Sophomores left hungry for RCA interaction

It can be easy to forget that RCAs also work with students who are not freshmen. Since the advent of the four-year residential college system, RCAs now serve members of every class year. Non-freshmen zees must be proactive to benefit from interactions with RCAs, some students say.

Katie Rodriguez ’11 enjoyed her freshman RCA experience. “We had a study break every Wednesday, the room was always open, and [the RCA] often ate at the dining hall,” she said.

Sophomore year, however, was entirely different. “I never met my RCA,” Rodriguez noted. “There was no contact.”

Rodriguez spent her sophomore year living in Whitman College the year it opened; she then took a year off. Rodriguez said that, while she had assumed that the introduction of four-year colleges would mean greater contact with her RCA, she felt that Whitman administrators were giving “mixed signals.”

“It was almost implied that they only had enough money for freshmen,” Rodriguez said.

One sophomore said that while her RCAs are kind to her when she crosses their paths, her interaction with them remains limited. “I can’t recall if I’ve been invited to [any] study breaks,” she said.

The student, who spoke anonymously out of respect for her current RCAs, said that increased RCA-sophomore contact would be beneficial. “I think that including sophomores in more events, especially just in sophomore-oriented events, could increase the [sense of] community,” she said.

Not all students said they believe that RCAs neglect their sophomore advisees. Whitman RCA Marty Topol ’10 said he includes sophomores in a variety of study breaks. “The way I do things, we invite sophomores to freshman events, do big group study breaks and also throw study breaks that are open only to sophomores,” he explained.

“I don’t feel like sophomores are excluded,” Wilson RCA Conor Pigott ’10 said. Pigott listed Bicker week as an example of a time when RCAs take special initiative to reach out to their sophomores.

Pigott acknowledged, though, that RCAs give the special attention to their freshman advisees. “I think we cater most to the people who need [us] the most,” he said.

Pigott also noted that the nature of the sophomore lifestyle might account for less interaction between RCAs and sophomores. “Sophomores aren’t as attached to where they live physically,” he explained.

“They’re not taking the time to come to our study breaks,” he added, noting that he always invites both grades to events.

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David Stirk, dean of Butler College, also sees first-year advisees as the priority for RCAs, noting, “The focal point has always been on freshmen in particular.”

Stirk explained, though, that there is “always a desire to integrate upperclassmen into the advisee group as much as possible.”

The introduction of four-year residential colleges like Mathey, Whitman and Butler created additional complications for advisee groups. Because upperclassmen now can live in residential colleges, it is possible for RCAs to be younger than their advisees.

Topol does not consider this arrangement to be a problem. “The RCAs may not be as proactive with upperclassmen,” he explained, “but if there are problems, I’d expect them to find me.”

Stirk also said he is not concerned about issues related to upperclassmen advisees. “This has not really been a big concern,” he explained. “My feeling is that the juniors who were selected [to be RCAs] were picked for their maturity and experience in counseling situations.”

He noted that four-year residential colleges try to connect with upperclassmen by offering events involving career choices and presentations of senior theses and junior papers.

Some college events, in fact, leave underclassmen out altogether: Whitman holds a social hour every other Thursday that allows juniors and seniors to socialize while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and — for students above the age of 21 — alcoholic beverages.

The RCA application process, which begins every November, requires students to submit essays and letters of recommendation. All applicants interview with a current RCA, the college director of student life, the college master and another college administrator during reading period.

The applicant pool is “very competitive,” Stirk said. Benefits for RCAs include free housing in a residential college as well as a 190-block meal plan for each term, usable in both their home college and their sister college.

Many students said they drew on their experiences as advisees and their interactions with RCAs when deciding whether to apply to the RCA program.

“I didn’t have a lot of contact with my RCA in freshman year, and that’s one of the things I thought about when I applied,” Topol said.

Cynthia Knoll ’11 also took her positive experience with her RCA to heart when she applied for the job.

“[My RCAs] made me feel welcome,” Knoll explained. “I wanted to be able to do that [for others].” She will use her experience to better inform her actions as a Wilson RCA next year, she said.