University of Notre Dame - Dome Yearbook (Notre Dame, IN)

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House A dorm is a place to study, sleep, drink beer and break parietals in short, a home away from home. And, just like in our real homes, we tend to take the management for granted. For a hall to work as a solid unit, it must be directed by capable people. While our homes are, for the most part, run by our parents, here it is the good housekeeping of the hall staff which keeps things running smoothly. Greeting you with a warm handshake, the R.A. is the first person encountered by nervous freshmen. Whether tutoring a student in Emil til three a. m. or quietly breaking up a friend ' s party, the R.A. is the most visable part of the hall staff. Knowledgeable about everything from loft building to choosing blow-off courses, the R.A. provides both guidance and friendship. The keen competition for the job assures that only the best people are appointed. Although the screening process varies from dorm to dorm, most hopeful R.A. ' s must submit a written application and can be inter- viewed up to nine times, as in the procedure in Sorin. The previous year ' s staff and the permanent hall staff choose from among the applicants, who must have a GPA of 3.0 or better. The chosen few take their jobs seriously. Their responsibilities include acting as a disciplinarian, staying in on duty nights, and serving as a liason between the residents and the permanent hall staff. But perhaps the most challenging of an R.A. ' s roles is that of an informal counselor. From uncertain freshmen to upperclassmen in need of someone to talk to, R.A. ' s respond to both the joys and the sorrows of college life with a friendly ear. This responsibility may be the most difficult, but it is also the most fulfilling aspect of the job. Although those duties demand time and commitment, R.A. ' s feel that the rewards outweigh the inconveniences. The rector and his assistants comprise the permanent hall staff and serve primarily as authority figures. The rector strives to keep the hall running smoothly. He serves as a disciplinarian and a spiritual leader, but also as a counselor and a friend. The spiritual aspect, unique to Notre Dame, broadens the rector-student re la- tionship through retreats, hall masses and voluntary services. Staff meetings with the R.A. ' s and the assistant rector(s) open communication channels within the entire dorm. By keeping things in order, the rectors assisted by the hall staff work to make the dorm a home for its residents. W - Gerry McCafferty - Kathleen Coughlin ON CALL. Ready twenty-four hours to help a hall resident, Farley rectress Sister Jean Lenz takes the day to day calls and handles them with ease. 18 Hall Staff

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On the other side, nothing could compare with the feeling you experienced when he threw that surprise birthday party for you, or when she offered at midnight to start typing your term paper while you scribbled the last three pages down. After all, he was the one who, after dashing up four floors in his excitement, handed you the envelope containing your first job offer. She was the one who brought you the Dainty Maid cake declaring He ' s a loser! the night you broke up with your boyfriend. He bought you shots all night on your twenty-first birthday when he should have been studying for an early morning midterm. She ironed your dress so you could finish curling your hair as your date for the formal knocked on the door. Around the dorms we called home, two people who had to put up with each other ' s idiosyn- cracies, bad habits, strange friends, weird hours and boring jokes formed unique and memor- able relationships. Although roommates could live in the same place and yet see it in two entirely different lights, the adjusting, the compromising and the accepting always went on, ODD COUPLE. Trying to live together despite the obvious differences, Ed Daley and Mike Flynn seem to have reached a happy medium. year after year until gradua- tion day transformed room- mates into fellow alumni, who would bore their kids with endless stories about that nut I roomed with. Roommates taught you there ' s two sides to everything but, in the end, you realized they were on your side all along. $ - Kathleen Coughlin Roommates 1 7

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AUTOMATIC R.A. The ever-present detex aids the hall staff in keeping any welcome or unwelcome guests, as well as residents, from entering many dorms during specified hours. RECTIFYING THE SITUATION. Fisher residents Richard Gumerman and Edward Sheeran get to know Father Thomas better by taking advantage of the rector ' s open door policy. A FRIENDLY EAR. Freshman Matt Coyle confides in his R.A., Dan Nance, who spends time as counselor and friend to those in his section. UNIDENTIFIED WANDERING DOM ERS. Identifying himself, Tom Burke checks in with R.A. Loren Solfest before obtaining clearance to enter Planner Hall.