AIMHO Angle April 2020 Edition PHOTO Credit: Jeremy Janus Photography
President’s Corner DR. CHIP THOMAS Assistant Dean of Student Affairs
Colorado Mountain College Rifle
Happy April! I don’t know about you all, but I always find it amazing how fast spring semester goes by! It just seems like yesterday we were saying good bye to Salt Lake City, our friends, colleagues, and AIMHO 2019. A lot has happened since then, semesters or quarters ended, and then started back up again. Some of us have gained more students and lost some students due to attrition. It is the ebbs and flows of higher education and housing.
I do want to say again, thank you to Todd Justesen and his team at the University of Utah for putting on a wonderful conference. I know Cory and I heard many wonderful comments about the hotel, the sessions, and of course our corporate partners, but as with any large project there will be good and bad experiences and comments. Each one of the comments are something we can grow and learn from. Now we move to Montana! Shaydean Saye, Korrin Fagenstrom, and Aaron Like are busy working on our summer meeting to be held in June and our annual conference in November up in Billings, Montana! I am also happy to announce that AIMHO 2021 will be held in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the Antlers Hotel in downtown Colorado Springs! We already have a group of individuals who have volunteered their time as AIMHO 2021 Local Arrangements Committee, but we are always looking for more people! If you are interested, please let me know!
I recently returned from NWACUHO as the AIMHO representative to their region. For those that were at AIMHO 2019, Janie Sacco, then NWACUHO President spent time with us in Salt Lake City as we hosted her at AIMHO 2019. They reciprocat the opportunity to the current AIMHO President each year and so I was able to spend time with our NWACUHO colleagues up in Bellevue, Washington. They do their conference very similar to ours, with a couple of different items. One of the biggest items they do differently is their elections. They hold their board of director elections before the conference. This allowed their candidates once elected, to focus more on their upcoming roles within the conference for the next year. This also helped to keep their business meeting within their allotted time limit. This is something I will be proposing at the next Executive Committee meeting march 13th!
One task that I am continuing on from Cory is the Housing Operations and Ancillary Partnerships Task Force. I am borrowing from Cory’s President’s corner from last June, but Brad (former Past President), Cory, and myself have seen a decrease in AIMHO members from business & finance areas, housing operations, facilities, and guest & conference housings, along with other housing staff outside of residence life. We want to reach out and encourage our staff members to get involved and spread their knowledge to others around the region. We are currently working on a survey to seek out some more information about the needs of each institution and what they would like to see both at the conference and outside the conference (i.e. webinars, phone conversations, ANGLE articles, etc.). Look for the survey and more information coming soon!
Lastly, I encourage all of you to get involved with your association. We are large, and vast, but we do come together as one. Throughout my AIMHO experience, going all the way back to 1996, people come together to help each other, to support each other, and to give back to each other. As we move through the year, please think about how you can get involved. How can you give back to the association? Is it through a committee, a leadership or executive committee position, writing an article for the AIMHO Angle, presenting at the conference, or in a webinar, attending an AIMHO 365 program, or is it time and effort volunteering during the conference. Reach out and talk with committee chairs, a colleague on campus, or reach out to one of us and we can talk about our experiences, the time involved, and amount of work required. You will find that in most cases it is not a lot per week. So please get involved! Our region needs you!
I hope the rest of the spring semester goes smoothly for you and as always please reach out to me about thoughts, concerns, or ideas you may have to help support your region! The best way to contact me is through email: rmthomas@coloradomtn.edu. Have a great spring!
Giving Feedback to Others in the Workplace By AIMHO College Committee, contributions from Hosam Ahmad, Colorado State University
As part of the AIMHO College committee, we are striving to offer professional development opportunities for our new and aspiring professionals outside of the annual conference space. This article serves a reminder and opportunity to reflect upon the topic of giving feedback, which we felt was timely at this point in the semester. Consider nominating folks to attend and engage with others in the region at this Fall’s Annual Conference. Giving feedback is a tricky and sometimes challenging and difficult task (Childress, 2019). It is important for housing professionals to understand the basics behind providing feedback as a part of their role, as it is a responsibility that taken seriously could lead to better work relationships, improvement in accountability and potentially curb future undesirable behaviors, attitudes and experiences. No matter your job or responsibilities, providing feedback will always be a part of your work experience from students, staff, colleagues, families, assessment tools and even yourself. Typically in housing roles feedback is centered around concerns regarding behavior, project management, behaviors and performance evaluation that affects the workplace (Azmi, 2019). When one considers the aspects of their jobs such as 1:1 meetings, conduct meetings, program development, bias related incidents, committee work, each of these environments often call for feedback to be provided to help another person [employee] critically reflect, learn and grow from previous actions and behaviors to improve their chances at becoming a effective contributor to the team or project. Our first thought is, I give an annual evaluation every year, or quarterly check-ins, so I’m good with feedback! Often feedback is called for outside of a system that may already be in place for evaluation. Providing feedback must become a malleable and adaptable skill that employees learn how to provide as the need arises. In addition, it is important to consider providing constructive feedback. Constructive feedback is providing feed specific examples, being honest yet tactful, creating open dialogue, and listening to what is being said and reflected. Being constructive helps provide the opportunity for the person receiving feedback to identify areas in which they improve and potential support from others to improve. Sometimes there is a fear of balancing keeping a good relationship with the other person while you require them to meet the expectations for their job responsibilities. Therefore, it is important to connect feedback to the roles and responsibilities and specific examples that do not align with expectations. As individuals begin to think about providing feedback it is important to consider the aspects of social identities that may be at play in the working relationship. Thinking about privilege, power and oppression and the role this could play in delivering feedback is important as well. While someone’s performance is not directly connected to their social identities, the social identities are directly connected to the way in which people operate in this world, make meaning of processes and procedures and how language, critique and dialogue may be received, therefore considering specific examples and outcomes as part of constructive feedback may help align different perspectives to the expectations and needs of a workplace and community. If we can focus on providing feedback that encourages growth and development, the retention of staff members will be impacted and their contributions to the quality of the community and sense of belonging will increase. Personally, staff members will also see benefits in the quality of their personal and professional lives, productivity, accountability and overall organizational and team inclusivity. Managers can develop the skills for giving proper and professional feedback that produce fruitful outcomes for all involved. Remember every employee achieves and excels at something and may struggle with other parts of their responsibilities. Giving positive and balanced feedback is to count on the strength of the employee and to support them to overcome their weaknesses. Every employee needs to understand that the goal of feedback is to improve, and not always punish performance (even though sometimes it may feel that way, or disciplinary action must be taken).
They need to have a coaching mindset and embody positive energy when delivering the message (Forbes). Below is a list of compiled tips for positive and effective feedback: Prepare for the feedback conversation in advance. Document the discussion, the expectations, the time line, and identify potential ways you can follow up. Deliver the feedback in a tone and manner that honors all parties, and encourages growth and learning. It is essential to establish credibility and trust in the conversation and recognize your positionality in the organization and relationship. Connect with the staff member. Ask questions about what they do well, and what they enjoy doing, and what challenges them. Some of your concerns may come naturally in the conversation. Have them set goals for themselves. Consider the impact of social identities on experience, perspective taking and meaning making. These nuances may lead to unintentional judgement and take away from focusing on the behavior, the facts, and the performance. Remember be neutral, it is not about you or them, it is about the performance. Getting through this may require deeper dialogue on what is happening personally and professionally. Be direct, clear and specific. Do not beat around the bush. Make sure to listen and have a two-way interactive conversation. Staff may have good reasons for not performing. Provide the means and the help for them to improve. Balance your negative feedback with positivity and praise where applicable. Remember staff have a lot of achievements and success. Present the feedback concerns as an opportunity not a reprimand and end with motivation in mind. Make it timely and do not wait until too late or when scheduled quarterly or annually. Those evaluations should not surprise an employee with feedback. Respect privacy and give the feedback 1-on-1. Provide a comfortable and calm environment that you and staff can interact and share openly and honestly. Give your employee purpose. Highlight the importance of their contributions to the organization success. Align the feedback with the department’s goals, vision, and objectives. These tips can get you started on your giving feedback journey, however the nuances of your campus, your skills and your work style may call for a different approach at times. Also depending on your audience (students, families, colleagues (mindful of hierarchy) or yourself) you may have to nuance further information, request, asking questions and the delivery of information. Remember, not all employees have been socialized the same way around feedback, and may require nuancing in the delivery, based upon their experience, their cultural context and the social identities in which members of both parties may have. Centering the conversation on care and compassion for a successful outcome that includes an honest assessment of their behavior will lead to helping them improve their work. If clear and constructive feedback is provided the opportunities for staff to listen and take action could result in changes to their overall performance Garfinkle (n.d.). To change the world, we must recognize our opportunities to influence and affect the world. Feedback as a method of education and learning is a beginning to this necessary complex journey of changing the world. REFERENCES Azmi, W. ( August 21, 2019). Employee feedback: 15 ways to give effective feedback. Retrieved from www.startuphrtoolkit.com Childress, C. (December 16, 2019). Giving feedback can be stressful, but do it anyway. Retrieved from www.tlnt.com. Forbes Coaches Council (July 13, 2017). Nine positive ways to give productive employee feedback.
Diversity and Social Justice Committee Cha McNiel Resident Director—Social Justice University of Utah
The Diversity and Social Justice Committee works to provide AIMHO with continuous education and resources in the pursuit of equity and equality for all. We do this through DSJ Dialogues, contributions to the AIMHO Angle, providing ongoing resources, developing identity based affinity groups for the region and gathering information on how AIMHO schools implement diversity and social justice training on their campuses. In addition, our committee also selects the annual AIMHO Diversity and Social Justice Award (undergraduate student & graduate/professional staff) and scholarship winners. We're also the committee that brings you identity based recognition to add to your nametag for the annual AIMHO Conference, among other great social justice initiatives at the conference and throughout the year! Our goal is to be one of many voices in the AIMHO region working to shape programs, initiatives, and outcomes in the most inclusive way possible.
Diversity and Social Justice Committee Chairs DJS is run by Cha McNeil from the University of Utah and James Wright from The University of Nevada, Reno. Both of us hail from the fantastic state of New Jersey and have social justice at the core of our values. We are excited to share our awesome ideas, passions and to challenge the status quo while also doing everything we can to sever our region.
Affinity Group Information The purpose of Affinity Groups is to provide a safe space for individuals who hold shared salient identities to join in fellowship and have opportunities to connect. Affinity Groups assemble both during the AIMHO Conference and selectively during the year. Each Affinity Group offers a variety of platforms to engage in dialogue. Below you will find a list of established Affinity Groups. If there is an Affinity Group you would like to see added please reach out to our Committee. ** Please note the Affinity Groups are for people who hold the specific identities listed. While we really appreciate allies, we want to create a space for people with similar identities to interact and build community.
Women in Leadership LGBTQIA+ Men & Masculinity Professionals of Color Not seeing an Affinity group you would like to be part of? Let us know and we can always add more. Again the purpose of our committee is that we want to give a voice to as many people in our region as possible. That includes you reading this right now!
If you would like to join the DSJ Committee or would like to get in contact with any of the affinity groups please reach out to us and we will get you connected quickly. Cha McNeil: Cmcneil@housing.utah.edu James Wright: Jwright23@unr.edu In solidarity Cha McNeil and James Wright Chairs of Diversity and Social Justice Committee
PAC-12 Housing Directors Meeting Recap Craig Kuenert Associate Director for Student Engagement University of Colorado Boulder
Each spring, the Directors and Executive Directors from each of the PAC-12 schools gather for an annual meeting to discuss campus updates, to do some benchmarking around common challenges, and to anticipate what lies ahead for our students. While not every institution in AIMHO is a member of the PAC-12, I wanted to provide a glimpse into the 2020 meeting, as I anticipate a number of the topics discussed are relevant at most of our colleges and universities. At the end of the meeting, my key takeaway was that it’s just sometimes nice to know that you’re not in it alone. The meeting began with remarks from the Vice Provost of Student Affairs from the host institution, Oregon State University. In his remarks, Dan Larson referred back to his notes from the last time that OSU hosted. In 2006, key areas of concern were around the integration of cell phones into our work and what that might do to work/life balance, the upstart of Facebook and what that might mean for our students, and anticipating what enrollment numbers might look like in the coming years. Now, 14 years later, we still grapple with the core of those concerns. Work/life balance remains a challenge for many. We continue to struggle finding ways to connect with students through evolving social media platforms. And, changing demographics and laws still leave us questioning what enrollment might look like in the coming years. Yet, amongst all of the many ways that our profession is the same as it was 14 years ago, it certainly has gotten more complicated as well. This year, the common concerns raised by many (if not all 12) institutions were; a desire to find better ways to provide better care for students (particularly in moments of crisis), the need to reevaluate how we provide affordable living while also keeping a balanced budget, and to rethink staffing structures and support for professional staff in an effort to positively impact retention. meals, and then to sell them at a reduced cost from their grab and go dining locations. Through this program, they also partner with another office on campus to offer these meals for free to students that have demonstrated need. Student Care Throughout the meeting, it was evident that every campus is struggling to find the right level of support for the rapidly growing number of students in crisis. Key questions that came out of these conversations were: What should housing/residence life’s role be in this process? What training do we need to provide staff to make sure they are prepared? In bifurcated models, how can housing and residence life work more effectively together as partners?
Care extends beyond mental and physical health, and many universities reported out on new programs and services they are offering to support unique trends on their campuses. For example, Oregon State shared about their efforts to package and freeze left over meals, and then to sell them at a reduced cost from their grab and go dining locations. Through this program, they also partner with another office on campus to offer these meals for free to students that have demonstrated need. Affordability With many of the PAC-12 universities being housed in the nation’s most expensive urban areas (LA, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver), a significant emphasis was placed on the need to continue to find ways to save money through construction and renovation. While Public/Private Partnerships (P3’s) may help in some ways, the challenges they create also warrant some pause. One institution shared about the acquisition of an apartment property near campus, and the number of room styles/ layouts that that added to their inventory. While giving students more cost affordable options, it also meant the maintenance teams needing to learn dozens of unique apartment floorplans. Staff Persistence and Retention Much like with student care, nearly every university shared concerns about the number of professional staff members departing roles, with most concern being shared about the high rate of turnover happening at non-traditional times. As one director put it, ‘We are happy to support staff chasing dreams. We’re just now asking that they do so in May.” Many different approaches are being deployed to provide continuity of service, ranging from conducting staff focus groups, SWOT analyses, and quality of life surveys to doing internal promotions, hiring interim/temp help, and offering additional compensation for those picking up extra. One university also reported about an exercise to reevaluate essential functions of residence life and then working with campus partners to reevaluate which office does which work.
While the number of challenges may seem to be constantly growing, there have been some ‘wins’ over the past 14 years as well. It seems as though many universities represented have done significant work to increase access to single-stall and/or gender inclusive restroom and housing facilities. Departments are using technology differently to support more efficient communication flows on their teams. And, at the end of the day, it’s apparent that the profession is still filled with caring dedicated professionals with a heart for student success.
Craig Kuehnert Associate Director for Student Engagement Residence Life University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, Colorado 80309 Craig.Kuehnert@colorado.edu T 303 492 3335 F 303 492 3667
Working with Student Family Housing Becki Tankson Hall Coordinator – Student Family Housing The University of New Mexico
While I was cleaning out an old filing cabinet in the University of New Mexico’s Student Family Housing Community Center, I found some old brochures for family housing dated back to the 1970s from the University of Alabama, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and the University of Kentucky. While flipping through these brochures, I realized how much family housing was needed back then. Now, family housing can be hard to come by.
While interviewing with UNM at the Oshkosh Placement Exchange, working at Student Family Housing didn’t cross my mind until one of my interviewers mentioned it to me. I had been working with traditional college freshmen for the past four years. However, during graduate school, I volunteered at a wildlife sanctuary for big cats (yes, I spent my weekends with tigers!), and I interacted very positively and easily with families when I gave tours there. In my interview, I mentioned how volunteering had helped me with my interactions with entire
families. After my “on-campus” interview (which happened via Skype), I was offered my current position as the Hall Coordinator for Student Family Housing. I took a weekend to think about it, and called back on a Monday morning to accept the position.
Working at Student Family Housing hasn’t been the experience I was expecting; it’s been so much more. My community has incredibly unique challenges. My favorite has been the un-
reliable internet for almost a semester.
We decided to get new modem/router combos for our residents to help increase their online security, but these modem/routers did not mesh well with our internet system. While we’re still working through this, it gave me the opportunity to get to know my residents during a tough time. We ended up extending our Community Center hours to be open from 8:00am to 4:00am, so people could utilize the reliable WiFi we have. We also recently added two computer pods, with six computers total, to our Community Center. This allows more access to good internet and technology so our students don’t fall behind in their classwork.
The programming we have at Student Family Housing is incredibly unique, as we make it family friendly. While our “residents of record” are students, their families and children are our residents too, and we love to have them interact with us. Our first program of the semester was a partnership with the National Residence Hall Honorary, the Women’s Resource
Center, and the UNM Children’s Campus. We called it the Pack Your Backpack Event. NRHH donated backpacks, the UNM Children’s Campus donated school supplies, and the WRC helped us hand out all of these backpacks and supplies to the Student Family Housing residents. Before the event started, we had a line outside of the Community Center that went past our park area and to an apartment building. We gave out roughly 100 backpacks that day. Since then, we have had community clean-up days, science nights, veteran appreciation, family movie nights (with a chocolate fountain!), breakfast for dinner, and Cookies with Cops.
One thing that I am most proud of is supporting my students in creating a Student Family Housing Community Association. Community Associations existed on main campus for a while, but not at Student Family Housing.
While talking with my supervisor, I mentioned how I missed advising a Community Association and that I wanted to see if my students would be interested in participating. Just a few days later, a student reached out to me asking if a Community Association would be possible for Student Family Housing. This one student was able to bring the association to fruition in just a couple weeks, and they currently meet biweekly as an executive board team, and they have biweekly general assembly meetings, too. The Community Association has helped with the clean-up days, getting new wood chips at the playground, and hosting a safety walk of our community. They have brought light to this community and I am excited to see what more they will bring. Working at Student Family Housing was not the challenge I expected, but it has been so much more. I am going on month six of being at UNM, and it has been six months of learning, growth, community building, and joy. I couldn’t have picked a better place to start my
professional career in residence life.
Join Montana as they host the AIMHO 2020 annual conference in Billings, Montana. This year's conference will be held from November 10th until November 12, 2020 (pre-conference dates to be determined), at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. Hotel room registration is now available - for more details please see the AIMHO 2020 conference webpage. Montana invites you to come early or stay late and enjoy our beautiful state. Questions regarding the AIMHO 2020 Conference can be directed to the Local Arrangements Team at aimho2020@rocky.edu.
“You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices can come from a deep sense of who you are.” Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
ACUHO-I Foundation Winter meeting Strategic Plan: We are in the last year of the ACUHO-I strategic plan. There is a team working on a plan for the next three years. This is guided by data from a member survey as to the important topics we are facing as well as how we use ACUHO-I as an information source on those topics. The new plan will launch January of 2021. ACUHO-I was founded in 1951 so next year it will be 70 years old. The Foundation is developing opportunities for folx to give towards our professional future through one time options and pledges. Watch for an initiative on April 18, the founding day.
ACUHO-I Foundation Regional Cabinet Representative to AIMHO I am putting a plug in for you to consider becoming involved as the Foundation representative to AIMHO. The Executive Board will put a call out for nominations early Fall, but we know how Fall is, so give it some thought now. This person would be advanced from the region in September for recommendation by the Foundation in October. I would show you the ropes and transfer knowledge during the AIMHO 2020 annual conference in Billings, Montana and then you would go to the national meeting in January 2021 to meet the rest of the board and receive additional training.
It has been a fantastic professional development opportunity for me to connect with colleagues across the country and to gain a greater understanding on how the future of our profession is supported by the Foundation and to work on my fundraising skills. For more information, please review the AIMHO Gives page, https://www.aimho.org/page/ AIMHOGives.
Barb Remsburg Executive Director—Housing & Residential Education
The University of Utah
Disarming the Elephant in the Interviewing Room: Acknowledging Our Academic Privilege Josh Floyd Residence Hall Director Northern Arizona University
I hope that it comes as no surprise when I say that student affairs as a field of work is intrinsically tied to social justice. Student affairs practitioners all over the United States are conducting research, drafting policy reformations, presenting to colleagues, and rebuilding processes to better serve underrepresented populations through inclusive practices. If I’m being honest, my graduate school experience often felt more like a social justice and identity equity program than the counseling-based student affairs program I signed up for. In general, I have found that colleagues working within student affairs at institutions of higher education are eager to support marginalized and oppressed populations and are quick to discuss concepts of privilege and power as they relate to the social identities we each hold. However, I have come to realize that there is a massive area that we acknowledge in passing, but don’t discuss nearly as much as we should: academic privilege. It’s worth noting that there is no official or standardized definition for the term “academic privilege”. With this term, we can discuss issues such as varying levels of access to education, the experiences of first-generation college students when compared to students with robust familial history rooted in higher education, or the oppressive, ethnocentric history of higher education that still disparages people of color today. For the purpose of this article, however, I define academic privilege as having more educational opportunities compared to another person or group. Objectively, it may seem pointless or counterintuitive to marry this concept with our hiring processes; when we are hiring student employees into service roles that exist to support other students, we are talking about a group that has already made it into college, thus attaining some level of academic privilege by definition. I can agree that many are willing to talk about issues around access and affordability of higher education, but what seems to be missing from these conversations is the gap in academic privilege between student affairs professionals and the students we serve. Within student affairs, it is commonplace for entry-level positions to require a master’s degree in areas of student affairs, higher education administration, educational leadership, etc. Because of this, it is expected that most professionals in the field will have significantly more experience operating within institutions of higher education, which grants us more time to digest and process deeper concepts around education and student development. However, this extra time and experience tends to be conveniently forgotten or ignored when we talk with students, especially when we are looking to hire student leaders.
As a current professional in Residential Life, I couldn’t help but notice that many selection processes within my own department and other departments held student applicants, often with less than a year of college experience, to a similar standard as those to which we hold our graduate assistants and full-time professionals. This led me to examine the ways in which the trendy phrases we see so often within student affairs are weaponized to tear down students who may not have had an opportunity to develop their own identity, much less a deep understanding of the complexities of navigating difference in meaningful and inclusive ways. Let’s try a quick exercise: think about the qualities that you would want a student leader to have. Write them down. For real, stop reading this article and actually write them down. Now think about what conceptual knowledge is necessary for student leaders to have prior to applying for (not beginning) a leadership position. Think about what key words or phrases you would look for in an interview. Think about what would really astound and impress you when interviewing a student. Now, and this is the hard part that requires some selfawareness and brutal honesty, evaluate which of these qualities or concepts are reasonable and realistic to expect from students based on the academic opportunities they have had. If I asked you to write down all of the things you look for, I’d venture to say that several things would be crossed off of a given list if we account for realistic expectations of where students should be developmentally and intellectually. Therein lies a problem. Perhaps the most significant area in which I see a blatant disregard for academic privilege is not in the concepts we discuss, but in the language that we use. Throughout multiple years of a large-scale student staff selection process, I have watched time and time again as applicants for student leadership positions were given negative feedback for not understanding nuanced concepts regarding inclusion and intercultural competence, or for not being able to communicate concepts in specific terms that many of us had never heard prior to beginning a master’s-level program. My heart broke for the students who were listed as having a “lack of understanding of difference” with no regard to the fact that they may be experiencing significant difference for the first time in their lives as they continue to transition into higher education. I was frustrated to see students with military backgrounds discounted for using terms such as “superiors” and “subordinates” even though they had been taught to use those exact words to describe a supervisor-supervisee relationship. I was enraged when I saw students described as “concerning” because they misused terms or concepts but were not given any credit for trying to represent their thoughts with the appropriate, college-savvy vocabulary. If this sounds familiar or plausible, then we have a problem that desperately needs to be addressed. We are shutting down and dismissing prospective leaders who are excited to help others to feed our own academic egos, which is unacceptable. To combat this, we as a field need to be willing to accept that the burden of communication lies largely on us as listeners and as educators, not on our students. If we can spend years learning the nuances and implications of student development theories, social justice issues and initiatives, and best practices in a quickly-changing field, I think it’s fair to say that we should be able to listen to our students and apply our understanding of these concepts to their words. of growth, learning, and inclusion.
When I approached student interviews through this lens, I found that I was a lot more excited about our applicants; I found myself looking at the experiences they had, the development that they were experiencing without being able to put words to that growth, and the opportunities for learning that existed within their prospective leadership position. By meeting students where they are at and being realistic with my expectations, I am energized by the team that I have and am also eager to help them develop further knowledge, vocabulary, and skills in critical areas of growth, learning, and inclusion. All of this being said, academic rhetoric is valid and important; it allows us to communicate broad, complicated concepts in fewer words and provides clarity in describing thoughts and ideas. By no means am I suggesting that we completely remove academic jargon from our vocabularies. However, it is essential for us as student affairs practitioners to maintain an ability to explain ourselves in plain, non-academic terms. Additionally, we must be able to listen critically to our students without unfair expectations of conceptual knowledge and technical language. Take time to create educational opportunities and teach others about the importance of academic language. Help people find their voice and ask clarifying questions rather than making silent judgments. Allow people to make mistakes without interrupting to correct them. Instead of reaching for your technical language to use as a weapon, hand it to a student to use as a tool. If we start by understanding, we can help others make sure that they continue to be understood.
Further Reading: Magolda & Baxter Magolda (2011). Contested Issues in Student Affairs. Chapter 15: “Girl or Woman? Dorm or Residence Hall? What’s the Big Deal about Language?” In this chapter, Stephen John Quaye and Ebelia Hernandez provide essays examining the importance of language and the underlying values and beliefs that are tied to the language we choose to use. This chapter strongly influenced my opinion on how we use and expect academic rhetoric. Zaikowski (2016). 6 Ways Your Social Justice Activism Might Be Ableist. https://everydayfeminism.com/2016/09/social-justice-activism-ableist/ In this article, Carolyn Zaikowski provides examples of how modern expectations of protest and ally status may be exclusive and inaccessible for many. I specifically drew inspiration with point five: “Policing and Enforcing the Use of Academic Rhetoric”.
Housing Operations and Ancillary Partnerships Taskforce Update Koreen Kerfoot Assistant Director of Residential Life New Mexico Tech
The Housing Operations and Ancillary Partnerships Taskforce has been meeting over the past two months to keep the momentum that was started at the end of 2019 going. We have a survey that will be going out to find out our membership needs and wants around housing operations, conferences, and facilities. Please take a moment and share your feedback. If there are members of your staff team that work in Operations and do not see the emails- please pass it on to them. We will be taking the information from the survey to build opportunities for engagement and education around these topics. Based on the information we receive we plan to have opportunities created before the end of the school year.
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