University of Virginia Library

Palmer, Ball To Chair '73-74
First-Year Resident Program

By ELIZABETH JOHNSON

Third-year students Janet
Palmer and Stuart Ball have
been selected co–chairmen of
the first-year counseling
program for the coming year, it
was announced yesterday.

The two were selected from
among six applicants after
being interviewed by the
Executive Committee of
Counselors and the Committee
on Resident Staff.

First Woman Chairman

Miss Palmer, the first
woman to become a chairman
of the program, said she ran for
the position because she knew
it would be exciting and
challenging.

"It gives me an opportunity
to work with one of the most
interesting groups of
people–the members of the
resident staff," she said.

Mr. Ball said he wanted to
be chairman because "the
program has done a lot for me
and I hope to do something for
the program."

Presently a program
assistant, Miss Palmer said one
of her goals for the coming
year is to "utilize the resident
assistants more so than in the
past in planning programs."
She hesitated to suggest other
changes until the rest of the
staff was selected. "You can't
make changes in a vacuum,"
she asserted.

Mr. Ball, a senior resident in
Watson House said he hoped to
make changes in the selection
process. "At this time several
small groups interview a few
people and as a result there is a
lot of variance."

"I hope some kind of
correction factor can be put
into these interviews. Perhaps
we could have fewer groups
interviewing more people," he
explained.

Mr. Ball said he also hoped
to make some changes in the
educational process for both
the resident assistants and
first-year students.

Educational Changes

His ideas include providing
a credit seminar program for
resident staff members and
localizing first year seminars to
make them open only to a
specific dorm.

Mr. Ball added that he was
very impressed with the
program this year. He noted a
renewed fervor and said that
the program assistants and
senior residents had done a
good job.

Both Miss Palmer and Mr.
Ball said that the addition of
women in the McCormick
Road Houses had been
successful.

"Women in old dorms often
say they are better off. I
definitely hope to see more
co-education there next year,"
she said.

According to Ed Wilson,
one of the present
co–chairmen, the main
responsibility of the new
chairmen at this time is to
begin organizing workshops for
the new staff members this
spring and orientation next
fall.

Mr. Wilson said that he was
pleased with the selection. "I was
impressed by the quality of the
applicants as a whole. I would
have been happy regardless of
who was selected."

CD/Saxon Holt

New Co-Chairmen Stuart Ball And Janet Palmer

Assoc. Dean of Students,
Chester Titus, said that as far
as the program was concerned
this year has been a "super
year."

"We have built a great
amount of cooperation in the
program. I'd like to see next
year's program building on this
year's," he added.