Once a counselor is accepted, he or she attends weekly meetings with the others and with Gould, which UHS support staff visit frequently. The support stall includes doctors and nurse practitioners who update and amplity current information.

Periodically the counselors take an informal quiz, corrected among the group, to be sure they haven't forgotten anything. In addition, they often rely on other or on literature to confirm their information

"People aren't machines; they're not expected to rattle off answers. You're allowed to look in a book, ask someone to call you back, talk to a nurse practitioner." Rusnak says.

The service is available to students who drop by the office or call between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. The counselors said that the clients are about equally divided between callers and visitors.

The counselors do not introduce themselves, nor do they ask the names of their visitors. In the Friday group meetings, the staff discusses issues that have arisen during the week, but they never discuss individual cases.

Although they do not discuss the numbers of clients, the counselors say that most of them are women. "We see mostly women on duty, because I think, unfortunately, around here birth control is seen as a women's issue," says Rusnak, adding "but it's really a couple issue. Both people need to get involved."

One counselor who wished to remain anonymous says. "It's really wonderful when couples come in together. It increases the open atmosphere you're trying to achieve with a partner."

None of the counselors says he or she has difficulty being in a position to advise peers.

"Actually, people are more comfortable talking to their peers," says Brainard She adds. "You're not seen as being in a power position, as a medical professional would be that's the whole point of peer counseling."

"The program's asset is that it's [made up of] students who are sympathetic to other students' needs and will sit down and talk without an appointment," says another counselor who wished to be anonymous.

She adds, "Contraception is a serious issue, and should be taken seriously. But with the tax on UHS with so many people using their services, they don't really have the time to sit down and talk about emotional fears and concerns, especially the emotional side of these issues. Our office is a place where people can take the time."

Jill E Nichols '87, who attended an outreach session in Grays Hall two weeks ago, says, "It's good that it's students doing it, it's more likely for students to listen to other students, rather than being talked down to or preached at."

Her roommate Jennifer I Gordon '87, comments that "they seem to be comfortable, accepting, and non-judgmental."

Several counselors stressed the importance of the "human" aspect of counseling in their own experience as well George A Small '84, who in tends to got to medical school, says there's so much implicit emphasis [in medical school] on going to class and working in a classroom, impersonally, that a med student might get a skewed impression of what it means to be a physician Any chance to work with people through counseling, or perhaps a religious organization, is a way to get a more realistic view of people."

The most difficult aspect of counseling, several counselors say, is that they do not give advice, they merely dispense information. And sometimes this is a problem for clients.