Talking Stick - November/December 2014 - 59

22

coNTINueD

RES LIFE

despair, anger, and frustration." After
having created a strong front and
support system for students, they are
in the throes of their own grief. To
combat the post-crisis crash for staff
and students, Connor recommends
having "a supervisory team that
does pay more attention to ensure
that staff are able to process grief
and other emotions connected with
being there in those initial moments"
after a student's death. Campus and
community ministers and counselors
are available to students and staff
who continue to feel the effects of

26

grief. Frame emphasizes the need
to care for oneself as well as others.
"The care and concern model, all
the things we've offered to our
students, we should also be offering
to ourselves. Often that doesn't
happen until everything is done." For
students, continuing to ask how they
are is a means for them to continue
discussing their feelings. "I think you
hope that they know the conversation
is always invited," Frame says.
Coping with a student death
is emotionally draining for both
students and staff, but having a

system in place to compassionately
address students' concerns, creating
an atmosphere that is centered
upon finding closure, and ensuring
continued support for all parties
involved is the most important
way that staff can help to manage a
student death and move forward. tS

Emily Rudduck

is the Talking Stick editorial
intern.

coNTINueD

BUSInESS OPERATIOnS

story of why your campus, or your
residence hall system, is the best longterm option for them.
Provide a planning framework.
Given the need for a safe and secure
youth camp experience, a residence
life department should provide
more than just whatever meets
operational requirements. Providing
summer groups with a broader
planning framework that includes
ideas for camp staff selection, staff
training, parental communication,
and programmatic structure will
increase camper satisfaction and
in turn create a positive association
with the campus and halls. Lending
the expertise of residence life staff
in a way that complements the
departmental policy will only increase
camper satisfaction. Creating multiple
planning milestones throughout the
onboarding process allows policy to
be used in a way that guides groups
tS
towards best practices.

College Housing
Assessment Made Easy
Assessment of the college housing experience is necessary
but why spend your time creating assessments from the
ground-up? EBI MAP-Works saves you time by providing
you with a comprehensive set of comparative
benchmarking assessment instruments and analysis-backed
insights. All are closely aligned with CAS and ACUHO-I
Professional Standards, enabling
colleges and universities to quickly

&

and easily generate peer
comparisons, support accreditation,
and achieve measurable results.
Christopher C.
Stone-Sewalish

is the assistant director for
apartment living and guest
services at The University of
Kansas in Lawrence.

for more information, contact:
info@webebi.com | (417) 429-4530 | www.webebi.com

November + December 2014

59
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Talking Stick - November/December 2014

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