Few apply to be college house grad associates

Only about 40 applicants filled out forms for the 104 available positions. Less than one week after the preliminary application deadline for thegraduate students who will staff the new college houses, officials said yesterday that they have only received applications for about 40 of the 104 available positions. And a restructuring of the benefits package for the incoming graduate associates who will reside in the 12 college houses may result in an effective deduction of as much as $2,000 from their stipends, making the positions a lot less attractive. The Office of Academic Programs and Residential Life is searching for 104 graduate students, 34 more than last year, to serve as GAs under the new college house plan. The plan, which would reorganize the current residences into 12 houses, requires additional staff to administer expanded programming. APRL officials said they are not concerned about the number of applicants and will accept additional applications until they fill all the positions. But next year's benefits package for newly appointed GAs may be significantly less attractive than in past years. In an attempt to recruit GAs through their respective schools, APRL has arranged to link room and board benefits given to GAs with the stipends they receive from their schools. This stipend is likely to decrease next year, however. In order to help APRL pay for the new GAs, the schools will pay APRL $2,000 to cover the costs of each GA. As a result, the schools may deduct some of this amount from the GAs' stipends. This plan will not apply to current graduate fellows who retain their positions for next year, according to APRL Director Chris Dennis. Most schools will probably cut the full $2,000 from each GA's stipend, according to Sanjay Udani, chairperson of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly and a Hill House graduate fellow for the last five years. Udani, an Engineering graduate student, said he worries that incoming GAs will be "effectively paid less" than current GAs by losing part of their expected stipend to APRL. But Dennis stressed that the loss in stipend will be more than offset by the $6,900 in room and board received by all GAs. APRL officials said they expect to fill all the positions, adding that it is not unusual to hire some GAs during the summer months. "It was always known that we would take applications as long as we needed them," APRL Associate Director David Fox said. Dennis said the recruitment process is "in pretty good shape for being this early in the process." But Udani, who is helping to conduct the GA selection process, said he doubts there will be many more applicants. All graduate students already received a call to apply over e-mail stressing last week's deadline. Most of those who wanted to apply already have, he said. As a result, Udani predicted APRL may be forced to "rely on the incoming [graduate] students, the new students, to fill up the spots." He added that it "might not be such a good idea," noting that graduate students who are themselves "adjusting" to a new school and new city will have a difficult time "trying to help other people who are adjusting." Fox said that "there isn't a preference" for current graduate students over incoming students, but he admitted that "a student who has already been here has some advantage" in the role of a GA. And Dennis said careful selection of GAs is important because they are supposed to "be intellectual role models" for their undergraduate housemates. APRL will continue to conduct information sessions for prospective GAs in the coming weeks. One is scheduled for tonight. Udani said he hopes APRL receives more applications soon. If there are not enough applications, APRL may not be able to be that selective, he said. Udani also expressed concern about the rolling application process. Since applications may come in a few at a time, it will be difficult to compare candidates, he said. Each college house interviews and selects its own GAs.