Eating Disorder Peer Advisor mentors have taken on increased responsibilities to maintain the efficacy of the organization in the wake of former advisor Kari Jo Grant's transfer to the Student Employment Office last spring. As a result of the lack of faculty advising, mentor training may also be canceled in the winter, according to EDPA student interns Hannah Groveman '13 and Alexandria Leach '14.
Because the Health Promotion Office is facing a transitional phrase, the EDPA program has not found an official advisor since Grant left the position, Groveman said in an email to The Dartmouth.
Normally, students are trained each year during the Winter and Summer terms to serve as resources for fellow students, according to Groveman.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to hold training over the summer, and most likely will be unable to hold formal training over the winter due to lack of a trained professional available to lead the term-long training," she said in the email.
Winter term training is dependent upon the hiring of a certified faculty member by the end of Fall term, according to EDPA Bridget Lynn '15.
Groveman and Leach said they are attempting to maintain student interest in the training process and are considering smaller sessions.
New mentor training is necessary for the continuation and health of the organization, and while there are currently enough members to maintain the program in the short term, new mentors would need to be trained within the next year for the program to be sustained, according to EDPA Mara Crespi '14.
Grant had the expertise to lead training sessions, Lynn said. The interns are particularly necessary in ensuring that events and programs continue in the absence of a certified advisor.
The EDPA student interns current manage the organization's email account and respond to students requesting help. In addition, they facilitate programming addressing issues of eating disorders and body image.
Traditional EDPA events such as the annual "Love Your Body Day," scheduled for Nov. 8 and the role of the mentors on campus will not change despite the lack of an advisor, but students will need to take full responsibility for the organization, EDPA Alex Johnson '15 said.
"I think it's just hard because in the past we've had [Grant] being the main person organizing these events, organizing spaces and getting the word out," she said. "Now it's all up to EDPA students themselves."
Faced with the challenge of proceeding without an advisor, members of the program have refocused their efforts to consider what can be realistically accomplished in a given term, Groveman and Leach said.
Co-Director of Health Services Mark Reed is serving as a temporary advisor for EDPA, and the organization's members were instructed to contact Reed with relevant questions and concerns, according to EDPA Emily Cambern '15.
EDPA mentors were unaware of the state of efforts to find a new advisor and said that leadership has proven disorganized as a result of Grant's new position.
"I haven't really heard anything from student directors if they've hired anyone new or are looking," mentor Whitney FitzPatrick '13 said. "We haven't met at all since one meeting at the beginning when we were told the bad news."
Mentors emphasized the importance of maintaining EDPA as an organization at the College, given that campuses like Dartmouth at which students focus on being fit and exercising extensively could encourage the development of eating disorders, FitzPatrick said.
"I don't think many colleges have a program like this," Johnson said. "I think eating disorders are very prevalent on college campuses in general, and we need to do everything we can to keep it active even though the leadership is in flux right now."
Johnson is a member of The Dartmouth Staff.
