Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 49

in social connectedness, while also addressing risk-taking behavior?
SHATKIN: Great question! As I

responded above, residential life staff
can steer students towards prosocial
activities. This can include everything
from intramural teams and friendly
competitions (prizes for the cleanest
room or making the healthiest and
best-tasting smoothie) to facilitating
community engagement, such as
establishing a mentorship program
where college students tutor and
provide emotional support for underserved children in local public schools
or they help clean up local roadways or
feed the homeless at nearby shelters.
Students will also benefit from a host
of emotionally strengthening activities, such as yoga, aerobic exercise,
and mindfulness meditation, all of
which are not only relaxing but also
strengthen the brain's control over
emotions. Other valuable lessons can
come from understanding how to
manage arguments and difficult conversations, recognizing how habits are
formed and being given lots of practice
with the new habits they're developing
(thus, residence hall yoga classes and
weekend fun-runs), and learning the
skills of cognitive-behavior therapy,
which can be effectively taught and
mastered.
	 Learning to live with peers and
function independently as young
adults is a key developmental milestone for adolescents, and residence
life staff can really help. We do much
better when we focus on positives. Of
course, we need to monitor students
in the residence halls carefully, but
even more importantly we need to give
them lots of chances to succeed, which
will obviate the risk-taking.
TALKING STICK: The intersection of
mental health and increased risktaking behavior is an important one
for colleges and universities, as more

48

TALKING STICK

students than ever are coming to campus with diagnosed psychological and
psychiatric disorders or are diagnosed
during their time at college. What are
ways you would suggest residence life
staff can partner with campus counseling services to support this particular
student population? 

DECISION-MAKING
IS TOUGH TO
TEACH, BUT IT'S
POSSIBLE, AND
IT'S PART OF WHAT
WE FOCUS ON IN
ALL ASPECTS OF
EDUCATION, EVEN
WHEN WE DISCUSS
CALCULUS AND
SHAKESPEARE.

SHATKIN: Another great question.
I think it's very important for us to
readily acknowledge that, as you say,
more students than ever are arriving
at school with psychiatric difficulties.
One of the struggles that first-year
college students commonly face is
the desire to not be that kid who has an
emotional or learning problem, which
too often translates into stopping their
psychotherapy, learning support services, or medications.

	 It's very important, therefore, that
residential life staff normalize these
challenges and do everything possible
to see that students who need services
get them. This might be facilitated by
bringing learning center and student health center and psychological
services staff into the residence hall
regularly, engaging students in a
student support services scavenger
hunt whereby they learn about all the

services on campus, and inviting psychology and learning specialist faculty
from the university to give regular
talks and open forum discussions in
the residence halls. Students have lots
of questions about the struggles they
and their friends face, and they really
appreciate being able to ask these
questions of trained professionals. I
run a similar program at New York
University, and it's extremely popular
among the students.

that it becomes virtually impossible to
live in the residence hall and drink or
smoke. I know that may seem Pollyannaish, but it will cut down on use.

TALKING STICK: Alcohol and drug education efforts on college and university campuses often focus on teaching
students about risks associated with
those behaviors. As you note in the
book, students are generally aware of
the risks associated with their behavior
before engaging. What changes can we
make to alcohol and drug education
on campuses to effectively mitigate
risk-tasking behavior?

TALKING STICK: You explain that the
brain is encoded to make decisions to
avoid or minimize pain and that the
emotional pain of social exclusion can
be a driving factor in risk-taking behavior. What role can peer mentoring -
specifically from resident assistants -
play in identifying and addressing
social exclusion?

	 Furthermore, we can use the
"gist"-based strategies I discuss in the
book - emphasizing that once is all
it takes to get hurt - to help students
build an emotional connection to the
risks they're facing, identify red alerts,
plan decision pathways in advance, use
analogies, and so on.

GONE ARE THE DAYS OF ZERO
TOLERANCE POLICIES AND
EDUCATING STUDENTS SOLELY ON
THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THEIR BEHAVIOR;
MOST OF THEM ARE FULLY AWARE OF THE
CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR BEHAVIOR BEFORE
THEY MAKE THE DECISION TO ENGAGE.
SHATKIN: Peer mentoring and support is huge. Students look up to
those peers who are just a year or two
older and often emulate their behavior. If the cool students are jogging
and getting their school work done
and working on the student newspaper or at the local café, those behaviors become enviable and modeled.

This is one of the reasons it helps to
have a broad variety of resident assistants in the residence hall, so that
students can find someone they can
connect with who is like them. RAs
need to look closely for those kids
who feel left out, engage them, and
keep a close eye on them.

SHATKIN: Right, students know that
drinking and drug use are dangerous.
It's okay to remind them, but, more
importantly, we want to ask ourselves
what they get from drug and alcohol
use: namely, novelty, stress reduction,
and a chance to hang out with their
peers. So, we need to think about how
we can achieve those ends (novelty,
stress reduction, and social time)
without drugs and alcohol. Examples
might include the things I've already
mentioned, in addition to weekend
rock climbing excursions, camping
trips, volunteering to paint a run-down
local building, weeding a local garden,
and so on.

	 As far as alcohol and drug education goes, it's clear that we don't have
an effective way to teach young people
how to drink responsibly, so we need
to keep them clear from use as long as
possible. We need to make it difficult
for them to use these substances in the
residence halls and enforce real penalties for those who break the rules so

Custom sizes no problem!

(800)203-2507

www.americanbeddingmfg.com

sales@americanbeddingmfg.com

JANUARY + FEBRUARY 2018

49


http://www.americanbeddingmfg.com

Talking Stick - January/February 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - January/February 2018

Talking Stick - January/February 2018
Contents
Vision
Just In
Calendar
Your ACUHO-I
Transitions
Res Life
Facilities
Business Operations
The Outsourcing Question
Born to Be Wild
Conversations
First Takes
Around Student Affairs
New Members
Snapshot
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Intro
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Talking Stick - January/February 2018
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Cover2
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 1
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 2
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Contents
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 4
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 5
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 6
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 7
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Vision
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 9
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Just In
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 11
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 12
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 13
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 14
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 15
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 16
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 17
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Calendar
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 19
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Your ACUHO-I
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 21
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Transitions
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 23
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Res Life
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 25
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 26
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 27
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Facilities
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 29
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 30
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 31
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Business Operations
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 33
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 34
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 35
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - The Outsourcing Question
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 37
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 38
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 39
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 40
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 41
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 42
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 43
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Born to Be Wild
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 45
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 46
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 47
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 48
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 49
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 50
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 51
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Conversations
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 53
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 54
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 55
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - First Takes
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Around Student Affairs
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - 58
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - New Members
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Snapshot
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Cover3
Talking Stick - January/February 2018 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20190506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20190304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20190102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20181112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20180910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20180708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20180506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20180304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20180102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20171112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20170910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20170708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20170506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20170304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20170102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20161112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20160910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20160708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20160506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20160304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20160102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20151112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20150910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20150708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20150506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20150304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20150102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20141112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20140910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20140708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20140506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20140304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20140102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20131112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20130910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20130708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20130506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20130304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20130102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20121112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20120910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20120708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20120506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20120304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_201201
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20111112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20110910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20110708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20110506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20110304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20110102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20101112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20100910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20100708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20100506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20100304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20100102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20091112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20090910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20090708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20090506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20090304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick_20090102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick1108
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick0908
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/talkingstick0508
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com