Pointlife
A student stops by the front desk of a University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point residential hall to inquire with community advisor Marlee Keyzers about student living options next semester.
Community advisors provide gospel, not the law
The Pointer
jmath438@uwsp.edu
For those students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point who have lived on-campus, which is most of them, the community advisors in the residence halls can be the bane of some students’ existence. Their ultimate goal is not to ruin your Friday night resident hall room party, but rather to provide the means by which everyone can have a beneficial residence hall experience.
“Basically, it’s not the position everyone thinks it is. It’s not the enforcement position. It’s more of an observation,” said May Roach Hall community advisor Chris Hiher. “As a peer, its about getting the behavior to change and make the community livable to everybody else.”
While enforcement of the rules and policies is one of the duties of the CA, their bigger goal is to be a peer to the students. Being around for the other members of the residence halls and making a positive impact on students is the major role of the CAs.
“It’s a fine line you walk. You have to be a very good role model for them,” said Hiher. “You have to practice what you preach. We can all get along. We can all have fun, but we have to be comfortable living with each other.”
The CAs’ relationship with the students helps them to become more successful in their academic careers. Having the CA around to be aware of what is going on with a student, especially in the first weeks of school, is a necessary adjuster.
“I don’t think students would feel as at home,” said Hiher. “You don’t get the amount of programs. You don’t get that sense of, ‘This is a floor, we’re a unit.’”
As a CA, Hiher believes that he is a necessary part of residential living and that the experience has benefited him both professionally and academically.
“It’s going to help me to work with people and understand other viewpoints,” said Hiher.
