Finding assistance on the UW-Madison campus has now become much less complicated, with the establishment of the Student Advocacy and Judicial Affairs office at 75 Bascom Hall.
Formed by the Office of the Dean of Students in response to student and staff confusion about the administration's duties, this new department is designed to coordinate the efforts of the assistant deans and to facilitate student aid programs.
\These are folks who are here to fill those cracks students sometimes fall into,"" said Dean of Students Luoluo Hong. ""The work they do is distinctly unique, separate, important and direct.""
SAJA offers several services geared toward helping students handle both the difficulties of college life and any legal troubles that might come up on campus. Issues include dealing with the transition to college and concerns over housing, as well as any misconduct issues that could lead to suspension or expulsion.
Programs sponsored by SAJA are designed to help students cope with difficult situations. The Student Crisis Loan Fund helps students in times of financial emergencies, and Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy provides counselling to victims of rape.
""We offer support in terms of whatever issues they deal with, in the out-of-the-classroom dimension of their lives,"" said Assistant Dean Elton Crim.
Students will receive more individual aid as well, with the addition of a dean on-call system. While under the old system the services of each dean were more specialized and required individual appointments, a student can now simply call or walk into the office and ask to speak with the on-call dean.
""It's a great group of people who are very committed to students, and who are willing to put in the extra time ... I can't say enough good things about the team,"" said Assistant Dean and SAJA director Lori Berquam about the staff.
