, as the default is usually the students’ legal name. If you know about the steps students need to take, you can share that with students when it comes up.
It’s a good idea to put in a little effort to make people feel welcome in the campus housing environment. The most important thing is to have open and clear conversations with residents that you are there to help them and that you want them to be comfortable living on campus.
