PW’DENCFZ MILITE

RA Prudence Milite: "I Want

To Help People Accept Selves”

”R.A.'s can be very useful
for what I’d call reality‘test'
ing," observed Prudence Mil-
ite, R.A. in Gates-Rawson.
“They know about jobs and
Other aspects of thepostegra-
duate world, yet aren't too
far removed from being stud-
ents themselves."

After receiving abachelor's,
Prudence earned a master’s
in religious education from
Union Theological Seminary.
While at the seminary, she
took courses inpsychologyand
counseling and gained practi-
cal experience by counseling
black high school students.
Then she spent a year in New
York City with the National
Council of Churches’ Depart-
ment of Experimental Chur»
ches. Her job involved work-
ing with ghetto youth such as
the Puerto Rimn Young Lords.

In New York Prudence was
affiliated with a Women’s Libs
oration group. “Seminary
school and the church are
sometimes had for women.
There aren’t many church jobs
for women, and the ones they
do get are usually dull.

”In the city women run into
a lot of problems. You needto
get together and talk about
them with women. A Women'
Lib group , not the kind that
says you have to hate men ~
reinforces you. I wouldn't be
without one in the city."

"But do you want to know my
reason for coming to Grinnell?
In the seminary I still wasn't
sure what I wanted to be, but
I decided to try a career in
counseling." Ayearasan R.A.
at Grinnell seemed a goodway
to pin experience, test her
afﬁnity for an academic com-
munity, and find out just how
she would function as a col-
lege counselor.

"I like my job. Idon’t want
to be an R.A. for the rest of
my life, but I want to be in

The Committee on Social
' Policy will meet on Wednese
da‘y, February 10 at noon in a
Forum PDR. Final action will
be taken on the revision of
the parking regulations and
the report of the housing com-
mittee will be discussed.

some college counseling sit-
uation."

At Grinnell Prudence leads
a T’group with Dr. Daniel,
clinical psychologist and Bill
Abdallah, R.A. in the Norrisr
es. She also works in the car-
eer services office, helping
students to find both summer
and postgraduate employ-
ment. ”First semester we did
mostly individual counseling.
Now we're going to try vocar
tional counseling.” (See acr
companying notice.)

In her role as R.A. Prud-
ence's interest centers on
general emotional concerns.
"I guess lwant to help people
accept themselves and open
up to others. The only tension
I experience in this job is
knowing when to be an RA.
and when to be simply a
friend." When student prob-
lems go beyond what an R.A.
can handle, Prudence sees
herself as a valuable llnkwith
more ofﬁcial counseling ser-
vices that students might be
afraid to ek'oiitmh N

"I really think th college
tries hard to meet student
needs. This R.A. system indi-
cates that. We aren’texpected
to be monitors."

016 improvement that Prudr
ence would like to see in the
system is a stronger ”staff
concept. We are planning
more group RA. projects -
like the vocational counseling.
But first semester we worked
almost entirelyas individuals.
Sometimes I felt isolated.”

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THE SCARLET AND BLACK

February 5, 1971

S.E. Buddhist Monk lends Service

“Some will come to see a
show. They are fools. Some
will come to learn. They are
wise."

Sunday night, nearly 100
children of the rational West
pthered in Herrick Chapel
for a Buddhist service con'
ducted by the Von. M. S.
Anatta, a San Franciscomonk.
Each part of the service was
followed by an explanation of
its meaning.

Whether from wisdom or
folly, the majority of the aud»
ience spent two hours trying
to appreciate something of
Buddhist thought. Anatta was
well aware Oflheir limimtions
in this respect. Some of his
comments follow:

"You’re thinking, and that’s
not the way. Just be. You can
be aware without thinking.”

"Everyone you look at has a
Buddha nature. Everythingyou
hear has only one meaning.
They call it Buddha nature,
they (all it all kinds of stupid
things. But they never really
get around to it. You should

just open your lotus heart and
you will put out loving—kinds
ness, compassion and wise
dom.”

“Tonight, we will bring out
the lotus in each ofyou. Be-
cause lt is already, we will
just bring it out.”

“The true lotus is not in
some book or in teachings on
a mountain. It’s actualized in
everyone. A monk carrying a
book of rules wherever he
goes is like the soupspoon
that cannot taste soup."

"Words have nothing to do
with God. Words are forms,
not meaning. The true belieVV
er has no word which expresr
see his beliefl Professor HOWr
ard Burkle suggested to me a
debate with some of his philr
osophy majors. I will give
him a debate in the silent
discourse The true meaning
of life is not in the words
'meaning’ or ‘life.’ It is in
you."

"The advantage ofalways bee
ing in reality is that we have
body and form as well as

Mental Center Ollers Short,

(continued from page 1)
Some of the things for which
students come to the Center
include various kinds of Corr
ﬂicts and confusions, trouble
with grades, and difficulties
with interpersonal relation~
ships. All information disc
cussed during a session is,
of course, confidential and
can only be released at the
request of the patient. The
average number of visits by
a particular student is 374,
but longer— term assistance is
available. Castore explained
the difference between long

, . , team. ﬁﬁisﬁanqe by

V, ,tha, _som:smdents,,§ind
it is en gh to "open the door
and see the new approaches,
while others want to continue
further and explore newareas
beyond the initial difficulty."

Each of the twopsychologists
conducts a group session made
up of students from the Cole

lege. These groups are de,
signed to encourage inter-
action between the members in
the sense that they are helped
and also help the others in the
group.

The resident advisors at
Grinnell College meet weekly
in a two- hour session with
Daniel to discussgeneral cas-
es without the use of names
or specifics ofa certain case.
For problems concerning a
particular student or dorm
situation, private conferences
are arranged between the RA.
and Daniel. This is the first
year the program has met on
a' regular basis, although it
was in existence last year.

This is the first yearthatthe
Center is not affiliated with
Jasper County, which means
that students no longer have to
go to Newton for certain ser»
vices. Currently no consult‘
ing psychiatrist is available,

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meaning andmust stay inreal-
ity. When the mind and body
are in the same place at the
some time at the same speed
,_ that's reality.”

"If you come to a place wh-
ere there was a fight the day
before, do you still see the
fight? That’s ridiculous; that's
absurd; that’s almost in-
sanity.”

“Have you ever seen a mire
ror? You say yes. I say no.
You only see reflections."

”Forget everything Itoldyou
to think about and you will be
enlightened. Then forget that
last statement and you will
truly be enlightened See?
An hour and a half to two
hours have gone by and still
only one meaning. No words.
Just one meaning.”

“Perhaps there will be a
meditation center here some-
day. I don’t know. It would be
beautiful. People so seldom
experience silence of mind."

Let us end here in respect
for this philosophy of silence.

long Term Help

but according to Daniel, this
will be remedied in the near
future. Although the center
serves the whole county, the
doctors estimate that 40% of
their time is spent in colleges
related services. In the past
three years they have seen
about 100 students per year
with the number rising to ISO
this year, with equal numbers
of college men and women
consulting.

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