Counselors stay low-key while advising frosh

Although the freshman counselor system has been in existence for 60 years, today's counselors are playing an increasingly active role in the lives of freshmen. "I think that one of the reasons why freshman counselors seem more involved now is because there is a heightened concern about making the freshman year a success," Berkeley Dean Laurence Winnie said.

Accordingly, freshman counselors focus on support--planning study breaks, hosting birthday parties, and offering advice--rather than reporting student infractions or breaking up parties.

In fact, the policing role of freshman counselors is relatively low-key. They are only expected to ensure the health and safety of freshmen and make sure that they don't engage in any illegal acts. Such instances are often resolved internally by the counselors and their freshmen discussing the problems to come up with possible solutions.

"My freshman counselor is like a very good friend who provides a mature perspective," Abby Phillips, SM '01, commented. "She gives me advice, helps me with my classes, and listens to all of my problems."

"My counselor is good with questions that you may think are stupid and are unwilling to ask the Dean," Alexandra Cox, BK '01, added.

The counselors are expected to maintain a strong physical presence in the dorms. All counselors are required to take turns at remaining in the dorms on weekends for the first four weeks of school. After this point, individual Deans adopt differing policies to ensure a strong counselor presence.

"I ask that at least one counselor officially be on duty in Lawrance on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights to deal with any problems--most of them having to do with parties and drinking--that may occur," Ezra Stiles Dean Susan Rieger explained. "I also require that at least three of my seven counselors stay in town every weekend." Other colleges, such as Silliman and Berkeley, have no specific attendance requirements for freshman counselors.

Many counselors are making a conscious choice to be more aggressive than their predecessors. "I was never really sure what my freshman counselor was around to do," current counselor Eleanor Bradley, BK '98, said. She tries to keep in daily contact with her freshmen and make it clear that she is always available to listen to their problems.

Others are more passive. "Some people think that the counselors are these cheesy, peppy people who are always smiling and excited about Yale. I'm none of these things. I feel like my job is to quietly watch out for those people who for some reason need a little extra advice about feeling their way around a new place," freshman counselor Kavita Patel, TC '98, said.

Freshman opinion also differs over the extent of the counselor's role. "Having a freshman counselor takes some of the burden off the roommates' shoulders if there is any problem in the room," Anna Ziegler, BK '01, said. "Your freshman counselor is an older person who is available to listen to you. That's her job. She is forced to listen to your problems."

Yet other students feel that they are independent enough not to need a counselor. "I know what I enjoy doing and a few other older people give me advice if needed," Demetria Silvera, MC '01, commented. "I think that for people who actively seek out the advice of experienced people who aren't required to fulfill that role, a freshman counselor isn't that important."

Still, the colleges think that the counselors should be approachable at any time. "I want [counselors] to have friends over so that the frosh can see their counselors as whole people, with social lives, and not simply as caregivers," Rieger said.

The number and gender of students assigned to each counselor varies from college to college. On Old Campus, freshman counselors tend to have co-ed groups of 18 to 20 students. With twice as many counselors, the groups in Timothy Dwight and Silliman are much smaller; counselors in these colleges live on the same floor and share a bathroom with their single-sex groups of eight to twelve freshman.

Silliman Dean Hugh Flick believes that these smaller groups are advantageous for both the counselors and the freshmen. "By coming into contact with their freshmen while they are brushing their teeth or entering and exiting the shower, the counselors are more likely to know what's going on in the freshmen's lives," he stated.

With approximately 300 juniors applying for 90 counselor positions each fall, the selection process, which involves personal statements and interviews by Deans and Masters, is very competitive. "I look for super-human, wonderful people who are good decision-makers. The standards are extremely high," Winnie said.

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