University of Virginia Library

Sacrificing To Bureaucracy

counselling ought to be given at
the University. It views the
counselling program as a
training program for the
School of Education.

Admittedly, such
line-drawing looks good on
paper. Flow charts and
six-tiered organizational
structures are impressive
documents. Unfortunately,
they are also a clear indication
of a preference for form rather
than substance.

Resident Halls should be
places where things happen—
where as much flexibility as
possible is integrated into every
day living. Life in these
residences should be a dynamic
educational experience.
Anything, save violence or the
violation of civil laws, ought to
be permitted—even
encouraged—in a residential
community.

In order for this emphasis
to be present, an effective
counselling program must be
responsive to the needs of
individual residents, not
bureaucratic fancy. Paper
pushing, filling out forms,
meeting-going, etc. may be
marginally necessary in the
business community; they are
abhorrent in this community.

The elimination of the
influence of the present
resident advisors and their
ability to provide mature
academic and personal
counselling is a great defect of
the new program. There will be
graduate students in the new
structure, admittedly, but their
duties will be directed to the
needs of the Student Affairs
Office and not the students.

At the meeting with the
Resident Advisors on
Wednesday, February 2, Mr.
Titus indicated that he did not
feel the sort of individuals -
law students—currently active
in the Resident Advisor
program would be inclined to
want to be a part of the new
program Mr. Titus disclosed
that the major benefit an
individual would drive from
serving as a Graduate Assistant
in the new program would be
the opportunity to gain
professional experience. In
time, if not immediately, these
five positions will be filled with
graduate education students
who need a place to live and
some professional experience.

For many presently in the
counselling program the value
in the experience is the
opportunity to have a
one-to-one relationship with
the students living with them
in the dorms. When the
bureaucracy constructs a
six-tiered structure to deal with
"buildings" and "assigned
areas" the results are going to
be different. The only
one-to-one relationship the
new Resident Assistant is going
to have will be with his
"trusty" copy of Terms and
Conditions. The six-tiered
structure will become
seven-tiered as residents
dutifully take their place at the
bottom of this morass.

Speaking facetiously, just
imagine the educational
benefits that a first-year
student might derive from an
organizational structure which
places him or her in the lowest
imaginable cabin below the
dock of academia. Imagine the
consternation these new
students will experience
wondering whether they are
more important to the Student
Affairs Office than the
buildings in which they will be
living.