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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1984)
Monday, August 27,1984/The Battalion/Page 7F IE ;rs! :hinai : ET 3 JMENT :r stielf spice loi rto glass dw. ented by Bns) e At The iQ Dial WAVE N ar. Can aeiH i black fllasste Mentors counsel students By Jeff Wright Reporter Combine a lot of buildings, stu dents, professors and research and the result is sometimes frustration and loneliness. “Many students come to A&M un prepared for the mass of people and buildings they have to deal with,” says Dr. James McNeal, one of the 330 mentors now at A&M. “Since A&M is so large and research is so important students sometimes feel that they are not important and that they arejust another I.D.number.” A group of A&M professors formed the Mentors five years aeo to help compensate for those feelings often experienced by students. They chose the name because it means wise and faithful counselor and friend. “We realize that A&M is not to tally student oriented,” McNeal said. "We are concerned with students and want to let them know we care.” Mentors can be found in every de partment on campus and can be rec ognized by a shingle that hangs be side their office door. The shingle serves as an invitation to come in and Service helps students cope talk, McNeal said. The Mentors are available at any time of the day, on or off campus. They are not trained counselors and do not want to be, he said. The main goal of the group is to be friends to students and help them to be a part of A&M. McNeal said that each mentor sees about three students a week. He at tributes that to the availability and concern that they offer. The sessions are confidential and each student is handled on a one-to-one basis. He says students talk about everything from grades and professors to boyf riend and girlfriend problems. That is what the Mentors are all about — to listen to anything stu dents want to talk about. The organization does not at tempt to take the place of other counseling services on campus. Men tors exist for students who need a little advice or just a friend to talk to, McNeal said. “The beauty of the organization is the fact that it isn’t held accountable for helping students,” McNeal said. “Our concern is from the heart.” Mentors is not an official agent of the University and receives no money from it. Aggie Mothers Clubs and groups in the community sup port the group. “In our fast paced life it is easy to disregard one person, but that isn’t the proper attitude,” McNeal said. “So if we can help just one person to feel more at ease with himself, it makes it all worthwhile.” By HOLLY ROBINSON Reporter Learning to cope with stress is as much a part of college as English, history, and math. Broken auto mobiles, major exams, impossible roommates, and approaching term paper due dates make most students frustrated, irritable and depressed at some time during their college years. The Student Counseling Service at Texas A&M University can help students cope with stress by using in structional tapes on relaxation, books and articles on stress manage ment and short-term individual counseling. Dr. Nicholas Dobrovolsky, a coun selor on Stress, said some amounts of stress are good for you by motivating you to productive action. “If there is no stress, there is not much performance,” he said. He added that when stress and anxiety are too great or last for an extended period of time, they can become harmful, causing depres sion, irritability, and decreased pro ductiveness. Dobrovolsky said it is important to recognize that what is stressful to one person may not be stressful to another person. He said environ mental conditions influence how we react to stress. For example, if an A student made a C on a test, he would react more negatively than a B stu dent. “Past experiences make a differ ence,” he said. “Some people deal better with situations than others.” A brochure put out by the Off Campus Center and the Student Counseling Service suggests some stress management techniques that can help build resistance to stress. —Eat a balanced diet, get ad equate sleep every night, and exer cise regularly. Keeping healthy and fit can help you cope with stress and can even prevent stress. —ManAge your time effectively. Setting realistic goals and postpon ing unimportarit tasks can help con trol stress. Making a daily “to do” list and breaking large tasks into smaller tasks can help eliminate procrastina tion. —Consider alternate ways of viewing a situation. Sometimes it is not the situation but the way you in terpret it that creates stress. —Use family members, friends or counselors for support. Many peo ple can help you if you ask for help and discuss your problems. —Learn relaxation techniques. Books, tapes and biofeedback train ing are available at the Student Counseling Service to teach ways to relax and manage stress. Dobrovolsky said more people come to the Student Counseling Service each year. He attributs this to awareness of the center and rising academic standards. “The competitive aspect is becom ing more accentuated,” he said. Strict entrance requirements and higher academic demands send all levels of students the center, from freshmen to graduate students. The Student Counseling Service is located on the third floor of the YMCA Building. Theft recurring campus problem; negligence common most cause Off Campus Center helps students in roommate hunt By Julia Nunnallee Reporter For the 2.7,000 Aggies living off campus, roommate selection and compatibility can be a big headache. Nancy Ludwig, an adviser at the Off Campus Center at Texas A&M, says it is important to know the hab its of a prospective roommate. “A student should spend quality time getting to know the roommate before any leases are signed,” she said. Too often, she said, students rush into selecting roommates. Because of the overabundance of people looking for roommates, stu dents should have 10 to 15 possible roommates to choose from, Ludwig said. The OCC’s roommate locator service can provide a list of students with housing and roommate needs. Best friends don’t necessarily make the best roommates, Ludwig said. “Best friends have a precon ceived idea about the living relation ship,” she said. “Too often, sparks begin to fly, and so do tables and chairs.” Living with someone who has not been a close friend can help students — especially freshmen — meet new people, Ludwig said. Once a roommate is selected, Ludwig suggests signing a tenancy contract; a legally binding agreement covering financial mat ters such as rent, utilities and depos its. The contract, which is available at the OCC, can also be a guideline for food and shopping arrange ments, cleaning responsibilities and general “house rules,” such as enter taining and studying. If roommates are unable to settle conflicts among themselves, a neu tral third party could help, Ludwig said. She suggests either a mutual friend or one of the counselors from the OCC. “It has to be someone both indi viduals respect and feel comfortable talking with,” she said. Because of legal obligations, such as leases or contracts, moving out is not the solution to a roommate con flict, Ludwig said. The roommate who is left often is responsible for the entire rent unless the lease is broken, she said. Ludwig said the OCC has many resources to help students find, and keep, compatible roommates. By MICHAEL RAULERSON Reporter Theft — especially of items such as computers, bicycles and back packs — is a continuing problem on the Texas A&M campus, but a police official says students can Avoid the carelessness that invites theft. Negligence of students and custo dial workers — leaving windows and dorm room and office doors un locked — has caused thefts to in crease slightly, Wiatt said. “If people would take care of their property the burglars would hAve to work harder,” he sAid. Computers have become a cov eted item for fencing, as well as for personal use, WiAtt said. A majority of computers being stolen from the campus are being used in the home or apartment, he said. ipc tnii pus must do something about the problem of theft, Wiatt said. He sug gested securing the unit by attAching an alarm system or putting them in a room with solid core doors and walls that don’t stop at the ceiling tiles. “We (the police department) talk security to all the depArtments,” Wiatt said. “It’s up to them to imple ment the suggestions.” Bicycles are another favorite of thieves on the campus, Wiatt said. He urges students to lock their bicy cles securely to an immovable object with strong locks and chains. Wiatt recalled a case in which people were stealing bicycles with the wheels locked to frames by picking them up and putting them in the trunk of a car. Many bicycles that are stolen are locked with a cheaply-made lock and chain or are not locked at all, he said. Wiatt also urged students to regis ter bicycles with the department. He said that many bicycles are found each semester, but the depArtment can’t return them because they don’t know who they belong to. Backpacks left in dining halls, in hallways and outside the bookstore are easily stolen, Wiatt said. He sug gested using a drop area, but cited a possible problem in identifying the owner when the backpack is clAimed. Wiatt said the parking lots are pa trolled frequently to deter such thefts. He said plainclothes officers sometimes patrol the lots. Wiatt said the department has an on-going crime prevention speaking senes for incoming freshmen, and officers speak periodically to groups on campus about security. The College Station Police De partment uses several programs to promote security in residential sec tions. The progrAms are called Resi dential Security, Rape Awareness and Neighborhood Watch, sAid Lt. Bernie Kapella, officer in charge of crime prevention and community relations. The Residential Security program provides information to help home- owners protect themselves against the potential burglar, Kapella said. The Rape Awareness program provides information for protection against becoming a victim of rape, he sAid. The Neighborhood Watch pro- g ram, found only in certain neigh- orhoods, hds three requirements for participation: 75 percent of the residents in the neighoorhood must be willing to participate in the pro gram, these participants must label their valuables with their drivers li cense number and they must have A home security survey, Kapella said. The survey provides homeowners with the information they need to upgrade the security of their house. We wrote the book on free delivery... ...and it’s been a best seller for over 20 years. The story? It begins with your phone call and ends at your door with a hot, delicious pizza delivered in 30 minutes or less. Domino’s Pizza is critically acclaimed as the #1 source for fast, free delivery. Check us out. Open for lunch 11am-1am Surv-Thurs. 11 am-2am Fri. & Sat. 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