Resident assistants (RAs) can experience a great deal of role strain from the different responsibilities they have in their job. One such strain is that between being a friend and an effective authoritative figure. Some of this stress can be caused by the supposed perception that RAs think residents have of them. This study focuses on what RAs' perceptions are of them and what they think the perception of them is from residents. Furthermore, this study also examines how residents actually perceive RAs and how residents want to be treated by RAs in policy-related situations. The synthesis of this research involved 38 resident assistants and 29 residents from various residence halls on Ball State's campus. This study, however, is by no means exhaustive and should only be used to further the conversation about RAs interactions and authoritative stances they take with residents as well as how those interactions impact their performance as a RA.