The Skyliner

Issue date: 4/18/07 Section: Entertainment & Features

Media Credit: Andrea Brazell/The Skyliner

Carrie Parker
Staff Writer


Although coordinators are usually given a bad reputation for their duty to watch fellow students in chapel and tell their peers to take hats off when in campus buildings, the men and women that make up the team of North Greenville Resident Assistant Coordinators do many things that remain unseen by the student body.

Bo McKay, senior business administration, is one of the men's coordinators at North Greenville University.

Being a coordinator, one of his main tasks is juggling schoolwork with school responsibilities. Chapel duty and room checks are two weekly activities that McKay has to oversee during the school year.

Every Monday and Wednesday, McKay arrives at Turner Chapel 15 minutes early to make sure certain doors are unlocked, greet students and visitors that enter the chapel, and keep a wary eye out for students who use Chapel as their nap hour.

During the week, McKay also works at Computer Services for two hours a day. The only day he does not work is on Tuesday afternoons, when he is assigned to perform room checks.

Although some would assume that room checks for the men's dorms would be more complicated than the female's dorms, this is not always the case. On the contrary, McKay assures that most of the guy's rooms remain just as clean as the female's rooms.

"We have to be a little stricter with room checks in some of the newer dorms, such as Crusader Court," said McKay, "but room checks usually go very smoothly."

Every Wednesday night, McKay is on duty. He and the other coordinators on duty for the night meet for a quick devotion before doing their rounds. Then he and his fellow coordinator, Herbert Mitchell, junior interdisciplinary studies, keep watch over the men's dorms for the evening.

Also, every forth weekend, McKay is on weekend duty. During this time, coordinators are required to stay on campus for the weekend. They have to be back before 5 p.m. on Saturday evenings, and are allowed time to attend church on Sundays.

Normally things run smoothly, but even when students get in trouble for breaking the school rules, McKay feels a strong sense of duty to enforce the rules and set and example.

"I believe it is our duty as students to respect our elders and this college," said McKay.

"One of the most important aspects of being a coordinator is that we are expected to set an example for other students. We are under the microscope more than other students," said McKay. "Many students say, 'If they mess up how can they tell me what to do?' However, we as coordinators aren't here just to punish people. Contrary to popular belief, we'd rather keep people out of trouble. Of course, there are always instances were we have to do the job we are paid to do. We are paid to enforce the rules. Coordinators don't want to mess with the education and careers of students, but if students break the rules, they have to be reported. Although it's heartbreaking in some situations, it's what we have to do."

Along with chapel duty, room checks and rule enforcement, coordinators also help out with other things on campus. They help students and professors, and do any job that needs to be done quickly. Coordinators help freshmen and other arriving students move into their dorm rooms and also help arrange chairs and tables in the dining hall. Even sporting events are made possible with the assistance of coordinators. They help set up for football and basketball, take care of the flags around campus, and assist with other random school events.

In short, the coordinators help out more with this school than many students realize. They devote their time and efforts to help maintain order, while also juggling their schoolwork and jobs. NGU is blessed to have hard-working students like McKay and many of the other coordinators to help the student body.

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