Peer Assistants Program. Collection of the Peer Assistants Program, 1987-Ongoing.GACA Collection 347

Peer Assistants Program.  Collection of the Peer Assistants Program, 1987-Ongoing.  GACA Collection 347.  3 Records Center Cartons and 1 flat box.


ABSTRACT:
The Peer Assistants Program collection includes scrapbooks containing events, advertisements, photographs, and other documents from activities held on the campus of Gustavus Adolphus College.  Also included are brief biographies about student volunteers.  The Peer Assistants Program aimed to provide education about healthy lifestyles and relationships while sponsoring a variety of student activities.  The organization also cited its purpose as recognizing and addressing general issues confronting the student body, while providing a range of support options for individual students.  Additional materials will be added to the collection as they are donated.


HISTORICAL NOTE:
Some of the earliest documentation of the Peer Assistants Program appears in an issue of The Gustavian Weekly from 1982.  The article describes the purpose of the Peer Assistants Program to “identify student needs, coordinate ideas and suggestions and assemble informational programs which will help support the Gustavus community in matters concerning the responsible use of alcohol and other drugs.”  In partnership with the Office of Alcohol Education, the program provided students with resources such as information on alcohol laws, the effects of various drugs, as well as connections to resources both on and off campus, such as the counseling center and Alcoholics Anonymous.  The student volunteers promoted information concerning general wellness, campus activities, and guides to the responsible consumption of alcohol as part of their mission to promote healthy lifestyles.

* Information taken from the Peer Assistants Program’s official website, http://orgs.gustavus.edu/peer_assistants/, 23 September 2013 and an issue of The Gustavian Weekly from 9 November 1982.


RESTRICTIONS:
There are no restrictions on the use of this collection for research purposes. The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the College Archives, the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library, and Gustavus Adolphus College.


COLLECTION CITATION:
Peer Assistants Program.  Collection of the Peer Assistants Program, 1987-Ongoing.  GACA Collection 347.  Gustavus Adolphus College Archives, St. Peter, Minnesota.


ACQUISITION:
The Peer Assistants Office transferred this collection during August 2013.


PROCESSED BY:
Libby Larson, student worker, processed this collection and developed the finding aid during September 2013.


RELATED COLLECTIONS IN THE ARCHIVES:
Residential Life Office. Collection of the Residential Life Office, 1973-Ongoing. GACA Collection 216.


SUBJECT HEADINGS:
Peer Assistants Program (Gustavus Adolphus College).
Events and activities -- Colleges -- United States.
Student counselors -- United States.