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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1991)
Hard work and benefits await new S. A. si By Dionne Searcey Staff Reporter Interested in joining the ranks of those students who have the ability to make UNL's residence halls feel like home, sweet home? Candidate screening has begun for student assistants m the Uni versity of Nebraska-Lincoln's resi dence halls. Lyn Jakobsen, assistant direc tor of housing for residential edu cation, said any student, sopho more or older, with a 2.5 grade point average can apply for the student assistant program. Jakobsen said the process of becoming an S. A. is detailed, and students proceed through a series of interviews including standard ized questions about subjects such as disciplinary actions. Open positions in each dorm are determined, she said, and the resident directors select the ap proved applicants in whom they are interested. Each candidate's personality should match the personality of the residence hall tnat the poten tial S.A. will be serving, Jakobsen said. "You need a different person in Selleck than in Abel," jakobsen explained. Students not chosen for posi tions are placed on "alternate status" in tne event selected stu dents decide to turn down the offer over the summer, she said. S.A. sare expected to move into the residence halls in mid-August. Jakobsen said she prefers a student to stay in a position for at least two years because this al lows continuity on their floor, but students can remain an S.A. until they graduate. Once the S.A. s are settled in, they are encouraged to follow and _ emphasize the four sections of the UNL Residential Education Mis sion Statement, she said. The document states that resi dential officials should encourage students to develop a sense of be longing, acquire knowledge, choose attituaes and assume responsibil ity. Jakobsen said the students should strive to follow the mis sion statement in all aspects of their career as a student assistant. The S.A. should help the resi dents set up a floor government and to mate community agree ments on quiet hours, tne noise level in the hall and cleaning du ties. besides monitoring students' emotional well-being, S.A. s also handle a variety of physical du ties — checking for vandalism, unlock ing room ooors and handling other emergencie^^he^trise^hesaid. S.A. s also handle alcohol and visitation violations and encour age activities in intramural sports. And while the S.A. s keep tabs on students from their floor, there's always someone checking up on the student assistants. Each S.A. must meet one-on one with a residence hall director every other week. They also must attend a staff meeting weekly. In the meetings, the S.A. s "discuss the state of the floor," she said. The residence hall director will ask the S.A. s how well they know students on their floor. Student assistants are respon sible for the individual needs of each resident of their hall. "They have people coming to them for advice (on topics) from how to read a syllabus to extreme depression," Jakobsen said. "They're exposed to every aspect oh^judenrsHfe/^^^^^^^^ S.A. s must get Deyona tne superficial level with each resi dent, she said, and develop a sense of trust. Student assistants also must attend a three-credit course deal ing with the developmental the ory of student growth processes. The class d;scusses special prob lem areas ranging from incest vic tims, substance abuse and homo phobia to confrontation and lis tening skills. Each student assistant also is responsible for conducting at least three programs a semester on their floor. Jakobsen said S.A. s can hold discussion topics on subjects like stress management or call in ex perts to speak on more compli cated subjects such as AIDS Overall, life as an S.A. isn't easy, See PROGRAM on 12 0 0 5 tuJHere. in... th«e... arc _^<3U K' EYE BROWS?|?l By jp^z wanskl. rX>! HKAo^totxuAL. HWSKjrSvNMMcNrJLM _✓ =r Toe n<*\\ o-T cx cyj\| u>V\oi W = Sis+er in - 1»ol) once f~==rMk J EET attended CX Rolling 'EEE^ J = Stones Concer-f. ^^fiSPfitek ^