Diversity

Tyler
Original post
Diversity / Leadership Training — View Comments
14
Jul 10

Stop, Drop, & Roll: What to do When Facing a New Culture

Since it’s Student Leadership Season, I wanted to throw this thought-process out there as another way to approach teaching our student leaders how to approach their peers who are different from themselves. Since part of the experience of student leadership is learning how to work with people of vastly different ideas, views, and backgrounds than their selves, it’s important that we give them a little guidance so they do not have awkward experiences leaving them baffled.

We all remember being taught to “stop, drop, and roll” when we were young. Of course, then it was for putting out burning clothing. Today, I hope to instill a new reason for us to “stop, drop, and roll:” when we find ourselves amidst a new culture, creed, ideology, etc. No matter how many different ways of life I study and discover, I will never consider myself a cultural guru. In my experience, it has become clear that no matter how many people of a certain race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc., that I meet or learn about, there was, is, and will always be a new experience, element, and/or example for me to take away.

When you are faced with someone very different than yourself, no matter what the difference is, try this out and see where it leads you:

1. STOP – Whatever you’re doing, stop doing it for a minute and realize what’s going on around you. How did you meet this person? Is it a resident in your hall that you’ve met for the first time? Is it someone in you class, cohort, department, etc that has introduced his/herself? Is it someone standing by you in line at the check-out who’s sparked conversation? Wherever and whatever is going on, STOP for that brief moment to clear your mind and realize your setting.

2. DROP – No matter what you think you know about this type (for lack of a better word) of person, DROP your thoughts. I don’t care if you have a PH.D in World Cultures (which, if you do, let me know so I can pick your brain!), you must DROP any and all learned stereotypes, preconceived notions, and understandings you think you have. Get rid of them. Shoo these thoughts away!

3. ROLL – Once you’ve gotten yourself ready to learn about someone new by STOPPING and DROPPING, you will be able to ROLL on with the situation/experience. Let them know that you’re interested in who they are and what they’re all about. As weird as it may seem, it does fancy people to know that someone is interested in them and (in all of my experience) they’ll feel comfortable at opening up about themselves and learning about you, too.

This version of stop, drop, and roll works every time if you’re truly interested in learning about someone else. If you don’t believe me, think about what it was like when you were a child and you just oozed with questions about the world around you … exactly. People answered you. People understood that you were just curious and you were excited to learn something that you didn’t understand. People also knew that if they opened up and explained the questions that you had as a child, you would be apt to hold a better understanding than most people, and that you would be able to defend their culture if you hadn’t asked the questions in the first place.

This may sound naive and corny, but it works.

So STOP, DROP, ROLL and learn something new– even if you think you already know it all.

Everyone has a story.

Tyler Martin is a Residence Hall Director at Valdosta State University.

Tyler
Original post
Diversity / Leadership Training — View Comments
22
Jun 10

Diversity Training Role Play: Behind Closed Doors

Summer is in full-swing and we’re all busy bees, getting ready for the start of another new academic year. If you’re like me, this means preparing for leadership training opportunities. And for some of you, this is synonymous with Resident Assistant Training. While you’re putting this beast together, I ask how much emphasis have you and/or your institution placed on training for diversity issues? Although diversity is nothing new to us in Student Affairs, I still find that its emphasis is not on par with our students’ needs.

Yes, we may require a diversity program or two for our RAs, Hall Council, and Residence Hall Association, but how much affect do these programs have? Is open support for the various religions, abilities, races, socioeconomic status, genders, and sexual orientations of our increasingly diverse resident student body enough? And more importantly, how well versed are our student leaders? Is the RA ready to handle a student coming out to them? What would they do when faced with a roommate conflict fueled by religious differences? Could they confidently approach the needs of a wheel-chair dependent resident? The more we think about it, the more nervous it may make us.

Fret not, there’s a solution! An easy way to tackle this concern is introducing (if you have not already) diversity training into your leadership curriculum such as RA Training. As professionals and (pre)-professionals, many of us are ready to tackle these difficult situations, and we do. Nevertheless, it’s paramount that our student leaders are able to face these situations with just as much ease since they are the ones who usually are first confronted with these situations. Below are some Diversity “Behind Closed Doors” or BCD scenarios that I wrote for my department’s Fall Training. If you think it’s time your department tackles diversity training, these may provide you with a good start:

Behind Closed Doors – Diversity-based Situations

Scene 1

Type: Race Relations (Not to be disclosed to RA-in-training)

Prompt Read to RA-in-training:

It is Move-in Day and your residents are really excited to finally get to college! You notice two residents arranging their room and decide to stop by to see them.

Actors:

(Resident 1, Resident 1’s Parent, Resident 2)

Scene to be enacted:

Move-in Day:  Two residents are arranging their room. One resident has a parent with him/her. The RA stops by to see how move-in is going and the parent begins aggressively complaining about how his/her son was put with someone of a different race and that he/she will not have his/her student picking up drugs and becoming promiscuous because of his/her roommate.

RHD: Processing:

  1. What did the RA do well?
  2. What could the RA have done better?
  3. How has training taught us to do in this situation?
  4. Is there specific protocol for approaching this situation?
  5. Veteran RAs: What advice can you give Rookie RAs?

RHD: Points to make:

  1. Ask the parent to join you in the hallway.
  2. Explain to the parent that roommates are required to live together for the first two weeks before they can be moved.
  3. Explain that being moved will be the choice of the students involved once the two-week waiting period has elapsed.
  4. Speak to the students, individually, later to see how they feel about their living situation.
  5. If the situation escalates more, send the parent to the RHD.

Behind Closed Doors – Diversity-based Situations

Scene 2

Type: GLBT Coming-Out (Not to be disclosed to RA-in-training)

Prompt Read to RA-in-training:

Two of your residents came to VSU as lifelong best friends and have maintained their friendship despite rooming together. They’re inseparable and never fight. As you’re doing a round, you hear screaming coming from their end of the hall.

Actors:

(Resident 1, Resident 2)

Scene to be enacted:

Two roommates are best friends and are inseparable. They’ve known each other their entire lives and have no secrets—or so one of them thought. After rooming together for almost a semester, one roommate decides to tell the other his/her one secret: he/she is Gay. Roommate 1 is completely flabbergasted and the surprise of it all erupts in homophobic rage. Roommate 1 screams at the other roommate, calling him/her a faggot/dyke and proceeds to run out the door, slamming it behind him/her. The RA calls for your attention but you keep going. The RA stops in to ask Roommate 2 what had just happened. Roommate 2 is in tears and states that he/she just came out to Roommate 1 and doesn’t understand his/her reaction.

RHD: Processing:

  1. What did the RA do well?
  2. What could the RA have done better?
  3. How has training taught us to do in this situation?
  4. Is there specific protocol for approaching this situation?
  5. Veteran RAs: What advice can you give Rookie RAs?

RHD: Points to make:

  1. Both roommates are very emotional right now and it’s your task to sift through their emotions to reestablish their common bond.
  2. Have Roommate 2 recount the incident.
  3. Locate Roommate 1 and discuss his/her feelings (they’re important, too!).
  4. Suggest taking both roommates to a GSA meeting, or inform them of GSA and their services.
  5. Discuss the situation with your RHD.
  6. Check up on residents to see if their relationship is rebuilding or further deteriorating.

Behind Closed Doors – Diversity-based Situations

Scene 3

Type: Religious Differences (Not to be disclosed to RA-in-training)

Prompt Read to RA-in-training:

Two of your residents are roommates but not friends. You know that they coexist without much communication, but neither of them have explained why. While doing a round, you hear a bunch of commotion followed by screaming and the slamming of a door.

Actors:

(Resident 1, Resident 2, Friends of Resident 2 [if possible])

Scene to be enacted:

Resident 1 is of a traditional, conservative Christian religion. Roommate 2 is a Neo-Pagan (define). Despite Resident 1’s intolerance towards Roommate 2’s beliefs, both residents manage to remain roommates since they have conflicting schedules that keep them separated. Tonight, however, Resident 1 walks in on Resident 2 and his/her friends performing a ritual that involves them sitting in the form of a circle with lit candles and incents amongst them and a religious text in the center of their formed circle. Resident 2 and his/her friends appear to be chanting. Resident 1 bursts into anger and kicks the candles, incents, and text; screams at them and crashes out the door, slamming it behind him/her. Resident 1 sees his/her RA and charges towards him/her demanding a room change.

RHD: Processing:

  1. What did the RA do well?
  2. What could the RA have done better?
  3. How has training taught us to do in this situation?
  4. Is there specific protocol for approaching this situation?
  5. Veteran RAs: What advice can you give Rookie RAs?

RHD: Points to make:

  1. Lead Resident 1 back into his/her room and have all non-residents leave the room.
  2. Point out the policy violations with the candles and incents, but do not make the situation about the policy violations, but rather the roommates situation.
  3. Emotions are high right now, separating the roommates and speaking to them individually may be a good idea. Start with Roommate 1 since he/she came to you first.
  4. Bring the roommates together and use the Talking Stick and Roommate Mediation skills.
  5. Be aware that some situations are above your skill set and that is OKAY.
  6. If you feel that the situation will only become worse, contact your RHD or the RHD on duty so he/she may investigate and decide on any further action.

Behind Closed Doors – Diversity-based Situations

Scene 4

Type: Socio-economic Status/ First-gen College Student (Not to be disclosed to RA-in-training)

Prompt Read to RA-in-training:

You love community building activities. In fact, you’ve managed to get your entire floor to regularly see movies on opening nights, go off-campus to eat, and they even designed and purchased several floor pride shirts! One of your residents, who used to be just as active as the rest of your floor, has recently stopped going to the movies and off-campus to eat. Tonight, you decide to stop by and see if he/she’s okay and find out why he/she’s changed.

Actors:

(Resident 1)

Scene to be enacted:

Resident 1 hails from a family of low socio-economic status and is a first-generation college student. Although the HOPE Scholarship and his/her Financial Aid covers most of the cost for college, he/she still had to take out a loan for some books and living expenses. Resident 1’s floor is very engaged and regularly sees movies on opening nights, goes off-campus to eat, and even designs and purchases several floor pride shirts. Even though Resident 1 has really enjoyed this, he/she’s realized that continuing this will deplete his/her fixed finances. The RA has noticed that Resident 1 has stopped attending the movies and no longer goes out to eat with the floor. He/she stops by tonight to ask Resident 1 why. Despite Resident 1’s embarrassment, he/she places pride aside and explains his/her situation.

RHD: Processing:

  1. What did the RA do well? What could the RA have done better?
  2. How has training taught us to do in this situation?
  3. Is there specific protocol for approaching this situation?
  4. Veteran RAs: What advice can you give Rookie RAs?

RHD: Points to make:

  1. Finances can be a sensitive subject to students, so approach them with diligence.
  2. Do not hesitate to use the programming budget—designing low-cost and free programs is very simple. Be sure to utilize CAB, RHA and general University events as programs!
  3. All students need to understand finances: program a Budgeting/Finance 101 program.
  4. Be aware that First Gen students may need more assistance than other students. Plan for this by knowing basic questions to University services and guide them to the resources/services/offices that may help them.
  5. Praise your residents’ academic success through programs and conversation: ask residents how they want to be recognized (some wish to be, others do not).

Behind Closed Doors – Diversity-based Situations

Scene 5

Type: Students with Disabilities (Not to be disclosed to RA-in-training)

Prompt Read to RA-in-training:

One of your residents uses a wheelchair for mobility. This resident has been very social and active all semester—coming to hall events and spends a lot of time in the lobby being chummy with other residents. Recently, however, you’ve not seen this resident around. Being concerned, you stop by why the resident is out and ask his/her roommate if everything is okay.

Actors:

(Resident 1)

Scene to be enacted:

Resident 1’s roommate uses a wheelchair for mobility. Lately, Resident 1 has noticed that his/her roommate has become frustrated with the way other residents are treating his/her disability. Resident 1 has seen other residents walk around his/her roommate as he/she is leaving the building since he/she uses a proxy card that automatically opens the doors. Resident 1 has also seen residents make faces, gestures, and comments about his/her roommate being slow and taking up the whole hallway as he/she navigates the building. Resident 1 knows that his/her roommate has become aware of the ignorance/intolerance of other residents has become less active in the hall and is now spending most of his/her time outside the resident hall. When the RA stops by to ask about Resident 1’s roommate, Resident 1 explains the situation.

RHD: Processing:

  1. What did the RA do well? What could the RA have done better?
  2. How has training taught us to do in this situation?
  3. Is there specific protocol for approaching this situation?
  4. Veteran RAs: What advice can you give Rookie RAs?

RHD: Points to make:

  1. Start the year by discussing a climate of acceptance and expecting diversity. This will set the tone for the year and make residents more aware of one another initially.
  2. Talk to the resident experiencing the issue to assess his/her feelings and sentiments.
  3. Ask the resident if he/she would be interesting in creating an ability-based program (some residents with disabilities are more than willing, while others would rather not).
  4. Become acquainted with the Access Office (aka Disabled Student Development)—they will be glad to help you understand your resident and his/her needs.
  5. Do not tolerate any intolerance of any diversity element: treat it as you would any other inconsiderate behavior.
Jennifer
Original post
Diversity / Event Ideas — View Comments
31
May 10

Happy Memorial Day.

It’s easy for us to count off, probably on more than one hand, the programs we’ve been a part of this year. Those that stand out in our minds probably gave us the greatest challenge, taught us something about ourselves, allowed us to see that “A-Ha” spark of engagement, or provided us an opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in departments outside of our own. But, what programs had the greatest impact on our special or unique populations?

On this Memorial Day, one unique student population comes to mind: our veterans. Having worked at an institution that was less than 10 miles from an air force base, currently working at an institution with a significant percentage of students serving or recently transitioning back to life as a civilian, and coming from a family of proud military men and women, this group is always in the forefront of my mind.

If you were to assess your campus programs and services right now, could you explicitly list the transition services offered at your institution to men and women returning from deployment? Did you host a roundtable to hear what your veteran students need from your department? Have you done all you can to help these students transition from a battle mindset to your campus grind? Have you opened the dialogue to discuss how your institution can do more?

Like many of the veteran students on my campus, I care a lot about action and less about words. It’s easy to make services for unique populations a checkbox on an ever growing list of tasks, and a greater challenge to create a relationship with these students. Building relationships is the key. We know that human beings like to laugh, especially those who are returning from high stress situations like the battlefield, so why not extend a personal invitation to a veteran to attend the comedy show your program board is hosting? Military men and women have received many hours of leadership training; are you looking at the future facilitators of a workshop in your leadership portfolio series? If your residence hall floor is looking for a service project, how about becoming pen pals for deployed servicemen and women? Opportunities are endless and reaching out to a unique population can be incorporated into programs and activities you’re already offering.

Your campus is not alone if this unique population hasn’t been in the spotlight. Admittedly, my campus is in the beginning phases of having organized transition services for students going to or returning from deployment. However, together we face this challenge: instead of flowery words, truly honor the service of the many men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice –extend a hand and build a relationship with your veteran students.

Happy Memorial Day.

Lisa
Original post
Diversity / Event Ideas / Leadership Training / University — View Comments
26
Apr 10

The magic of high-impact learning experiences

We all want to create learning experiences that transform lives. Students spend such a short time in college (which may be even less with three-year degrees!)–what opportunities can we offer that will have a big impact? This challenge seems impossible at times, especially with tight resources. However, when we are able to pull one off, it can appear almost magical.

That’s the way I would describe the weeklong Lakota cultural experience offered recently to UW-Green Bay students. I had the pleasure of accompanying students to the Pine Ridge Reservation and Rapid City, South Dakota, to build relationships with the Lakota people, to learn about their culture, and to participate in service with them.

From our arrival to our departure, we encountered opportunities to stretch our minds, hearts, and bodies. Our guides encouraged us from the start to observe and listen, to learn and understand, to resist judgment.

In this frame of mind, we witnessed Lakota people, who, despite past and present losses, demonstrated true generosity, compassion, spirit, and hope. We heard a bit about Lakota history, defined by manipulation and worse; however, we heard a great deal more about a future defined by tribally driven education, cultural restoration, and community development.

Despite the short time we spent with various individuals, we formed strong connections. Each person we met deepened our understanding, not only about the Lakota people but also about ourselves. We observed values that some of us will build into our own lives: a broader definition of family, a spiritual connection to all things, and a reverence for our elders and their wisdom. Lakota resilience and tenacity empower us.

I almost missed this trip. It had been many years since I last crawled into a crowded van and drove for hours to get to a destination, whether that was an R.A. conference, NACURH, or some other lively and learning-filled event. Like living-in perhaps, road trips seemed a thing of the past for me. A selfish quandary rightly resolved.

This trip’s life is far from over. The group is presenting its experiences to the campus in a couple weeks, a participant is writing a paper on Wounded Knee for a history class, and next fall we will facilitate a discussion of the book Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog as part of our leadership programming. And that’s just the beginning.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to join the students on this journey. It was a transformative experience for all of us and a program thick with learning: history, culture, white privilege, economics, and so much more. Magical.

Were you lucky enough to have a transformative experience as an undergrad? What are some recent high-impact learning experiences you’ve been a part of or observed? Who is finding success creating quality experiences with limited resources?

View the UWGB Student Life Facebook page for photos from our trip.

Lisa Tetzloff is director of student life at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Debra
Original post
#sachat / Diversity / SA Humor — View Comments
22
Apr 10

#SACHAT Under the sea?

In case you missed this evening’s edition of #SACHAT, we had our first celebrity sighting since Irma Pelt joined the conversation. Yes, it was none other than everyone’s favorite mermaid, Ariel!

During our evening chat on the topic of Staff Motivation and Recognition, Miss Ariel weighed in to share her approval of staff and student recognition.

Our trusty #SACHAT moderator was surprised as much as anyone by this celebrity appearance and sought confirmation of the mermaid manifesting herself in the conversation.

Miss Ariel continued to show that she’s got the scales and chimed in on a question about handling staff jealousy over recognition.

As the conversation clearly slowed to focus on the star in our midst, Ariel bantered a bit more about the “ism’s” represented in Disney animation and then swam away, under the sea, down where it’s wetter, take it from me.

Just goes to prove, you miss a day of #SACHAT, you miss a lot.

I wanna be where the people are
I wanna see, wanna see them dancin’
Walking around on those – what do you call ‘em?
Oh – feet!

VaNessa Thompson
Original post
Campus Issues / Diversity / First-Year Experience / Freshman / University — View Comments
5
Oct 09

If the room is a-rockin’ …

Working in Residence Life I have seen this scenario play out numerous times. The roommate A comes in and sees roommate B doing the nasty or Roommate B is sleeping while Roommate A is getting her kicks. It happens. However, now Tufts has placed a policy ban of sex while your roommate is in the room. Is this going too far?

The Tufts University policy is as follows:

Host Responsibilities:

Any resident student who will be hosting an overnight guest must adhere to the following expectations:

  • You must obtain permission from your roommate(s) before your guest arrives to campus.
  • If you live in a staffed residence hall you must obtain an Overnight Guest Registration Form from your Resident Assistant…
  • You may not allow your guest (whether Tufts affiliated or not) to occupy your room without your presence or give your room key or building fob to your guest(s) under any circumstances.
  • You are responsible for the behavior of your guests at all times and are liable for any damages incurred to your room or the residence hall as a result of your guest's behavior/actions.
  • You may not engage in sexual activity while your roommate is present in the room. Any sexual activity within your assigned room should not ever deprive your roommate(s) of privacy, study, or sleep time.

 

Many times it is hard for roommates to have these and other tough conversations; they are coming from home with their own room and now they have to share a space with someone. In Residence Life, we want to be able to give the residents skills that will help them in the future. I know when many of my residents had to have these conversations, it was probably the hardest thing to do; but it gave them conflict management and other skills that have helped them out in the future.


(Wayne State)

And thinking like a typical resident, what would be considered as "sexual activity?" Making out? Hugging? In today's society, that is ambiguous; it's not necessarily the actions, but the motivation behind them (in my opinion). If you are going to tell them not to do it, then I believe then you should define what that is for them. I can see how this could lead into some potential problems. And if a resident was to engage in this type of an activity and the roommate was present, what would happen? Would they get kicked out of the room? It's their room too and they have a right to use it as they see fit. With that said I like MSU's residence hall policy; it splits it between primary and secondary rights.

Michigan State's residence hall policy is that as a resident your primary rights are to read and study without interference, sleep and have access to belongings, and the right file grievance in your room. Any secondary rights, like having guests or having sex, cannot override those primary rights. Yeah there are some grey areas, but that allows the roommates to set the tone in their room for themselves, not the college or university. You could also do things like Wayne State's Roommate Agreement, where there is a list of questions and answers that help facilitate those conversations.


(My roommate and I at MSU in 2003)

For more articles related to Tufts' Policy, click here!

Daniel W. Murphy
Original post
Campus Issues / Collaborative Learning / Diversity / Leadership Training / SA Humor — View Comments
29
Sep 09

A Millennial’s Confession

I have a confession to make…  I am special. It’s not my fault that I’m special, I’m just living up to the expectations that have been placed on me by the people who designed my generation. By designers, I don’t necessarily mean my parents as much as you all… the Boomers and the X-ers.

I was born in 1982. While some say that the Millennials started a few years prior (or after), I’ve most often seen 1982 as the start of Generation Y. This works for me… after all, we were also the first class of the “new millennium,” hoping that the world wouldn’t end just months before we graduated from high school. Contrary to many in my generation I didn’t have a cell phone until I went to college, the Facebook boom hit right as I started graduate school, I didn’t own a digital camera until I was 23, and I’m not even a toddler by twitterverse standards. My tech savyness comes from a willingness to play and a curiosity for the world encouraged by the possibilities created by Generation X.

As tends to happen in a given week I was sitting in a meeting discussing what we needed to do for “this generation” with some campus colleagues. Cut to a scene from “Mean Girls” in which Cady Heron, in an attempt to woo Aaron Samuels, is downplaying her mathematical prowess so that she can get some help. As Aaron begins to answer her questions we are privy to the conversation in Cady’s head that goes something like “Wrong,” “So Wrong,” “Wrong, wrong, wrong.” I guess that’s a pretty dramatic example but I can admit that I’ve had thought process myself once or twice.

If my math serves me correct, Millennials have been working in Student Affairs for about three or four years now. The majority of us probably serve as the Coordinators or Assistant Directors on your campuses. Some of my peers have already stepped into Director roles… we are ambitious after all. Or, we’ve just recently unleashed our first bit of research in the field through our Doctoral candidates, now graduates. All of this to lead up to my next confession: we’re already here!

There’s a fallacy out there that we crave structure. Structure can be good, but I think what we really crave is clear expectations and established boundaries. Within those boundaries, however, we seek the freedom to play. Just like with technology, we like to look at problems as an opportunity to find a new way of doing things. If we are given a task and then given steps 1 through 8 to complete it… that is what the product will be.

(A question I’ve often pondered: What if our contracts were designed to promote the actions that we hope to see from our students as opposed to a list of actions/activities that are off limits? Are the contracts really designed to help with student learning, or are they to make it easier on us that have the difficult conversations? Your thoughts?)

Trust is big for us. We need to feel like we’re trusted to do our jobs. That can be hard though, because sometimes we don’t look like we’re working – I get that. The thing is that many of us have made ourselves so available via emerging technologies that we’ve entered a world of being perpetually on-call.  Maybe it’s because I was one of those students writing the 2:00am emails and asking for references due in two days that I extend a bit of patience (and an understanding smile) to the students I work with. Truth be told… I was the one checking my email at 2:00am to know they sent the message.  Our attempt at development will be more warmly received if we’ve established trust.

There is one place we get ourselves into trouble… we do have a tendency to think that we’re always right. My “Mean Girls” moments are a testament to that. Be patient with us… more often than not we come back around. A lot of us learn best by making mistakes. As a professional I’ve recognized that we have moments at work that there is “no fail option.” It’s important that we learn that lesson too, but I can tell you that if I’m given a chance to mess up… that same mistake won’t happen again.  

I have some other confessions to make:

-I didn’t proof this before I submitted it… that’s Microsoft Word’s job. Not to mention those little green wiggly lines don’t even make sense, no one actually talks like that.

-I called my mom before I sat down to write this. It’s the third time we’ve talked this week… oh, and there have been a few emails too.  After all, my parents have been the ones who have believed in me from the beginning and told me that I can do, or be, anything.

-I’m also “gchatting” with a former student and tweeting simultaneously. That’s just an attention span issue…

-Oh, and I’ve watched all five of the” Bring It On” movies (yes, there are five). That actually has nothing to do with being a Millennial, I just felt the need to get that one off of my chest.

Now, I make no promises that what I have to say applies to every Millennial. After all, I’m not the only one that is special – we all are! I’m just saying that I think it’s time we change the conversation a little. “This generation” is in the room and if we have a chance to play, we all might be surprised.

Daniel W. Murphy
Original post
Diversity / First-Year Experience / Freshman / Orientation — View Comments
1
Sep 09

Welcome Week Casserole

A few weeks ago I was sitting at my computer working through some details for a Welcome Week program when I started toggling back and forth between my excel spreadsheet and my Twitter feed. I found the usual – some website links skilled in the art of enabling procrastination, breaking news from five different sources (all with slightly different details, of course), and one-sided shout outs to people I will never follow.

With our Welcome Week right around the corner I figured I would give it a shot and a “Find People” search for “Welcome Week” resulted in over two-dozen profiles. I perused the list to find a handful of very active profiles, some schools where I had friends working and a good number of schools you could tell were just testing the waters on this “Twitter thing.” By the time I decided I needed some dinner, I had added about a dozen schools to the list of people that I follow. These schools; from all over the United States and Canada, representing public and private institutions, large and small student bodies, and variations in orientation program designs have been an absolute joy to follow.

It wasn’t until the middle of this most recent Welcome Week on my campus that I noticed a trend. Each of those 12 schools, plus the three that I have worked at, had the same essential elements that make up the core of their programming schedule.  I realized that it’s a lot like a potluck dinner with friends. You were assigned to bring dessert and spend all afternoon whipping up an apple pie from your secret family recipe. You arrive at the potluck ready to show off your culinary aptitude when you realize there are two other apple pies already on the table. Even though they all contain the same essential ingredients, you find through tasting a sample of each that the three pies offer a distinct and unique experience for your palette.

Likewise, the Welcome Week experience is unique to each campus community. Inspired by my new friends that I have been following on Twitter for the past two weeks and the dutiful encouragement by my mother to learn to cook for myself, I would like to share with you my recipe for Welcome Week Casserole:

Start with your main ingredients; Move-In Day, some academic programming, and a healthy helping of student volunteers.

These ingredients create the base of your program. A semi-captive audience now resides on-campus that has survived (arguably) the first rite of passage on campus – carrying boxes to the (insert number that is actually one higher than the number of floors in your tallest residence hall) floor, maneuvering around the predictably broken elevator, and managing to avoid a parking ticket.

The academic programs are usually easy to identify… they contain the word “Academic” in the title and are usually frontloaded into the first full day of Welcome Week.

The student volunteers are often just as easy to identify — they are dressed alike and may be carrying large brightly colored objects (to be used in icebreakers). These students are often ridiculed by their peers on campus for being “too energetic,” “too happy,” or just downright “annoying.” Even though their motivation is sometimes in question (early move-in, the influence, recruiting for student organizations, building a social network, etc), I respect them more than almost anyone that works in Student Affairs. They are the front line of our programs, often being asked to fulfill expectations far beyond what would be imaginable for 18-21 year olds in a volunteer position.

Next, add one serving of a formal welcome program.

This program is usually designed as a way for administration and faculty to welcome new students to their community. Placed near the beginning of the week and with the pomp and circumstance associated with a commencement ceremony, these students officially become members of the academy. More than anything, this is a wonderful opportunity to involve campus partners in the orientation experience. (I think that campus spam blockers have been upgraded to weed out any emails with the words “invite,” “welcome week,” and “late night” in them.)

Now, gently fold in some diversity programming.

Probably the most unique of all Welcome Week components, I can think of nothing else more responsive to the make-up of the student body, campus and local social values, political influences and comfort level of orientation staff/committee members. It is worthy of graduate school case studies discussing the balance between challenge and support. 

For some spice, a pinch of University Athletics will do.

If you have a marching/pep band, it is a must. Be careful though, there is a high probability that it will not go as you planned with the Athletic Director or Athletics Event Coordinator. Coaches are paid the big bucks to make game time decisions. In front of the new students, filled with a lot of energy, and in an effort to increase attendance and support for all of the athletic teams on the roster – there are plenty of opportunities for “game time decisions.”  

Finally, the secret ingredient…

I can’t tell you what that is because it’s a secret! But, you know what I’m talking about. It’s the pink elephant on the campus. Every campus has one… it can take the form of large unsanctioned parties off campus, student groups hosting events in hopes of recruiting new students, or alternative “orientation programs” presented by jaded upperclass students. You won’t find it on the Welcome Week schedule, but if you ask any current student they can tell you when it happens. You may find something on the schedule for that day and time… it was probably put there because of the secret ingredient.

Mix it all together and place in an oven at 90 to 100 degrees for three to five days, or until ready.

My favorite part is putting it all in the oven. Mostly because I don’t have to do anything, but also because now it just leaves me with anticipation of the deliciousness that will result. I don’t know what’s happening inside the oven, all I know is that if I’ve done everything that I’m supposed to my casserole will come out exactly as planned. We go through great lengths to plan a week of events for new students on our campuses. Within all of this, is an inherent trust that our campus community will do their part to achieve the desired result. We arm new students with the ingredients to be successful; we engaged them with information and entertainment (edutainment… if you will); we give them access to successful upperclass students, faculty and alumni; and, then we hope for the best.

I can’t think of anything more rewarding and anxiety producing all at the same time. Hopefully we’ve set the table for an incredibly meaningful college experience. Now that I’ve stepped away from the table, full and ready for a nap, it’s time to make some notes and adjust the recipe as needed. The best part of it all is that we can rest assured that none of us will be bringing the exact same dish to the next divisional potluck.

Gavin Weiser
Original post
Conferences / Diversity / Leadership Training / SA Humor / Social Networks / Tidbits / Web/Tech — View Comments
7
May 09

Sink or Swim? Thinking About the Whole Picture Before Presenting at a Conference

                Not
long ago I had the opportunity to present at a local conference with a colleague
of mine. At the university at which I both work and take my graduate classes,
we host an annual regional conference on leadership and diversity. Due to my
position in the multicultural affairs unit, it seemed only practical that I
present and upon talking with my colleague of mine, we came up with what we
thought would be a great idea for a presentation.

                We
decided that since we both have a background in leadership studies, and with my
work in multicultural affairs, we would be able to broach both of these
important topics in tandem. We were very excited. This conference has a large
undergraduate student draw. Many leadership programs in the south-east come to
this conference annually due to the high-quality of presentations and key-note
speakers.

                Due to
the population, we knew that we would have to alter our presentation to not
only get bodies in the room, but keep them engaged in order for them to remain
interested and to learn something useful and practical that they could use upon
leaving at the end of the day. She and I were both very excited when we
realized exactly what to do. We would utilize clips from popular culture as
examples of leadership and its different styles in order to teach our lessons.

                We had
everyone included; from John Dorian of Scrubs,
to Jack Sheppard of LOST. And of
course, one can not forget The Donald. We carefully selected clips from these as
well as a few other tid-bits of pop-culture genius in order to talk about
different points of leadership and leading a diverse team. We were placed in
the slot at the end of the day to present, where they usually put the most
interesting sounding presentations. The day of right the presentation; right before
we were to begin, we filled up the largest room they had booked for presentations,
in fact, it became standing room only.

Unfortunately, the presentation was
Power Point based and the night before we realize that we had built the entire
presentation on a Mac. The day of the conference we realize that we didn’t have
a cable in order to connect the Mac to the projector. Somehow, I managed to
find a CD in order to burn the presentation to disc in order for us to transfer
this huge presentation with media embedded within to the presentation computer,
which of course was probably made in 1992. I say it was made in 1992, for once
we were able to actually transfer the presentation to the other computer, it
was unable to handle the media and froze up several times. In fact, the last
time it froze up was right in the middle of our presentation.

                At the
time we were both crushed. We had people walk out of presentation. Our reviews
were horrible. My colleague refused to even read the evaluations. (Not all of
them were bad!) Fortunately for my own self-preservation; I am in the thought
that every moment of our lives must be taken as a learning moment. So although
we had a great idea for a presentation, and had it immaculately prepared on our
Mac and it looked very nice and worked quite well, once we discovered what the
room looked like the day of, and the inability to connect my computer to the
projector, and the lack of speakers for sound, it was quite evident, we had not
prepared quite enough.  

                The
take away message for everyone is that it is of the most importance for us to
be fully prepared to handle whatever bumps that may be thrown at us. This can
be presenting at a conference, or in class. This could be meeting with
students, or throwing an event. Our profession is often abundant with road
hazards. It is important to be able to roll with these misfortunes and be able
to quickly adapt. It is more important to learn to identify potential problems
before going in so that you can be prepared. I know that I for one now carry an
8 gig flash drive on my keys in hopes that something like this will never
happen.

By the end of the presentation, we
had a core group of students that remained throughout the presentation and in
the end; I feel that these students learned more than they had bargained for. Several
of these students were headed into the field of Student Affairs, and since we
were very candid about what happened, I am sure none of them will make the same
mistakes we made, and I hope that you will not either.

 

P.S. One of my fellow graduate students was kind enough to
sit in the front and record the whole thing for me, so that we would be able to
improve afterward. I have yet to watch the video, I am pretty sure I know what
went wrong at this point!

Tom
Original post
Campus Issues / Diversity / TOTM — View Comments
30
Apr 09

The Role of Faith in Student Affairs – Topic of the Month

Advising is one of many hats worn by SA Professionals. It can be very rewarding to help shape the values and ideals of your students. It seems only natural that those values and ideals match your own, but where’s the line? Particularly, with the sensitive issue of Faith?

Linda Adams from Central VA Community College, whom you met before as our last “Better Get To Know an SA Professional,” shares her take:

As I approach my 15 years of working in the field of extracurricular activities my faith has been my foundation over those years. When I was hired, my statement to the interview panel was that I did not want to compromise my faith in the state institution but to live out my faith in my daily activities.
I find that my faith helps me to love and show compassion to all students no matter who they are. I depend on God to give me the strength to work through the situations which may be hard to handle. When put to the test I depend upon my faith to be my guide.
Obviously, I work with students from all backgrounds and beliefs and it is always thrilling to discuss my faith with the students when asked. I do not believe that God intends for me to force my faith on anyone but to quietly live out my faith as an example of my hope. The greatest legacy I feel I can leave the students is to mentor them, pray for them, and most of all accept them.

By default, SA folk are advisers and mentors. So, how do you manage the mix between your job and faith, especially, as Linda pointed out, when working with students of all backgrounds and beliefs?

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