In preparation for the 2003-04 academic year, residence life officials at Simpson have hired 19 resident assistants and have added two new Residence Life work-study opportunities.

Simpson will now be extending the Community Assistant positions for the apartments and theme houses as well as the Housing Assistant positions for all the on-campus fraternity houses and Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Similiar CA and HA positions that have been available in the past were less demanding than the new CA and HA positions.

“HAs in the past were more focused on temporary housing in the fraternity houses and not on seeing the overall house,” said Laurie Dienberg-Hoppe, assistant director of Residence Life at Simpson. “The HA will now oversee the entire house, so adding to this role will take some responsibility off the house president as well.”

According to Dienberg-Hoppe adding to the CA job description will also be beneficial to students living in on-campus apartments and theme houses.

“Students living in apartments and theme houses may feel disconnected from campus. Sometimes there is a lack of communication and information regarding campus events and activities,” she said. “The CA position will provide another resource for students who need help with academic problems, roommate struggles or who just have general questions or concerns.”

When considering students for the CA, RA and HA positions Dienberg-Hoppe said that there are many things to look for.

“We want to find students who are interested in building a community and aren’t afraid to go out and talk to people,” she said.

Ken Smith, an area coordinator in Barker and Kresge Halls, said that it is important to find students for RA, CA or HA positions who are positive role models and represent the college in a good manner.

“Students who use good judgment, show dependability, and are open-minded and trustworthy are usually good candidates,” he said.

To be considered for RA, CA and HA positions students who apply must have a 2.5 grade point average and at least a semester of on-campus living experience.

Stephanie Krauth, the associate dean of students at Simpson, said that she feels very positive about the new staff additions.

According to Krauth, the college was able to secure extra work study funding for the CA positions.

Krauth said the HA positions will not require extra funding due to the fact that the house presidents and HAs were both paid for their services before, therefore, because their roles are now being combined the two salaries will also be combined into one.

Krauth said that she feels the new positions are going to be a real asset to both the residence life and Greek communities.

Jake Abel, senior and president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, agrees.

“The added help will relieve a lot of my extra stress,” he said.

Simpson has completed the RA and CA selection process but are still conducting interviews for the HA position.

According to Krauth, five CAs were chosen for the 2003-04 academic year in addition to the 19 RAs that have been selected.

HA positions will be announced sometime this week.