Talking Stick - November/December 2015 - 14

JUST IN

Campus Pride
Releases Annual
Top 25 List

Hall Crew
Thriving
In the November +
December 2013 issue
of the Talking Stick, the
article "Partnerships in
Programming" highlighted
how the offices of housing
and residence life and
campus activities at Texas
Christian University (TCU)
in Fort Worth joined
forces to create a new
model for the Residence
Hall Association and hall
councils: the Hall Crew
Association, which has
continued to flourish. In
the past two years, the
association has provided 417
residential programs. Last
year, they also partnered
with TCU's Alcohol and
Drug Education Office to
provide student wellness
coordinators for each hall.
This new collaboration
provided more than 45
wellness programs.
For this coming year,
the biggest change will be
decreasing the number of
director board positions
from five to four. This also
took effect at the leadership
level within each residence
hall community. The goal
of this change is to increase
communication, efficiency,
and retention within the
communities. Additionally,
the Hall Crew has partnered
with TCU's Campus
Recreation Center to form
a Hall Intramural League
and, with their Leadership
Center, to increase
leadership opportunities for
all members.
-David Cooper

14

TALKING STICK

Oh. My. Dog.
Marci Walton, the assistant director of academic
support and learning communities for Loyola
University Chicago in Illinois, has set a new
standard for incorporating pets into everyday
residential life. Walton and her 4-year-old bulldog
lived in a residence hall for three years when she
was a resident director. The dog went everywhere
with her, from RA training to study breaks in the
halls. Eventually, she created a twitter account
titled @Res Life Puppy. It began as a joke, but it
has flourished into a very popular webpage where
people can witness the charm that this dog has on
campus. Today, she and her canine assistant are
still injecting smiles and stress relief into their
community.
-Verdaynea Eason

Campus Pride is a
nonprofit organization
that supports the LGBTQ
community by providing
the resources, programs,
and services needed to
create safer and friendlier
campus environments. This
organization takes pride in
providing its members with
an annual list of the Top 25
schools that they consider
to be LGBTQ friendly. This
list helps students make
a more informed decision
about which institutions will
help them live the lifestyle
they desire. According to
CampusPride.org, to be
considered eligible for this
list, each institution must
engage in the Campus
Pride Index: a national
benchmarking tool based on
"research on policy, program
and practice." This year, the
company has decided to
update their assessments
and requirements for each
school to be considered
LGBTQ friendly, as there are
rising concerns about the
recruitment and academic
retention of LGBTQ students
and the safety of trans
genders.
The top five institutions
for 2015 are Cornell
University, Elon University,
Indiana UniversityBloomington, Ithaca College,
and Macalester College. To
read more about Campus
Pride and their Top 25, visit
http://www.campuspride.
org/2015-top-25/.
-Verdaynea Eason
http://www.CampusPride.org http://www.campuspride.org/2015-top-25
Talking Stick - November/December 2015

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