It is really, really difficult for me to believe that this semester is very quickly coming to a close. In fact, our class on Thursday is my last little bit of this semester that I have left. It is even crazier to me that I am halfway done with my master's degree. Man, time flies. But it definitely has been fun.
Without question the best class I have taken this semester has been this one. And I'm not just saying that. I have learned so much from the real life applications that this class has provided me. That, and Sparky's anecdotes.
Today I spent some time looking back through my old blog entries. The variation of topics is really pretty staggering. I first wrote about the college student today, where I found lots of facts and figures from NASPA that helped me figure out more about who we serve as student affairs professionals. I then wrote about free speech, followed by school shootings. I still remember to this day the effect the UAH shooting had on me personally. Then I wrote about restorative justice, student protest, and spirituality - where I found out students are a lot more spiritual than we thought. After a huge change of gears, I wrote about sex on a college campus, an eco-friendly college campus, and student unions. We pretty much covered the gamut of topics in this class, and because of that, I learned so much.
I will take away many things from this class. First, I kind of feel like we all got to learn at the foot of the master - Sparky has been doing this now for such a long time that if you don't listen to his words of wisdom and pieces of advice, you're really foolish. I enjoyed class most when Sparky just told stories. Secondly, I really liked interacting with the other students in the class. I think we can all say we learned at least one thing from one another. We all come from such a varied set of backgrounds that we all had something to teach one another. Finally, I liked the way the course was set up. We didn't have to fiddle with textbooks or lectures. We just talked to one another. That is actually how I learn the best. We just came in, sat down, and talked. Each one of us got our turn, and we all learned something along the way.
I seriously doubt I will have a class this great again. It will be hard to top. I really need to say thank you for the learning experience. I have learned not only more about our profession but about myself, and the type of professional that I want to be.
Sparky asked in class the other day "are y'all sure you want to do this?" I think he was kidding - he had had a long day of meetings - but in all seriousness, this class has reinforced my belief that yes, I do want to do this, and I am excited to spend my life in this profession.
Thank you for a great semester.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Student Unions Matter
If I had a dollar for every time I heard one of my beloved co-workers - namely you, Sparky! - say that we need a new Student Union (always said in a funnier way than that) than I would probably have enough money to break ground and start construction on the dang building.
The long and short of it is that student unions matter, and most if not all people I have spoken with at Ole Miss think ours is an eyesore.
Shoot, I was even in a meeting with Chancellor Jones today in Room 404 of the Union - a room where the carpet is particularly disturbing - and he mentioned right then and there that we needed a new Student Union. Another dollar in my pocket!
A friend and I love to visit college campuses, and this semester alone we have visited UGA, Auburn, and Mississippi State. (I visited Alabama by myself this semester so I'll count that in there too.) Whenever we visit a college campus we always, always make sure to stop by the Student Union and compare it to ours. All four of the Student Unions at the campuses I just mentioned have been renovated in the past five years, some of them as recently as 2009. I must say, State's Union - and I know how much we all dislike State - puts us at Ole Miss absolutely to shame. It was renovated in 2007 and is truly beautiful and state-of-the-art. At the end of the day, visitors come to Student Unions, not to mention students, faculty, and staff - so yes, Student Unions matter.
A good, functioning Student Union should be the vibrant center and hub of life and activity on any college campus. Student organizations should want to meet there, events should be held there, and people should just want to come there and hang out - it should be a melting pot of students from all different walks. It should be a gathering place, a place of congregation, where both business and fun can be had. Above almost all other buildings on campus, I feel a Student Union should be technologically up-to-date and should be the bright shining beacon on any campus.
Well, as I said before, ours is not.
I truly feel that we need a new Student Union, and I know Sparky feels the same way. To be honest with you, as much as I love our Student Union (these days I might as well be paying rent for as much time as I spend there), we are lacking and it is a bit of an embarrassment. I know the Chancellor and Sparky know this - two of the most powerful men on campus, if not the two most powerful men on campus - so I know it's on their radar.
Let's hope we can get a new Union soon. Until then, I'll keep a little jar for dollar bills every time I hear that we need a new Union. I expect it to fill up pretty soon :)
The long and short of it is that student unions matter, and most if not all people I have spoken with at Ole Miss think ours is an eyesore.
Shoot, I was even in a meeting with Chancellor Jones today in Room 404 of the Union - a room where the carpet is particularly disturbing - and he mentioned right then and there that we needed a new Student Union. Another dollar in my pocket!
A friend and I love to visit college campuses, and this semester alone we have visited UGA, Auburn, and Mississippi State. (I visited Alabama by myself this semester so I'll count that in there too.) Whenever we visit a college campus we always, always make sure to stop by the Student Union and compare it to ours. All four of the Student Unions at the campuses I just mentioned have been renovated in the past five years, some of them as recently as 2009. I must say, State's Union - and I know how much we all dislike State - puts us at Ole Miss absolutely to shame. It was renovated in 2007 and is truly beautiful and state-of-the-art. At the end of the day, visitors come to Student Unions, not to mention students, faculty, and staff - so yes, Student Unions matter.
A good, functioning Student Union should be the vibrant center and hub of life and activity on any college campus. Student organizations should want to meet there, events should be held there, and people should just want to come there and hang out - it should be a melting pot of students from all different walks. It should be a gathering place, a place of congregation, where both business and fun can be had. Above almost all other buildings on campus, I feel a Student Union should be technologically up-to-date and should be the bright shining beacon on any campus.
Well, as I said before, ours is not.
I truly feel that we need a new Student Union, and I know Sparky feels the same way. To be honest with you, as much as I love our Student Union (these days I might as well be paying rent for as much time as I spend there), we are lacking and it is a bit of an embarrassment. I know the Chancellor and Sparky know this - two of the most powerful men on campus, if not the two most powerful men on campus - so I know it's on their radar.
Let's hope we can get a new Union soon. Until then, I'll keep a little jar for dollar bills every time I hear that we need a new Union. I expect it to fill up pretty soon :)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Environmentally-Friendly College Campus
Well, apparently, sustainability on college campuses is on the rise, according to an article I read this week called "College Campuses are Going Green" (you can see the link here - http://www.seattlepi.com/local/282232_greencampus23.html).
Now, that said, I have been pretty impressed with Ole Miss' "green" effort since I arrived here in August. One of the first things I did as a part of my job with Greek Life was to plan a Fall Leadership Summit, and one of the speakers on the docket was a man by the name of Jim Morrison with Greeks Going Green. He spoke to our entire group about green efforts, and I was impressed. Now, as I walk out of the Union every day this week, I see a huge banner reading "Red, Blue, and Green Week." It seems as though, at least to my eyes, we care about the environment on this campus.
But could we do better?
Well, of course. We can always do better in everything we do as a university. Nothing's perfect. So that said, if I had to make three environmentally-friendly changes to our university, this is what I would do:
1. Ban smoking on campus. Smoking pollutes the environment, plus smoke is just gross and it gets on my clothes and stuck in my nose and makes me feel like I am at a bar.
2. Install more recycle bins on campus. I think our recycling efforts could be really upped.
3. Keep campus beautiful by not littering. Maybe even make a litter fine for those who are caught. Ole Miss prides itself on being one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation, and we need to keep it that way.
These are just a few ideas of many to help our "green" efforts. While we are not leading the pack by any means, we are definitely running with the bunch and keeping up a good pace. All it takes is a few small changes to set Ole Miss apart as a frontrunner for being an environmentally-friendly campus.
Now, that said, I have been pretty impressed with Ole Miss' "green" effort since I arrived here in August. One of the first things I did as a part of my job with Greek Life was to plan a Fall Leadership Summit, and one of the speakers on the docket was a man by the name of Jim Morrison with Greeks Going Green. He spoke to our entire group about green efforts, and I was impressed. Now, as I walk out of the Union every day this week, I see a huge banner reading "Red, Blue, and Green Week." It seems as though, at least to my eyes, we care about the environment on this campus.
But could we do better?
Well, of course. We can always do better in everything we do as a university. Nothing's perfect. So that said, if I had to make three environmentally-friendly changes to our university, this is what I would do:
1. Ban smoking on campus. Smoking pollutes the environment, plus smoke is just gross and it gets on my clothes and stuck in my nose and makes me feel like I am at a bar.
2. Install more recycle bins on campus. I think our recycling efforts could be really upped.
3. Keep campus beautiful by not littering. Maybe even make a litter fine for those who are caught. Ole Miss prides itself on being one of the most beautiful campuses in the nation, and we need to keep it that way.
These are just a few ideas of many to help our "green" efforts. While we are not leading the pack by any means, we are definitely running with the bunch and keeping up a good pace. All it takes is a few small changes to set Ole Miss apart as a frontrunner for being an environmentally-friendly campus.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Let's Talk About Sex
I have got to admit this to you - this is a difficult, and slightly awkward, blog for me to write.
I am the type of person who doesn't really discuss sex with anyone - unless they're my close friends. So when it came time to write this blog, I just had no idea where to begin.
And then I realized where I worked, and how I had college students at my disposal all the time in the Greek Life Office. So to write this blog about sex on a college campus, I decided to talk to some college students about the topic - to go straight to the source.
We talked about so much in our conversation, but one topic stood out to me as especially pertinent, especially for women - and especially in the South. Women are expected to be pure, virginal, and wholesome on the outside to appease other women, but have sex behind closed doors to appease men. It is a consistent and constant double standard that is impossible for Southern women to live up to, these students say. The worst offense is to be known as "promiscuous," but the combination of college-aged desires and the hope of pleasing members of the opposite sex lead women to lead a double life that is impossible to keep up.
A student I spoke to said that sex at another SEC school was spoken about freely, but at Ole Miss, sex was never discussed, as it was considered taboo. This student said sex was criticized on our campus and that "everyone does it - but no one talks about it." It is another example of how students at Ole Miss and other schools in the South lead a bit of a double life about sex.
It is a difficult predicament to be in. Other than practicing abstinence (which is, quite honestly, difficult to do if a college-aged woman hopes to keep most college-aged men but is completely acceptable and admirable if a student chooses to do so), it is hard to practice sex on a college campus without dealing with potential social repercussions.
For women especially, the double bind of having sex in college and trying to maintain a reputation is difficult, according to the students I spoke to. It is just one more pressure added to the list of the many pressures college students already face.
I am just happy that I got the chance to talk to college students who really know the score about what is going on with sex on a college campus. It provided me with good insight, which is always needed as a student affairs professional.
I am the type of person who doesn't really discuss sex with anyone - unless they're my close friends. So when it came time to write this blog, I just had no idea where to begin.
And then I realized where I worked, and how I had college students at my disposal all the time in the Greek Life Office. So to write this blog about sex on a college campus, I decided to talk to some college students about the topic - to go straight to the source.
We talked about so much in our conversation, but one topic stood out to me as especially pertinent, especially for women - and especially in the South. Women are expected to be pure, virginal, and wholesome on the outside to appease other women, but have sex behind closed doors to appease men. It is a consistent and constant double standard that is impossible for Southern women to live up to, these students say. The worst offense is to be known as "promiscuous," but the combination of college-aged desires and the hope of pleasing members of the opposite sex lead women to lead a double life that is impossible to keep up.
A student I spoke to said that sex at another SEC school was spoken about freely, but at Ole Miss, sex was never discussed, as it was considered taboo. This student said sex was criticized on our campus and that "everyone does it - but no one talks about it." It is another example of how students at Ole Miss and other schools in the South lead a bit of a double life about sex.
It is a difficult predicament to be in. Other than practicing abstinence (which is, quite honestly, difficult to do if a college-aged woman hopes to keep most college-aged men but is completely acceptable and admirable if a student chooses to do so), it is hard to practice sex on a college campus without dealing with potential social repercussions.
For women especially, the double bind of having sex in college and trying to maintain a reputation is difficult, according to the students I spoke to. It is just one more pressure added to the list of the many pressures college students already face.
I am just happy that I got the chance to talk to college students who really know the score about what is going on with sex on a college campus. It provided me with good insight, which is always needed as a student affairs professional.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)