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Diversity & Social Justice "Tip of the Month"

Table of Contents

 

December 2011 - Beyond Dietary Needs
Submitted by: James Wagner, University of Idaho
 
We all know that our students have a wide array of dietary needs.  Students have allergies, lifestyle choices, faith-based guidelines, and other socio-cultural views that determine their dietary needs.  I am proud to say that I have witnessed many dining facilities accommodating these dietary needs.  Even though I have no dietary needs, I truly enjoy these gluten-free and vegan options.  However, many dining facilities have rules (some do not) that prohibit the removal of dishes and food.  These rules can have a detrimental impact on some populations within our residence halls.
 
Students that celebrate Ramadan and those that experience “sensory overload” are just a couple of populations that would face obstacles while meeting the daily nutritional requirements to sustain a healthy lifestyle.  Students that celebrate Ramadan abstain from eating from dawn to dusk, and therefore face the challenge in using their meal plan to obtain meals after hours of operation.  Students that experience “sensory overload”  are unable to be physically present in a dining facility because their senses are extremely heightened around others, flickering lights, a multitude of smells, etc.  These obstacles present a great opportunity for Residence Life and Dining Services to collaborate on ways to promote student success. 
 
A To Go box is a good resolution for said populations.  Washable containers are a solution, but not a form of best practices.  To Go containers that are disposable and made out of recycled material are recommended.  Such containers leave a smaller carbon imprint, more sanitary, and create less foreseeable problems.  If this option was available to everyone and not just singled out individuals, it would create a more universal accessible atmosphere.  Our advocacy is our students’ success.
 
Consultations from:
Elizabeth Miles, Ravens Scholar Program Manager
University of Idaho
 
Kevin Hills, Director of Disability Support Services
Eastern Washington University

 

 

November 2011 - Tools for Teaching Tolerance
Submitted by: Nicole Stella, University of Northern Colorado

For many of us we are now just a short month away from finals and perhaps new training sessions are the farthest thing from our minds. That said, it's never too early to start thinking about the next time you have a chance to discuss social justice. Teachingtolerance.org is a great place to find ideas on bringing the social justice conversation into a training or classroom setting. While the site does focus mostly on K-12 students, there is also a large section on professional development with ready to use presentations, articles and conversation guidelines.

While searching for a training tool, it may help to consider the following questions:

  • What type of tool do you need? Is your goal to start a conversation or to have a passive learning experience?
  • Who is your audience? With this, please consider the varying levels of diversity and social justice training in the group.
  • How can you edit the resources on teachingtolerance.org to better suit your institution?
  • Are there any particular areas of social justice that need to be addressed with your audience?

As with any general training tool, the information found at teachingtolerance.org and other sites like it will need some examples and editing to make it more applicable to your institution, but the conversation guides, videos and presentations are a great starting point!
 

 October 2011 - Creating a Supportive and Intentional Conference Experience
Submitted By: Bailey Borman, Arizona State University

 As an adviser or chaperone for a conference, our minds are often on the logistics rather than the support. How can we get our delegates to the airport, on a shuttle, to the conference and back safely without too many issues? But as conference season looms over us, the Social Justice and Diversity committee recommends we take a minute or two in considering how to plan a supportive and intentional conference experience outside of necessary forms and travel paperwork. Take a moment and ask the question: What is our responsibility as Student Affairs professionals to explain and explore the institutional differences in culture, values and vision to our delegations?

AIMHO is an incredibly diverse region with a variety of institutions and students. Having recently moved from one of the smallest institutions affiliated with AIMHO, Colorado Northwestern Community College, to the largest, Arizona State University; I have witnessed not only a change in culture, type of institution and student but a different system. Within this system the creation of the Sun Devil student experience is carefully crafted and complex, with multiple working parts. Within the state of Arizona alone, students have the choice of three many very different institutions, which have unique and established personalities. Even the 3 flagship institutions, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona are all distinctly different, with a unique campus culture, even though we’re all part of the same system. With such a diversity of institutions within our region, it is the adviser’s role to craft the conference experience and unify it with the home institutions culture, values and vision.
One might ask what can happen at a conference that would push a student leader to a place where they shut down and don’t enjoy or learn from the experience. As we know, College is a place where many students form new identities and have the opportunity to safely express who they are. A student leader might choose a school specifically for its culture and value of inclusivity. Perhaps a transgendered student lives on a campus where there are several gender inclusive options such as gender inclusive bathrooms, gender inclusive housing, or the ability to change their name on official university documentation. Attending a conference at an institution with conflicting values and beliefs that are not inclusive to her/hir/him, and where there are no policies in place to protect a student against gender identity discrimination, could cause fear and discomfort.

What is our responsibility as advisers to buffer the possible culture shock? My suggestion is take some time out of the logistics scramble and have intentional pre and post conversations with delegations. These conversations are critical to creating a supported conference experience for all students. Be as transparent with students as possible, this is of course not about scaring students but being honest with students. By creating an environment of open dialogue where it is important to juxtaposition the culture, values and vision of the home institution with the host institution, will directly correlate to how students adapt to the differences they experience at the conference. If an adviser creates an atmosphere of openness and exploration, students will follow that example and instead of being surprised in a negative way, a delegation can be prepared and open, knowing that there will be a discussion afterward. Remember conferences are more than fun programs, spirit swag and “ride the pony”; conferences are an opportunity for student leaders to become stronger, more versatile, and gain exciting marketable experiences. Below is a list of pre and post conference discussion questions or topics you might want to consider.

 
Pre Conference questions:
  • What do you want to learn from this experience?
  • If you experience something uncomfortable or different how do you plan to handle it? What support mechanisms are in place?
  • What does it mean to be a student at your institution?
  • What do you want students from other institutions to know about being a student at your institution?
  • What do you value about your institution?
Post-conference questions:
  • What impact did this experience have on you?
  • How will you bring this experience back to your campus?
  • What ideas did you share with delegates?
  • What did you learn, how did you learn it?
  • How will it impact you as a leader?
  • What was a new idea/value/experience that you had?
  • What were some of the similarities with your institution vs host institution? Differences?
Other tools:
  • Conference reflection journals- ask students to write small reflections throughout the conference to bring back to the post-conference discussion.
  • Delegation buddies- have the delegation form pairs. This is great if you have a large delegation and won’t be able to check in with each student during the conference.
  • Re-group meetings, plan a group meeting during the conference where you can briefly check-in with the team and see how it’s going.

September 2011 - Tweets for Social Justice
Submitted by: Hannah Lozon, The University of Arizona

The advent of Twitter has changed the way we communicate. Now, in 140 characters or less, you can reach millions of followers with the click of a button. Here are some suggested people/organizations/causes to follow to get your daily fill of social justice. 

  • @thesoldproject Preventing child exploitation through education in Thailand. Tweeting to raise awareness and share the funny things our scholarship kids in Thailand do.
  • @DefineAmerican A new conversation about immigration in our country. Launching with the story of Pulitzer Prize winner Jose Antonio Vargas. Let's talk.
  • @AFER With its landmark federal case challenging Prop. 8, American Foundation for Equal Rights is leading the fight for marriage equality. Tweets by Shumway Marshall.
  • @Colorlines Colorlines.com is a daily news site offering award-winning reporting, analysis, and solutions to today’s racial justice issues.
  • @DrMauraCullen Diversity & Leadership Training and author of 35 Dumb Things Well-Intended People Say. Founder of The Diversity Student Summit www.DiversityStudentSummit.com
  • @KathyObear Inclusion.Social Justice.Authentic dialogue.Facilitating change.Navigating triggers.Engaging.Connecting.Be of service.Inspire.Heal.Laugh.Love.Bring light 
  • @HRC The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality.
  • @CornelWest 1 of America's most provocative public intellectuals; a champion for racial justice through the traditions of the black Church, progressive politics, & jazz.
  • @racialicious A blog about the intersection of race and pop culture. Random live-tweets of shows and films. Maintained by@latoyapeterson
  • @DalaiLama Welcome to the official twitter page of the Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
  • @change Change.org raises awareness about important causes and empowers people to take action with leading nonprofits.
  • @WiHsng Follow @wihsng for the latest information on issues impacting women in the college and university housing profession.
  • @womeninhighered The only national monthly practitioner's newsjournal dedicated to enlightening, encouraging, empowering and enraging women on campus.

 

August 2011 -Which of your residents will Go Greek!
Submitted by: Jeanette Pacheco, Northern Arizona University

It’s the Fall semester, and opening season is among us! And as we prep our halls to open our doors to new students it is important to keep in mind the many decisions and choices our students will be faced with these first few weeks! One of the first decisions students make is whether or not to join a fraternity or sorority and become a member of the university’s Greek community. Although some people may have negative views about the ritual of fraternity and sorority recruitment, the Greek system has a lot more to offer than just social activities.

Many fraternities and sororities on campuses across the nation are having their chapters participate in educational workshops throughout the school year and are encouraging healthy choices regarding issues such as hazing prevention, study habits, healthy eating, responsible drinking, and most sororities and fraternities (if not all) have a national or chapter philanthropy project.

So before our residents come to us and our RAs with questions regarding the Greek system, it’s important to keep these statistics in mind and allow students to make decisions based on the facts:

  • Nationally, 71% of all fraternity and sorority member graduate, while only 50% of non-members graduate.
  • The All-fraternity and sorority GPA is higher than the overall collegiate GPA.
  • Since 1910, 85% of the Supreme Court Justices have been fraternity or sorority members.
  • 85% of the Fortune 500 key executives are fraternity or sorority members.
  • Of the nation's 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by fraternity or sorority members.
  • 76% of Who's Who in America are fraternity or sorority members.
  • All but two Presidents since 1825 have been fraternity or sorority members.
  • 70% of the U.S. Presidents' cabinet members since 1900 have been fraternity or sorority members.
  • 76% of U.S. Senators are fraternity or sorority members.
  • Both women appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court were sorority members.
  • Over 85% of the student leaders on 730 campuses are members of Greek-letter organizations.
  • Less than 2% of average college student expenses go towards membership dues.
  • A study by the University of Missouri found that Greeks throughout the US and Canada are more involved on their campuses and rate their overall university experience better.
  • The same study found that fraternity or sorority members are more involved in their communities; and give more generously to their alma maters.
  • Fraternity or sorority members form the largest network of volunteers in the U.S.-Nationally, fraternity or sorority members volunteer approximately 10 million hours of community service annually.
  • Fraternity or sorority membership strongly encourages within its community to uphold the ideals that they were founded on: sisterhood and brotherhood, scholarship, leadership, philanthropy, and becoming better citizens of society.
  • Hazing is against National Fraternity or Sorority Headquarters policies; September 19th-23rd is National Hazing Prevention Week.
  • Nationally, fraternity or sorority members are the largest and most visible value-based student organizations.

Statistics were taken from: http://www.umkc.edu/getinvolved/fsa-national-statistics.asp

Although there are many negative statistics out there about the Greek community, it is important to keep in mind the positive side of Fraternity & Sorority recruitment and support the facts about this historical and growing tradition on our campuses. 

 

July 2011 - A Summer of Pop Culture
Submitted by: Ariel Canizal, Colorado State University

As educators, we often realize that GLEE, Lady Gaga, American Idol, The Vampire Dairies, and the latest hit movies often influence our student’s development, tremendously. Such as that entertainment news is more watched than any of the national nightly news, and that our students are keenly aware of the latest advertising and marketing trends of this time. It’s also okay to state that we are beginning to realize that an effective way for young adults to critique society is by having them study popular culture and the media. As you prepare for your student staff training and the opening of your residence halls you might want to take advantage of the many summer movies or any of the other pop culture phenomenon’s occurring as possible resources of media to create some kind of dialogue relating to social justice and diversity.

For instance, since the release of Thor, the summer movie season has proven to be a chain effect of superheroes or some of character development that are battling some kind of force that is related to the theme of diversity or social justice. Clearly, films, television shows, books, clothing, and other sources of media you and your student staff may watch, read or wear will be interpreted differently, but the beauty of pop culture is that it’s another avenue to start up dialogue or awareness with people.

Below are possible questions you could ask your student staff, residents or any individual as you consider pop culture as a topic of conversation or teachable moment:

  • What messages from popular culture and the media are being sent to our students?
  • What do the students learn by watching, reading or observing pop culture?
  • What lessons can we learn from pop culture?
  • How do you use popular culture to help critique or discuss current events, cultural stereotypes, or important issues facing young adults and/or society today?
  • How do “stars” influence students—in positive or negative ways—to become involve in social or political activities?
  • How do you define stereotype?
  • How do you think stereotypes are perpetuated in society?
  • In what ways does a stereotype affect your life? Is it negative or positive?
  • How do you use popular culture in your programming to help students make valuable connections?
  • How do you teach students to analyze or think about popular culture?

Pop culture can be an intimating and frustrating avenue, but pop culture does impact our students more than we want it to so let's challenge and support our students.

 

May 2011 - Multicultural Conversations
Submitted by: Ana Romero - Northern Arizona University 

Our student staff members are typically on the front lines of conversations with a diverse population, but how do you prepare them to feel comfortable engaging in conversations with individuals who have a different experience? Students may want to learn about a person’s experience but may not know how to engage in those conversations. Here are some tips to consider when helping staff members feel comfortable:      

  • Engage in conversation: Simple conversations with residents that help get to know the basic information of a person can lead to a deeper connection and allow room for in-depth conversations about their backgrounds.
  • Listen: Take time to listen to what someone shares with you. This will help you truly gain an appreciation for someone’s background and allow them to share what they feel comfortable sharing.
  • Honesty: Be honest when you are unsure of something. Students will appreciate you admitting your areas of growth and understanding.
  • Seek to understand: Do not assume you know a person’s identity and their background. General knowledge is just that – general. Take time to understand the individual and how they identify themselves and their history.
  • Ask who might be excluded: Inclusive programming can help a community grow and provide a sense of belongings for our residents. Think of who may be left out and challenge yourself to think of methods to make it inclusive for that population.
  • Seek to educate yourself and others: Enroll in classes, visit resources, and/or take the time to read more about groups and learn about their experiences in a college setting.
  • Understand your privileges and be a voice for others: We all carry some form of privilege. It is important to understand what our privileges are and how we can be a voice for those who may not have the same privileges.
  • Address inappropriate behaviors: Address the behaviors early on and help prevent them from becoming bigger issues in the community.
  • Provide information on campus resources: Identify campus resources and provide the information throughout programs, bulletin boards and conversations.
  • Celebrate identities: Celebrate the diversity in your community and encourage your residents to help implement programs that celebrate their identities and interests.

Conversation starters for one-on-ones for RAs who have indicated struggles with conversations on diversity:

  • What makes you nervous about a conversation with someone of a different background?
  • What would you like to learn more about the student’s background?
  • What resources are available that can help you learn about the background?
  • What questions can you ask that will open up opportunities for more conversations?

 

April 2011 – It’s Never too Early to Start: Planning Social Justice & Diversity in your Training
Submitted by: John Buchanan - Fort Lewis College

The semester is quickly coming to the close and like many other institutions we are busy reading the residents for closing and prepping for the summer conference season. Also like many institutions, we have begun the initial planning for our Fall RA Training! When developing your RA Training diversity and social justice have always been an integral part of what we teach our student staff but the shape these topics take vary for each institution. As with any training session it is always important to consider the What, Why, and How.

What:

  • What are the current concerns/topics about diversity & social justice are prevalent on you campus?
  • What are some of the areas your incoming staff may need training in?
  • What are some of the areas the department is strong in or may have room to grow?
  • What are your missions and goals for training staff and diversity awareness?

Why:

  • Why is diversity and social justice an important topic for student staff to understand?
  • Why is your staff attending this session? Is it to increase staff’s awareness of diversity or give them programming ideas/resources? 

How:

  • Do you want to use and departmental, campus, or outside group to present the topic?
  • Are there departmental funds you want to use to bring in a presenter or sponsor a workshop?
  • How will it be presented, interactive or lecture style?
  • How much time do you want to devote to this topic?
  • How is student staff being engaged and informed of the importance of the topic?
  • How have you defined the goals for this presentation? Are there specific learning outcomes?
  • How are you assessing the goals/learning outcomes of the presentation where reach?

This is only the short list of important considerations when planning any training program. While it is our goal to make every session important an engaging to our student staff diversity and social justice can be one of the most difficult to successfully teach. Thus, there is an increased need to sit down and answer some of the above question make ensure that the time you spent in the already pack training schedule is beneficial to you, your student staff, and your campus. Below are a few resources that I hope will be of some use to you as you begin you’re planning.

Resource:

Washington Consulting Group is a company that offers extensive training sessions on diversity and social justice and how it could be related to how student staff work and build relationships with students. http://www.washingtonconsultinggroup.us/

This site offers an extensive list of resources and links in regards to social justice topics. The site is sponsored by the Social Justice Training Institute http://www.sjti.org/resources.html

Envision Social Justice Training & Consulting is another company that offers presentation and training in the areas of social justice, leadership, and LGBT topics.  http://www.envisionsocialchange.org/index.htm

Coming Soon: The Social Justice Committee is currently in the process of contact schools in the AIMHO Region about the various types of diversity & social justice training offered to students and will be complying that information into a resource for the many member schools of AIMHO. Keep an eye open for more information.

March 2011 – Diversity & Social Justice Ideas for Educational Judicial Sanctioning
Submitted by: Johanna Karasik, University of Colorado at Boulder

Like many of us, I’m always interested in creative and educational judicial sanctions. Here are some ideas which will incorporate diversity and social justice themes which can be used for residents who used inappropriate language or were responsible for other biased behavior. If you have other website/video resources and/or related sanction ideas please share them with me at johanna.karasik@colorado.edu!

Part I Ideas:

  • Attending a specific, applicable event on your campus or in your local community such as Tunnel of Oppression or specific events connected to Holocaust Awareness Week or Black History Month.
  • Researching GLBT rights and the lack thereof in your local community, at your institution (professional staff), state, national level or the student’s home state

Part II Ideas:

- Create:

  • A bulletin board, banner or poster to be displayed in the community
  • An active program for your hall community which utilizes an on-campus resource
  • A reflection paper, citing at least x number of sources

- Potential Prompts:

  • What is homophobia? In what ways does today’s society exhibit homophobia?
  • What are the negative effects of homophobia? What are the negative effects of offensive slang which is derogatory toward GLBT individuals?
  • How and where does racism or anti-Semitism exist in our local community, at our University, in the United States, or in the world today?
  • Discuss two additional forms of prejudice or discrimination that you learned about (by attending the event or in your research).

§ What surprised you?

§ Were there any personal stories to which you felt connected or you identified?

§ Consider your own identities – race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, physical ability, age, political views…

§ Have you ever been called a name, insulted and/or discriminated against because of how you identify or regarding something you were born as or with? What happened and how did you deal with it?

§ Have you seen others who identify the same way been called names, insulted and/or discriminated? What happened and how did you deal with it?

§ How have these identities affected you positively and/or negatively?

 

February 2011 - Supplementing Your Institution's Diversity Requirement
Submitted by: Nicole Stella, University of Nevada, Reno

Most of us are familiar with the diversity requirement at our institution. Whether it's a specific required course or a choice from a long list of diverse courses, just about every institution has diversity as a key part of the core or general education.  While the relative merits of these courses are up for debate, we should consider institutional resources and experiences when programming for diversity.  For example, at Nevada most students will not take a diversity course until their sophomore or junior year (at our institution this choice is based on the level of written work for the class), leaving freshman students, theoretically, unprepared to encounter diverse experiences in their residence hall, internship/job or social life.  In order to help residents and our student staff, we can focus on working with and supplementing the diversity opportunities already offered at our institution.

Some questions to consider:

  • What diversity coursework is available at my institution?
  • When will students be exposed to diversity coursework?
  • What diversity resources are available on my campus?
  • What (in my opinion/according to students & staff) needs to be added?

In order to answer these questions you may have to do some googling or sift through your institution's web site. DiversityWeb.org (a resource listing sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and Universities) has some helpful definitions of diversity requirements as well as links to programs and coursework at institutions nationwide.

January 2011 – “The Circle Model”
Submitted by: Kendall Clements,  Adams State College

It’s a new year, and a new semester. I think we should start looking at some everyday problems in a new way as well. RA training has come and gone, and I’m sure some of the usual refreshers came up: emergency procedures, community building tips, and of course roommate conflicts and mediations.  When it comes to confrontation, our RAs are mainly addressing behavior; they are also addressing behavior in mediations between roommates or friends. We can encourage our RAs to revisit roommate contracts, and develop plans for how their behavior will change so that they may live more harmoniously together. While these strategies may be successful, I think that we should have our RAs dig deeper. There is a model I recently learned about in which we can think about getting to the roots of roommate conflicts…I will tie this into diversity, I promise.

What I’m referring to is called The Circle Model, this is based on Re-evaluation Counseling by Harvey Jackins.  The base of this model includes six traits that we assume all people are born with: good, creative, intelligent, zest for life, curious, and pride. I know it’s never right to assume any one thing about everyone, but this theory states that we are born with all intentions of being decent human beings. From these initial traits, life experiences happen that further shape us. We may have been hurt in one way or another, we received repeated messages that became engrained in our thoughts, and we begin to perceive life as we know it. Our new ‘definition’ of life now decides our general disposition, and our behavior. This is where the diversity part comes in. Everyone’s walk of life has lead them to different places, and their life experiences have shaped them as people. When we are discussing behavioral problems that arise in our residence halls, we must keep in mind the different hurts, messages, and experiences that each student brings with them. This may seem like a superficial pry at diversity, but I think it is a good reminder for our RAs, and for those of us who handle conduct in the halls to always try to address the underlying experiences that students have had that makes them think one way or another.

December 2010 – “Bullying”
Submitted by: Malinda Jensen, Boise State University

The month of December lends itself to a time of introspection and reflection. In looking back at the events that have transpired over this past semester, there have been a few things that have a direct connection to social justice and the field of Higher Education and Student Affairs. Unfortunately, some of those events have come with a very negative light shed on them such as the instances of bullying and its prevalence in institutions of higher learning. While coordination took place for memorial events such as the October 20 Spirit Day campaign where individuals were encouraged to wear purple to support LGBT students, more proactive measures are needed.

 With January right around the corner, a month of rebirth and New Year's resolutions, I challenge you and your department to consider the following questions and implement a plan of action to make prevention and response to bullying worthy on your campus.

  • Is a behavioral intervention system in place (and if so, is it being used effectively)?
  • Are the policies in place proactive to prevent bullying or reactionary to respond to emergent cases?
  • Are educational measures in place to inform students of their rights in regards to cyber, verbal, physical, and emotional bullying?
  • Are educational sanctions in place for students to understand what actions constitute bullying and that shed light on the serious nature of bullying?
  • Is there somewhere established on your campus to serve as a "safe space" for students to reside in while instances of bullying are being resolved?

As student affairs professionals, it is important to protect the marginalized voices on our campuses and hold a stance of zero tolerance to oppressive bullying and violence. Having an institutional plan in place should promote inclusion and safety. The phrase "It will get better" should be more than a promise or urgent plea to encourage endurance and would hold more credence if followed with "and this is how."

 

September 2010 – “Do your policies reflect the Social Justice and Diversity work on your campus?”
Submitted by: Bailey Borman, Colorado Northwestern Community College

Within the last year my institution has done a total revamp of our student handbook. With a Student Handbook Committee, I started from the beginning, reading our student handbook and then reading student handbooks from institutions across the country similar to our size. The task was huge and raised so many questions about what is considered the “norm” for policies in educational institutions across the United States.

These past few weeks I’ve been holding my breath as I watched the new student handbook take into effect. Our resident assistants have been trained with this handbook and we are using its judicial conduct system in our judicial meetings. Though there are common mistakes and holes that we didn’t see earlier, I am in general proud of the handbook. But, as I was thinking of what to add as the Diversity Tip of the month of September a colleague reminded me that, in general, policies and procedures don’t reflect the Social Justice and Diversity work that happens on many campuses.

Is it possible to have truly inclusive policies? As many schools are adding gender neutral bathrooms and other similar policies to reflect the needs and changing attitudes of our students, should be not review the most basic of policies and ask ourselves whether they still apply? For example noise policies. Most institutions have some type of noise policy in their residence halls. Does this need for quiet really reflect the cultures and backgrounds of our students? Some cultures embrace and celebrate noise; life is loud and exciting. Yet in the residence halls we attempt to suppress this noise in an effort to create an academic environment. I am not saying this is wrong, but pointing out that it is easy to take policies at face value. It seems strange that there wouldn’t be a noise policy or that something as basic as a noise policy wouldn’t reflect the needs of our students. In an attempt to make an inclusive environment I sometimes wonder if we really make it a sterile environment for the few that flourish in the quiet. 

I think many of us make up for the lack of inclusiveness within our policies by making sure that our judicial meetings are caring and all about discussion. Finding the individual needs of students and then working with them where they are so that they can be successful. Then again, how easy is it to brush off something as simple as a first time noise violation with a letter explaining the policy, so you can focus your attentions and effort on drugs, alcohol and other more “serious” policy violations? 

Now, I am assuming that writing policy is not always a task that many of us have the privilege of doing until later in our careers. However, the influence and discussion of policies and procedures should always be part of our work. I challenge you to re-read your student handbook, employee manuals and other materials that are given to faculty, staff and students. Here are some questions to ask while reading these materials in order to gauge whether or not you think your institution does a good job of reflecting your work in policy form:

  1. Review your institutional mission statement. Do you believe in this statement? How about the vision statement? How about the department mission statement?
  2. Look at the Diversity/Social Justice Mission Statement or commitment to Diversity/SJ that many schools include in their student handbooks and websites. Do you think this diversity statement is true? Does your institution have a diversity statement? Are your students aware of this statement? Would they think it’s true?
  3. Do your students often complain about the pettiness of policies? Can you explain and rationalize all the policies and procedures in the student handbook?
  4. Think of your student body, what are their needs? Make a list of five needs that are unique to the students at your institution or in your building. Do you think your policies/procedures reflect those needs?
  5. Talk to students about the student handbook or school policies. Are they aware of them? Do they agree with most of the policies? If not why?

If you read through your institutional policies and feel that they are a good representation of your work that is FANTASTIC! If not, start those discussions. Ask your supervisor or Director, is there is a policy/procedures review committee, is it something that you can be a part of or join? If you are on such a committee, is it diverse enough? Is there a present student voice? As we attempt to make our policies more inclusive, we need to include more people in the conversation. This can be very frustrating but perhaps it will lead to less frustrations in the future and policies that represent the needs of our students, making our jobs easier.

I know that you all do amazing work. Sometimes policies and procedures fade into the background. It can also be so BORING! I think of policy as a type of backbone or formal declaration of an institution. It can be tool that is useful to the development of our students or it can be a disaster, something you are constantly try to work around in order to serve your students. Perhaps through this examination you find that your institution does not reflect the work you do and would like to continue. Maybe they aren’t ready for the changes you want to make happen. I hope this isn’t the case, but as many of us live in rural communities and AIMHO has a large amount of small institutions, this might be the case. Good Luck! And keep up the good work! 

Questions or thoughts? E-mail me at: Bailey.Borman@cncc.edu

August 2010 - "Navigating Triggers"
Submitted by: Whitney Newman, University of Northern Colorado

As we are completing Social Justice and Diversity training at the University of Northern Colorado, the professional staff completed a reading of 35 Dumb Things Well-Intended People Say, by Dr. Maura Cullen a well known Diversity Trainer. With our student staff, we watched a video of her speaking to first year students at Bucknell. Both resources are available on her website www.mauracullen.com. Our students and staff reacted incredibly well to both and people at all levels of social justice understanding found Dr. Cullen’s thoughts both approachable and understandable.

Dr. Cullen will be providing some training at AIMHO College, and at the risk of giving away some of her message, I wanted to include some of the information that our staff found valuable.  Throughout conversations with both our professional staff and our student staff, we found that facilitators were continuously discussing managing triggers. There are several good training tools out there including this one found on Dr. Cullen’s website (http://www.mauracullen.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Navigating-Triggers.pdf) but I haven’t found one more valuable than Dr. Cullen’s Core Concept #9 – Raising the B.A.R.

In this concept, Dr. Cullen discusses the ways in which when we are triggered in life, we sometimes don’t know exactly what to say, and I’ve found that the same thing happens to me when I’m facilitating sometimes. The risk of facilitating social justice conversations is that someone will find one of your personal triggers, and without the benefit of having a plan in place, things can get very emotional – very quickly. That’s why, having a simple technique like B.A.R. can be such a handy tool.

B – Breathe, A – Acknowledge, R – Respond

Many times, when faced with a tough social justice trigger, I am tempted to do what Dr. Cullen calls a reverse BAR – R – React, A – Attack, and B – Breathe (and sometimes have an emotionally challenging moment immediately after). If I had started with Breathe, I probably would have been able to count to 10 (or 30, depending upon the depth of the trigger) before I chose to Acknowledge that they were probably coming from a well-intended place and remembered the importance of intent vs. impact. I would have been able to Respond to their comment rather than React to it. The difference between responding thoughtfully and reacting in anger could make the difference between someone having an enlightening social justice moment with a student or staff member, and them feeling shut down and not moving forward.

Of course, practicing healthy self care and having good preparation can also help with triggering moments. This is just as important as assessing the readiness of the group – and choosing the appropriate risk level of activity.

Hope everyone has a wonderful hall opening! Have a wonderful Fall!

July 2010 - "The Use of Personal Narrative in Staff Training"
Submitted by: Whitney Newman, University of Northern Colorado

In May, Bailey Borman, shared some tips for how to make your planned diversity training more effective. Many organizations choose to outsource this training to a professional, but in this time of tight budgets and changing priorities, you might find it difficult to find a diversity speaker or trainer to help with your professional or student staff training who fits in your budget. When reading a blog recently (http://www.identitytheory.com/sjblog/), I was reminded of the power of hearing the story of others. I realized that some of my most transformative social justice educational moments that I had, came when I heard the personal story of others. There are many ways to recreate this environment in both professional and student staff trainings, without needing to compensate a diversity trainer for what can be thousands of dollars.

Not only will incorporating some personal story telling help your budget, but it is likely to help your students or staff to share their personal stories as a way to aid in their identity development. The GLBT community has long since used this as a training tool for communities, classrooms, college campuses, and far beyond. In Speakers’ Bureaus across the country, students and community members tell their story in an attempt to educate others. According to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (www.glsen.org) participants often find themselves understanding their identity on a deeper level after participating on a speakers’ panel. Many GLBTA offices on university campuses offer this paneling as a resource, and this is a great way to incorporate personal student stories into your training. Some other tips for incorporating personal stories into your training include:

  • Create your own panel which includes students from different races, ethnicities, abilities, etc… and have them take questions from participants about their experience.
  • Asking students or professionals who will be attending your training if they would be willing to read a brief essay about themselves in front of the group.
  • Encouraging training participants to write a This I Believe type essay (http://thisibelieve.org/) which explores what they believe and why.
  • Have participants to write and share “I am” poems (http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/activities/poetry.html) which allow people to share their personal journey. Another option is “I am from” poems (http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm).
  • Challenge participants to explore their personal journey by asking them to draw a timeline of their social justice experiences including moments of bias, moments of education, and moments of renewed understanding.
  • A quick 5 minute icebreaker that allows participants to explore someone else’s story puts participants into pairs. For two minutes, one person shares their story without interruption, then for the next two minutes, the other person shares their story without interruption. Afterward, the two discuss the experience of sharing their story with no feedback and not providing verbal affirmation to the person speaking.
  • No matter what you do, make sure to include some reflection exercises so that training participants can explore how activities made them feel. Good facilitation of these types of activities can transform a moment into an educational moment.

 

June 2010 - "Race and Druge Use - A Potential Article to Use in Marijuana Cases"
Submitted by: Adam Beaver, University of Colorado - Boulder

The University of Colorado, while a respected institution, sometimes struggles with associations of marijuana consumption to certain members of the student population. When the opportunity presents itself for a Student Conduct Officer to interact with a student contacted for marijuana consumption, one of the many options in the professional’s tool kit at CU is the following article by writer, Tim Wise. The article makes a comparison of the way that society or government responds to drug users based on the color of their skin or the culture to which they belong. The article can be abrasive, opinionated, and insensitive, but it also has the ability to entice a response from students who may otherwise react apathetically to their sanctions or who may be looking for a way to challenge peers or systems.

The article is not used as a response to all marijuana-based incidents, but – depending on what is learned about the student and their greater social perspective – conduct officers can consider it as a sanction. The conduct officer would have the option of asking the student to write a reflection paper after reading the article or respond to specific questions as identified by the officer and based on the content of the initial hearing conversation.

As I mentioned before, this is not appropriate for every marijuana sanction. One example of a possible use could result as the conduct officer is looking for a specific way to challenge a student’s perception that police enforcement on marijuana usage is ‘oppressive.’

Outside of the context of a hearing, this article could also be used as part of a group facilitated exercise discussing impacts of social movements that occur as a result of privilege or oppression. 

The article is available on Tim Wise’s website: http://timwise.org/. Title: Hey Dude, where’s my privilege? Race and lawbreaking in black and white. (May 11, 2009)

May 2010 – “RA Diversity and Social Justice Training”
Submitted by: Bailey Borman, Colorado Northwestern Community College

As we get swept into the frenzy of end of the year closing it’s hard to think of the summer and…Fall training. But starting to think of fall training now is a proactive approach to a crucial part of the year. Before setting the schedule and printing the RA manuals, it’s a good idea to ask some basic assessment questions. Below are a few questions that might be helpful in assessing the success of your training last year so that your training this year can be even more successful!

1. What is the purpose of social justice and diversity training?
2. Who is your audience? Does your training fit your staff? (Learning styles/getting accommodations ready in advance…etc)
3. What is the desired outcome of your training?
4. How will you measure the success of your social justice and diversity training?
5. What actions would you like your RAs to take as a result of training?
6. How does your social justice and diversity training connect to your department and Institutions strategy/vision/mission?
7. What is the plan for reinforcing your social justice and diversity training throughout the school year (programming, In-services, one on ones…etc)?
8. Do you have returning staff? How can you make social justice and diversity training fresh for them? Do you need to provide a part 2 or even a part 3?
9. Was your training sufficient last year? Were there any new issues that cropped up in this academic year that need to be addressed with training?
10. What was the RA feedback for this section of training during the fall?

Remember training is fun! With a little assessment, we can only continue to improve it and therefore improve the overall student experience. Good Luck with closing!

 

April 2010 - "End of Year Banquets"
Submitted by Kevin Taylor, Western State College of Colorado 

As all of you know, the end of the school year is quickly approaching for many of us that work at colleges and universities in the AIMHO region and across the country. April is a great month to celebrate your successes with fellow colleagues, as well as your student staff. Many departments within student affairs hold year-end banquets to celebrate the year of work and time spent together as a working unit. These banquets are a great venue for celebrating diversity and honoring the successes that have been accomplished on your campus, department, etc with regard to supporting diversity and social justice related issues.

During your year-end banquet, consider recognizing a diversity related program(s) or initiative(s) that have had a significant impact on your students, staff, etc. Recognizing the impact a program or initiative has had on students and staff alike will further reinforce the importance of continuing to support diversity in our daily work. Furthermore, it shows that supporting diversity is a departmental priority. And, let’s not forget… people love for their hard work to be acknowledged and rewarded!

 

June 2009 - "A Primer on Supporting Transgender Students"
Submitted by: Paul York, Colorado College

Gender plays a role in our lives everyday, but we don’t usually stop to think about it until we are specifically confronted by it. However, there is a group of students and professionals on our campuses that are confronted with gender and what it means for their lives every day. I have devoted this month’s “Diversity Tip of the Month” to give you some recommendations of how to support those students and professionals who identify as transgender (trans).
First, it is probably helpful to provide a list of terms that you usually hear:

  • GLBT or LGBT: Acronyms for “gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender” or “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender”.
  • Sex: The sex that is assigned at birth
  • Gender Identity: The gender that a person claims, which may or may not align with the gender assigned at birth
  • Gender Expression: This term refers to how a person behaves or the gender they present to society
  • Sexual Orientation: A person’s sexual or romantic attraction to another
  • Female-to-male transsexual (FTM): Someone who was born female and transitions to a male gender assignment
  • Male-to-female transsexual (MTF): Someone who was born male and transitions to a female gender assignment
  • Transgender: This is an umbrella term that refers to people who experience their gender differently than from what they were assigned at birth.
  • Transexual: This term refers to those individuals who identify and live life as a member of the gender other than the one assigned at birth. Often undertake some kind of medical procedure - surgery, horomones, etc. 

When transgender people make the decision to disclose their identity, they do so at great personal risk. These individuals risk not being accepted, hostile family and friends, harassment, discrimination, or violence, loss of employment, and our transgender students risk loss of financial support from parents.

As we seek to support students and fellow staff members who identify as transgender, it is important that they feel as though the environment they are in is a safe and supportive one. The following is a list of recommendations that can assist you in your support of these important individuals.

Don’t make assumptions! Don’t assume that you know a person’s gender based on their appearance. Also, don’t assume that a student has gender identity issues, just as you wouldn’t make assumptions about a student’s sexual orientation.

Respect confidentiality. When a student shares personal information about gender identity, that student is giving you a great deal of trust. If you don’t respect this person’s confidentiality, it could have dire consequences in regard to their establishing a healthy gender identity.

Seek to fully understand gender identity. Gender identity is unique to each person. Gender and sexual orientation are a natural part of us and both can be experienced as a continuum. Keep in mind that sexuality and gender expression are just two pieces of the whole pie… or person.

Create a safe space for open discussion. As student affairs professionals we are constantly seeking to create affirming environments that don’t support stereotypes and are inclusive. It is important for us to use inclusive, non-presumptuous, nonjudgmental, and gender-neutral language.

Just a note about pronouns…
As someone who loves pronouns this is something that I have struggled with in my own work with students and staff who identify as transgender. Transgender people should be identified with the pronoun that corresponds with the gender with which they identify. If you are unsure of someone’s gender, it’s appropriate to respectfully ask their name and what pronoun they prefer to use. I know that this seems counterintuitive, but the person will appreciate the fact that you cared enough to ask. For instance, I recently had to ask someone which pronoun they preferred I use. They requested that I use “Ze” (Zee).

Be mindful of the gender specifics in policies that you develop. This goes hand in hand with the note about pronouns. Whenever possible, try not to use gender specific language. Gender specific language is restrictive of those individuals who do not ascribe to a particular gender as in the “Ze” (Zee) student I mentioned.

Know when and where to seek help. Be aware of resources that are available at your institution or in your community for transgender students and staff.

Be informed and don’t be afraid to examine your own beliefs. As student affairs professionals, we are not immune to the effects of socialization. We’ve been taught what is feminine and what is masculine. Recognize when you are being influenced by that socialization. We also have our own beliefs. We just need to remember to support the student in every way we can. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Train your student staff in ways to support trans students.

The biggest thing we can do as housing officers is to serve as allies to trans students.
Learn about the culture and lives of people with whom you are working as an ally. Learn about their struggles for justice. Build relationships with the people with whom you are working as an ally. Develop friendships where possible.

Are you ready to come out as an ally?