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M ETHODIST C OLLEGE Pride Fayetteville, NC Vol. XXXIV, No. 7 Wednesday, January 15,1997 RAs struggle with increasingly difficult student, social problems The College Press Service Being a resident advisor on a college campus used to mean acting as a big brother or sister to younger students. Duties included refereeing disagreements over loud music, hand- holding homesick freshmen, and rep rimanding such drunken mischief as cherry bombs launched down a com mode. Today, v/ith increa.sing social problems and violence on campuses, RAs are dealing with problems such as drug abuse, rape, and in rare cases, murder. Earlier this fall, Jay Severson was just doing his job as an RA at Purdue University when he was shot to death. He reported freshman Jarrod Eskew to university police for cocaine possession. Eiskew shot Severson and then committed suicide. This incident, while extreme, has shaken up many RAs and has them questioning whether the job is worth the free room and board. “Quite honestly...it scared the hell out of me,” said Kelly Messick, a resident director who su pervises RAs at the University of Or egon. “1 look at my staff and think, they are there 24 hours a day and we ask them to be part of their students’ lives. But there is so much uncertainty about what could happen from day to day.” Violence on campuses is in creasing. A national study by the Chronicle of Higher Education found a 26.3 percent increase in homicide in 1994, the largest increase for any crime on campus. Just this year, a stu dent was killed by a sniper at Penn sylvania State University; a student was murdered, allegedly by a spumed boyfriend, at the University of Colo- rado-Greeley; and students were found murdered at the University of Pennsylvania and James Madison University. Often, it is the RA who deals with the underlying emotional problems that may lead to these ho micides, or the trauma of their after- math on fellow students. “Housing operations all over the country are asking undergraduates to be on the ‘front lines’ of students’ lives and the issues that we are asking them to face are enormous,” says D.J. Morales, director of residential life at the University of Oregon. “I think in a lot of ways the RA position has become more coun selor and mediator because of the complex issues that are coming in,” explains Morales. “RAs are not just going to plan programs and go out for pizza. We are asking them to deal with more substantial issues as well.” This doesn’t mean RAs haven’t had to face tough problems in the past. While the days of moni toring midnight curfews in women’s dorm may be a thing of the past at most colleges, certainly drugs, alco hol and sex are not new issues, par ticularly when you think of the 1960s. “Back then, alcohol was more acceptable; we were riding the liberal ‘60s; now the legal drinking age is 21, while back then it was 18,” says Lorna Hirae, director of campus life at the United States International University in San Diego. But changing the legal drink ing age actually has given campus of ficials less control over alcohol and its abuse, they say. Administrators used to be able to monitor students’ drink ing in public settings. But now under age students drink behind closed doors—often in the dorm room, the RA’s domain. “1 think the issues of drug abuse and alcohol experimentation have been around for 30 plus years. That's nothing new,” says Messick. “What we are seeing is an increase in mental health issues. On this campus this year, 1 don’t know if it’s a coinci dence or a trend, but we are dealing with folks that may be on medication, or not taking their medication, in which case we may be dealing with behavior that affects the community. “This is a place that people feel like they can send their student to, and we’ll take care of them. It puts a burden on us because we are not a mental health treatment center. We are not trained to monitor medication.” Morales also emphasizes that RAs are not trained counselors. “They need to work on being good listeners and great at referring folks to the appropriate places.” The breakdown of the tradi tional family is one of the reasons Hirae feels there are mor students needing help. This also has contrib uted to a change in attitude toward authority. “When 1 was an RA(in the early ‘80s), I had an easier time m terms of discipline. Students today are See RESIDENT ADVISOR, pg. 2 More college students study abroad The College Press Service NEW YORK-In high school, Amy Kleine opted to study overseas at a traditional school in France. But when she chose to study abroad again as a Kalamazoo College junior, she ventured further afield to Ecuador. “There was a certain intrigue for me,” said Kleine, 22, a 1996 Kalamazoo graduate. “We have been taught very little about those parts of the world.” Kleine, an intern at Kalamazoo’s Center for International Programs, said she encourages stu dents to think beyond the tradition ally popular overseas programs in Scotland or Ireland. “1 say, ‘Have you thought about Zimbabwe?’’’she said. “There are other possibilities.” A rising number of students are studying abroad, and more—like Kleine—are choosing nontraditional destinations such as Ecuador, Belize, Australia, and Zimbabwe, a new study found. About 84,400 U.S. students studied overseas in 1994-95, an 11 percent increase over the previous year. This continues a 10-year upward trend in the number of students study ing abroad, according to the “Open Doors” report released by the Insti tute of International Education. Although a majority, or 19,410 students, studied at universi ties in Britain, the report shows a growing number are choosing more diverse destinations. The number of students going to Africa increased by 25 percent to 1,842, while those studying in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands increased by 39 percent to 3,643. TTie growing array of desti nation choices reflect the fact that Americans are being exposed toother cultures on their own campuses, said Richard M. Krasno, the institute’s president. “We believe that increased ‘internationalization’ is beginning to influence the choices students are making in their studies, as they seek to become more competitive both in the world of ideas and in the global marketplace,” he said. Where students study overseas The 13 countries withi the most American studentsin 1993-94 and 1994-95 and the percent change are: Countrv % chanae Britain +15.5 France -0.6 Spain +7.7 Italy +10.2 Mexico -0.1 Germany -0.2 Australia +41.8 Israel +27.9 Costa Rica +30.4 Japan -0.8 Austria -27.0 Russia -14.7 China +30.4 INSIDE Honors for fall semester noted page 2 Men and women’s basketball teams start seasons with optimism page 3 Bugeja, Smith receive All-American honors page 3 Austin named NC Coach of the Year. /. page 3 Eaton resigns as men’s soccer coach page 3 Ebonics is a ridiculous solution to a real problem...page 4 V The Methodist College faculty and staff line up to cheer the December 1996 graduating class during the traditional recessional in front of Reeves Auditorium. During the Dec. 13 ceremony, 113 students received their bachelor^s degrees and 13 students received associate's degrees. (Photo by Jamee Lynch) Job market looks promising for 1997 graduating seniors Liz Kopp, assistant director of international programs at the State University of New York-Cortland, said the reason why students study abroad has changed dramatically over the years. “Now they want to expand their horizons so they’re more mar ketable,” she said. “Before it was al most like ‘The Grand Tour,’ like a fin ishing school type of experience.” Kleine spent six months in Ecuador during her junior year, then returned for three months to complete her senior thesis. “I was certain it would help me fulfill my personal, professional,a nd academic goals,” she said. She recently was accepted into the Peace Corps for a 27-month assignment in Morocco. “My [study abroad] experi ence is directly involved with my com petitiveness for that program,” she said. “It’s almost a prerequisite now if you expect to get any type of posi tion with an international corpora tion.” For information on Methodist College’s study abroad program, call Dr. Neal McCrillis at 630-7079. The College Press Service BOSTON-Dan Witalec, a senior economics major at Massachu setts Institute of Technology, inter viewed with 25 companies this fall in search of a job in finance or consult ing. “It takes up a lot of time and I’ve really worried about it,” he said of his job hunt. “I’ve been dissedby a lot of companies 1 really liked. It’s really stressful.” But already, Witalec has re ceived one offer, and that was as of December. “I’m thinking about it, but a lot of companies that I’m intere.sted in don’t even come [for campus re cruiting] until January,” he explains. Job hunting may still be nerve-wracking, but much has changed since the early 1990's reces sion, when graduating seniors banged their heads against the wall in search of a single job prospect. In fact, the class of 1997 can look forward to the friendliest job market in years and higher starting salaries, a new survey predicts. Overall, employers said they expect more than a six percent in crease in job opportunities, said Michi gan State University in its annual re port “Recruiting Trends.” “When characterizing the overall job market for college gradu ates this year, employers describe it as stronger than a year ago,” said Patrick Scheetz, director of MSU’s Collegiate Employment Research In stitute and author of the report. Starting salaries, on average, are likely to be as much as four per cent higher than last year, according to 508 employers surveyed. Engineering continues to top the list of estimated starting salaries. Chemical engineers can expect the most, or $42,758, for their first year on the job, closely followed by me chanical, electrical, and industrial en gineers. Charles Sestok, a senior physics major at MIT, is asking for a salary as high as $45,000 as he inter views for a job in electrical engineer ing, management consulting, or fi nance. “1 looked at those fields be cause there’s a market for people with quantitative and analytical skills— people who can program computers and solve math problems,” he said. According to the report, the most sought-after grads are computer science majors, computer program mers, systems analysts, computer en gineers, marketing and sales majors, actuaries, transportation and logistics management majors, and electrical engineers. Also, employers are search ing for grads with excellent commu nication skills and Internet experience, the report noted. As part of his job search thus far, Sestok has interviewed with cam pus recruiters, met with MIT alums and checked out his parents’ business connections. “1 think it’s going pretty good,” Sestok said. “I’ve had a lot of interviews. A couple of companies have offered to fly me out to their headquarters.” On the other hand, the report notes that journalists can expect the lowest starting salary—$22,102. “Oh, wow, I think that’s kind of high,” said Melissa Sepos, a senior journalism major at the University of Missouri. Sepos, who is hunting for a job as a newspaper reporter, said she isn’t surprised journalism bottoms out the list. “1 knew all along that it was that low,” she said. “1 think it’s more of a civic duty for me. This is what I’m good at. Regardless of the pay. I’m happy doing it.” But even Sepos turned down a recent offer for an $18,000-a-year position. “The pay doesn’t usually bother me,” she said. “But 1 need at least $19,700. That’s $13,000 after taxes. After paying all my bills, it leaves me with $280.” Other fields low on the list of starting salaries include telecommu nications, home economics, natural resources, and liberal arts. The report also noted that college grads with find the most job opportunities in the southeastern and north central states. Overall, “job prospects are very good in all regions of the coun try-better in some than others, but good throughout the country,” Scheetz said. Economic growth, retire ments and other employee departures have created considerable job oppor tunities for new grads, he said. Witalec, of MIT, hopes to wrap up his job search in early Febru ary “so 1 can enjoy my last term,” he said. He advises other job seek ers to “narrow your focus. 1 think it’s good to figure out what you want to do.” Sestok said he often tries to beat out the competition by telling recruiters that he was state champion in impromptu speaking while in high school. “Anything unique that you’ve done will really make you stand out,” he said. “I think you need to come up with a strategy that pin points the skills you can best sell to the company.” Estimated Starting Salaries for New College Academic Major Percent Change Graduates in 1996-97 Estimated Starting Salary Chemical Engineering 4.3% $42,758 Mechanical Engineering 4.5% $39,852 Electrical Engineering 4.0% $39,811 Computer Science 4.5% $36,964 Materials and Logistics Management 4.0% $34,520 Nursing 4.0% $32,927 Civil Engineering 4.0% $32,170 Mathematics 4.0% $32,055 Physics 4.0% $31,972 Geology 4.0% $31,606 Chemistry 4.0% $31,261 Accounting 4.0% $30,393 Financial Administration 4.0% $30,054 Marketing/Sales 4.0% $28,658 General Business Administration 4.0% $28,506 Human Resources Management 4.0% $26,024 Retailing 4.0% $25,856 Education 4.0% $25,742 Communications 4.0% $25^24 Hotel/Restaurant Management 4.0% $25,176 Advertising 4.0% $24,757 Social Science 4.0% $2432 Natural Resources 3.5% $22350 Journalism 4.0% $22,102 Source: Michigan State University CoHegiate Errployment Research Institute
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Jan. 15, 1997, edition 1
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