Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Resident ai misunderst TANYA BUWKEL Staff Writer It's 2 a.m. Do you know where your resident advisor is? Chances are she's probably making rounds, checking to make sure all is well. RAs have many duties and responsibilities. Not only do they have to go to class and study, but they have to act as advisor, friend and occasionally guardian, for least 30 residents. When students living on campus have a problem with a roommate, class or just about anything, the easiest person to find to help is usually the resident advisor of their hall. RAs have a demanding job and much I more responsibility than the residents. Bates West Resident Advisor Mendy Loggans, a second year RA, said she decided to become an RA 1 1 _i.l uj neip omer res- ? i idents. "When I lived on campus I needed an RA," she said. Bates West Residence Hall Director Nancy Debord, a former RA at Mars Hill College, chose to be an RA because "the impact they have on students is unreaL.the influence they can have in life." RAs try to work closely with their residents to let them know that they are available day and night for them. Some of the benefits of being an RA are discounts on housing and meal {dans. They also leam confrontation, communication and assertiveness skills. Debord said that by working with people, she understands what "makes them tick." Loggans said that being an RA has helped her learn how to handle conflicts, document events and plan and execute activities. Of documenting things that happen around the hall, "It's my job. It's what I do," she said, Occasionally RAs have difficult situations to deal with. Debord told > Garni Wedn i inter Sound, you' litera <r Msors ood heroes of an incident at Mars Hill where a female resident attempted suicide by slashing her wrists. Being the last staff member to speak to the girl before the incident, Debord was upset. Another touch nrohlem Dehorrl deals with is unauthorized parties. A year ago she had to break up a party of about 100 people. It took seven police officers, herself and four other staff members to bring it under control. Loggans has problems with residents who complain about the campuswide polity of signing guests in at the front desk of the residence hall. "I don't like to take static for polities that are in the best interest of the I"****" residence hall," she said. She said that people who complain about the inconvenience of signing in guests are not seeing the big picture. Having a record of who is in the hall is necessary in case of an accident or emercronrv in nririitinn to the obvious security reasons. Resident advisors work the front desk of their building. They have "on-duty" time where they must stay in their rooms when not making rounds in case of emergencies. They must be responsible enough to handle a master key for their building while on duty. If they lose this key, they must pay for every lock in the building to be changed. They must attend meetings of their hall government regularly. Above all else, an RA must be there for each resident, developing a personal relationship with everyone on their floor. They must handle rule infractions and incidents with fairness and integrity. They also must keep a O OK J J iJ jluaj giduc puuit avcioiiu rniu ulliic to study, relax and have tun. Resident advisors take on a lot of responsibility with their job for their residents. They keep the halls running smoothly. c if & Black Quarter esday to a newsst view with James I including Hootie ai 11 get the scoop 01 Ff submissions til Hits the s Tht Qamecock All-Am^ Ch Margaret Cho's reai with ABCs 'All-Ame SAN FRANCISCO (AP)?Maigaret Cho loves being a part of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. She loves the late-night lifestyle of Hollywood's young, decadent, up-andcoming stars. It's even better when strangers snap her picture as she's walking into a club. But outside the limelight, Cho admits pnvaieijf nun sue s eume to an important realization. "I'm a big egomaniac," she says. Though her transition from stand-up comedy to situation comedy has been fairly smooth, Cho, star of "All-American Girl," Hollywood's first sitcom featuring an Asian-American family, admits that the move was difficult at first. "Tm coming from a place where I had complete control," she says of her solo stand-up routines. "I never thought I had an ego." All that changed when she began sharing the spotlight with eight cast members of ABCs "All American Girl," which airs at 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Initially, she says, "I always want to be the funny one. I always want to be the center." But she's found that yielding to others isn't so bad. "You have to be really kind of focused," , she says, "and that does not lend itself to the one always being funny." Cho admits that her rise has been relatively swift. After being kicked out of Lowell High School in San Francisco, she graduated from an arts school. At age 18, she was doing stand-up and, by 20, she was appearing in cable shows. She recently starred in her own HBO special. Now, at 25, she's ready for prime time ? and vice versa. The idea of an Asian-American family on the networks is nothing new, but fBQI " I< | ? W iy, the new general i? and near you. The pr< Hckey, an inside look i tid the Blowfish, and t i what's hot and whai s side of the Folger Si is the publication fha itands TODAY a y S*r Wednesday, October 12, J erican 10 fly for prime time srican Girl' it has taken a few years for television i executives to give such a show their blessing. The San Francisco native isn't shy i about touting "All-American Girl" as a first for Hollywood. "I think ifs a really important thing to say that thaf s what it is," she said in a recent telephone interview from Los Angeles. There are other people, including Asian-American actors, who tire of touting ethnicity as part of the show, she admits. "Tve always looked at mine as an in- 1 credible advantage. I don't think ifs ever been a negative thing at all. I celebrate it, if anything," she says. "I haven't felt L_ like Tve compromised myself culturally or artistically. Fve felt veiy fortunate that . 0 I haven't had to change.' 3 "All-American Girl" follows a Kore an household of two immigrant parents, _ a grandmother and a daughter and son. t, Cho plays the 22-year-old Margaret 0 Kim, a college student working at a de- n partment store. Her younger brother, played by BJ). Wong, perhaps best-known for his role in the Broadway play "M. But-. I terfly," is a model citizen whom the par- r ents favor. In the show, similar to her childhood, Cho struggles with holding onto Korean a traditions while lapping up American pop culture. "It's a combination of cultural differ- d ences with the kind of grim reality with ? people in their 20s and over having to 11 still live at home," she says. In real life, Cho and her younger brother grew up mostly at their parents' Polk Street bookstore, Paperback Traffic. She p says she spent a lot of time with the employees, who were mostly gay and lesbian. A At home, her parents pushed their h b s Here / iteresf/literary mm ?miere issue of GBQ at Playboy model Ja i ride on the inform) fs not on campus an lakespeare Library! t finally brings if to it 15 Mom L994 Jifl M Jl mm \ ri\ / i?w' V ?k* Hh * ^ ^ nly daughter to leam Korean and pu ue a more traditional career. Cho says it was tough convincing h< arents that leaving their native coui ry in 1964 in hopes of providing bett( pportunities for their children wasn't listake. "When they realized it was somethir wanted to do in my life, that really wo ied them," she says of comedy. "They thought fd be throwing my lil way," she says. T? m 1 J - i.l?~ ill laci, uie v>iius nau never seen uie aughter perform live ? in school plaj r comedy clubs ? until watching a filn ng of "All-American Girl." They're really happy now," she say Cho said her show has the Asiai imerican community in mind. "My agenda is the agenda of the Asia] imerican community. That is a positiv onest portrayal of the family. And it wi e incredibly validating and powerful A A '. T3 r 7? 3 H S a 7 HL mBrmm JH m TouchstoM Tolovldon rSan Francisco's ;r Margaret Cho hit 1_ the USC campus last >r a year with her lively stand-up comedy ig show, for Cho, her r* new show is much different than her fe solo comedy. ? "I'm coming from a place i- where I had complete control," she says of her s. stand-up routines. "I j. never thought I had an ego." ie, ill [Qzine of USC, is will feature an i ssMk Hi <Wc 11 ?? <St I ?r ^ Iss ation superhighs id the best colieci You've been wa you. 5 across (on I * ' IdlilliiCf ray. Plus# npus ?