by Julie Eklund
Staff Writer
The Housing and Residential Life staff is expanding for the 1997-98 school year to include five new Program Assistant (P.A.) positions.
Program Assistants will work with Resident Assistants and the Residence Hall Association. Their main task will be the organization of activities, social and educational, within the residence halls.
Currently, R.A.s are required to organize one program each month for their floor or wing. Next year, this will be omitted from their job description, and instead, P.A.s will put on one program every two weeks.
Julie Thurman, area coordinator for the Oaks, said, “If students are having some co-curricular education in the residence halls, it will benefit them with life skills. Part of a student’s education is outside the classroom.”
Program Assistants will receive the same benefits as R.A.s – free room and board and a $600 LEAD scholarship.
Three of the P.A.s will be housed in separate buildings in the Oaks. On floors where there is a P.A., there will be no R.A. The R.A. on the other floor will be in charge of the building.
In Stu-Han, a P.A. will stay in Wing One, and a nearby R.A. will carry dual responsibilities for the two wings. The fifth P.A. will live in Brandt, but will not replace an R.A.
Other nearby schools such as UCLA, UC Irvine, Pepperdine and Stanford have already instituted P.A. programs.
Junior Shelley Millone, a second year R.A., supports the new program assistant idea. She said of the R.A. position, “Sometimes it gets to be a little much. [If we don’t have to do programming], we can have more time and energy to put into the other R.A. responsibilities.”
According to Thurman, the new P.A. positions will give R.A.s more time to concentrate on building rapport within the halls, handling crises and dealing with maintenance problems.
Each P.A. position will have a slightly different description, as they will organize programs focusing on different issues. Topics are expected to include substance abuse, sexual assault, diversity and recreation.
Director of Housing Derek Vergara said his office is trying to create a living and learning environment to enhance the out-of-classroom experience.
“We need more quality programs, so student money isn’t being wasted. We’re really looking into servicing the students more, so they can have pride in living on campus,” said Vergara.
The P.A. position will also bring about changes within the Residence Hall Association (RHA).
Within the past few years, RHA has had programming and the organization of events as one of its central goals. With the P.A.s taking over that job, RHA’s focus may shift.
Sophomore Nancy Ikari, acting president of RHA, said, “I think P.A.s have to be a part of RHA, otherwise there will be problems with us stepping on each other’s toes and competition.”
Thurman anticipates that the P.A.s will meet at least once a month with RHA.
Vergara said, “We’re encouraging students to get involved in their community. We’re setting up the structure, and it’s up to the students to take the path.”
There will be an information session about the P.A. position tomorrow at noon in the West Dining Room.
Application materials are now available at the housing office; they are due Feb. 17. Interested students must have a minimum 2.5 GPA.
