The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1 - 103

Rewinding Forward

By the 1980s, long after Newman’s poignant observation, many individuals had been infused into these residential environments to teach students in different ways. A cadre of student affairs professionals, including residence hall directors and resident advisors, had been embedded into the fabric of residence

Placing students together provides opportunities to interact with peers more intensely than if they were living off campus—and such experiences likely enhance interpersonal skills, shape values, and ultimately influence behavior.

nicates the predominant paradigm of 20th century student affairs—the student development model—birthed primarily from the field of developmental psychology. There are also clear vestiges from the earliest framework guiding student affairs—the student services paradigm—that emphasized the overall welfare of students by providing supervision and services to support the educational endeavors of students while at college. Why? As Wallace writes, “Incorporated into this philosophy are the intangible benefits derived from the socialization process that takes place in the residence hall environment” (1980, p. 23). This socialization, managed by residence hall staff, transformed dorms into educational environments called residence halls. As noted earlier, Wallace articulated the intangible benefits of living on campus. Living among students representing a diversity of racial, ethnic, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds is something that research over the past 30 years has validated as an incredibly important variable for student learning (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). The time in which Wallace’s article was written does not fully explain why the theme of diversity was omitted. For decades the housing profession has embraced a philosophical disposition sensitive to social change, especially with regard to the appreciation of human difference. Perhaps one retrospective and surprising void in the Southern Illinois philosophical statement is in this vein. Multiculturalism, a global perspective, and participation in a diverse community are fundamental values today, yet they were only emerging in the 1980s. The maturity of the student affairs profession since 1980 has provided a wealth of
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hall living in order to manage behavioral expectations, offer educational programs, and keep facilities in good working order. These efforts, for sure, were improvements for education, but they were also combined with practices that detracted from ideal learning environments. The most obvious of these detractors included the large occupancy high-rise residence halls that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s undergirded by the value of efficiency above other considerations. The era in which Wallace was writing was one when housing professionals crafted spaces and conditions that provided for student development in preparation for life after college. Wallace’s essay clearly commu-

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1