Residential Programmers will get a new name - Community Assistants - and expanded responsibilities next semester, but some current RPs are unsure whether the changes will make the program more effective.
The new title is more suitable for their job, which encompasses more than just programming, said Assistant Dean of Residential Life and Student Programs B. Afeni Cobham, who oversees the program.
"The term Community Assistant seems more in correlation with what they actually do," she said.
The stipend for RPs will increase from $1,250 per year this year to up to $2,000 in the fall, Cobham said.
New and returning CAs received their acceptances over the weekend.
The current job description covers everything from planning social events to dealing with peer-to-peer crises. Though those roles will remain largely unchanged, CAs will take on several new responsibilities, such as accompanying inspectors on health and safety inspections in the dorms, and will act under a more structured set of guidelines.
RPs are responsible for creating a greater sense of community within upperclass residence halls. They work with Community Directors, faculty fellows and other RPs to program initiatives, such as movie nights, in order to maintain a positive communal environment in their respective residential neighborhoods, Cobham said.
"I was receiving feedback from sophomores who said they felt they had been dropped after the freshman year unit experience," said Cobham, whose mission has since been to provide supplemental residential support for upperclassmen. "It is often assumed that upperclassmen want independence and don't need peer support in the dorms, but that's just not true," Cobham added.
Though Cobham was enthusiastic about the program's mission, several current RPs are more skeptical of their impact on residential communities and express doubt that the upcoming name change will do anything to significantly enhance the program's effects.
Michael Santos '07 is an RP for Graduate Center Tower B. This year, he has planned several activities, including movie night socials and a program on studying abroad. "The toughest thing is to get people to attend the events," he said. Santos also said the budget for social programming - $200 a year - is too slim to really have an impact. "Free food usually gets people to come," he said, "but we can't provide that with the current budget."
Also, some dorms simply are not conducive to social activities. Santos has had to hold his movie nights in Wilson Hall, "which discouraged students from attending," he said. "No one wanted to walk there."
The upcoming changes don't appear to address some issues raised by current RPs. However, Santos reapplied and was accepted over the weekend. He said he hopes that the new, more structured program will allow him to play a greater role in his dorm community.
