"What is the number one thing getting in the way of student groups being more active?"
Let the debate begin. Please post your thoughts below.
August, 2008
15
Aug 08
Violating the Prime Directive
I violated the Prime Directive today. You know the one. It states there can be no interference with the internal affairs of other civilizations. It also applies to students.
A student leader in my employ sought feedback regarding a situation he was facing. Portions of the situation appeared to be borderline campus legal issues. I pointed out some specific areas where I was concerned and discussed possible actions. But I didn’t stop there. Just like a helicopter parent, I went into combat mode and made a phone call to one of the parties involved. All before my student had a chance to respond and address the issue. Long story short, although the situation is resolved, I overstepped my boundaries. More like a giant leap.
Star Fleet personnel are not allowed to interfere with the healthy development of alien life and culture. Our role in student affairs is the same: to enable and educate, not intervene or intrude. Except if the intrusion is required for the health or welfare of students.
I quashed a teachable moment by making decisions and not facilitating them. But fortunately, my student turned it into a teachable moment…for me.
At times you seem quite human, Mr. Spock.
Captain, I don’t think that insults are within your prerogative as my commanding officer.
12
Aug 08
When a Hug Is More than a Hug
Repost from the Swift Kick Blog.
Last week I did our Dance Floor Theory training for an Army BOSS conference because just like schools, the Army has an extremely hard time engaging their single Soldiers. According to a 2005 Leisure Needs Survey, 80-95% of single Soldiers never participate in BOSS sponsored activities.
As usual, I set up the idea of building relationship with apathetic Soldiers through Blender events such The Free Hugs Campaign. Then I handed out Free Hug signs and encouraged the group to take the idea outside the session to the rest of the conference. And they continued the campaign all the way to lunch.
As we stood in line to get our food, an older lunch lady with an Eastern European accent pointed at one of the Free Hugs signs from behind the counter. “In my 25 years working here, I’ve never seen anything like this.” She smiled.
I responded, “Well, we’d love to give you a Free Hug, but you’re behind the counter.” She smiled again and spoke softly, “Oh no, I’m too busy to give hugs.” Then she shuffled off to the back room.
I turned to the Soldiers next to me and we all knew, without words, that she not only wanted the Free Hug, but needed it. So we waited by the back room door for our lunch lady to emerge. Two minutes later she opened the door to me and 3 Soldiers with our arms wide open and Free Hug signs. Her face expanded into a smile much larger than it was used to and she embraced us all.
As we let go, her eyes filled with tears and without words she smiled and shuffled back to work.
Sometimes they don’t want it.
Sometimes they want it.
And sometimes they need it.
6
Aug 08
To Brand or Not To Brand… Good Question.
More than any other human attribute, I think I value creativity the most. Wisdom is good, if you’ve got it. Leadership is pretty high on my list. Heck, I think “kind heartedness” would even run a pretty good race for first. But for me, creativity is a commodity that carries a lot of weight in my department, The CORE (Campus Organizations, Resources and Entertainment).
Like most of you, I get a certain “high” from creating (or “borrowing” from another school – ha!) that certain theme, t-shirt, poster or FaceBook invite that just rocks. I get goose bumps when we run out of specialty give-away items because the students thought they were cool, and they’re begging for more. I even get a kick out of using inside humor in a poster or flyer, and students stop by to tell me they “get it.”
Connecting with students is what makes my world go round.
But now I feel like that connection has been severed.
Our university recently hired a marketing firm to come in and assess our strengths and weaknesses, especially in regard to how the community views us. In other words, we wanted to take a hard look at our image.
One year and tens of thousands of dollars later, I’m told to do away with my departmental logo.
The marketing firm was convinced that our university had too many “brands” and logos floating around the community, and that, in turn, created mixed messages. I agree.
My department, however, does not market to the general community. I market to students who are already on my campus. I am competing for my students’ attention, to some degree, with recreational sports, campus religious student centers, career services and programs, residential living, etc. I need a brand. My department, in itself, is like an agency.
So now we (my department) have to set ourselves apart from the pack. We must get even more bodies to our events. We must measure and assess and evaluate and plan strategically and report and compete. With no brand. With no logo. With no measure of creativity in our printed materials, t-shirts and web pages.
I can get mad, throw a fit and bad-mouth the Powers That Be. (I did, and it felt pretty good for a while.) But when the dust settled, I still had a problem I had to deal with.
You know, I’ve been around since the days of mimeograph (kids, look it up on your desktop dictionary widget). I’ve seen desktop publishing come on the block. LED boards. Email. Full-color poster printing. Vinyl signs. Blinky nametags. Cell phones and text messages. University cable t.v. channels.
And you know what?
Deep down, I know that my programming board members can get just as many people at an event with a personal invite, a handshake, and a kind word of encouragement.
Maybe we need to ease up on relying on technology, marketing and numbers to get the job done, and get back to what’s really important — building relationships.
I’ve decided that this academic year, I’m going to spend more time hanging out in the student union and work on building relationships with students than sitting at my laptop, trying to design what’s cool.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
