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Jun 10
Why I’m Supporting Breakdrink.com (and I think you should too) #sachat
A huge part of the reason I got into student activities and student center work is that I want to help others realize their dreams and passions. More than that, I want my life to be about helping others find and recognize the freedom that comes from finding one’s passion and pursuing that passion. You can read more about my ideas in this vein in my previous post here.
It’s for that reason I invest countless hours listening to students talk. It’s for that reason I stay in constant contact, it seems, with students and friends that I very rarely or may never again see listening to them talk and giving advice.
It’s for that reason that I support 3rd world citizens through Kiva (making micro-loans to help fund businesses in the 3rd world) and through Charity:Water (a huge first step to pursuing dreams is having the bottom of Maslow’s pyramid). These organizations help to set people’s dreams and goals free from the bounds of their situation. (full disclosure: i actually had tears running down my cheeks typing that last paragraph. I really believe in these causes. If you can participate, you should.)
And it’s for this reason that I’m supporting breakdrink.com. As a blogger and website maintainer and podcaster, I feel like I understand the incredible amount of work that Jeff and Gary put into their site. These guys aren’t just pushing a product though, they’re trying to help our profession to find it’s way through a dark hour and to emerge stronger and better. I can get behind that 100% as someone who not only believes in helping others to pursue their dreams and goals, but someone who personally benefits from the service that breakdrink.com provides and will provide.
That being said, go to indiegogo.com and donate to breakdrink.com’s future. Help push student affairs and higher ed forward. Help someone make their dream and passion a reality.
Here’s the link. Do it.
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25
Feb 10
Developing Respect for Student Affairs #sachat
I was dragged out of my mini-blogging retirement by tonight’s #sachat. I’ve heard this debate many times about how to leverage respect from administration for what folks in student affairs do. I wanted to share my opinion but was feeling a little stifled by the 10 million people involved in the chat as well as the 140 characters so I figured I would share my thoughts in longer form.
First, this discussion about developing “street cred” if you will for student affairs is essentially asking how you get administration (a nameless faceless entity, i suppose) to understand what we do. The inherent assumption is that they don’t understand or that they do understand but they don’t think it’s valuable. If we were going to stereotype the view of student affairs both within and without of student affairs, I believe that stereo type would be that we’re “in loco parentis” style baby sitters, we create play time for our kids, and we hold their hands and try to protect them from the big bad faculty. As with most assumptions, this is unfair. Some of the big bad faculty are ALWAYS looking out for students, and some within student affairs favor the approach of throwing students to the wolves over a touchie-feelie approach.
Personally, I find this argument about “admin doesn’t understand what we do” a little tired. If they don’t understand what they do, they’re no different from most people at high levels within organizations. They understand in theory what we do, but they don’t know in detail (isn’t this what that new TV show is about?). Here’s a realization that I think we all need: THEY DON’T NEED TO KNOW WHAT WE DO IN DETAIL. It’s not their job to know the details of our job, it’s our job to know the details of their job. I’m almost certain that most of us have only a basic idea of what our chancellors and VPs do on a daily basis even though we might like to think otherwise. To think that it’s their responsibility to understand every intimate detail of every job on campus is childish.
Second, without fail, the first answer to “how to gain respect” is assessment. Don’t think I’m about to slam assessment; I love assessment, and frankly I don’t think we assess enough. During my internship in grad school in student affairs assessment, the assessment reports that I looked at were PATHETIC and an absurd joke. Most departments in student affairs don’t take this seriously and most of these reports barely get looked at because they don’t actually assess anything that carries weight at a cabinet meeting. VPs might like reading anecdotes, but it’s hard to imagine a meeting at the VP level where an anecdote about how a students heart was touched is read; it’s not that they don’t care, it’s just that they have bigger things to handle. Another problem with assessment – as an old quote says “there are lies, damned lies and statistics”, sharing a bunch of stats does nothing because it’s so easily manipulated.
Third, I think student affairs speaks a different language than the rest of the campus. One of the main critiques you hear of faculty on research campuses is that they don’t have time for students because they’re doing research. However, I would frame it a different way – they’re doing research because that’s a huge part of their job – big difference. When we’re talking about “i had 15 students come to my workshop on getting along with my roommate” and they’re talking about 9 journal articles they got published, we’re really talking on two different planes.
So, what’s my point?
I think I’m essentially arguing for the progression of student affairs as a profession. We’re not that old, not nearly as old as the faculty profession and I think the discussion of “how to gain respect” evolves out of a desire to take our profession from something we can be proud of on the campus, not just in our staff meetings or in our student affairs christmas socials where we’re making christmas bags for our students with glue, yarn and glitter.
I have a couple suggestions, but I don’t think this is a comprehensive list.
- what does the faculty use to establish their value to a campus? I argued on Twitter that faculty establish value by publishing, bringing in students (recruiting), research grants and revenue from research. If I were to summarize these thematically, I would call it “money and prestige”. My question is how can student affairs bring money and prestige to the campus through our work. I think the answer will be different for each office so I’ll not make more specific suggestions.
- If we’re going to do assessment, it needs to connect directly with the mission of our office AND our division and meet scientific research standards. Most of our assessment is a joke because we don’t know how to be research scientists. Clearly this is time consuming, but if the profession is going to progress I think this is an area we clearly don’t bring our A game currently. Do it right, connect with the standards of real research scientists or don’t do it.
18
Jan 10
Break The System To Remake the System
The genius of HBO’s The Wire is that it shows that the system perpetuates itself. You cannot improve the system until you determine how to eradicate the system completely. I was listening in a meeting the other day and couldn’t help but be reminded of this fact.
To how many of you does this scenario sound familiar?
Problem A: We need more money to do X and X is important to our mission as a campus (need more staff, need new furniture, any problem)
Problem B: We have no way to get new money that doesn’t involve placing more burden on those we’re trying to serve or cutting from somewhere else (We could place another fee on students OR we could cut other programs that are either out of our jurisdiction or connect to our mission)
We can’t truly fix problem A until there’s a solution to problem B and there IS NO SOLUTION to Problem B.
Anyone who is familiar with such a scenario knows what you inevitably do. You make your best effort to solve problem A with minimal resources by going through the back door or skimping. OR you make the unfortunate choice to solve problem B by passing the cost on to another massive student fee, even though it probably doesn’t feel completely right to do so.
I couldn’t help but think of season 4 of the Wire. For those who aren’t familiar, the schools are a wreck because of the “corner kids” not being educated in a way they understand, but the government won’t allow the kids to be educated differently despite people who have proven that such innovation is effective. So, the current system doesn’t work to solve problems but rather squelches innovation and actually perpetuates the problems that exist.
This brings me to the State of New Jersey. It’s come down the line that the new governor plans to cut the state budget by a mind boggling 25 percent; those of us in higher ed know that we tend to take the lumps in such budget cuts. Everyone’s scared to death, but part of me is glad. Massive change and budget reductions REQUIRES a rethinking of how things are done. True change and true destruction of the old way of doing things will only happen when those changes are forced to happen.
At the risk of massive narcissism, I will quote myself…”Personally, I believe this to be the biggest benefit of any crisis situation, whether it be personal, local or even national. A crisis is an opportunity to reflect on our values and to think about what may be most important. While we are in crisis, we can reconnect with what our values should be and emerge leaner and meaner and more prepared to do great work in the world.”
25% budget cuts might break the system and cause much needed change to happen. I might be alone here, but I think that’s a good thing.
14
Sep 09
Forecasting the Future in Higher Ed
I read a scary article from Friday's Washington Post entitled "A Virtual Revolution is Brewing for Colleges" that reinforced something I've been saying for the last 6 months. The world is changing and higher education is firmly in the crosshairs of this technological revolution. This is not a revolutionary idea, Clay Shirky, professor at NYU, predicted the coming tidal wave caused by the lowered cost of coordination and communication in his talk from the TED conference in 2005 entitled Institutions vs Collaboration saying that any institution that relies on information monopoly would be directly affected by the change in technology. Sound familiar? Higher Ed is essentially founded on a delivery of information from a group that has the information to a group that doesn't. We seem to be firmly in the crosshairs of this revolution and we should be aware of it.
So where is this all going? I don't think you can replicate the on-campus experience. I think students will continue to want the experience of living in a communal experience with their peers, termed by others as a youth-centric subculture. However, anything that does not directly affect this cultural experience is easily replicated at lower cost and with easier delivery by use of technology.
Want to live stream your class all over the world? This has become infinitely easier in the last 5 years. Want to have live real time class discussion by text? Welcome to Twitter, google documents and the coming Google Wave frame shift.
The market does seem ripe for an entrepreneur with deep enough pockets to create the campus experience and a willingness to facilitiate the cheap delivery of classes. As the article said, community colleges and for-profit schools are ALREADY working on affecting this technology.
Forecasting is a critical skill for work in our fast changing world. How the technological revolution will affect our individual jobs and our institutions is still in the works, but it seems obvious at this point that it will. Are you ready for the coming tidal wave?
8
Sep 09
“What is it you do exactly?”
I wanted to share a quick story:
I met several new people on Labor Day and the requisite "who are you" discussion began fairly quickly. I explained that I was an assistant student center manager and that my hours were scheduled for the evenings so I would be around for more student events in the student center. I noticed casual nodding, but one particular gentleman seemed displeased with this explanation.
He later asked me "so what exactly is your degree in?" "higher education student affairs" I replied. "What does that mean exactly" he said. "Well I took classes in student development and student culture as well as counseling and finance, basically getting prepared to do anything that wasn't academics in the university" I replied. I was met with a cautious nod. "So do you think you use that in your job" he asked. "Oh absolutely" I responded with a laugh "our education was pretty well rounded for my job actually, but it was also practical so I use it nearly every day". He still seemed confused about what my job was and why it required a masters degree, but I think he decided to drop the subject.
Two questions in my mind:
1) How do I explain my job to other people?
2) More importantly, how do I explain my job to students?
I've heard of creating an elevator speech to describe yourself in a brief period of time. I think mine would be "I'm focused on providing the best experience possible for student groups in the living room of the college campus, the college student center (student union)"
I'm curious to hear others elevator speeches about their job.
6
Aug 09
A New Job, A New Start
All of my experience in student affairs has been in student activities, two years as a student leader and two years as a graduate assistant. This week, I embarked on my first full-time professional role in student affairs working outside of student activities in the college for the first time in my life.
I'm now the Assistant Manager for our student union and a big piece of my responsibilities involves facilities and operations including room scheduling and managing student employees. I'm excited for this new adventure and to learn more about the student union that I love and experience how the facility is run on a more intimate level.
A few quick observations:
1) There is a dramatic difference between the way a facilities person sees the union and the way the student activities side sees the union. While there are certainly similarities, I've been in the office four days and have already had several conversations about these different perspectives. I wonder how this would have been different if I had switched to something like Greek Life or Housing?
2) I've noticed that I'm leaning on my peers that are external to the college more than I did in graduate school. The professional connections I've developed through ACUI have already proven invaluable as I try to adapt to a new role. Again, the value of professional development cannot be overstated (by the way, did anyone see the news about NASPA-ACPA? How great would that be to see a merger?)
3) Not only am I adapting to a new job and a new school, I'm also adapting to a completely new area. I am living in central NJ and I had never even visited Jersey until 2009. Up until a week ago, I had never moved outside of NC with the intent of staying ever before; I think you can understand how this might feel. I'm working on developing connections, but I worry that because I work in a time consuming job, I might find it difficult to meet people.
As I hit on in my own personal blog, this move is exciting and challenging, but it's also a little scary and overwhelming. I'm looking forward to continuing this new journey.
17
Apr 09
Conferences in Student Affairs
I just got back from my 2nd national conference since I've been working in student affairs. Last year I attended the ACPA (American College Personnel Association) conference in Atlanta; this year I attended the ACUI (Association of College Unions International) conference in Anaheim California.
I'll spare the breakdown of positives and negatives of each, but I would like to share my perceptions after two conferences on how to get the most out of attending. Bear in mind that I've only been to two, but I hope that others might chime in on the comments and give some of their opinions on how to make conference attendance as worthwhile as possible.
1) Attend educational sessions that are OUTSIDE of your expertise
I've gotten the most out of attending sessions from experts who were at the conference who were giving presentations on how they did things or from people who knew more than me about a particular topic. One of the best sessions I went to at this conference was listening to 3 current student union directors talk about what they thought being a union director would be like in 20 years. It will probably be at least 20 years before I'm qualified to be a union director, but listening to all the wisdom in the room was a huge inspiration for me. On the other hand, attending sessions on how to speak to millenials, while cool, were not as relevant to me since I am a millenial and most of my friends are millenials.
2) Get out of the hotel and see the area.
it's really important to remember that part of the networking and communicating at a conference is done outside of the actual conference. Grab a few people that you have just met and get them to go with you on an exploration of the local area. Friendships and connections are built through these kinds of memories and will be invaluable to you as you progress through your career. For the introverts in the crowd, it's especially important to get away from the bustle of the conference every once in awhile to get some time in a smaller group and regenerate.
3) Don't spend all your time with people from your own school.
It's so easy to immerse yourself in the group from your school, especially at a bigger conference, and never actually meet anyone. I cannot stress enough, DO NOT DO THIS. Use those connections you already have to meet more people. If everyone from your group brings a couple of people that they've met, then you all are helping each other network. Networking with people you already see every week makes no sense.
4) The evening times are important networking opportunities too.
Getting together for a few evening beers with other conference attendees has been a LOT of fun for me and for other people. Seeing people let their hair down a little bit and laugh with colleagues provides some depths to the professional relationships that can be built at a conference. One HUGE caveat, remember that you are always being assessed and evaluated, so don't cross the line. Drinking too much or crossing the line in a relationship with a colleague can undo all of the positive networking that you are doing; tread carefully.
5) Remember your colleagues who couldn't go
I personally tried to Twitter as much as possible from the last conference and got some positive feedback from the people back home who couldn't come. Some people will not be as interested, so doing things like sending out mass emails is probably not the best idea. However, providing some way for people who didn't get to go to hear about the experience is a positive idea.
I'm looking forward to future conferences, especially ACUI in NYC next spring. I'd love to hear any other opinions on how to make the conference going experience more valuable and rewarding!
15
Mar 09
Facilitating Discussion on Campus
Free speech in the United States is defined by the Bill of Rights – the First Amendment to be exact. In case you need to see it again, here it is:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
One of the only circumstances that abridges this freedom of speech is yelling fire in a crowded theatre.
Free speech is not as clear on a college campus. There are multiple court cases that I will spare discussion of in this venue, but colleges in general are not protected by the same free speech rights as everywhere else. Most colleges try to maintain some sort of open forum in the name of fostering academic discussion and student development.
I bring this up because free speech has been a particularly volatile discussion on our campus this year. The first incident occurred in our "Free Expression Tunnel". The tunnel was created as a Public Works project in 1939 as part of FDR's new deal programs; it was opened to Free Expression in the 1960s as a response to graffiti around campus related to the Vietnam War. Over the years it has evolved into a BillBoard for all manner of writing including being painted by rival schools (video).
The problem arose when the night after the election of President Obama. Several students painted messages using offensive language and mentioning that someone should assassinate the president. Many students were upset when these images were found the next morning. The Secret Service was called to investigate the threat, per the law, and the images were quickly painted over.
Among the student affairs folks, an intense discussion began about how to handle this incident. Some wanted to make an example of the students, some wanted to brick up the tunnel to avoid any future painting, and some wanted to use it as a teachable moment. I'll be honest, I don't know that there is a consensus to this day on what course of action should have been taken. The students were disciplined internally, the images were painted over, and a series of discussions were held to promote campus healing.
The second incident I wanted to talk about was something that connected with me personally. I work with our campus activities board doing programming and for our last event of the year, the committee I work with will have a comedian who describes himself as an "equal opportunity offender". I have been told that certain people will be there to "monitor" the event in case there are offensive things being said; I'm not sure what their course of action will be if there is something offensive (there will be).
I found these events both interesting because I think they go back to a central question…how do we deal with free speech on campus? As student affairs folks, I think we all want people to enjoy their college experience, persist and graduate, and hopefully learn something while they're here.
I think I could nitpick some of the approaches I've seen, but I don't think it is our charge as student affairs folks to control the speech on campus. I think it is our charge to challenge and support our students in all things and to do everything we can to foster their learning and their retention. We should be the ones helping to foster the discussion and hope that our students learn how to deal with people saying offensive things rather than to try and stifle free speech.
One of the approaches that I loved came from one of our campus professionals. He suggested we tell our students to stand up when they think something is offensive and to speak out – be the one who's not afraid to paint over speech in the Free Expression Tunnel. Through doing this, we're educating our students about the right of free speech – people have the right to say offensive things, but we also have the right to speak up and say the right things. Hopefully, this approach will foster student learning and build the campus community that we all would like to have.
