Some of the most appreciated people on campus are right down the hall.

There are many reasons to say "thank you" to your Resident Advisers: They unlock your door when you lose your keys, they sponsor "Scrubs" TV-watching nights, they answer your questions about checking out for spring break. And the No. 1 reason you should thank your R.A.: This is National R.A. Appreciation Week.

R.A.'s are upperclassmen (mostly sophomores and juniors) who live in residence halls and are responsible for 10 to 30 residents each. Their main goal is "community building," which means they come up with a zillion clever ways to get people involved in the FSC community. For instance, the fun group in Allan Spivey Hall threw a birthday party for Allan Spivey in January (he would have been 84 on January 2).

This week, however, it's all about appreciating what the R.A.'s do. Residents will have the opportunity to write thank-you notes to their R.A's. Community Living coordinators who oversee the R.A.'s have all sorts of special activities planned to let the R.A.s know just how much they are appreciated.

Amanda Davis, the Community Living coordinator for Joseph Reynolds Hall and Allan Spivey Halls, calls Florida Southern's 50 R.A.'s "a fantastic group of leaders."

"Most of them are also involved outside Residence Life, too," she says. "And they are great ambassadors for the College. They help with Days on Campus, talking about Residence Life to prospective students."

Being an R.A. is lots of fun, but it's also work. All R.A.'s are rewarded with a free single room on campus, and second- and third-year R.A.'s also receive a stipend. But thats not why they do what they do.

"Its a lot of work, but the fun definitely outweighs the work," says Sam Mattell, a sophomore who serves as an R.A. in Allan Spivey Hall. "Its great connecting with the residents, and it's especially important being in a freshman hall and helping them adjust to college life. I really enjoy putting together programs that get them out of their rooms so they can make friends, which helps a lot with the adjustment process."