8F - New Student Edition - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 8, 1999 a Advisers urge students to contact them often By Adam Zuwerink Daily Staff Reporter Academic advisers play a large role during an incoming student's ori- entation session, from answering stu- dent's concerns about college life to helping them decide which classes to take. But their role doesn't end there. The LSA Student Academic Affairs center, located in 1255 Angell Hall, welcomes students to see an adviser at any time during their acad- emic career, because "you can only do so much bonding during the 20 minute meeting" during orientation, said adviser Jean Leverich. Although a typical meeting is only 20 minutes long, advisers can leave a lasting impression on students. Business Junior Jie Lin said that after two years she can still remember what her adviser told her during ori- entation. Leverich became an adviser three years ago, after receiving her Ph.D. in English literature from the University. Beginning her career as an English lecturer, she joins many new advisers who come from an aca- demic background, rather than a counseling degree. Advising 13 or 14 students per day during the year, Leverich sees upwards of 20 during orientation. "And it feels like it. It gets pretty busy," she said. "I seldom get stuck twiddling my thumbs." Advisers are also present in the residence halls for student advising sessions. As the Residence Hall Adviser for Stockwell, Leverich said she often has hours in the early evenings "to make it a little more accessible to students." After the orientation group and individual meetings with a staff adviser and student academic peer adviser, where Leverich said the questions and concerns typically include how not to get lost in the sys- tem and how to handle work and social pressures, students are placed in their adviser's e-mail group list, where the adviser can provide easy access to academic information, such as deadlines and class offerings, dur- ing the year. The SAA program is highly inten- sive and follows students through their first year, said Louis Rice, Deputy Assistant Dean for LSA Student Academic Affairs. The goal is "to help students make the most informed decisions possible" Technology plays a large role in keeping students informed of their choices through a tremendous amount of e-mail contact, Rice said. Each adviser also works at a comput- er with the student to help plan and schedule classes. "E-mail has really revolutionized advising," said Liina Wallin, Associate Director of the Honors Program, echoing Rice's feelings. But the amount of e-mail sent to stu- dents during the year depends on the adviser. Lin said some advisers only send a few every semester, while hers sent one every week. In addition to her role as assistant director, Wallin also serves as an aca- demic adviser for the Honors pro- gram, which provides its own set of advisers for Honors students at orien- tation and during the year. An adviser at the University since 1975, Wallin moved to the Honors program from general LSA advising in 1992 and said students feel more comfortable given the smaller size situation. Advisers only see four students each day during orientation and "it's a warmer atmosphere because it is smaller," she said. As part of this smaller atmosphere, Wallin said first-year students often feel more comfortable stopping by the Honors office, located in 1228 Angell Hall, because the Honors staff will many times recognize individual students. While some students feel that Honors may try to push one class or program over another, Wallin said this is not necessarily the case. "We try to talk to students about what their interests are ... because we want students to challenge them- selves," Wallin said. Our recommen- dations are "not based on what we feel about a specific department, but the total program." In addition to the Honors program, other schools and departments within the University offer their own advis- ers, including the College of Engineering, the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, as weil as the Athletic Department. While Lin said she has been very pleased with her academic advising experience, she did raise a couple of concerns. Advisers "don't really reply personally to your e-mail. You have to go see them," Lin said. Although she added that making an appointment is easy and can be done over the phone. She also pointed out that "some- times they all give different answers. I went to two advisers and had them tell me different things" for the same question. --------------------------------- More information about LSA's Student Academic Advising pro- gram can be found at www.isa.umich.edu/saa DANA ULNNANE/Daily Jean Leverich, the residence hail adviser for Stockwell residence hall wants students to come see her long after orientation over. "You can only do so much bonding during the 20-miunte meeting," she says. Campus CIC information Centers Michigan Union 1st Floor Pierpont Commons Lobby Visit our Web Site to find the answers you need UM Events calendar, directions, transportation information, hours of operation, and much more. For all you need to know call 764-INFO or email us at info@umich.edu http://www.umich.edu/ifo University Musical Society 199 DPS -not just another security force By Michael Kern Daily Staff Reporter The University's Department of Public Safety has the difficult task of providing law enforcement and secu- rity for the University's campus and its 220 buildings every day. In 1995, the department received 72,000 calls for assistnce, which averages to almost 200 calls per day. . By comparison, the Ann Arbor Police Department receives just 55,000 per year - about 150 calls per day. The department was originally founded in 1965 as a campus securi- ty department and had just two full- 9-2000 Season time employees. Now, 34 years later, the campus police and security division has been a full-service police agency since 1991. It has 33 sworn police officers, 17 non-sworn public safety officers, five dispatchers, supervisors, admin- istrators, investigators, support staff, and one new director, William Bess. "We are a police department," Police Officer Jennifer Symanns said. "We are here to make sure that no one gets hurt and people use com- mon sense." Part of the problem for the sworn officers is that people see non-sworn security officers who do have the full power of a real police officer (and don't carry a gun) and mistake them for each other. "People confuse us all the time," Symanns said. "Our uniforms are similar-looking, but if there is confu- sion, people can just look for the police badge on our sleeve." Another misconception about DPS officers is that they are not well edu- cated. But the average police officer has over three years of college educa- tion. The whole process of training an officer also takes about one year. All sworn officers must graduate from the Washtenaw Police Academy. That is followed with a six-week, in-house training program and a 14-week field training officer program. Many students also don't realize that a number of the officers are uni- versity alums who joined the DPS after graduation. Symanns is a University alum who started working with the DPS as a student. After graduation, she became a full-time employee in 1994, and has been a certified police offi- cer for three years. "Being a former student is a neat perspective," Symanns said. 'I feel like I can relate better to the stu- dents." A number of the department's sworn police officers are also retired members of the Detroit police force. Officer Steve Munerantz worked for the Detroit police force for 25 years before joining the DPS last August. "I enjoy working here because the people you are dealing with, stu- dents, faculty, visitors, are much bet- ter educated," Munerantz said. "You get a chance to interact with people and talk to them." Besides working to keep campus safe for students, faculty, and visi- tors, the DPS provides a number of other services to the community, including security escorts for visiting dignitaries, motorist assists, and helping on community safety pro- grams and other community related projects such as food drives and fundraisers. One bonus for working as a police officer for the department is provid- ing security for visiting dignitaries and receiving the opportunity to meet and speak with them. United Nation secretary general Kofi Annan, first lady Hilary Clinton, and Rev. Jesse Jackson all visited the Michigan campus this year. "I had the opportunity to work security and meet Jesse Jackson when he came to speak," Munerantz said. "A number of us had our pic4 tures taken with him, and I spok with him briefly." Sometimes the job gets more i ous, though. Two years ago when th Ku Klux Klan marched on Ann Arbor city hall, Symanns had to act as par of human barrier to protect the Klar members from violent protesters. "It was the scariest moment of 'n life," Symanns said. "They wert throwing rocks and bottles. The bot- tles would smash over our heads, ant the glass would rain down our backs.' But most of the time, the *1 lenges that face DPS officers are no quite as dangerous. According t Symanns, teaching new student about the DPS and the services it pro vides is probably one of the toughes aspects of the job. "Every year we have a new batl of students to re-educate," Symann said. "We try to be proactive by meet ing with students at orientation We've also opened five substation around campus to be more acces m to students." The DPS officers want students t understand that they are not out t ruin anyone's good time. They jus want students to understand that the aren't the only ones living in th community and need to be consider ate of other people. The officers also want students t remember that they are living i city and need to be careful with 6i property. "If I could give one piece o advice, it would be to lock up you property," Symanns said. "There i Just so much personal theft becaus< people aren't careful." UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Air Force ROTC Become an Air Force Officer in just 2 Years!! Benefits: " Earn $150 a Month Stipend " Scholarship Opportunities " Guaranteed Job After Graduation " Competitive Wages " Leadership Opportunities - 30 Days Paid Vacation Annually Qualifications: " Must be a Year 2001 Graduate " Must be Contracted by Dec. 1999 Call Capt. Munford at 647-4094 0 0 WF 6 University Musical Society rul re mrormatin on 4nfthme Uninerity ot Michigan 1999-2000 season, stop by B734.7 4.25 Bun Memorat T the UMS Box Office in w-umsr4rg Burton Memorial Tower. .-.J