Newspapers / North Carolina School of … / Oct. 10, 1995, edition 1 / Page 5
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PAGES OTV >1 A Tough Job, But a Necessary One 5)iVl Debbie Won neighbor’s roommate left after several days, so the girl packed up and literally moved into our room. She intimidated my roommate by threatening to beat her up, and she ate all our food within three days. On the last day of camp, I walked in our room to find my clothes thrown from the drawers, and several of my shirts had been deliberately cut and tom.” All roommate problems - especially those which endanger the safety or property of the other room mate - need attention on both sides. The perpetrator of the problem must be confronted with his or her actions, and the other roommate must take the ini tiative in addressing the problem, no matter how un comfortable that may be. If you have a hellish roommate, chances are he or will not even think about changing their behav-: unless the issue is brought to the surface. Many y mes, however, a face-to-face discussion about 'he problem is the first step in reaching a com- ^ promise about your roonunate’s actions. If J that doesn’t work, talk to an SLI or other official. DA’s also serve as mediators of roommate disputes as well as over seers of the residence halls. “Just go talk to your DA,” an NCSSM DA said. “They can usually help roommates work out their problems, but if they can’t, that’s what SLI’s are for.” Of course, not every mediation is guaranteed to be successful. Some roommates will never be able to get along well, no matter what. If the problem is serious enough, and it’s impossible for both of you to be in the room without inciting a verbal l^attle or other clash, it may be possible to have your roommate moved out of the room or for you to move. However, simply talking to your roommate about the problem goes a long way in relieving tensions on both sides and opening the lines of communication. Staff Writer NCSSM dormitories are more than just rooms, each with a bed and a desk. Living at NCSSM means dealing with any number of problems that can arise when up to thirty teenagers are living together on one hall. That puts a lot of pressure on the school to make living here enjoyable, which is why an SLI alone can’t handle the responsibilities that come with overseeing a hall and why each SLI needs a couple of helping hands throughout the year whom we call DAs, or dorm assistants. These DAs take on a huge responsibility when they agree to assist a hall full of students while they are away from home, and the DAs’ duties begin even before the school year commences. Sacrificing a week and a half of their summer vacations, dorm as sistants spent a week at school so that SLIs could equip them with and teach them to utilize the tools they need to carry out their roles and duties as DAs. During this DA orientation week, DAs attended .sepynars and workshops such as conflict/resolution mediation training, an active listening workshop, and a leadership workshop. They also were given the task of coming up with a theme for the hall and rep resenting it with a poster just outside the hall. For example, third Beall’s poster of a monkey, elephant, and lion, and construction paper palm-trees outside each door went well with their jungle theme. Before other students arrived, the DAs cleaned the entire hall and filled out the room condition check sheets. According to James Knutson some “notable ’ things about DA week were: the difficulties some halls had in cleaning, the SLI/DA role playing (neu rotic Jeff; Marc throwing chairs; Manuel throwing his roommate out the window...), the kiddie pool” Third Beall DA Aimee Chung says, “DA week required much more work than I had first imagined. do everything all over again, I definitely would.” That’s what being a DA seems to be all about: wanting to help students adjust to and enjoy their lives at NCSSM and to contribute to the commu nity even if it means going out of his/her way and doing a lot of work. First Hill DA James Knutson even “pledges to [him] self and to this year that [he] will perform the duties for maintaining an orderly and enjoyable hall so that the legacy that [they] create this year will live on.” During the school year, halls handle things dif ferently, but all DAs must take care of in-dorm and on-hall curfew checks, help organize hall activi ties, maintain a reasonable noise level on hall, and attend meetings with their SLI to discuss any prob lems. Their most valuable duty to the hall, however, is offering answers and advice to hall members who have questions or personal concerns. “You have to make sure you’re always in touch with your SLI, your CO-DA, and most importantly, the people on your hall....A lot of the info that I get about the hall...is stuff that I’ve picked up on while chatting with people on hall....You have to be really open, or else you’ll miss what’s whizzing by, like if some one has a problem with their roommate, or if some one is depressed, or just basically keeping your eyes open and your ears in touch.” as first Beall DA Carolyn Chu says, > jm : Rashonda Steadman confirms that “[being a DA] is a lot of hard work.” Next time you see yojur DAs, be sure to thank them for all that they do for you and your hall. Here’s what some of your dorm assistants think about being a DA: “...nothing like I thought it would be; on a daily basis, it’s pretty simple: do check and keep up with housekeeping...but then it involves a lot more time than you would expect." All Smiles: The Dorm Assistants for 1995-96
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