I stood in front of my dresser staring a multitude of clothes.  “So, exactly what do I wear to this, anyway?” I thought to myself as I fumbled through a variety of shirt and pant options accompanied by a blank look on my face.  It was my first Leadership Retreat since I arrived in my new position as Director of Student Life and Development.  I was preparing to go to a full day retreat with leadership staff from a variety of departments throughout the institution, some of which I do not interact with on a regular basis.  To say the least, I wanted to make a positive impression on everyone.

A couple of days before the conference, the Senior Vice President’s Administrative Assistant had sent an e-mail out stating that the dress for the occasion would be the standard “Business Casual”.  Excellent, I thought, that’s how I dress every day!  Then came the curve-ball.  A day later another e-mail arrived in my inbox stating that the standard would actually be “Casual”.  Uh oh, I thought.  “Casual Dress’ could mean everything from jeans to sweat pants.  To sense what other participants would wear, I asked my office neighbor who was also new to the team and going to the retreat.  After chatting for a few minutes we agreed that shorts, sandals, etc. would be o.k. given that the code had been declared as “Casual”.  I felt much better leaving the office that day with clearer direction.

The next morning, however, brought back the same level of indecision I had experienced the previous day.  Was wearing shorts and flip flops too causal?  Would I be the only one who would interpret the dress code in this manner?  What would the consequences be if I showed up not dressed appropriately?  My wife finally talked me off the ledge and convinced me to go with my gut and wear what I wanted to wear.

As I pulled into the parking garage of the off campus location, I began to look around for my colleagues to with a hope of immediate reassurance.  Unfortunately, I saw no one outside.  Walking into the facility I knew there was no turning back.  Entering the meeting room, I quickly scanned the room — and my biggest fear had become a reality –  I was the only one wearing shorts.  My office mate responded that he had decided against it at the last minute, and instead chose to wear jeans. I had to quickly make the decision of how to react to this awkward scenario. I could laugh it off and just play it cool, or I could emphatically apologize.

Initially I panicked and chose that latter.  This took the form of me immediately approaching my supervisor and stating the obvious regarding my dress code.  I suddenly remembered that I had a pair of jeans in my car, which resulted in me immediately asking “I brought jeans in my car.  Should I grab them and change?”  He had the option of responding in a variety of different ways.  My anxiety quickly dissipated when he looked at me, smiled, and calmly stated “Absolutely not, I think what your wearing is perfect.”

It’s amazing how much time I spent in graduate school studying important concepts such as student development theory, leadership, and student cultures. What gets lost in all of that information is the additional time my cohort spent having dialogues around topics surrounding working for institutions and units that directly matched up with personal values and expectations.  One my strongest values is embracing and being comfortable with change.  Taking on a new role, I realized that I would experience a variety of change lessons along the way.  Taking part in this ritual was a lesson that could have produced extremely non beneficial results had it not occurred amongst a community that was supportive and understanding.  While I received some lighthearted jokes and comments from my colleagues, and quickly realized this would be the last time I wore plaid shorts and a tee shirt to a leadership retreat, I appreciated the qualities of acceptance and understanding of the culture to help me effectively manage this episode of change in my new role. It made me feel more comfortable in my colleagues’ willingness to let me find my way in a world of new norms and responsibilities.

The results of the first weekly #SAbest poll are in! Here are twenty of the top tweets that you voted for last week:

The poll is open for this week’s #SAbest – let the nominations begin!

In recent news, Prince spoke out against the Internet stating, “All these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers, and that can’t be good for you.” After reading the article, I’ve imagined this is all a publicity stunt to promote his new album (which I’m not going to promote). But his comments do cause me to reflect on the impact technology has had on our learning and development. Can Prince be right about gadgets not being good for you? I also thought to myself, if technology is not good for us, then is what we do in student affairs not good either?

So I thought about mp3 players – I have several different versions – ones that hook right up to the computer with the USB port and of course, a ipod. Are they no good? Sure, I can load them up with useless songs, but I have found that mp3 players (the same as the old personal cassette and CD players) represent a part of our soul. We put music, podcasts, shows, pictures, and other items on these devices because they mean something to us. When I’m running and a song comes on, it immediately transports me to a different place and time. When I’m listening to a podcast like “Tech Therapy” from the Chronicle, I’m learning and reflecting. My physical presence hasn’t changed – I’m still running physically, but my mind is running all over previous held knowledge and new thoughts and ideas are emerging. I think sometimes, student affairs can be seen as a mp3 player. We provide a menu of options for students to engage in.  We have weekend programs, community service projects, student activities, student groups, intramural teams, and the list goes on.  Sometimes, we have large attendance and sometimes a program or new initiative fails. As student affairs professionals, we reflect and re-analyze our efforts to reach students and provide support to them. But it’s important to remember, just as a mp3 player, students participate in different college programs as a reflection of who they are. Similar to a playlist on a mp3 player, students pick and choose their engagement on what reflects their interests and what would help them grow. We may not see how our actions impact them in the moment, but perhaps students’ cognitive processes are in motion helping them further in their development.

I also thought of computers. Are they filling my head up with numbers and useless information? Are they leading us to be disengaged with others and ourselves? There are numerous scholarly articles and research examining the effect of technology on disengagement (i.e. Main, Student disengagement in higher education: Two Trends in Technology, and Lindos and Zolkos, Technology, Community, and Education in Neoliberal Society: A Review of Michael Bugeja’s Interpersonal Divide). In these articles, arguments are presented regarding technology’s threat to higher education by encouraging commercialism and disengagement among students. For example, in a survey conducted with 116 students with GPAs below 2.0, one-third of participants acknowledged the impact recreational computer use had on their academic performance (Farrell, 2005). Many electronic addictions are also becoming prevalent on campuses like gaming, gambling, and web surfing (Carr-Chellman, 2005; Farrell, 2005). So how does student affairs practices fit into this new era of engagement? Often, student affairs professionals are seen as the experts in student engagement, being sought out by others on our expertise and talents. We are not limited by time and space. Our business is students, which sometimes requires accessibility at all hours and in various forms. There are arguments out there that state that student affairs is useless to the enterprise of higher education, that we should simply be “house mothers” and let the learning be left for the experts (i.e. faculty). But student affairs, like technology, does have a role in educating students. We can assist students in maximizing their academic goals by developing strategies to reach them. We provide a framework for challenge and support as students navigate through their college experience. Technology does the same, if utilized and directed with intentionality and purpose.

So I go back to my original question: Is technology no good for our brain? I don’t have a clear answer to that, but I know that my mind has been challenged by what technology has provided me. Technology makes me think of my practices. It delivers information to me daily that requires me to mull, reflect, act, and react to. I use a cell-phone to communicate with friends and family. I use a computer to manage all my professional responsibilities. I skype, I twit, I blog, I post, I read, I reflect, and I learn. Technology for the good or bad allows me to grow. So maybe Prince wants us to stay partying like it’s 1999, but I prefer to party it on into the future and let my mind keep growing.

Licinia “Lulu” Barrueco Kaliher, Ed.D., is a Ray Street Complex Director at the University of Delaware.

References

Carr-Chellman, A. A. (Ed.). (2005). Global Perspectives on E-learning: Rhetoric and Reality. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Farrell, E. F. (2005, September 2). Logging on, tuning out: When students lose themselves in online worlds, it can be hard to bring them back to reality. The Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A46.

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!

Last
month, after working just over 15 years full-time in Student Affairs
(mostly in Residence Life), I resigned my stable, standing position
at one of the best universities in America (Penn State), and moved to
Athens, GA, to go into business for myself as a Life, Career and
Transition Coach. In later posts, and on one or the other of my own blogs, I will expand
on my reasons and explain more why I did what some might think is a
pretty crazy thing, and what I hope to do with my newfound life as an
“education entrepreneur.” But for now, I would like to share some
things I learned from working in higher education over the last
generation.

The
following comments were adapted from a handout I gave out as I
delivered my “parting thoughts” to fellow staff at Penn State.
Hopefully, readers will find some wisdom, some humor, or at least
something to disagree with among the dozen items below.

1.
Like the people around you. It
makes coming to work less stressful. And by this I mean like your
peers, housing and foods workers, your RAs, student leaders, student
drama queens/kings, needy clingy types, nerds, troublemakers,
arrogant bastards, and even crazy parents. There’s something to
like about almost anybody. Look for the good. It won’t kill you.

2.
Mind your own business. And
everything isn’t your business! The more time you spend worrying
about what other people are doing, the less you are paying attention
to yourself and what you are supposed to be doing. And people do
notice. It annoys them, because you spend too much time being cranky,
instead of producing results.

3.
People don’t care what you think. They
care what you do. Do or do not. All talk
and no action doesn’t just make you a dull boy. It makes you an
a**hole. If you aren’t going to do something about the things you
want to change, then shut up already. Silence is golden.

4.
Treat people with dignity and respect.
Working in Student Affairs is about
valuing people. This includes the students, their parents, your
colleagues, your boss, the custodians, the housing manager, the
coffeehouse workers, maintenance workers, UPS guy, commons desk
workers, etc. People won’t remember you for your title. They’ll
remember how you treated them. And you can learn a lot about life,
work, ethics and purpose from just about anyone. Never put yourself
on a pedestal above other people. You may think you have the big
picture from up there, but that’s just the thin air making you
giddy and keeping you from actually thinking.

5.
Take assignments others don’t want. You
will define yourself as a team player with a good work ethic, and you
will learn something from doing the tasks. If the task is boring,
confusing or not particularly motivational, do what you can to change
that. Think between the lines of your task or committee’s
descriptions. If you are bored and unmotivated, that’s a choice you
are making, not something that others are doing to you to make you
miserable.

6.
If you don’t love students, you shouldn’t be here. Go away.
Conversely, if you do love students, that
doesn’t necessarily mean you should be here or do what you are
particularly doing, either. Loving students and being able to help
them are two very different things. To make it in Student Affairs,
you have to love them until it hurts you, and do the things that are
necessary to help them, even if that hurts a little more. If you
don’t feel like helping college students is your purpose in life, a
lot of what you have to do will eat at your soul. And nobody likes a
picked-over, half-eaten soul. Get out while you still can. You
deserve to be happy and do what you love.

7.
Assume that others have good intentions.
Most people do. They just fail in their
practices. And it’s best to assume that when they do fail, that it
had nothing to do with you. People think more about themselves than
others. It’s human nature. If you are honest with yourself, you are
that way sometimes, too. Give people a break. You know you’d want
one.

8.
There is no grand conspiracy to keep you in
your place. Conspiracies require
planning, and planning requires ideas. Most people in charge are too
busy thinking about themselves and keeping off people’s radar
screens in a bad way to come up with any great ideas. They are just
doing their thing and hoping it will all work out. So refer back to
#7 and assume that they have good intentions (for you or someone
else) and that most negative impacts on you are the result of good
intentions and bad planning exploding in someone’s face, and not
some effort to confound you. It’s not all about you. Get over
yourself.

9.
That being said, there are some conspiracies, good-old-boy networks,
and cliques operating within and at the periphery of any
organization. Anyone who watches Survivor knows
that people in your coalition are just as sure to screw you over as
people who aren’t. Sometimes the better choice is not to play games
at all. Leave the games to Survivor, and people will
have to judge you by your actual contribution to an organization,
instead of your alliances.

10.
Choose the mountain you want to die on. If
every issue brought up for discussion at a staff meeting is a
potential opening for telling people they are screwing up, are
stupid, and you know a much better way, and if you perpetually feel a
need to dig in your heels on matters of principle, do yourself a
favor, and keep most of these to yourself. There are more subtle ways
to campaign for change, and one of the most valuable ways is to keep
your head down, do good work, take advantage of strategic
opportunities, and wait for an issue that really matters. If you go
atomic over the announcements, you are seriously limiting your career
options.

11.
Know when to quit. There is a difference between doing what you are
capable of, and doing what you are meant to do with your life. I
always got interesting projects, and I gradually moved into a
position in the organization with stability and a decent amount of
influence. I can point to things I have done that have made a
difference at Penn State. It was fun, and I learned a lot, but I know
in my heart that I am not really meant to be an administrator, but a
creator…to write, to design, to do creative projects and to help
people. And I am meant to be a good husband and father. I arrived at
a point in my career where I knew that I'd accomplished what I needed
to, and so I went gladly, and happily, and I know that Penn State is
better for my having been there, and that people will appreciate me
leaving while things were still going pretty well.

12.
Do good things. Not for your own sake, but for the sake of all beings
in the universe. Save and make free everyone you encounter. Show them
how to attain the wisdom of the way. In
other words, be yourself, free yourself, and give yourself to fate,
destiny and the universe. Life’s too short and the universe is too
vast. Make sure your light burns brightly and doesn’t go out to
soon.

It was not without irony that a few weeks ago I attended a day-long conference on transfer student success here at UNC and on the same day that, via Tivo, I watched the premier of the new NBC series Community.  It was quite the contrast:  In the conference we discussed issues like imposter syndrome and the perception of quality in our community colleges.  Watching the pilot of Community I was bombarded by stereotypes — students who don't care, faculty who can be bribed, deans who are young and incompetent, and so forth.

That's not to say I didn't laugh.  Actually that's not to say I even took it out of our Tivo (or more appropriately, had my wife take it out of Tivo).  But, I did feel a twang of guilt for watching.

That twang of guilt was similar in size to the twang of anger I get from watching How I Met Your Mother (which I love) in which one of the main characters has to "settle" for a career as a Cornell professor rather than pursue his real passion for designing buildings.  Yeah, because that feels rights — can't cut it as a designer, but faculty member is easily attainable.  But, I digress.

My wife tells me I shouldn't try to hold television to a high standard regarding their statements on academic institutions… or any standard about anything, really.  But, I can't help myself.  I do get upset, at first for them for writing such things and secondarily at myself for enjoying it. 

Should I feel guilty enjoying a program that reinforces a host of stereotypes related to my profession?  Maybe, or maybe not.  But, I can't stop watching. Has this happened to you before?

Gary Alan Miller

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.

Good day and welcome to fall semester!  I have often compared the beginning of the academic year to those moving sidewalks that you experience in large airports — You're just walking along at your normal pace, and you hit the sidewalk and BOOM you're moving twice as fast. 

So, I thought it might be a fun exercise to hear what other metaphors or phrases you use to describe your experience of going from the relative quiet of summer to the explosion of activity with the academic year. Comment away!

So here it is, the first workday of August. It's just past midnight and our professional staff training in Residence Life starts in just a few hours.

Though the day kicks off, as usual, with a breakfast welcome meeting, I find myself again feeling somewhat like "Fred the Baker" in the classic Dunkin Donuts Commercial . The tireless donutarian drags himself out of bed, and shuffles out the door, muttering "time to make the donuts." Ceaselessly coming and going, his faithful wife greeting him and sending him off, Fred waddles through a seemingly endless cycle. His daily reward for the Sisyphean task? A line of happy customers, always waiting anxiously for some donuts.

August and September annually blur themselves together when you work in academia, but I always find some shreds of variety in the routines we march through each year. And no matter how much stays the same, I always find a few glints of the unique and special, from meeting new people, changing tasks, or seeing the university, the department, and all our rules and protocols through the fresh lens of a new staff member. And, like Fred, I find the routine often dull, and the reward in serving happy customers. And after 15 years, I still get up at roughly the same time, though I worked too late or worried too much about what the next day would bring, and trudge to work.The routine reasserts itself, and I find some comfort there, not in the rules, the tasks or any of the other nonsense, but through the eyes of new students, their parents and new staff.

 So, as you drag yourself out of bed today and stare another year down, muttering to yourself "time to make the donuts," try to remember that there are all kinds of donuts out there, and plenty of hungry people waiting for what you have to serve. It may seem mundane drudgery to you, but to the people you serve, "them are some damn tasty donuts!," and well worth the wait. One could do worse than be a baker of donuts. Good luck to all as we start another year!

You may have heard a collegue use these terms in discussing his or her latest research (or perhaps your major professor).  You may have used these terms yourself without understanding their true meaning.  Consider this a brief lesson in "academic-speak."  The term is followed by the real explanation. 

"In my experience…"   (Once.)

"In case after case…"   (Twice.)

"In a series of cases…"   (Thrice.)

"It is believed that…"   (I think.)

"It is generally believed…"   (A couple of others think so, too.)

"Correct within an Order of Magnitude…"   (Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.)

"According to standard statistical analysis…"   (Rumor has it.)

"It has long been known…"   (I didn't look up the original reference.)

"A definite trend is evident.."'   (This data is practically meaningless.)

"Three of the examples were chosen for detailed study…"   (The other results didn't make sense.)

"Typical results are shown below…"   (This one made the prettiest bar chart.)

"A careful analysis of the obtainable
data would indicate…"   (Three pages of critical notes were obliterated
when I knocked over my glass.)

"A statistically-oriented projection of these findings…"   (A scientific wild guess.)

"A highly significant area for exploratory study…"   (A totally useless topic selected by my academic degree committee)

"Additional study will be required for
a more complete understanding of this phenomenon…"   (I didn't understand
this, and probably never will.)