DORM – The Other Four-Letter Word
By Jason Gross, Assistant Dean of Student Life, Defiance College
Like fingernails on a blackboard, this word sends shutters up and down the spines of most housing and residence life professionals around the country. A first rate example of this pain was demonstrated at the November 2003 GLACUHO conference by the keynote speaker. During the course of a very upbeat and energetic presentation, the speaker made the cardinal sin and referred to residential living as dorm life. Absolutely priceless was the look on everyone’s face. It was as if we collectively took a giant bite out of a lemon. For the remainder of the presentation and afterwards, I began to ponder how it came to pass this seemingly innocuous word became the most prolific swearword to people like myself.
The word dorm, or dormitory, is rooted in the Latin language as the word dormire. Thank you Father Sanders for all of the free Latin lessons during Global Issues class. As it relates to this particular topic, it simply means a place to sleep. As a visual learner, I associate the images and atmosphere of the film Dead Poet’s Society with “old school” dormitory life on college campuses. This film depicted a very rigid environment devoid of free will and apathy toward student development and presents what I believe to be a pretty strong representation of how things used to be on many of our campuses. Through this depiction, I can readily understand why colleges and universities went in search of another descriptor for campus housing.
Fast forward to the present day. Sleep is one of the least occurring phenomenons in the residence halls of the modern day college campus. Anyone that has had the unique privilege of being a live-in member of a housing staff knows that life does indeed go on after quiet hours begin and visitation ends. Once again, as a visual learner, I associate the sometimes-exaggerated images and atmosphere of the films Road Trip, Old School, Dead Man on Campus, Van Wilder, Son-in-Law and Real Genius with today’s campus living environment. These films affirm, among many other things that life does not cease to exist in modern-day campus housing when the sun goes down. Through these depictions and my own professional experience, I find it hard to believe that a simple change in terminology led to such a significant paradigm shift.
Well, obviously, it didn’t. As Dr. Gregory Blimling illustrates in his writings, the evolution of campus housing and college life in general has been going on for decades. What once was a single-minded approach to teaching and learning has yielded to multi-faceted methodologies, mediums and learning outcomes for today’s college students. Emphasis on co-curricular education and the benefits of a holistic education have elevated the work of student affairs professionals to the point of almost being equals with their faculty counterparts. As a collective body, today’s students are leaving college better prepared and moving into the working world having been taught academic skills in the classroom and life skills beyond the classroom; i.e. the residential setting. For this reason and many others, I find it somewhat absurd to have the reaction that we do towards the use of the word dorm. As long as the residents feel as if their dorm or residence hall is their home away from home, it doesn’t matter what they call it. Why should it matter to us?
From day one of my college experience at Wheeling Jesuit University, I was taught inside and outside of the classroom not to place emphasis on labels, but to look within the person or thing for true meaning and understanding. I have been in residence halls that have the warmth and charm of an intensive care unit and I have been in dorms that feel like the family living room. In our quest to further legitimize our purpose and status to the faculty side of the house, I think we have come to place far too much emphasis on the frivolous and not enough on the basic. Ironically, the theme for the 2003 GLACUHO conference was “Back to Basics” and I couldn’t agree more that it’s time.
About the Author
Jason Gross completed his Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science at Wheeling Jesuit University in 1997 and completed his Masters of Business Administration from Wheeling Jesuit University in 2000. He is entering his 12th year working in Student Affairs and currently serves as the Assistant Dean of Student Life at Defiance College in Defiance, OH. He can be reached via e-mail at jgross@defiance.edu or via phone at 419-783-2563.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Creative Uses of Technology in your Role
Hello all
As you know, I'm trying to find ways to connect with both staff and students in new and innovative ways. I've been researching some of the more popular technologies available, and thought that you all might be able to find some interesting ways to use them in your jobs as RAs/GHDs. Happy reading! :)
Two caveats to using technology: First, make sure you get people's permission before posting pictures or information about them. Second, please be appropriate. While I don't go looking for issues on facebook or anywhere else, if it is brought to my attention, I cannot ignore it. Rule of thumb: If you don't want your mom/grandma to see it/read it, don't post it.
FACEBOOK.
What is it: Social networking site that allows you to connect with people all over the world....most people by now are aware of facebook. ;)
Ways to use it in your job: Create a floor group, create events and invite people to programs, post G-rated pictures of your programs for the floor to see
Cons: Easy to post inappropriate things, not always very private, students may be over-saturated by facebook.
YOUTUBE.
What is it: Website where people can post or watch video clips. Website is seachable and you can leave comments.
Ways to use it in your job: Film a lecture or a speaker and then post for residents, have a video contest about a particular topic (make sure to set some ground rules).
Cons: Easy to get in trouble by posting copyrighted material, not private at all.
GOOGLE APPLICATIONS.
What is it: A family of applications created by Google. Includes Google Calendar, Google Books, Google Scholar, Google Documents, and Google Groups.
Ways to use it in your job: Create a calendar of floor events and share with your residents, advertise via a google group, do a program about interesting ways to find sources for homework, put presentations/information on google documents to share with your residents.
Cons: Not all residents are familiar with these applications.
BLOGS.
What is it: Well, you're reading one, so hopefully you get the idea....
Ways to use it in your job: Floor blog highlighting a new resident every week (make sure to get permission), UF events blog, important academic dates blog.
Cons: Can require quite a time commitment for upkeep
FLICKR/PHOTOBUCKET/ETC.
What is it: Online photo storage and sharing applications.
Ways to use it in your job: Floor pictures, create a floor yearbook or album, door tags, photos for your blog, etc.
Cons: Easy to end up posting things that are not always appropriate.
TWITTER.
What is it: Send out 140-character updates to anyone who follows you; kind of like updating your facebook status. Can use via phone or internet.
Ways to use it in your job: Remind people about programs or important dates, let people know when you're in your room if they have questions.
Cons: Anyone can sign up to follow you (including people you have never met).
If you have any other creative ideas, leave some comments here!
As you know, I'm trying to find ways to connect with both staff and students in new and innovative ways. I've been researching some of the more popular technologies available, and thought that you all might be able to find some interesting ways to use them in your jobs as RAs/GHDs. Happy reading! :)
Two caveats to using technology: First, make sure you get people's permission before posting pictures or information about them. Second, please be appropriate. While I don't go looking for issues on facebook or anywhere else, if it is brought to my attention, I cannot ignore it. Rule of thumb: If you don't want your mom/grandma to see it/read it, don't post it.
FACEBOOK.
What is it: Social networking site that allows you to connect with people all over the world....most people by now are aware of facebook. ;)
Ways to use it in your job: Create a floor group, create events and invite people to programs, post G-rated pictures of your programs for the floor to see
Cons: Easy to post inappropriate things, not always very private, students may be over-saturated by facebook.
YOUTUBE.
What is it: Website where people can post or watch video clips. Website is seachable and you can leave comments.
Ways to use it in your job: Film a lecture or a speaker and then post for residents, have a video contest about a particular topic (make sure to set some ground rules).
Cons: Easy to get in trouble by posting copyrighted material, not private at all.
GOOGLE APPLICATIONS.
What is it: A family of applications created by Google. Includes Google Calendar, Google Books, Google Scholar, Google Documents, and Google Groups.
Ways to use it in your job: Create a calendar of floor events and share with your residents, advertise via a google group, do a program about interesting ways to find sources for homework, put presentations/information on google documents to share with your residents.
Cons: Not all residents are familiar with these applications.
BLOGS.
What is it: Well, you're reading one, so hopefully you get the idea....
Ways to use it in your job: Floor blog highlighting a new resident every week (make sure to get permission), UF events blog, important academic dates blog.
Cons: Can require quite a time commitment for upkeep
FLICKR/PHOTOBUCKET/ETC.
What is it: Online photo storage and sharing applications.
Ways to use it in your job: Floor pictures, create a floor yearbook or album, door tags, photos for your blog, etc.
Cons: Easy to end up posting things that are not always appropriate.
TWITTER.
What is it: Send out 140-character updates to anyone who follows you; kind of like updating your facebook status. Can use via phone or internet.
Ways to use it in your job: Remind people about programs or important dates, let people know when you're in your room if they have questions.
Cons: Anyone can sign up to follow you (including people you have never met).
If you have any other creative ideas, leave some comments here!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Die-Cuts
Hello all --
I am thinking of ordering a couple of new die cuts for the offices. Here are the ones I'm thinking of:
Tree
Umbrella
Arrow
Balloons
Beach Umbrella
Beach Ball
Book
Caption Boxes
Check Mark
Lightning Bolt
Popcorn
Puzzle Piece
If any of these sound good, or you like any others (www.ellisoneducation.com -- its the "prestige" series), let me know via email (jenniferl@housing.ufl.edu). I can probably only order two or three...
I am thinking of ordering a couple of new die cuts for the offices. Here are the ones I'm thinking of:
Tree
Umbrella
Arrow
Balloons
Beach Umbrella
Beach Ball
Book
Caption Boxes
Check Mark
Lightning Bolt
Popcorn
Puzzle Piece
If any of these sound good, or you like any others (www.ellisoneducation.com -- its the "prestige" series), let me know via email (jenniferl@housing.ufl.edu). I can probably only order two or three...
Monday, June 29, 2009
Updates & Upcoming Post
Hello Beaty/Jennings Staff! I know it's been a million years or so since I have posted an update to the blog, but read on and you shall find out why!
This summer has been a busy one in the Beaty/Jennings Area thus far. In Beaty, we are housing conferences, and have had over 400 people come through the building in the three weeks we have been open for conferences. My job this summer with conferences is to kind of act like the "hotel manager:" making sure people get checked in ok, making sure the rooms are clean and look nice, posting important information, and occasionally meeting with a camp group to go over rules and regulations. Despite a small problem with our air conditioning system for a day or two (it's been fixed and is now working fine!!), our camps have gone off without a hitch. The interesting thing about conferences is that many of them check in on the weekends or in the evening, so I have added a lot of hours to my week by helping out with that. The DAs have done a great job, though (including our own Abhyona), and have made my job much easier.
In addition to conferences, Room 204 in Beaty East is open as a show room for Preview families. Most of our Preview sessions have already occurred, and many of the students coming through now already know that they have been assigned to a particular building for Fall. This means that I have met several of your residents (and their parents!) already this summer. Lots of parents and students have questions, particularly about the beds, internet access, safey and how early their students should move in. I also have been getting a lot of questions about how many hours it takes to receive a Red 1 parking decal (answer: 50 credit hours) so I wouldn't be surprised to see many of your students coming in with that many (or close to it!) hours. I, of course, have been saying great things about our staff, how helpful you will all be, and how excited you are to meet your residents in the fall.
Speaking of staff, several of our Fall staff members are around this summer, either working as RAs for Summer B or doing other things. I already mentioned Abyhona is working for us as a DA, but Ashlyn, DeeDee, Darrel, Kat, Ming, Britney, Dom and Cindy are working as RAs on various parts of campus for Summer B. Nef (Beaty East GHD) is working as a GHD for Fletcher, and Rhiannon is around working for preview. I do have one staffing update to share. One of the Jennings GHDs that we hired in spring decided not to take the position, so we have hired Brett Scharf to fill her place. I am very excited to bring Brett on board and I really think he will be a great addition to our staff in terms of experience and energy.
Summer B is going well, although we don't have any students living in Beaty or Jennings over the summer. I am actually supervising Reid Hall for summer B and over the past week we welcomed 140 brand new first year students to campus. Overall, we had nearly 2500 new students move on to campus and start classes today! So you can imagine how busy it has been around here. I have already talked to a few students who will be moving to Beaty or Jennings for the fall and boy are they excited to be here!
Now for a construction update! Beaty 5th and 6th floor is going very well, most of the work is already done and the workers were installing cabinets last week and bringing the fridges in this week. They will probably finish ahead of schedule so there should be no problems with move in or storage.
Jennings is also progressing well....you guys will hardly recognize the East side of the building! The bathrooms are almost done...and they look FANTASTIC! All the tile looks so shiny and new :) Little known fact: we are also replacing the tile on the 3rd & 4th floors of Jennings West so those of you on those floors will have a little something new too. The bathrooms next to the office are also being redone and they look great too. The library is getting an overhaul too with brand-new furniture....I'm so excited for you all to see it! All in all, construction is progressing on schedule, so I'm pretty sure at this point everything will be ready to go by the time you all get here on August 9th.
We are about six weeks away from you all returning for the summer! Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do for you!
Watch the blog this week for a couple more posts, including (hopefully) another staff bio as well as some construction pictures. I'm also going to do a post on innovative ways to use technology in your RA position. I'm going on vacation July 3rd-12th, but I plan to post several more things after that before you all come back. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and there is more coming soon!
This summer has been a busy one in the Beaty/Jennings Area thus far. In Beaty, we are housing conferences, and have had over 400 people come through the building in the three weeks we have been open for conferences. My job this summer with conferences is to kind of act like the "hotel manager:" making sure people get checked in ok, making sure the rooms are clean and look nice, posting important information, and occasionally meeting with a camp group to go over rules and regulations. Despite a small problem with our air conditioning system for a day or two (it's been fixed and is now working fine!!), our camps have gone off without a hitch. The interesting thing about conferences is that many of them check in on the weekends or in the evening, so I have added a lot of hours to my week by helping out with that. The DAs have done a great job, though (including our own Abhyona), and have made my job much easier.
In addition to conferences, Room 204 in Beaty East is open as a show room for Preview families. Most of our Preview sessions have already occurred, and many of the students coming through now already know that they have been assigned to a particular building for Fall. This means that I have met several of your residents (and their parents!) already this summer. Lots of parents and students have questions, particularly about the beds, internet access, safey and how early their students should move in. I also have been getting a lot of questions about how many hours it takes to receive a Red 1 parking decal (answer: 50 credit hours) so I wouldn't be surprised to see many of your students coming in with that many (or close to it!) hours. I, of course, have been saying great things about our staff, how helpful you will all be, and how excited you are to meet your residents in the fall.
Speaking of staff, several of our Fall staff members are around this summer, either working as RAs for Summer B or doing other things. I already mentioned Abyhona is working for us as a DA, but Ashlyn, DeeDee, Darrel, Kat, Ming, Britney, Dom and Cindy are working as RAs on various parts of campus for Summer B. Nef (Beaty East GHD) is working as a GHD for Fletcher, and Rhiannon is around working for preview. I do have one staffing update to share. One of the Jennings GHDs that we hired in spring decided not to take the position, so we have hired Brett Scharf to fill her place. I am very excited to bring Brett on board and I really think he will be a great addition to our staff in terms of experience and energy.
Summer B is going well, although we don't have any students living in Beaty or Jennings over the summer. I am actually supervising Reid Hall for summer B and over the past week we welcomed 140 brand new first year students to campus. Overall, we had nearly 2500 new students move on to campus and start classes today! So you can imagine how busy it has been around here. I have already talked to a few students who will be moving to Beaty or Jennings for the fall and boy are they excited to be here!
Now for a construction update! Beaty 5th and 6th floor is going very well, most of the work is already done and the workers were installing cabinets last week and bringing the fridges in this week. They will probably finish ahead of schedule so there should be no problems with move in or storage.
Jennings is also progressing well....you guys will hardly recognize the East side of the building! The bathrooms are almost done...and they look FANTASTIC! All the tile looks so shiny and new :) Little known fact: we are also replacing the tile on the 3rd & 4th floors of Jennings West so those of you on those floors will have a little something new too. The bathrooms next to the office are also being redone and they look great too. The library is getting an overhaul too with brand-new furniture....I'm so excited for you all to see it! All in all, construction is progressing on schedule, so I'm pretty sure at this point everything will be ready to go by the time you all get here on August 9th.
We are about six weeks away from you all returning for the summer! Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do for you!
Watch the blog this week for a couple more posts, including (hopefully) another staff bio as well as some construction pictures. I'm also going to do a post on innovative ways to use technology in your RA position. I'm going on vacation July 3rd-12th, but I plan to post several more things after that before you all come back. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and there is more coming soon!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Get-to-Know: Nefertiti Walker, Beaty East GHD
I don't have a picture of Nefertiti (goes by Nef) yet, but here is some information nonetheless! Enjoy!
Short Biography: My name is Nefertiti Walker. I am a second year PhD student in the sport management department. I received my undergraduate degree in sport management from Stetson University and my MBA from Stetson University as well. I played collegiate basketball at Georgia Tech before transferring to Stetson University where I finished my career. I have two little brothers, one of which is moderately mentally disabled, but is the joy of my life and my little wingman when I visit home. My family all lives in Atlanta, GA where I grew up. I LOVE sports and LOVE to workout, especially with others!
A day in my life looks like: Waking up sometime before 7am, breakfast, reading journal articles, going to my academic office (Florida Gym 206E) from about 9am until 4pm. While at my academic office I have classes that I go to, writing and reading, and other stuff related to my studies. I usually get home about 4pm to watch Oprah (I LOVE Oprah!!!) and workout until 6:30 or so. So as you can see I am already super busy and this schedule doesn’t even include housing duties!!!
TV shows I watch: OPRAH!! , Greys Anatomy, any sports, anything on Food Network, Wheel of Fortune, and my favorite show ever… Biggest Loser…oh yeah and now I am hooked on the Goode Family.
On my Ipod/radio right now: Everything from Jamie Foxx to Nelly Furtado, Papa Roach, Lily Allen, Lady Gaga, Gym Class Heroes, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Flo Rida, Pepper, Common, Old school Biggie smalls…….I listen to it all!
I can’t live without my…: IPhone
My Myers-Briggs Type/True Colors color: ENTJ…..i think?
What I really like about my job: I love working with people!!!
Biggest pet peeve: Dishonest people
One thing about me that I’m proud of: Being such a family person and being a good friend.
If I didn’t have this job, I would be: Broke, poor and lonely without all of the friends I know I will make from this job :- (
Short Biography: My name is Nefertiti Walker. I am a second year PhD student in the sport management department. I received my undergraduate degree in sport management from Stetson University and my MBA from Stetson University as well. I played collegiate basketball at Georgia Tech before transferring to Stetson University where I finished my career. I have two little brothers, one of which is moderately mentally disabled, but is the joy of my life and my little wingman when I visit home. My family all lives in Atlanta, GA where I grew up. I LOVE sports and LOVE to workout, especially with others!
A day in my life looks like: Waking up sometime before 7am, breakfast, reading journal articles, going to my academic office (Florida Gym 206E) from about 9am until 4pm. While at my academic office I have classes that I go to, writing and reading, and other stuff related to my studies. I usually get home about 4pm to watch Oprah (I LOVE Oprah!!!) and workout until 6:30 or so. So as you can see I am already super busy and this schedule doesn’t even include housing duties!!!
TV shows I watch: OPRAH!! , Greys Anatomy, any sports, anything on Food Network, Wheel of Fortune, and my favorite show ever… Biggest Loser…oh yeah and now I am hooked on the Goode Family.
On my Ipod/radio right now: Everything from Jamie Foxx to Nelly Furtado, Papa Roach, Lily Allen, Lady Gaga, Gym Class Heroes, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Flo Rida, Pepper, Common, Old school Biggie smalls…….I listen to it all!
I can’t live without my…: IPhone
My Myers-Briggs Type/True Colors color: ENTJ…..i think?
What I really like about my job: I love working with people!!!
Biggest pet peeve: Dishonest people
One thing about me that I’m proud of: Being such a family person and being a good friend.
If I didn’t have this job, I would be: Broke, poor and lonely without all of the friends I know I will make from this job :- (
Monday, June 1, 2009
I'm Back!
Hello all!
Just a quick note to let you all know that I was on vacation last week, and will resume posting to the blog after I get a little caught up. Watch for another construction update this week, as well as another get-to-know, and some interesting information about Gainesville. Hope you all had a great week!
Just a quick note to let you all know that I was on vacation last week, and will resume posting to the blog after I get a little caught up. Watch for another construction update this week, as well as another get-to-know, and some interesting information about Gainesville. Hope you all had a great week!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Construction Updates!
As you may know, we are doing two major construction projects in the Beaty/Jennings Area this summer.
Our first project is the renovation of the 5th & 6th floors of Beaty West. We have been doing approximately two floors per summer for several years, starting in Beaty East and then continuing to Beaty West. We have only the 2nd-4th floors of Beaty West left to complete after this summer. This renovation project includes remodeling of the kitchen, living and bedroom areas in each Beaty Apartment. Currently, most of the major demolition is complete, as seen in the pictures below.
The Jennings Renovation is a little more in depth. We are completely renovating the bathrooms on the East side of the building, as well as putting in new tile and windows. WE are also renovating the Jennings library, including new carpet and furniture. Currently, we are in the process of completing the demolition of the Jennings bathrooms:
Watch for more updates as the summer progresses!
Our first project is the renovation of the 5th & 6th floors of Beaty West. We have been doing approximately two floors per summer for several years, starting in Beaty East and then continuing to Beaty West. We have only the 2nd-4th floors of Beaty West left to complete after this summer. This renovation project includes remodeling of the kitchen, living and bedroom areas in each Beaty Apartment. Currently, most of the major demolition is complete, as seen in the pictures below.
The Jennings Renovation is a little more in depth. We are completely renovating the bathrooms on the East side of the building, as well as putting in new tile and windows. WE are also renovating the Jennings library, including new carpet and furniture. Currently, we are in the process of completing the demolition of the Jennings bathrooms:
Watch for more updates as the summer progresses!
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