Scarlet & Black. May it, ism—page a

 

 

Igounseling service dynamic, accessible

by David Blatt
assisted by Junct Pope
and Elaine Ashbaiigh

The offices of Student Affairs,
Academic Advising, and Career
Services make up the major units
of Grinnell’s counseling system.
Resident Advisers (R,A,s) and
Student Advisers (S.A.s) operate
under the Student Affairs office.
Living Within the dormitories and
thus readily accessible to students
at all hours, they provide the basic,
and most noticeable working units
within Grinnell’s counseling

is

{ystem

— The Office of Student Affairs is
run by Dean Jim Tederman and
assisted by Associate Dean Dianne
Ruyffelaere and Assistant Dean

' San Crim. In charge of the
Resident Adviser and Student
Adviser programs, it also oversees
the cooperative arrangement with
the Mental Health Center as well
as handling severe or complicated
counseling referrals from the
R,A.s.

R.A.S provide the professional
half of the R.A.+S.A, team, which
when working correctly, cooperate
and interract to the fullest degree
Although seven R A. positions
actually exist, two husband and
wife counseling teams bring the
otal number of R A s at Grinnell

to nine.

Students come to R.A,s with
academic as well as more personal
problems, Although some R A.s

efer dealing with more strickly

rsonal conflicts. R, A, Susie
wittpenn considers academic and
personal problems as being too

 

intertwined to attempt to divorce
the two.

Many R.A.s appear satisfied
with their relationship with the
Deans, feeling that they can easily
contact any of the Deans at any
time about all kinds of problems,
The Deans also oversee the
program through R.A.-dean
meetings held at least once a week.
Apparently the RA. consensus
finds this relatively loose super»
vision “very positive," as RA.
Susie Wittpenn stated.

Recent R.A.s consider them-
selves more professional in
comparison to their predecessors
who, according to three year

as far as I'm concerned.”

A timcusage evaluation given to
the R.A.s revealed that although
all R.A.s haveadditional, “outs
side” duties at the college, the
majority of an R,A.'s time is spent
in student conmct, AS SuSle Witt-
penn stresses, while R,A.s may
spend ten or more hours per week
in career services, academic
advising. or coaching duties, their
age, position is a twentysfour hour
J0 .

Although expressing general
satisfaction With their Job, R.A,s
cited some problems. Some R, A S

, . , many R.A.s continue to
view their jobs as places to 'jget

their feet wet,”as stepping stones
to careers in counseling

Veteran Mike Daley, viewed their
advisory positions as halfway
stages in the midst of graduate
Study or before a “real" career,
Present R.A.s have completed
graduate work in counseling,
student peisonnei, or teaching,
with a counseling emphasis, and
are thus quite professional
Councilors.

However, many R.A.s continue
to view their jobs as places to “get
their feet wet,” as stepping stonﬁ
to careers in counseling R.As
rarely stay longer than two years,
not wishing to remain indefinitely
in a lower-level counseling
position. According to RA. Barry
Huff, remaining longer “would be
personal and professional suicide

Veteran bored

tcontinued from page i)

to Grinnell after six years in the

‘vy. However, he experienced
over five years ago some of the
problems students here are going
through now, and says he gets tired

hearing about those problems.

’is now living off-campus. “Last
year I felt like! really outgrew the
place," he explained

Rick has worked as a bartender
at the Grinnell Country Clubfoi'
three years, and as a sportswriter

' for the Herald-Reg ~. He plans
to go into employee relations after
graduatin next January,

Tom Pa tzer came to Grinnell,
after four years in the Navy pretty
much on impulse. He likes Iowa,

likes small towns (he‘s from
lla); Grinnell Was the only
school he applied to. Like Rick, he
nks he can understand the
oblems of his friends here, but he
can’t really relate because he went
through them so long ago. “I’m
about ten years older than the
[reshman class right now," he
noted. For this reason, he says, he
doesn’t feel the academic pressure
as much as most people.

While most of the differences he
feels are due to age, he added that
his “whole military experience has
shaded my attitudes. t’s not
readily apparent, but there.”
Apathy was one quality that the

‘ vy instilled in him. He believes

- t in the service, he would have
gone crazy if he hadn‘t stopped
caring about what went on,

“I disllked the Navy, but it was
be rahle," Tom said. The constant
' oyances imposed on the men
would build up until “they started
getting to you.” He disliked having
to wear a perfectly spotless
uniform and shined shoes at all
times. He Said men were asked to
do things that were “totally
ridiculous."

Tom went into the Navy because
“in 1969 it was either the draft or
enlist, basically.” He went to San

Diego for boot camp, then to Lowry
Air Force Base for training as a
photointelligence man. Boot camp
was physically demanding, he
remembers, “I didn't enjoy it but i
didn’t have that hard a time get-
ting through,”

He worked as a photo-
intelligence man at the Fleet Ins
telligence Center Atlantic
tFiCLANT) in Norfolk. His job
was to interpret aerial
photography, which essentially
involved examining photos to
determine good places for future
military targets such as bridges,
communication centers and air-
fields, “It‘s fairly difficult , . . it’s a
complex job,” he said. The ivork
was classified, and he was
required to sign a paper promising
never to devulge any information,

At one time, an area he was
working on was considered “hot,”
with film coming in every couple of
days rather than once every two
weeks A week later, both Time
and Newsweek printed detailed
maps which closely resembled
those he had just looked at.
Something was going on in this
area that “wasn't supposed to be
going on," and, Tom concludes, the
story must have been leaked by
higher-ups. Photographic in-
terpretation, he said, is “in-
teresting work.,.i have no right to
complain at all about the job i got
in the Navy. It could have been
much, much worse.”

One problem with the military,
Tom said, is that “if it’s not a
combat situation, it's basically
total boredom...so you just sit
around and twiddle your thumbs
and waste the taxpayers’ money "
He had a lot of time on his hands,
and the last six months of his
enlistment, he spent his time
reading books when he was sup-
posed to be working.

 

One activity he indulged in much
of the time was drinking. This was

 

believe that smallcampus gossip
may reduce their effectiveness in
student communication, Others
consider their lack of privacy as an
occasional problem. but realize
that accessibility to students is
their major duty. Wittpenn added
that the additional office or
coaching duties expected of R.A.s,
especially when augmented by all
the “extra” avenues of interest
open to Grinnellians, may lead
R.A.s to over extend themselves.

RAYS discover and deal with
student problems both through
direct student Contact and iris
formal and loosely organized
consultation of Student Advisers
with their particular RA, In ad-
dition, faculty members hand over
a very confidential Academic
Progress Report approximately
once monthly. The report lists
students with present or potential
academic problems, Professors
designating the students’ present
academic status in the course, the
symptoms of their problems, and
comment thereon. Suspected
personal problems, irregular class
attendence, insufficient
background for the course, and
poor work on tests or papers may
warrant a student’s addition to the
roster.

The smallest unit of the coun~
seling network and the one closest
and most accessible to the students
is the Student Adviser program.
Described by Tederman as
basically a means for early
recognition and referral of
problems, the SA, program and
training is supervised by ftuyf-
felaere through the R.A,’s

This ymr‘s S.A.s are generally

one of the most common pastimes,
and he encountered more than a
few alcoholics during his enlists
ment, He recalled one “pathetic
character” named Thibedeau
(pronounced Tibidoo) who drank a
six pack every day for lunch, and
then drank all night after work.

“Most of my Navy stories are
drinking stories,” Tom stated, and
he has a lot of them, “We were all
strange,..the routine kind of
screws you up after a while," He
added that “you learn a lot of
degeneracy in the service. .if
anything it screws you up more
than it straightens you up." He
never.drank before he went into the
service,

Tom feels that his Navy cxs
pcrience has changed him,
although “it's hard to tell how
much." He is still a relatively
heavy drinker, but some of his
apathy has recently dissolved He
has regained the interest in jours
lialism which he had in high school
but neglected in the Navy He
hopes to find a job on a small town
Iowa newspaper after graduation
next month.

 

enthusiastic about the advising
facilities at Grinnell, though some

‘of them have suggations for

improvements in the SA. system.
Ron Cohen commented, “I think
the S.A. system is pretty essential
to the college," He said that the
SA. job depends on the individual
SA. and on the people on their
floor. Cohen said he thinks it is
important for the S.A. to be around
the floor and appear a member of
the floor, to be there as an accepted
person for anyone to go to with
problems or questions. .

.Jane Horwitt agreed that the
SA, program is a good one.
However she added, “1 think it
could bea lot better.” She said that
more responsibility and ac-
countability should be involved in
the system, She commented that
there is presently no way to
remove S.A.s that are doing an
unsatisfactory job, “unless they
volunteer to step down." Horwitt
also thinks that S.A.s should
receive some compensation for the
work and time they put in.

Attempting to provide some
structure for the SA program,
Kate Waldo and the S.A.s in Read
and Loose Halls designed a course
that S.A.s could take as part of
their academic schedule, Horwitt
explained that it was designed as a
special topics course in the
psychology department and would
be composed mainly of different
workshops. She mentioned that
Peter Druian, professor of
psychology, was helpful in
developing the course, Jane said
they tried to prevent the course
from being either a “jag” or too
much work.

However, the course has not
been approved for next year
because the proposal was sub—
mitted to Dean of Curriculum
Mary Eysenbach past the
deadline, A meeting today will
discuss the possibilities of im-
plementing the course dirough
special procedures or else
initiating the course without Credit
next year with the hope of placing
an improved course of similar
nature on the regular curriculum
in succeeding years.

S,A.s generally mentioned mat
they were important in helping
freshman become adjusted to the
school, particularly during New
Student Days and the first few
weeks of school. Acting as a
resource person was also often
mentioned as an important func-
tion of S.A.s. Roy Eichengreen
commented, “S.A.s go through
eightshour workshops and feel like
they're prepared to handle more
than they are really prepared for.
They don‘t refer people enough."

Opinions about their training are
mixed. Some S.A.s think their
training is excellent and that the
R.A.s have a lot to offer. Others
think that more emphasis should
be placed on practical skills such
as first aid. “Why teach us bits and
pieces," Cindy Warm asked.
“They should teach us more
practical things that we can use
and learn Within the time con-

there is a growing trend among the
SA ranks towards people who
want to learn listening and come
munication skills to use in couns
seling as well as their everyday
1interactions Howard said there
1 are some problems between these
people and the S.A.s that just want
to operate as people on their floor
iand not get too involved in coun-
lseiing and training skills. Kim
Connelly mentioned that too much
emphasis on counseling can cause
S.A.s to forget that they can in-
teract with people as people.

SA. training was noted by
Tederman and Ruyffelaere as an
area that needs improvement. This
year marked the first use of any
sort of systemized training, which
began before school started and
has continued throughout the year.
Several S.A.s praised the “in
service” training that each RA.
has conducted with the S.A.s in
their dorms. Cohen had high praise
for the workshops conducted by
'Tom and Carol Arner, (R.A.s in
Main),

S.A.s stated that their rapport
with their R.A.s was very im»
portant. Though some S.A.s are
very satisfied with their R.A.s,
others believe that their R.A.s
should make a greater effort to
communicate with the S.A.s in
their dorms. They mentioned that
without good rapport with their
R.A.s it is very difficult for S.A.s to
operate.

Informally structured and easily
accessible to those who care to use
its services, many professional
members at the Grinnell coun~
' seling force find that the system's
Very strengths lie in its dynamic
changes and growth as well as in
the great diversity of individuals
who make it up.

Many veteran members of the
counseling staff consider it one of
the strongest systems around.
Director of Academic Advising
Ray Obermiller thinks Grinnell‘s
counseling system is one of the best
arrangements he has seen.
Director of Career Services John
Adams called it “one of the most
extensive, bestsworking systems in
the country.”

Generally, administrators
strongly praise it, R.A.s them-
selves commend it, and S.A.s
recognize the need for the program
although hoping for more ongoing .
changes. Students, on the other
hand, appear divided, some
registering personality conflicts
with specific R.A.s, others simply
stating “l'd go to a friend" rather
than to an only slightly-acquainted
BA, or S.A,

But whether the purpose of the
R.A. and S.A, system is simply to
provide role models and career
simulations for the majority of
staffand students or is a functional
unit of this college is a personal
decision made by each student
each time he-she opts for or
against the use of that system. As
for the students who in increasing
numbers are making use of the
R.A.s and S.A.s, the system ape

 

straints of the workshops.”'

 

pears to be of service, at least to
them.

Howard Kayne mentioned that ,

Winding got (1%» (€er

THE
HEA

D

QUARTERS

4th & Main
B low Ross 8. Hesse

 

