Choosing Our Leaders

“Please assess each candidate’s potential as a proctor,” along with a score from 1 to 10 was the dorm proctor selection method in my dorm, Webster Hall. For the open-ended response, we were to include any personal knowledge of the candidate. There was no chance for the candidate to explain his reasons for why he wanted to become a proctor. We did not have a dorm gathering for candidates to present themselves. This simple evaluation from peers (including the proctor candidates themselves) and a faculty-proctor meeting reading applications and our evaluations is the process for proctor selection.For students, this proctor application is a way to express our thoughts and concerns about an individual. Some dorms may keep comments anonymous, but our dorm allows dorm faculty to know who wrote a specific comment, most likely to discredit bias. In my proctor survey, I found people who simply did not deserve to become a proctor due to lack of responsibility, amiability and how they interact with others in general, which is essential for proctors especially early on in the year for new students and returning students if they have difficulties.If peers’ comments go well and faculty have a good perception of someone as a somewhat responsible and mature student, then a proctor could definitely be chosen without his or her hidden intentions being known. Recently, there was discussion about a student proctor who only wanted to become a proctor because he wanted to have a bigger room. This seems to defeat the purpose of having a senior role model on the floor that we can talk to and look up to.Regardless, the student was still chosen as a proctor and there must have been reason behind this, whether it be that the student frequently visits others’ rooms or even maintains high grades. Unless the dorm does not have a survey of its students assessing the candidates, most students trust their proctors. According to a proctor in my dorm, student input is highly considered and any anomaly is addressed. Faculty can overrule any opinions, as they carry the largest responsibility for students’ dorm lives, but they credit students’ opinions, especially if they are common, since students know best about their peers and their character.In the proctor selection process, however, there is strong rivalry amongst the upper applicants. As simple as the selection is, the decision will stick with the future seniors for the rest of the year. Being a proctor may be for college for some students, but according to several upperclassman, it will neither make a large impact, nor be worth the position if the student truly doesn’t enjoy the company of peers and helping them in difficulty or any circumstance. So for the uppers, although busy with college, it is a rivalry of “whose personality and character is better perceived by the people in our dorm,” and this is a virtue worth defending, which many people already know. For those selected, it becomes a privilege, and for those who weren’t, it could possibly be a time to reflect on what may have caused it.