A friend of mine recently asked me for help in his search for a graduate hall director position; but I'm really struggling with helping him...for so many reasons. There's the fact that he isn't thinking about going into Student Affairs but is just looking for a grad hall director position to get into a school and then eventually get a chance to take some grad classes in who knows what. When I did my grad assistantship search, I was first looking for Student Affairs programs and then for assistantships; so I don't really know how to do a search when you are not looking for a Student Affairs grad program. I don't really think there are many schools who have grad assistantships for people who are not planning on going into Student Affairs; I guess it's schools that don't have Student Affairs programs but I really don't know any.
And it's not just that I don't have any experience in this type of search; I'm also not sure I want to help. That sounds mean...ha. But I guess I'm just not sure he'd be a great Hall Director. I really struggle with those people who work as Hall Directors because they didn't know what else to do with their life. I'm a Hall Director because I believe in Higher Education and Student Affairs; I believe in educating residents, in learning outside of the classroom!!! This isn't something I'm just doing to have something to do; I believe in this profession.
I also believe it's important that Hall Directors have a master's degree in Student Affairs. I mean, how can someone with no student development background design programs that will help their students grow and develop?
I worked as an RA for a Hall Director, who didn't have a master's degree and who was a Hall Director because she didn't really know what else to do with her life. (And that was a typical story for the staff in our department.) When I was a student and then an RA, I didn't really notice what I was missing - I mean, I didn't know any better; but now, looking back, there were so many opportunities that we missed - opportunities to educate students and to help them make the most out of their college experience. We took care of the administrative responsibilities of running a residence hall; we had some "fun" programs to fulfill the programming requirements - but how much learning was really happening? And how great relationships did I truly build with my residents? And when I ran into a concern with a resident, how good advice could my supervisor really give me? It often felt like the blind leading the blind.
I know there a ton of colleges out there and lots of Hall Director positions - so yeah, there probably isn't a way to fill all of them with Master's level professionals. But still, as someone who truly believes in this profession, I don't know if I can support someone, who doesn't have a Master's and who just wants to be a Hall Director because he doesn't know what else to do with his life, in becoming a Hall Director.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Learning To Fly
Are there any Harry Potter fans out there? If so, have you ever seen JK Rowling's Web site? The one where can move items on a bookshelf and find hidden treasurers, or drop the right amount of red and green drops on a plant and it'll open a secret page. And there was the room with the door that was usually locked; but on certain occasions the door would unlock and reveal something really cool - like the release date of the next book or a book title. I remember one year, around the holidays, I got up extra early, so I could check the page before having to leave for a flight. I knew something was being revealed any day and I just HAD to see it right away. :)
Anyway, I'm unlocking my door and her's a little secret for you (not as cool as a Harry Potter Book release but maybe as the year goes on, I'll think of some more exciting items to reveal):
Have you ever wondered where the title "Learning to Fly" comes from? Well, when I started writing this blog, I was listening to a lot of Kelly Clarkson. And in her song Breakaway, she sings, "I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly." I LOVED that song and that phrase...but as a whole phrase it seemed to long. So I shortened it to the part that seemed most relevant to what this blog would be about - learning to be a Student Affairs professional. Because in the end, we're always learning in this profession, whether we're in our first year after grad school or our last year before retirement. And that's what makes this job awesome!
Anyway, I'm unlocking my door and her's a little secret for you (not as cool as a Harry Potter Book release but maybe as the year goes on, I'll think of some more exciting items to reveal):
Have you ever wondered where the title "Learning to Fly" comes from? Well, when I started writing this blog, I was listening to a lot of Kelly Clarkson. And in her song Breakaway, she sings, "I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly." I LOVED that song and that phrase...but as a whole phrase it seemed to long. So I shortened it to the part that seemed most relevant to what this blog would be about - learning to be a Student Affairs professional. Because in the end, we're always learning in this profession, whether we're in our first year after grad school or our last year before retirement. And that's what makes this job awesome!
The end of another semester....
I closed my building today; well, as much as you "close" when you're open for winter break housing. But since I only have 10 students staying for winter break, we're pretty much closed.
Closing went well. I walked through all the rooms with the RAs, closed lots of windows and pulled countless plugs. I always feel disgusting after checking residents' rooms. I've taken more showers in the last 24 hours than I usually take in a week. Haha.
But now we're done and so another semester comes to a close. It's been a good semester overall. I'm glad I came back here. I'm enjoying my job a lot more again; hey, I've turned back into the old workaholic me - that's always a good sign, even though it's not exactly a good thing. ;) I'm going to have to work on that whole balance thing again next semester. Wait, haven't we heard that before? But seriously, not my fault this time. I came in with all these awesome ideas. I thought about joining a choir (even researched some), taking dance classes (looked at various studios' web sites and had a couple picked out that could potentially work) and of course wanted to spend some time playing piano/guitar. But as they say, things never happen the way you plan them. I was teaching a class Monday night, had several student organization meetings on Tuesdays, staff meetings Wednesdays, late office hours and another student organization meeting on Thursday. Which left Fridays - and trust me, there aren't any choirs or dance classes that meet on Fridays; and very few do on the weekends. Oh and I got that library card and books pretty much distracted me all through training but once the semester started, I just didn't get around to it anymore. I re-read a few books because then it's easier to put them when you have to; you know me and books. LoL.
I did start a new hobby this semester; or got back to one - painting. I just randomly felt like it and bought a ton of paints and went for it. We'll see what comes of it. But it's incredibly relaxing to play around with paint (and yes, when I paint, it's more playing than painting...ha...you should see my hands and arms afterwards [I do try to keep it off my clothes and the carpet, you know]).
Work-wise, it's also been a good semester. It hasn't always been easy but we made it through and I'm proud of quite a few things we accomplished this semester. It's always nice to get that first semester under your belt. There will still be a few things that surprise you Spring semester, but overall - once you've made it through Fall - you have a pretty good idea of what to do and what your job is like at your new institutions. At least that's been my experience.
My grad and I have also had some good conversations at the end of the semester in regards to plans we have for the next semester and even next year. I'm so glad I have her; she's been absolutely incredible. It helps that we often agree on where we'd like to see the department go; what we think is important in this field. It helps that we have very similar styles. And it's just nice to have another staff member there, someone you can talk to, problem-solve with or just hang out with in the office. Going from a centralized office to having an apartment and office in the same building and no other Hall Directors int hat building, I could have easily gone back into my bubble and shut out the rest of the world. Even the way things are now, I sometimes feel a little disconnected from the other Hall Directors; some of them have team-led areas, others share office spaces and others have just known each other for years and are friends. But it helps to have at least another person there; and yes, there is a difference between a hall director and a grad and in the end I'm the supervisor, but it's a pretty thin line. I mean, in a year and a half, we could very well be colleagues somewhere, right?
But yeah, like I said, I'm proud of what we've accomplished:
Overall, I think our students had a good semester. I think the RAs have gotten used to my style a little more and I've been able to make some compromises. My grad and I have come up with some new ideas for programming for next semester and I really think the staff will like it - well, at least that's what I hope. I think, if I was an RA, I would really like it and I do truly believe it'll make their jobs easier but also make their interactions with students better and more meaningful. We'll see....
Our learning communities have made some new strides: programs that happened, a student organization that became a lot more established and a lot more student-run, some ideas for new structures, a little more learning community programming by the RAs....
There's still a lot more I hope to accomplish, but it's good to be able to look back at the semester and know that we made some progress. I'm not always good at that, looking back and recognizing what I've already accomplished. I'm trying to work on that and I guess this post is one of my first steps.
On a totally random sidenote: I did not put up my Christmas tree. I'm not sure it was a "statement" or a clear decision even; I just didn't get around to it and the one time I thought of it, i remember what a hassle it is to put together a plastic tree. Real trees are SO MUCH BETTER. But yeah, can't have those in a residence hall. And I'm not even sure I'll be home on the 24th, so it'd be pretty pointless to put up a tree (Austrians celebrate Christmas on the 24th). But then I didn't know where to put the Christmas presents my family sent me (and that I, as the good daughter I am, haven't opened yet as the instruction said to wait until the 24th); they're still in the box sitting underneath my piano. But putting the tree up now? A few days before Christmas? And then having to take it down soon? Shudder; what a hassle. I guess I'm still old, lazy me. LoL.
I hope you all had great semesters and are now enjoying your winter break!!!
Closing went well. I walked through all the rooms with the RAs, closed lots of windows and pulled countless plugs. I always feel disgusting after checking residents' rooms. I've taken more showers in the last 24 hours than I usually take in a week. Haha.
But now we're done and so another semester comes to a close. It's been a good semester overall. I'm glad I came back here. I'm enjoying my job a lot more again; hey, I've turned back into the old workaholic me - that's always a good sign, even though it's not exactly a good thing. ;) I'm going to have to work on that whole balance thing again next semester. Wait, haven't we heard that before? But seriously, not my fault this time. I came in with all these awesome ideas. I thought about joining a choir (even researched some), taking dance classes (looked at various studios' web sites and had a couple picked out that could potentially work) and of course wanted to spend some time playing piano/guitar. But as they say, things never happen the way you plan them. I was teaching a class Monday night, had several student organization meetings on Tuesdays, staff meetings Wednesdays, late office hours and another student organization meeting on Thursday. Which left Fridays - and trust me, there aren't any choirs or dance classes that meet on Fridays; and very few do on the weekends. Oh and I got that library card and books pretty much distracted me all through training but once the semester started, I just didn't get around to it anymore. I re-read a few books because then it's easier to put them when you have to; you know me and books. LoL.
I did start a new hobby this semester; or got back to one - painting. I just randomly felt like it and bought a ton of paints and went for it. We'll see what comes of it. But it's incredibly relaxing to play around with paint (and yes, when I paint, it's more playing than painting...ha...you should see my hands and arms afterwards [I do try to keep it off my clothes and the carpet, you know]).
Work-wise, it's also been a good semester. It hasn't always been easy but we made it through and I'm proud of quite a few things we accomplished this semester. It's always nice to get that first semester under your belt. There will still be a few things that surprise you Spring semester, but overall - once you've made it through Fall - you have a pretty good idea of what to do and what your job is like at your new institutions. At least that's been my experience.
My grad and I have also had some good conversations at the end of the semester in regards to plans we have for the next semester and even next year. I'm so glad I have her; she's been absolutely incredible. It helps that we often agree on where we'd like to see the department go; what we think is important in this field. It helps that we have very similar styles. And it's just nice to have another staff member there, someone you can talk to, problem-solve with or just hang out with in the office. Going from a centralized office to having an apartment and office in the same building and no other Hall Directors int hat building, I could have easily gone back into my bubble and shut out the rest of the world. Even the way things are now, I sometimes feel a little disconnected from the other Hall Directors; some of them have team-led areas, others share office spaces and others have just known each other for years and are friends. But it helps to have at least another person there; and yes, there is a difference between a hall director and a grad and in the end I'm the supervisor, but it's a pretty thin line. I mean, in a year and a half, we could very well be colleagues somewhere, right?
But yeah, like I said, I'm proud of what we've accomplished:
Overall, I think our students had a good semester. I think the RAs have gotten used to my style a little more and I've been able to make some compromises. My grad and I have come up with some new ideas for programming for next semester and I really think the staff will like it - well, at least that's what I hope. I think, if I was an RA, I would really like it and I do truly believe it'll make their jobs easier but also make their interactions with students better and more meaningful. We'll see....
Our learning communities have made some new strides: programs that happened, a student organization that became a lot more established and a lot more student-run, some ideas for new structures, a little more learning community programming by the RAs....
There's still a lot more I hope to accomplish, but it's good to be able to look back at the semester and know that we made some progress. I'm not always good at that, looking back and recognizing what I've already accomplished. I'm trying to work on that and I guess this post is one of my first steps.
On a totally random sidenote: I did not put up my Christmas tree. I'm not sure it was a "statement" or a clear decision even; I just didn't get around to it and the one time I thought of it, i remember what a hassle it is to put together a plastic tree. Real trees are SO MUCH BETTER. But yeah, can't have those in a residence hall. And I'm not even sure I'll be home on the 24th, so it'd be pretty pointless to put up a tree (Austrians celebrate Christmas on the 24th). But then I didn't know where to put the Christmas presents my family sent me (and that I, as the good daughter I am, haven't opened yet as the instruction said to wait until the 24th); they're still in the box sitting underneath my piano. But putting the tree up now? A few days before Christmas? And then having to take it down soon? Shudder; what a hassle. I guess I'm still old, lazy me. LoL.
I hope you all had great semesters and are now enjoying your winter break!!!
Sunday, December 12, 2010
The things we say and the things we actually do
Some of our leadership talks a lot about how we are a premier residence life department and how being an RA is one of the top leadership opportunities at our institution. But the more I think about and the longer I'm working here, the more I'm starting to wonder how much of that is just talk. I think we're a department with the potential to become great - and I definitely think that's where we want to go - but we're not there yet. And there seems to be a lot of resistance to becoming truly one of the best departments; or at least what I would consider one of the top departments.
For example, a colleague said something about the language I use - hmm, yeah, so I talk about learning outcomes and assessment and student learning; isn't that what the staff of a premier residence life department should do? If we sit around and play games and talk about ice breakers and building community, we will never be one of those departments people look to. Don't get me wrong, community building is vital; it's the first step; but there should be more, shouldn't there? There should be education and learning. And how are we going to get there unless we start talking about student learning, unless we develop learning outcomes and strategies to accomplish them? And yes, maybe I could "tone down" my language and use fluffier words, but how can we expect anyone else to take us seriously if we don't take ourselves seriously? How can we expect presidents of universities to see the value in Student Affairs, when we don't use language used in the rest of the academic world?
I've grown up in Austria where we don't have residence halls. Students just live in apartments in town or student housing managed by a landlord. There's nobody to "build community" and "enforce policies." When you're 18 and in college, you're an adult and you are treated as such.
Having grown up there, I sometimes struggle with the concept of Residence Life here - or at least how some professionals define the purpose of Residence Life. Yes, living on a floor that has a close community is fun and makes college life more enjoyable, but is it that important? No, not really. But education and helping students learn more about themselves, that IS important; that's something that our students will benefit from, our society will benefit from - and I see a value in striving for that, in working in a profession that has this goal. And so, while a lot of my time is spent with community-building, policy-enforcment and administrative tasks, the things I value, the reasons I'm in this profession, all relate to educating students, helping them learn about themselves, diversity, leadership, realizing what they're passionate about and how they can live out those dreams...and so I won't stop talking about student learning and learning outcomes and student development theories and and and, because once I stop talking about that, I will have lost my reason to work in this field.
For example, a colleague said something about the language I use - hmm, yeah, so I talk about learning outcomes and assessment and student learning; isn't that what the staff of a premier residence life department should do? If we sit around and play games and talk about ice breakers and building community, we will never be one of those departments people look to. Don't get me wrong, community building is vital; it's the first step; but there should be more, shouldn't there? There should be education and learning. And how are we going to get there unless we start talking about student learning, unless we develop learning outcomes and strategies to accomplish them? And yes, maybe I could "tone down" my language and use fluffier words, but how can we expect anyone else to take us seriously if we don't take ourselves seriously? How can we expect presidents of universities to see the value in Student Affairs, when we don't use language used in the rest of the academic world?
I've grown up in Austria where we don't have residence halls. Students just live in apartments in town or student housing managed by a landlord. There's nobody to "build community" and "enforce policies." When you're 18 and in college, you're an adult and you are treated as such.
Having grown up there, I sometimes struggle with the concept of Residence Life here - or at least how some professionals define the purpose of Residence Life. Yes, living on a floor that has a close community is fun and makes college life more enjoyable, but is it that important? No, not really. But education and helping students learn more about themselves, that IS important; that's something that our students will benefit from, our society will benefit from - and I see a value in striving for that, in working in a profession that has this goal. And so, while a lot of my time is spent with community-building, policy-enforcment and administrative tasks, the things I value, the reasons I'm in this profession, all relate to educating students, helping them learn about themselves, diversity, leadership, realizing what they're passionate about and how they can live out those dreams...and so I won't stop talking about student learning and learning outcomes and student development theories and and and, because once I stop talking about that, I will have lost my reason to work in this field.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Wonderful Weekend
(I hope you all appreciate the alliteration in the title - and the only reason I know what an alliteration is thanks to taking Latin in middle school and high school and having to identify alliterations and other sound devices in the texts we had to translate. I guess at least I remember something from those 6 years of Latin, right? The other thing I remember are the first three sentences of my first Latin textbook, "Italia terra fecunda est. Gloria Italiae magna est. Concordia Italiam servat" and a few Latin sayings like, "Alea iacta est" - those came in handy when reading Asterix and Obelix comics. ... Okay, enough about Latin.)
So this weekend was kind of perfect. :) I wish more weekends were like that. It started off with a concert on Friday night that my grad and I went to - and it was pretty awesome. It was one of those holidays shows that features a bunch of different acts and I really liked all of them - even though Sarah Bareilles was clearly the best (at least in my opinion). If you haven't listened to her new album yet, you really should. But I know I'm repeating myself - I already talked about that in my last entry - well, in case you were wondering, I still think she's amazing!!! ;) What would I give for that voice and that stage presence? When I'm on stage playing piano, my face either turns red or pale and my foot starts twitching (it was a weird thing that happens to me when I get nervous); oh yes and my hands start shaking which comes in real handy when trying to play piano...ha.
Saturday, as I also mentioned before, I hung out with students during the day as they were using my kitchen. In the evening we had a End of the Semester party for one of our Learning Communities and after that I just hung out and relaxed in my apartment.
And finally today, we went on a bus trip to a city with students (organized by my Council). Getting up at 6 am wasn't that much fun and having a chatty bus driver, I didn't even get a chance to really nap on the bus. But once we got to the city, it was just nice not to be on campus anymore and to get to wander around. I even bought some clothes - and those of you who know me well know that I'm very rarely in the mood to buy clothes; so that was kinda fun.
So even though the weekend included a lot of "work," it was a really good weekend. I wish more weekends were like that.
So this weekend was kind of perfect. :) I wish more weekends were like that. It started off with a concert on Friday night that my grad and I went to - and it was pretty awesome. It was one of those holidays shows that features a bunch of different acts and I really liked all of them - even though Sarah Bareilles was clearly the best (at least in my opinion). If you haven't listened to her new album yet, you really should. But I know I'm repeating myself - I already talked about that in my last entry - well, in case you were wondering, I still think she's amazing!!! ;) What would I give for that voice and that stage presence? When I'm on stage playing piano, my face either turns red or pale and my foot starts twitching (it was a weird thing that happens to me when I get nervous); oh yes and my hands start shaking which comes in real handy when trying to play piano...ha.
Saturday, as I also mentioned before, I hung out with students during the day as they were using my kitchen. In the evening we had a End of the Semester party for one of our Learning Communities and after that I just hung out and relaxed in my apartment.
And finally today, we went on a bus trip to a city with students (organized by my Council). Getting up at 6 am wasn't that much fun and having a chatty bus driver, I didn't even get a chance to really nap on the bus. But once we got to the city, it was just nice not to be on campus anymore and to get to wander around. I even bought some clothes - and those of you who know me well know that I'm very rarely in the mood to buy clothes; so that was kinda fun.
So even though the weekend included a lot of "work," it was a really good weekend. I wish more weekends were like that.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Relationships with RAs, Alcohol and more
I used to be the queen of having "questionably close" relationships with RAs; I would hang out with my RAs, we'd watch movies together, we'd go to concerts together, I could drop by their rooms at any time and stay there for hours just talking. I definitely don't have that problem anymore - but I miss that!!! Yes, sometimes those relationships caused problems, or at least made things more "complicated" - but it also always made this job more fun.
At first I thought, maybe it's because I'm getting older (If I think about how close I'm getting to 30, I'm about to have a midlife crisis...haha), so the age difference between my staff and me is getting bigger; but then today I had a few residents come over to my apartment - they needed to bake something for their First Year Experience class (I'm their instructor) and we don't have a stove in the building for students. So they were "working" in my apartment for a few hours and while I was doing work at the same time on my laptop, we also talked and joked around - and I felt like, I could be friends with these students no matter the age difference, or at least that close friend-like-but-with-boundaries relationship.
Which brings me back to the question why I'm unable to establish that relationship with my current staff? It may just be that RAs here don't expect to have that type of relationship with their supervisor. Or maybe it's because I am a pretty strict supervisor with high expectations of my staff and sometimes it's hard for students to seperate work from your personal life. What I loved about some of my staffs was that I could have that close relationship with them, have fun with them, and still have very high expectations of them - or sometimes it really felt that because of the relationship we had, I was able to push them further. Here I feel like I try to push my staff and challenge them and that hurts our personal relationships; which doesn't mean that I'll stop pushing them - oh no - it just means that we aren't able to have that close relationship I'd like to have.
Lately I've also gotten the feeling that it's because hanging out with the Hall Director means that there can't be any alcohol involved. Ugh, I really dislike alcohol for how many issues it causes. Let me explain: at our last staff meeting I asked if they wanted to do some sort of end of semester celebration (my thought: brownies, hanging out, maybe a movie in my apartment) as well as if they wanted to do something for the staff leaving at the end of the semester (my thought: card, poster, gift from the entire staff - I'll never forget when one of my best friends left to study abroad and we made a poster that was as tall as she was in the shape of a foot because she loves feet...and a video that featured all of us wishing her good luck and one of the RAs even singing a song he wrote for her... And we definitely weren't that staff who all loved each other; but when it came to stuff like that, we forgot about our differences and had fun together) - anyway, the response of my current staff was that they would rather do those things "on their own" and "without Residence Life supervision" meaning that there'll be alcohol involved. Sigh. If we could just live in a world without alcohol....
But like I said earlier, I just spend some quality time with a few of my students and had a great time. They were SOOOO cute! They felt super special about being allowed to be in the Hall Director's apartment. They talked about going to events at the Student Union, going to a movie later that evening - things you CAN talk about in front of your Hall Director - and it was clear that they weren't just putting up a show but that's what they do in their free time and that's what they enjoy doing.
I have no problem with students going out and drinking if they're over 21 - as long as they do it responsibly and as long as they are also able to have fun doing other things.
*Sigh.* I forgot what the point of this blog was supposed to be. I'm really ready for the semester to be over. I just need to get some energy back, need a "fresh start." I'm not too excited about the holidays because thanks to immigratino laws I'll be spending them on my own here in the US instead of going skiing with my family, but I'm ready for two a little more relaxed weeks and then the chance to start off new, review expectations, set new expecations, make some changes - and second semester will also include the Invisible Children Challenge, my second time hosting such an event and no matter how much it'll take over my life and stress me out, I know it'll all be worth it in the end.
PS: You should all check out Sara Bareilles' album Kaleidoscope Heart because it is absolutely AMAZING!!!
PPS: I also saw her live recently and she was awesome.
PPPS: I just realized that the title "Relationships with RAs" could totally be misinterpreted. Well, let me assure, I have absolutely no intention of dating any student staff members. Haha.
At first I thought, maybe it's because I'm getting older (If I think about how close I'm getting to 30, I'm about to have a midlife crisis...haha), so the age difference between my staff and me is getting bigger; but then today I had a few residents come over to my apartment - they needed to bake something for their First Year Experience class (I'm their instructor) and we don't have a stove in the building for students. So they were "working" in my apartment for a few hours and while I was doing work at the same time on my laptop, we also talked and joked around - and I felt like, I could be friends with these students no matter the age difference, or at least that close friend-like-but-with-boundaries relationship.
Which brings me back to the question why I'm unable to establish that relationship with my current staff? It may just be that RAs here don't expect to have that type of relationship with their supervisor. Or maybe it's because I am a pretty strict supervisor with high expectations of my staff and sometimes it's hard for students to seperate work from your personal life. What I loved about some of my staffs was that I could have that close relationship with them, have fun with them, and still have very high expectations of them - or sometimes it really felt that because of the relationship we had, I was able to push them further. Here I feel like I try to push my staff and challenge them and that hurts our personal relationships; which doesn't mean that I'll stop pushing them - oh no - it just means that we aren't able to have that close relationship I'd like to have.
Lately I've also gotten the feeling that it's because hanging out with the Hall Director means that there can't be any alcohol involved. Ugh, I really dislike alcohol for how many issues it causes. Let me explain: at our last staff meeting I asked if they wanted to do some sort of end of semester celebration (my thought: brownies, hanging out, maybe a movie in my apartment) as well as if they wanted to do something for the staff leaving at the end of the semester (my thought: card, poster, gift from the entire staff - I'll never forget when one of my best friends left to study abroad and we made a poster that was as tall as she was in the shape of a foot because she loves feet...and a video that featured all of us wishing her good luck and one of the RAs even singing a song he wrote for her... And we definitely weren't that staff who all loved each other; but when it came to stuff like that, we forgot about our differences and had fun together) - anyway, the response of my current staff was that they would rather do those things "on their own" and "without Residence Life supervision" meaning that there'll be alcohol involved. Sigh. If we could just live in a world without alcohol....
But like I said earlier, I just spend some quality time with a few of my students and had a great time. They were SOOOO cute! They felt super special about being allowed to be in the Hall Director's apartment. They talked about going to events at the Student Union, going to a movie later that evening - things you CAN talk about in front of your Hall Director - and it was clear that they weren't just putting up a show but that's what they do in their free time and that's what they enjoy doing.
I have no problem with students going out and drinking if they're over 21 - as long as they do it responsibly and as long as they are also able to have fun doing other things.
*Sigh.* I forgot what the point of this blog was supposed to be. I'm really ready for the semester to be over. I just need to get some energy back, need a "fresh start." I'm not too excited about the holidays because thanks to immigratino laws I'll be spending them on my own here in the US instead of going skiing with my family, but I'm ready for two a little more relaxed weeks and then the chance to start off new, review expectations, set new expecations, make some changes - and second semester will also include the Invisible Children Challenge, my second time hosting such an event and no matter how much it'll take over my life and stress me out, I know it'll all be worth it in the end.
PS: You should all check out Sara Bareilles' album Kaleidoscope Heart because it is absolutely AMAZING!!!
PPS: I also saw her live recently and she was awesome.
PPPS: I just realized that the title "Relationships with RAs" could totally be misinterpreted. Well, let me assure, I have absolutely no intention of dating any student staff members. Haha.
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