regroup Choosing Sides By Stacy Oliver Housing professionals often find themselves in the role of advocate. How can they best balance both sides of the argument? Among the many hats a residence life professional wears, that of student advocate may be the one that sits most precariously. It isn’t a skill that is explicitly taught, but one learned through experience and guidance. When done well, advocacy involves leveraging professional influence on campus while simultaneously maintaining boundaries with students. It means balancing the staff person’s relationship with a student against that with their colleagues. And, in some cases, it means redefining what 24 talking stick those relationships look like. Regardless of what shape this advocate role takes, it is an important one. Julene Pinto-Dyczewski, assistant director for residence life at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, describes an advocate as a translator between students and others at an institution, serving as someone who can help them better understand one another. “Student advocacy is the ability to lend voice to a student concern and help students communicate in a