Meredith Herald
Volume X Issue 23
March 30,1994
Raleigh, North Carolina
Director of counseling center resigns
by Christian Peoples and Tiacey Kawls
Gina Roberts, director of the Per
sonal Growth and Counseling Center
(PGCO resigned ftom her position at
Meredith College effective March 18,
1994, according to Dean Dorothy
Sizemore.
"The reasons for Gina Roberts’ resig
nation are ofa confidential nature, there-.
fore, it is inappropriate todiscuss them,"
Sizemore said in a prepared, typed sute-
ment.
Meredith has chosen to take the
responsibility for notifying students of
Roberts' leaving by posting a memo in
the PGCC.
Untilanothercounseloris hired, Beth
Meier of the PGCC will be handling all
of the cases.
Accordii^ to Sizemore, "We are in
terviewing potential counselors this
week, and should have another counse
lor on staff almost immediately."
’Dean Sizemore and 1 are woiking
together to find someone part-time,"
said Meier. "It is dii^cult to find some
one with experience willing to woik
part-time." Meier said students have been
understanding about the lack of coun
seling time available, but she .hopes
someone will be hired soon because
she would hate to discourage students.
Meier has taken on Roberts' case
load, and has had approximately eight
students per week added to her coun
seling schedule. Meier expressed that
^he hopes to see more students come in
because she has not heard fix>m many of
the students who saw Roberts on a
regular basis. The PGCC plans to send
out a letter inviting these students to
come back to the center for counseling
or to field
their emo
tions over
Roberts'
depar
ture.
"The
schedule
is so tight
it is diffi
cult [for
students]
to get in if
they
haven't
beenseen
Even with Gina being
gone, I feel capable to
handle any crisis on
campus, I want students
to know ril be there for
them if there is a crisis, /
want people to feel safe.
Beth Meier, PGCC counselor
before," said Meier.
To alleviate this problem Meier has
been authorized to cr^te a new group
counseling session for students to come
together and problem solve, These ses
sions will begin April 6.
"Even with Gina being gone, I feel
capable to handle any crisis on cam
pus," Meier said. "I want students to
know I'll be there for them if there is a
crisis. I want people to feel safe."
Meier said it has been difficult for
students who were seeing Roberts to
switch over
to another
counselor.
"The stu
dents who
come to the
PGCC like
and appreci
ate the Cen
ter, but it is
difficult be
cause they
are a silent
clientele and
don't feel
they can
complain about the change" said Meier.
It was like Roberts ^rasa "safety net"
because students knew she would be
there for them. It is difficult for them
because they didn't get to say good-bye
to someone who was so important in
their lives, said Meier.
"I think people are wondering if
we'll stay afioat," said Meier.
The time fector is having an adverse
affect on the PGCC Meier said she is.
concerned with the center’s image in
the future ecause she want s it to be seen
as "user fiiendly."
"It bothers me that we may get the
opposite imageafterthis semester," said
Meier. "Students may feel like they can’t
be heard or the center doesn't have
time for them."
Currently, about 160 students have
been seen at the PGCC for the 1993-94
school year.
"We usually see' a lot of students
during final exams. By the end of the
year we'll have seen a little over 200
people," said Meier.
Roberts could not coment on the
circumstances surrounding her resigna
tion.
Hollywood takes
on AIDS awareness
by Elizabeth Rihani
Whether we have dealt directly with
the disease or have heard about it on the
news and at the movies, AIDS is a part
of our lives, and I personally cannot
remember not knowing about it. It’s
easy to forget, however, how recent a
disease AIDS is and how many lives it
has daimed and affected in such a short
time.
It's also hard to ignore how many
educational programs and oiganizatiohs
are devoted to teaching the public about
AIDS, but one of the best ones I have
seen recently came on NBC last Monday
night. It’s an HBO Piaures movie called
And the Band Played On, and it traces
the history of AIDS as for back as medi
cal history can.
The movie opens in an Ebola River
village in Central Afi'ica in the late
1970s, Matthew Modine plays Dr, Don
Francis and is there to investigate an
unusual disease that is killing off entire
villages. Ayoung andapparently healthy
boy leads Francis to a clearing where
piles of bodies have been left, and with
tears in his eyes, he turns to the doaor
and implores, “How can you be a doc
tor and not know what happened?" A
see AIDS page seven
Just Hangin' Out
photo ty Frane«a Pats
Do these crazy smiles looklikethoseof normal people? Elizabeth Rihani, senior,
and Hollace Dowdy, junior, find way sto relieve stress by giving into spring fever.