Student Affairs OMG

Concern About OMG

studentAffairsOMG — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:35:57 +0000

I just received your email advertising the new blog – “Student Affairs OMG” and wanted to provide some feedback about the name and purpose of this blog. I know that as student affairs professionals, we strive to take a social justice lens to the work that we do.

While I understand that OMG is a slang acronym – it can be off-putting to many people who practice a religion / faith that has a God/god as it stands for “Oh my God.” Some people substitute God for “gosh” or some other word, however the original phrase is most common and many would consider taking God’s name in vain to be offensive. Overall, it is not an inclusive name for a blog and am hoping that the name is reconsidered.

Additionally, it seems problematic that as student affairs professionals, we create a public blog that documents “embarrassing”/”horror”/ “can you believe it” stories about our experiences as professionals that often involve our interactions with others. While

they might be funny tales now/ folks need a space to vent, I’m sure many of the situations were very serious and important for the student /job candidate/ etc. who the story is being told about and to mock them/ share their stories in a public forum does not seem appropriate.

Tera Nakata

The Big Picture

studentAffairsOMG — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:06:30 +0000

Recently, our student body had decided to make the campus completely Tobacco-Free. Many discussions were held, voting occurred for students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and it turns out that nearly everyone loved the idea. So the motion passed and the campus began campaigns for ways to help people quit smoking and to clean up the campus itself. In the next issue of the quarterly magazine, there was an article talking about the excitement of the community and the progress made while changing the policy. It seemed as though the change has been immensely popular. Then, while at work, I received a voicemail from an alumnae, stating that we were discriminating against his kind because of his favorite hobby. He refused to give his name, explaining that the University would then come back to him with “empty promises and lame excuses.” He stated that he would never attend another University event and that we would never see a penny donated from him. I have since received a voicemail or an email once a week since that initial call. None of us in my office were worried. We noticed he had never participated in University events before anyway. Obviously, some people refuse to see the big picture.

The Dissertation

studentAffairsOMG — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:01:51 +0000

When I started to prepare for my doctoral dissertation my advisor decided it was a good time for his sabbatical to Paris. So I began this ordeal with an adjunct faculty member serving as my guide. No one prepared me for the process of researching and writing a dissertation. My “advisor” was of little help. She was rarely on campus which meant I had to request time to meet her at her home 30 minutes away. I would mail her my chapter-in-progress (this was years before email) and await an appointment. When we met she would return my typed pages with practically no comments. In fact, her usual response was “very good.”

Over the months I cobbled together a dissertation, mainly with help and advice from fellow students, and awaited my advisor’s return from overseas.

During our first meeting upon his return he briefly told me he had reviewed my dissertation, but I do not recollect any discussion or fine-tuning on my part; he told me of the composition of my committee (with no say from me) which included the adjunct advisor, and his two buddies, one, a faculty member from Movement Science (dance) and, I believe, Fine Arts Management. In other words, no one who understood my dissertation topic or the field of student affairs (except my advisor and maybe the adjunct).

The day before my dissertation defense a fellow doctoral student asked how my opening remarks were shaping up. “What,” I sputtered. “What remarks are you talking about?” He responded by telling me I had to produce an opening statement of about 15 minutes to summarize my topic. Flabbergasted, I marched to my advisor who nonchalantly admonished himself for neglecting to tell me. “Anything else I need to know,” I inquired as I subconsciously seethed. “No, that’s it,” he intoned.

My defense, the next morning, was gut-wrenching, humiliating, comical and stressful. I was lectured by faculty that had no idea what they were talking about. I could not rebut because I was a lowly doctoral student even though I was the one who had done the research and spent months on the topic. The most jaw-dropping moment came during one of Movement Science’s lambasting of something I had written. Suddenly, Ms. Adjunct piped in, agreeing with Movement and then going off on her own for a few minutes. I sat there dumbfounded. During the entire time she was advising me not an iota of criticism or suggestions. Not one page did she ask me to rewrite. Now all-of-a-sudden it was like she was awakened after a long slumber a la Rip Van Winkle. Yet, those sounds pulsating through the room weren’t thundering pins, but the noise of my teeth gnashing together as I sat there dumbstruck and trembling with rage.

In the end, I successfully defended my dissertation–”Good job,” “Nicely done”–with a line two pass which meant good, but let’s see some revisions. But it was the type of experience I would not wish upon any doctoral student.

Too Much Information

studentAffairsOMG — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 20:05:51 +0000

I advise a student organization as part of my current position. In an effort to make a smooth transition from the previous advisor to me, I set up one-on-one appointments with the officers to get to know them, to ensure that the officer transition went smoothly, and to set goals for the upcoming year. Prior to starting my position, I was made aware that my predecessor was dismissed due to poor performance (a higher ed rarity). Anyway, at one student meeting, an officer and I met for coffee to discuss goals for the year, and what she could begin working on in her current position. She instantly remarked, “I’m not sure what you heard about our old advisor, but she was a hot mess. She never made an effort to get to know us, and even if she did want to spend time with us, I never would have wanted that. She just wasn’t cool.” Although I was happy to have received a superior coolness rating, I quickly changed the subject and assured her that we’re off to a fresh start. You have to appreciate the honesty, no matter how awkward!

The Dropped Pants

studentAffairsOMG — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:39:34 +0000

I used to run the search processes for our res life department. We had a candidate come to campus and at the end of the day, we ask them if they would like to change clothes for the trip back to the airport and their travel home. This candidate said “sure” and proceeded to take his tie and his shirt off in my office in front of me (thankfully, he had a t-shirt on, but I didn’t know if he was going to stop at some point in the disrobing). Flummoxed, I said “we have a bathroom if you would like to change there” and he replied, “ok, but you know, I don’t have any problem dropping my pants in public – I do that at JC Pennys when I want to try on pants.” Suffice it to say, that was the end of a long bad day for him. He didn’t get that job.

Posting a Story

studentAffairsOMG — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 11:14:31 +0000

The stories are starting to fly in. Please note, they can be for any area of student affairs such as:

residence life

orientation
student activities
career services
graduate school
graduate students
doctoral programs

even academic advising

Once a story comes in it will be posted and then a category will be created to file the story under.

The On-Site Interview

studentAffairsOMG — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:53:42 +0000

I’ve had my fair share of horror stories in job interviews, mostly involving candidates who arrived and we could tell in 5 minutes that it just wasn’t going to work and they ended up putting their foot in their mouth for the next day. Painful for everyone. But one of my horror stories was interviewing for a faculty position at a University where things went otherwise well, except with the Department Chair. I spoke to a class before dinner and she interrupted me and said “we have a RESERVATION.” Not knowing what time we were to leave, this was an odd moment for me and for the class. When we got to dinner with the rest of the faculty and the search committee, she asked me about my experience at the place where I earned my doctorate. I relayed that I loved it. She then spent a seemingly endless amount of time ripping the program to shreds. In the final interview, she asked “If you are as impressive as your resume as, how ever could your current institution let you go?”

At first I thought she might be serious. Then I quickly realized it was brutal sarcasm. Chalk that one up to a place I wasn’t meant to be. Fortunately, I found the pefect fit the following year.

The Job Interview – Untidy Apt.

studentAffairsOMG — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:30:28 +0000

I went on an on-campus interview and stayed overnight in a faculty apartment at the college. My host was rushed to get out of there after dinner and never left me a number to call if there were problems nor did she show me around the space. A few minutes after she left, I unpacked and started getting ready for bed, only to realize they never cleaned the place and replaced linens after the previous candidate. The towels were dirty, the bed wasn’t made, the pillow still had a head imprint in it and a very long, pretty strand of brown hair from the previous night’s guest.

I was glad I had my own pillow at least, but I was pretty astounded at the lack of care my hosts showed in creating a welcome interview experience for me. Ever since, I’ve been very attentive in making sure my own candidates feel welcome and get a clean, comfortable space to sleep.

Welcome to Student Affairs OMG

studentAffairsOMG — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:52:41 +0000

Welcome to Student Affairs OMG, a blog to give student affairs professionals an opportunity to share those everyday nightmares, horror stories, embarrassments or ‘can you believe it’ moments with each other. You know, those tales we relate around the water cooler or regale each other with at conferences.

We all have a story, so why not share it with the rest of the student affairs field? Your stories can be from any area of student affairs such as residence life, orientation, student activities, career services, even academic advising. Just click on the “submit your story” link at the top of the page.