ACUHO-I News Blog

“Conversations,” a regular department in the Talking Stick magazine, is dedicated to capturing dialogue between high-level professionals on the topics that affect campus housing. The July+August 2009 issue featured a conversation on student substance abuse that was so thorough and valuable, that it all couldn’t fit on the printed page.

The following is the complete conversation featuring Valerie Randall-Lee (Northeastern University in Boston), Dan Pedersen (St. Cloud University in Minnesota), and Paul Hubinsky (Illlinois Institute of Technology in Chicago). After reading, please share your own thoughts about student substance abuse and the efforts your campus is making to address it in the comment section.

(more…)

At this time each year, the Supreme Court releases its docket for the next session. They usually do not give a reason why other cases were refused. The justices prefer cases in which a precedent has not been set–and thus the Supreme Court can provide that guidance–and cases in which conflicting rulings have been issued by lower courts.  Thus advocates for Christian student groups and advocates for non-discrimination rules at high schools and in higher education found themselves united on at least one subject: They were surprised the Supreme Court did not take on the question of public institutions, student groups and the rights those groups have (or don’t have) to exclude certain people as members.

Public high schools and public colleges and universities say anti-discrimination rules (which usually include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation) should be applied evenly to all student groups receiving student activities funds. Christian students say such rules limits their right to free assembly and forces them to accept student members who don’t profess the same beliefs.

One case that has been used as precedent is Truth vs. Kent School District. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit backed a high school’s right to deny official recognition to a Bible study group whose members did not want to adhere to the district’s policy that all student groups must accept any interested students as members. The court found that since the district applied the anti-discrimination rules to all student groups, the Bible study group was not being treated any differently.

Truth vs. Kent School District was cited twice more, to uphold the right of higher education institutions not to recognize student groups that do not follow a similar anti-discrimination code of conduct.

However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ordered Southern Illinois University to recognize a chapter of the Christian Legal Aid Society.

This all leaves higher education uncertain of what their next move should be, and the Supreme Court will be silent on the subject, at least until 2010-2011.

Here’s another study that proves what college housing officers–and anyone who works at a college or university–likely knows already. Establishing the national drinking age at 21 twenty years ago has not prevented or limited underage binge drinking among college students. The study was conducted at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis by a team headed by Richard A. Grucza, Ph.D. The results appear in an article in the Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

There is good news; binge drinking has dipped substantially among other groups. Males 15 – 17 years old binge drank 50 percent less in 2006 than they did in 1979. Males 18 – 20 years old in all groups (both college-going and otherwise) binge drank 20 percent less, and males 21 – 23 years old binge drank 10 percent less.

Now the not-so-good news: Men and women in college both binge drink at considerably greater rates than their non-college-attending brethren. Men ages 18 – 20 who were not in college binge drank 30 percent less during the study period. The rates of men the same age who were in college were unchanged. Similar results played out for men 21-23; men not in college binge drank 10 percent less during those 20 years; the rates for men in college were steady.

For women, the story is even less encouraging. For all females aged 15 – 20 years old, binge drinking was unchanged since 1979. Women 21 – 23 years old binge drank 40 percent more than they did in 1979. Male minority members binge less than they used to, but female minorities do so more. Overall, males make up the majority of binge drinkers but rates of female binge drinking has been increasing.

Researchers speculate that a higher drinking age has made it harder for high school students to obtain alcohol, thus driving down binge drinking among that group, while college students are more likely to mingle with those 21 and over. Non-students in their early 20s may also be more likely to have responsibilities that take precedence over partying, such as spouses, a full-time job, or children. Overall, they feel that while the result isn’t ideal, binge drinking is down among the population in general and teenagers especially, so a higher drinking age should be maintained.

Those who attended the ACUHO-I China Study Tour last January were impacted by the commitment Chinese students showed their education and the gratitude they had for the chance for a college education. A story in the New York Times last week highlights the obsessive approach students take toward the gao kao, (”high test”); the nation’s college admission test.

The test takes nine hours to complete and is offered only once a year. More than 10 million students are expected to take the test this year. About 60 percent usually score high enough to be considered for college acceptance. The article repeats a Chinese saying that compares the exam to a stampede of “a thousand soldiers and 10 horses across a single log bridge.”

All of this is for the chance to be a part of China’s higher learning system that includes more than 1,900 institutions (almost twice as many as in 2000) and nearly 19 million students (six times more than a decade ago).

Read more here.

According to an article in Career Journal, the Wall Street Journal’s career site, a subtle transformation is taking place among millennials, AKA Generation Y. As jobs disappear and companies are ravaged by the slumpy economy, some recent graduates are endeavoring to show their employers or potential employers that Gen Y doesn’t always denote a sense of entitlement and the expectation of Fridays off. Of course, this transformation might have taken place with or without an economic crisis; it’s a part of young adults’ adjustment to becoming self-sufficient post-college. Perhaps, however, the economy will bring out the acknowledged talents of Gen Y, making us all better in the end.

That sounds pretty snazzy, doesn’t it? Well it seems to be true, at least in terms of the racial diversity of students’ friends during college. Most students make friends within their own ethnic and racial groups, rarely venturing outside of that. However, residence halls, and assignments can be a fertile place for these preferences to be tweaked, according to “Interracial Friendships in the Transition to College: Do Birds of a Feather Flock Together Once They Leave The Nest,” an article in the current issue of Sociology of Education.

According to authors Elizabeth Stearns (University of North Carolina at Charlotte), Claudia Buchmann (Ohio State University) and Kara Bonneau (Duke University):

“Residential college campuses offer multiple settings for contact… First, college students tend to reside together on campus. Residence halls may be particularly conducive environments for fostering interracial friendships, given the close and sustained nature of the contact that is found in them. The more intimate and informal nature of residence hall life may serve to put roommates and hallmates on an equal footing in terms of status and provide a richer seedbed for forming friendships relative to the structured, formal settings of college classrooms.”

Moreover, the authors note, administrators can further encourage such contact through assignments and other residential programs.

A selection of college housing and student affairs headlines from InsideHigherEd.com. Look for these on a weekly basis in the ACUHO-I news blog.

THE FUTURE OF STUDENT LOANS: House hearing elicits widespread agreement that big changes are coming, and that a single federal loan program would make sense. But left unanswered: Is administration’s plan clearly the best option?:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/05/22/loans

CREDIT LIMIT: Congress passes legislation that will help shield students from credit card companies’ aggressive tactics, but not everyone is cheering:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/05/21/credit

LOST MEN ON CAMPUS: Scholars at national conference link issues of identity and masculinity to gender gaps in academic performance.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/05/22/men

TEST PREP, TO WHAT END? New analysis from admissions group suggests that SAT coaching improves scores, but modestly. But study also finds that modest increases make a difference at many institutions:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/05/20/testprep

Will the Millennials do what previous generations — the Boomers and the X-ers, namely — didn’t? Will they end the culture wars and usher in a more peaceful, equitable era worldwide? Two reports from the Center for American Progress, one focusing on the political views of young adults, and the other on their social and racial views, answer Yes.

The election of Barack Obama, the candidate of choice for a large majority of 18-29 year olds,  proves both points. A majority of millennials identify more with liberal values than conservative ones–and the conservative values they favor are those encouraging free trade, the privatization of social security and other domestic issues. They are liberal on social issues, particularly concerning gay marriage. And, as the report on racial views demonstrates, they are less likely to be concerned with race in part because they are the most diverse generations of Americans yet: 60 percent white and 40 percent minority: with 18 percent Hispanic; 14 percent black and 5 percent Asian.

Similar views have been reflected in other surveys of Millennials, and Neil Howe’s work.

However, big things were projected for the Boomers and X-ers, and while the world has certainly changed, the predictions didn’t pan out completely. The oldest of the Millennials are still getting started in the job market (if they are able to find jobs) and have yet to prove their worth as social movers n’ shakers. Do you think the Y Generation will keep their “progressive” values as they get older and change how the world works, or will their fate be the same as that of the Boomers and X-ers?

This seems to be the philosophy of many college students regarding seeking counseling for mental health issues. At least, that’s one conclusion that could be drawn from a study recently released by the Center for the Study of Collegiate Mental Health (CSCMH) based at Penn State University. Counseling centers at institutions nationwide, 137 in all, participate in the CSCMH. The recently released study is a pilot, so there will be comparison numbers in the future.

One alarming statistic from the study: One in four college students who have visited a campus counseling center for mental health reasons has seriously considered suicide. This may indicate students delay seeking help, waiting until things seem very dire. Mental health issues still carry a stigma, and many college students likely feel they are young and invincible, even to the mental demands of college and young adult life.

Some students are likely pressed to accomplish and experience too much, in too many arenas, all at once. A recent New Yorker article discusses the use of “neuroenhancing” drugs, such as those prescribed for ADHD, and how students use these to pack as much as possible into every 24-hour cycle. College–and life–pulls students in many directions, and with little or no sleep or food, students using neuroenhancer drugs party, study, attend meetings, write papers and generally run themselves ragged. The article goes on to discuss how this mindset is expressed in the post-college world as well.

It’s still too early to see if it’s a case of media overload or a true emergency, but campuses can’t be too careful when it comes to student health. The Chronicle today reported on “just-in-case” precautions happening in student health centers everywhere. As Kent W. Bullis, the medical director at Ball State University in Indiana said in the story,  “You’ve got young people who are relatively densely packed into small areas, and you have a relatively mobile society. It’s the ideal place for something like this to spread.”

The American College Health Association has responded as well. Its Web site has been continually updated with new information as well as links to special sites set up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States Deparment of Health and Human Services, and the World Health Organization.

Currently, the health departments are recommending common sense precautionary measures such as covering the nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing as well as frequent hand washes. People who are ill are being asked to stay home from work or school to limit contact with other people.

Stories of assessment used successfully are nothing new, but like stories of couples happily married for 40 years, it’s nice to take a look at how the major players made things work. Even though both are common, successful assessments and enduring, loving relationships take a lot of work.

Witness this article about Hoffstra University’s effors  to transform its campus from a commuter school, where students came and went like office workers, to a more residential environment, with its own sense of place and community. It wasn’t easy, and it took a lot of time, but university officials and students seem pleased with what has been accomplished.

Boy, things really are getting tough out there, as evidenced by this news from the Boston Globe newspaper that Harvard University and its Office of Career Services recently saw fit to offer a seminar on how to handle rejection. According to the story, “Participants, who wore snappy buttons with the word rejected stamped in red, also received a road map of sorts on handling failure, a pink booklet of rejection letters and personal stories from Harvard faculty, students, and staff members.”

One student who attended the seminar, senior Olga Tymejczyk, commented that, “Rejection is inevitable sometimes, even if you go to Harvard.” The Latin American studies major wants to work in higher-education administration or healthcare research.

In related news, if the program is looking for any adjunct experts in rejection, they are welcome to give this author a call.

A selection of college housing and student affairs headlines from InsideHigherEd.com. Look for these on a weekly basis in the ACUHO-I news blog.

ORIENTATION FOR WHITES: Mount Holyoke tries possibly unique approach to the controversy over programs for incoming minority students by adding section for those who are in the majority:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/13/holyoke

WHY REVERSE TRANSFER? Students from low-income families are more likely to leave four-year institutions to attend community colleges, but money is not always the main reason, new study finds:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/17/transfer

COOPERATION BREAKDOWN: In a faltering economy, universities that put cooperative education programs front and center struggle to place students in jobs:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/14/coop

COLLEGE COUNSELORS FOR ALL: Aiding traditional high school guidance officers, Virginia Community College System employs “coaches” to help pre-college students create academic plans to reach their career goals:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/16/vccs

Discussions about the moral development of students are common in every office and program in academia, from students themselves to senior administrators. As the Chronicle of Higher Education reports, another such discussion took place at the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference, and the evidence presented at that meeting wasn’t particularly encouraging for those who hope to take a 18 year-old Lord of the Flies character and turn him or her into a bright-eyed, productive member of society in four years.

The first problem is that college students may be a bit too old for their moral and ethical values to change considerably. This theory was posited by Matthew J. Mayhew, an assistant professor of higher education at New York University; Ernest T. Pascarella, a professor of higher education at the University of Iowa; and Tricia A. Seifert, a postdoctoral research scholar at Iowa. The researchers analysed data on 1,470 students at 19. The data was gathered for the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, a longitudinal study of student learning. The researchers classified students’ moral development in two stages: a transitional stage, during which the student is still determining his or her overall values. In this period, the student will use context and circumstances to consider a situation. When a student is in the consolidated stage, he or she has set criteria and patterns used for decision-making on moral issues. Transitional students are more likely to report improvements in their moral reasoning as the result of courses or programs designed to improve these qualities. Consolidated students are not affected by these programs either way. The researchers claim that while many administrators and instructors assume students arrive at college in the transitional stage and stay there for much of their college careers, this may not be correct. Thus morally- and ethically-centered programs may be too late to the party.

Another study suggests that it’s not that students’ decision-making processes are already solidified, but the conflicting messages offered by society and institutions dilute the effectiveness of moral and ethical development programs. Tricia Bertram Gallant, coordinator of the Academic Integrity Office at the University of California at San Diego, examined two universities that adopted honor codes, and how the codes affected (or didn’t affect) students’ moral development. While the honor codes fit their institutions well in some ways, the institutions contradicted themselves. Professors seemed to feel that research and publishing on morals and values would be better rewarded than teaching on these issues. Students felt that when it came right down to it, grades mattered above all else. Neither institution saw a significant change in its atmosphere or levels of academic dishonestly. Perhaps telling is the title of Bertram Gallant’s upcoming book, of which she is co-author: Cheating in High School Is for Grades, Cheating in College Is for a Career.

Of course, the solution isn’t to fling up our hands and give in, but to keep looking for the ways programming and experiences can touch students. Check out ACUHO-I Annual Conference sessions, such as “Not Your Mother’s Diversity Program” by Tom Fritz, Florida State University Housing for inspiration.

Flash mobs are pre-arranged gatherings of  large groups of people in public places. Often, the folks involved do something in unison, or act unusually. Such as freezing in place in a busy train station. Or parading, as zombies, into a campus building. Or moving reeaaly slooowly in Home Depot (then not moving at all). It’s a fun way to play a harmless joke on an unsuspecting public. Or, in the case of some University of North Carolina students during exam week, a flash mob-rave is a good stress release. In a fine example of the flash mob genre, we present the UNC Library flash mob-rave.