University of Virginia Library

Counselors Encounter
Drug, Coed Problems

By STEVEN JOHNSON

Counselors are attempting
to cope with old and new
problems of students in the
dorms.

Seminars concerning sex
education, coeducation, drug
abuse, and cross-cultural
relations are being held by the
counseling program to improve
the effectiveness of each
individual counselor.

Committees involved in almost
every area of student concern will
be formed to strengthen the
counseling program. Discussion
groups and workshops have been
planned to assist the counselor in
fulfilling his roll.

In one of the more interesting
orientation meetings, Chester Titus,
associate dean of students; Carl
Deavers, a member of the State
Police Department, Narcotics
Division; and C. Donald Hammond,
associate professor of psychiatry,
discussed the problems of drug
abuse within the University
community.

Mr. Deavers, previously working
undercover for the Narcotics
Division, answered questions from
the resident staff and explained his
role in Charlottesville.

He noted that undercover work
in the city was being 'tightened up'
and slowly expanded to cope with
the rapid growth of drug traffic.

Speaking openly, Mr. Deavers
explained his job in detail,
clarifying many misconceptions
about policy and procedure
associated with drug busts.

Drug Effects

Dr. Hammond explained briefly
the pharmacology of certain
well-known drugs and answered
questions concerning the effects
and dangers of drug use in the
dormitory areas. He added that he
was very concerned about student
problems of all kinds and always
willing to help in any situation.

Terry Dan and Gus Howell,
co-chairmen of the first-year
counseling program, with the aid of
Mr. Titus and Annette Gibbs,
associate dean of student affairs,
directed the activities and added
their personal ideas about what a
counseling program should
accomplish.

Changing System

'I think the program should be a
viable one capable of change and
of making changes,' stated Mr. Dan.
The consensus of opinion among
counselors was that the system needed
constructive change and
that hopefully this year's group
would be instrumental in making
these changes.

The program has already
undergone one major change: Mr.
Howell will head the program in the
McCormick Road dormitories while
Mr. Dan will head the Alderman
Road program.

'We feel,' said Mr. Howell, 'that
the burden of responsibility can
more effectively be handled if these
already separated areas are also
divided into separate counseling
areas. This is due to the fact that
each dormitory area will experience
its own unique problems during the
course of the year.'

One distinct difference between
the two dormitory areas is the
implementation of coeducation.
Although entering its second year
of existence here, coeducation is
still a relatively new experience for
the University community.

Better Facilities

The Alderman Road dormitories
with their combined facilities and
social activities are a far cry from
the all-male dormitories in the
McCormick Road area. This year,
through better communication and
a little more understanding, the
counselors hope to make
coeducation more of a common
experience in both areas.

The resident advisor program
has been augmented to move the
resident advisors from a purely
advisory capacity into more of a
social role. This program, in
conjunction with the counseling
program, will attempt to provide
more social activities for both areas.