Archive for January, 2009
Historic Inauguration: What Does It Mean To You?
As I scanned the status updates of Facebook friends on Inauguration
Day, I noticed a word appearing over and over again: history.
Yes, today was an historic day as our nation's first African American president
took office.
But what does it mean to those of us working student affairs?
Truth be told, it probably means something different to each and every one of
us, personally. All politics aside, there were probably moments of overwhelm
for many of us, just trying to grasp the meaning of this day for our country
and our world. For me, there were moments that I got choked up, trying to take
it all in.
But the moment that hit me the hardest was watching
President Obama's daughters, Malia and Sasha, entering the ceremony. And,
quite frankly, it surprised me, at first. Surely there were more important
moments of the day, right?
The more I thought about it, though, the more I thought it was appropriate that
this moment had the greatest meaning to me, as a student affairs professional. Malia and Sasha are our future college
students, and they are growing up in a world that is changing.
They are growing
up in a world where having a person of color in the highest office in the land
is no longer a distant dream, it is very much a reality. They are growing up in
a world where racial barriers certainly still exist, but are being shattered,
one by one. They are growing up in a world where they can hold up a digital camera
and videotape their father being sworn in as president.
In less than a decade, these will be our college students. But the historic
nature of their father's inauguration affects our universities now.
Some are
quick to say that Obama's presidency means we're living in a post-racial America, but this seems short-sighted. To me, it signals an era in which it is crucial to
celebrate the rich diversity that race and every kind of identity brings to our
nation. In turn, this signals an era in which institutions of higher education
must pay closer and closer attention to issues of diversity and ensure that
they put the resources and people in place to address these issues in positive
ways.
And, finally, it signals an era when students of all backgrounds can be inspired
to look at their dreams, no matter how lofty, and say to themselves, "Yes,
we can."
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2009 is our year, student affairs!
Hello SA Blog readers!
I’m so excited to meet you as a “guest blogger” with this group. I’m new at this blogging thing, but really excited to get involved in this community. Since I’m new here, I figured i’d start by sharing a link that got people really riled up in my office this past week. Check out what US News and World Report has to say about a career as “higher education administrator” for 2009!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that a publication like this would pay attention to our world and do know that job security is better for us than our peers in much of corporate life. But, the review of our field as “unusually pleasant” really does carry some “tone”. Also, if he thinks that competition for student life/student affairs jobs is “less rigorous” has clearly not done his homework. I know the last time we hired someone for our programming position we reviewed nearly 100 resumes, so I think that’s pretty darned “rigorous.”
As a now veteran student activities professional, it is getting more and more clear that we have a problem in our field about articulating what we do. Higher education scholars use this as a call to improve assessment and I completely agree with that as a big need. However, we have to focus on the “everyday audience” as well. All someone from “the outside” can sometimes see is a group of excited students dancing in front of the stage at a concert we have sponsored and obviously can never understand all of the surrounding experiences.
I’m making a few New Year’s resolutions in the name of our profession and hope you’ll have some too:
- Help more people on campus understand the campus programming board and the students behind it. More people need to hear their stories and we need to make them more “high profile” even when it’s not comfortable for them or us. After I finish typing, I’m calling our PR office to talk to them about student stories.
- Be more assertive about the expertise our department holds about students, their experiences, and what makes them tick. People on campus are baffled by this and we are not, so let’s share what we know!
- Figure out better ways to promote our successes on campus to everyone who will listen. Our colleagues in Career Services can do it and do it well…why not us? I know the usual response is that our field is not as tangible in results, but let’s figure out a way to change that.
I’m working on my list this week – what other committments should we make to make campus activities less of a mystery?
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Create your Cover Story!
In need of a fun, interactive “getting to know you” icebreaker or class energizer? Barbara Nixon offers this gem for getting to know a new group of students: create a magazine cover! Nixon, an assistant professor at Georgia Southern, utilizes her blog to share assignments in her Public Relations courses. She shares a virtual file cabinet of creative ideas for integrating social media into the classroom which are applicable in a variety of student development arenas.
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Self-fulfilling prophecy? Excuses for failure
Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses. ~~George Washington Carver
You’ve heard the joke about the college students who after an evening of partying missed a final exam, claiming a flat tire. The professor told them they could make up the final on the following day. At the final, the professor placed them in separate rooms, handed each of them a test booklet and told them to begin. The first problem, worth 5 Points, was on the subject matter. The next problem was worth 95 Points. It asked: “Which tire?
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Sixty Ideas in Fifty-Minutes
We actually had no intention of trying to break the record for low-cost
program ideas set last year at the APCA National Advisors’ Conference. Fifty minutes later, the
delegates in Las Vegas had
suggested 106 ideas!
Jill captured these for you, and I wanted to make sure they got
posted. If they don’t make sense to you, drop me a line and I’ll try to explain. I hope you find some inspiration for low-cost programs on your own campus.
FiftyOne Hundred and Six Ideas in Fifty Minutes
-
Sitcom Night
-
Lunch with Lawmakers
-
Singing Contest-College Idol
-
Biggest Loser/Winner Weight Loss
Competition -
Most Pushups, etc. Beat the
Trainer -
Olympics Sports Competition
-
Open Mic Night
-
Rock Band/Guitar Hero Battle
-
Battle of the Bands
-
International Festivals
-
Ability Day
-
Lip Sync Competition
-
Grains of the World-i.c. Coffee
-
Dances of the World
-
Art Shows
-
Local Battle of the Bands
-
Car Show
-
Stereo Competition
-
Game Night Sporting Event
-
Midnight Madness w/ Intramurals
-
Election Night Party
-
Texas Hold’em
-
Casino Night
-
Holiday Bizarre
-
Gingerbread House Making
-
Karaoke Night
-
Microwave Cooking Contest
-
Iron Chef
-
Home-grown secret postcards
-
Halloween Costume Contest
-
Pumpkin Carving
-
On-Campus Trick-or-treating
-
Staff Trick-or-Treating
-
Trunk-&-Treating
-
Haunted House
-
Ghost Tours
-
Pumpkin Toss/Bowling
-
Turkey Bowling
-
Halloween Dance Party
-
Day of the Dead
-
Christmas Caroling- Nursing home
-
Jail and Bail
-
Kiss a Pig
-
Craft Night
-
Board Game Night
-
Retro Game Night
-
Twister Tournament
-
Dining Etiquette Banquet
-
Fashion Show
-
Murder Mystery Dinner Theater
-
Glow-in-the-dark Easter Egg Hunt
-
Dress for Success
-
Interview Dressing
-
Spaghetti Luau
-
Dancing w/ the Staff
-
Glow-in-the-dark Frisbee Golf
-
Happy Friday Motivation Message
-
First-Class Mondays-Hand out
cheesy items -
Happy Hour Mondays-Mocktails
-
Finals-Snacks
-
Midnight Breakfast
-
Massages
-
Makeup/Spa Day
-
Last Comic Standing
-
Campus-wide Pillow Fight
-
Oreo Stacking
-
Largest Twister Game
-
Bingo
-
Marshmallow Wars
-
Beauty Pageant
-
Drag Show
-
Cow Bingo
-
In the Dark-use flashlight
-
Cup Program-Roofies w/ Sheriff’s
Dept. -
Sidewalk Chalk Contest
-
Window Decorating Contest
-
Lincoln-themed Jeopardy
-
Jeopardy Game
-
Who wants to be a Millionaire?
-
Pop Culture Trivia
-
Take it or Leave it-Deal or no
Deal -
Reality TV Show
-
Amazing Race
-
Dorm Room Makeover
-
Diversity Uno
-
24 Hour Make a Film
-
Boxes and Walls-Diversity Events
-
Date Auction
-
Shack-a-thon-homeless awareness
-
Oscar Party
-
Cut-a-thon – Locks of Love
-
Dr. Pepper Hour
-
Tasty Cheesecake
-
Best (fill in the blank) Showdown
-
Chicken Wing Competition
-
Chinese New Year
-
Super Bowl Party
-
Ipod Party
-
CD Party-Swap Music
100.Afternoon Tea
101.Sample the
Wine
102.World Religion
Panel
103.Mad Hatter Tea
Party
104.Mad Pottery
Tea Party
105.Pack of
Clothes from Goodwill and have Fashion Show
106.Pool
Tournament
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Better Get To Know An SA Professional – Tyler Archer – San Antonio College
Here’s our latest installment of our “Better Get To Know AN SA Professional” series with Tyler Archer of San Antonio College. Make sure to watch all the way through for some extra goodies 
Feel the need to email Tyler with a question? Here it is > tarcher1@mail.accd.edu
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