Talking Stick - November/December 2010 - 11

A Quiet Holiday for Staff
As spring break approaches each year, many college students pack up their suitcases for a fun-filled vacation or a relaxing week at home. For some students, however, athletic events, the cost of traveling home, or other issues prevent them from venturing away from campus. For this reason, many college and university residence halls stay open for this week. Conversations on the ACUHO-I listserv indicate that staff members working during the break experience a rare event – a quiet week at work with few negative student behavior issues to write up. At the University of Georgia, we have designated a few of our halls to offer continuous housing to students. As such, they are open during all academic break periods. Students who may require housing during these break periods are encouraged to live in one of these halls. Through our partnership with our athletic association and international student life office, we reserve spaces for students in those groups in our continuous housing facilities. Even with those halls open, we have very low student traffic during break periods.

Housing Summit Report Available
This past May, the first African Housing Summit was hosted by the ACUHO-I Southern Africa Chapter at the University of Stellenbosch in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Emphasizing the importance of student housing in the development and success of students, the summit provided an opportunity for discussions and negotiations between Africa, France, the Department of Education, and the umbrella organization of Higher Education Institutions. Among the attendees were ACUHO-I Executive Director Sallie Traxler, past ACUHO-I President Mike Schultz, and University of Georgia’s Director of Housing Gerard Kowalski. All three were featured speakers at the event. Also, below is a drawing by artist Nico Simpson who attended the summit, captured the group’s discussions and put them into pictures. The summit report is available at www.acuho-i.org/Default. aspx?tabid=715.

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Carla Dennis, Assistant to the Executive Director of Housing, University of Georgia in Athens At Alverno College, we do close the residence halls for spring break; however, athletes, international students, and other students with a need are allowed to stay for an additional cost. We pay a student staff person to have on-call responsibilities, and any students with discipline files are not allowed to stay during this time as we consider it a privilege. Athletes that stay for practice or games will have the department pay on their behalf, and we let all students staying know that there will not be food service available during this time.

Vicki Schreiber, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life, Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin We do have staff on duty; they know at the time of signing their staff contract that they will contribute to coverage at all breaks throughout the academic year. The staff in each building create a staffing duty schedule that works for them. Generally we do not see an increase in conduct issues during those times. Patty Griffin, Associate Director, Residence Education, Division of Student Affairs, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor

Does the Talking STick reach enough of your staff? Call (614) 292-0099 or e-mail talkingstick@ acuho-i.org for more information about additional membership subscriptions.

In the next Talking STick
Coming in our special crowdsourced January+February issue: · · · How technology has impacted the practices and processes of student housing. What factors play a part in the decision to tear down a residence hall? How can housing staff and faculty work together better?

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november + december 2010

http://www.acuho-i.org/Default.aspx?tabid=715 http://www.acuho-i.org/Default.aspx?tabid=715

Talking Stick - November/December 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - November/December 2010