Campus Crises

     Campus crisis are typically unforeseen events that are impossible to have a campus wide preparedness.  The aftermath of a campus crisis, whether it be weather, crime, or violence; are difficult situations to work through.  Fortunately, many campuses have prevention programs and intervention programs for coping with the aftermath of a campus crisis.
     One intervention program is NOVA.  NOVA helps by putting victims of crime and crisis in touch with people who are willing to help overcome crime and crisis. NOVA focuses on the following keys to help crisis victims cope:

• Physical health and abilities
• Emotional and mental capacities and strength
• Having family and community support
• Having spiritual connections
• A positive view of ‘self’ and life

For crime victims NOVA focuses on the following to help victims cope:

• Emotional trauma is a common element for nearly EVERY victim. Some traumas you never 'get over’ but you can learn ways to cope.
• The US system of justice is not a speedy process, from before an investigation (IF you get one) to prosecution to incarceration of a perpetrator. The Justice System is deliberately slow at nearly every level. This commonly surprises victims who expect 'swift justice.' 
• It is typical for victims to experience secondary trauma. Secondary trauma is emotional pain caused by the people and processes from whom victims seek help. This can happen because of the system's slowness, incompetencies and just the fact that you are working with humans. 
• Some people around you will not understand your struggle and frustration. This can include family and close friends. It is helpful for some victims to find others like them for support and understanding. This is why there are Crime Victim Specializations.

     Most recently in the light of the Mississippi State University and Jackson State University campus shootings, the Chancellor of the University of Mississippi issued a statement released about "Emergency Preparedness" in the UM Today, reads as follows:

     Several opportunities are available to prepare you for dealing with campus violence and events like that at Mississippi State University this week. The University Police Department regularly offers seminars, and you may sign up by emailing upd@olemiss.edu. Also, given the importance of and increased interest in Active Shooter training, we are working with UPD to schedule a larger session of this seminar for faculty and staff. This larger seminar also will cover crisis management on several fronts (severe weather, etc.). A separate program will be offered for students. These training programs are appropriate for first timers and those seeking a refresher course.
     Thank you for your interest in these programs. The information offered in these sessions can make a significant difference in your ability to respond effectively. More information about the larger seminar will be released soon.
     In the meantime, we recommend that all faculty, staff, and students review the information at the following links:

To Learn What to Do in the Event of …
http://www.olemiss.edu/emergency/todo.html

Severe Weather Recommendations
http://www.olemiss.edu/emergency/weather.html

Some of the topics covered on the "What To Do" website include: Bomb Threat Demonstration Earthquake Hazardous Material Spill Hostage Situation Smoke or Fire Suspicious Package Violence or Individual With Weapon Person with Weapon Weapons of Mass Destruction (Terrorist) Evacuation of A Disabled Person Evacuation of A Building Medical Emergency Shelter in Place Demonstration Disruptive Individual Utility Failure Lockdown In order for crises not to take as much of an impact upon a campus, preemptive and coping protocol should be put in place and followed.

MSU youtube video:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/O4th0AuJgYQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Schools such as Portland Community College have Emergency Preparedness Programs:
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pcc.edu/about/public-safety/images/emergency-prep.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.pcc.edu/about/public-safety/emergency-plan.html&usg=__XA0W6p6kqjxTNExqL3LqYnv8dgE=&h=208&w=220&sz=7&hl=en&start=3&zoom=1&tbnid=H1dSsJashqpc4M:&tbnh=101&tbnw=107&ei=8aJ0T9HrL5H2gAee74Vk&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcrisis%2Bprevention%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divnsz&itbs=1

Ole Miss Crisis Preparedness Statement:
https://secure1.olemiss.edu/tools/userfiles/nwilkin-300-dbd85575-cdfa-4d20-aef2-e97d873728a6.html

Gender Academic Performance

The Decline of Academic Performance in Males Students

Willie Iles, national director of government relations for Boy Scouts of American, said that the state of male achievement was dire.

"I am convinced today that we have a national crisis, a national security issue, a state-of-emergency issue and a nation at risk.  If anybody cannot understand that, as we talk about investments and the return on those investments - which are our boys - then it is very clear we are going in the wrong directions"

According to many articles written throughout the last decade, male performance has consistently gotten worse in the subjects of reading and arithmetic.  There have been many article published in magazines such as Business Week's "The New Gender Gap" and Newsweek's "The Boy Crisis".  When the first lady Laura Bush started a campaign, this showed that there was a necessity to focus on boys' performance in school.  Unfortunately, since this time males performance has still been in question.

According to a student that was interviewed for Liz Dwyer's article "It's Time to Get Serious About Boosting Black Male's Academic Achievement," Shea Bunn stated that she thinks "girls do better than boys in school because they are more focused and try harder."  Shea also does not believe that "girls are any more intelligent, but they work harder which makes them more successful."  From this article, an expert believes that "the way teachers design their lessons in the United States is more beneficial for females than males.  Which a basic lecture may favor a female more, active hands-on activities may better favor a male." 

In order for male students to succeed, strategies must be implemented to retain these students.  In an article written by W. Kent Barnds from Augustana College, Barnds encourages these first steps to engage men with Career-Oriented Experiences.
Connect general education courses to career aspirations

• Offer career-oriented experiences earlier
• Offer or require work on campus
• Ensure the presence of male role models in advising and mentoring

Along with the career-oriented focus, Barnds encourages internships and externships, even as early as the first year.  This gives males exposure to career early in the process. 

The other area that Barnds encourages focus is to engage men in the classroom.  Barnds suggests that "if improving the academic performance and persistence of your male students is a high priority for your institution, this may be a critical investment," to create methods to improve "male learning styles or to achieve a gender balance of learning styles within the classroom."

• Ensure lecture content is available visually, as more men are visual rather than auditory learners (provide lecture notes online; encourage students to record lectures and then transcribe later; encourage verbatim note-taking; teach outlining methods and graphic representation of important material or timelines)
• Encourage more hands-on learning (through role play; through having students outline assigned reading and then review; through incentivizing interactive notebooks and note-keeping)
• Include competitive activities in the classroom

A video about the book "Why Boys Fail":
http://youtu.be/LUwYuZPPMDA

Cons and Pros of Greek Life

Greek Life: Pro or Con?

There are many publications that with speak to the postive and negative aspects about greek life.  The purpose of this blog publication is to bring some of the pros and cons of greek life to light and campare some opposing points of views.  Personally, I can see that fraternities and sororities are originally and overall to be positive influences and organizations of support for college students assimilate to and development in college. 
Cons

    I will start off with some negative or connotative aspects or views of fraternities and sororities.  In an article written by Lindsay Meola, she brings out points of paying for friends and "super top-secret way of going about things" to decribe her view of sororities.  She does not agree with the paying of dues to be organized into a group and create friends.  Her other issue she brings to light is the fact that sororities have super-secret ways of going about things, which many of these secret activities in her opinion come about through hazing, which she points out is "supposed to be outlawed."  Her final criticism is that "greek life comes with a lot of objectifying, harmful behaviors, and expenses" with the result "a lot of people get consumed by the Greek life, and end up not doing well in school."  Many of Meola's criticisms are not based in solid proof, but more from personal observations and biases.
   
    Alison from Univeristy Language created a similar article including the pros and cons of Greek life.  Some of the topics were couples as such: Pro: A boost to your social life versus Con: Too-crazy parting, Pro: A close community versus Con: Limited diversity in the community, and Pro: Volunteer work is encouraged versus Con: The exlusivity factor (for selection).  These titles are relatively self explanitory.  Fraternities and sororities are great organizations to be social, but sometimes crazy parties can interfere with personal development and academics (the main reason students should be attending a college or university).  When it comes to community, sororities and fraternities are great examples of a close community, however, in the general fraternity or sorority members are selected for their similar personalities, which limit the diversity of the community.  The last pair of pro and con is the fact that Greek life is a great opportunity for involvement and volunteer work, but to be able to volunteer for many of the activities that members get to participate in, a "rush" process or selection process, typically limiting these volunteer opportunities to those members that are selected. 

Pros

    The last article titled "7 Advantages to Greek Life" touches on seven advantages the authur feels that Greek life possesses.  Advantage #1 - Friendship and Brotherhood/Sisterhood "combines the concept of individualism within the framework of mutual cooperation."  Advantage #2 - Academics: Members have access to peer tutoring, upperclassman counseling, and chapter study hours.  According the the U.S. Department of Education, "members of fraternities and sororities graduate at a rate in ecess of 70% compared to the national student average of 50%.  Advantage #3 - Leadership: Each member is a "leader, whether you're and officer, on a committee, or just a participant.  You will learn by doing." 

• 85% of the Fortune 500 Executives,
• 80% of U.S. Presidents since 1900, and
• 100% of Apollo 11 Astronauts.....

All joined a fraternity!!!

Advantage 4 - Social Activities: "allow members to bring dates or are often held with another fraternity or sorority where you can meet many new faces... there is not comparison anywhere to the variety, scope, and just plain fun" of these social events.  Advantage 5 - Community Service: "One of many advantages of being a part of the Greek community is the time spent helping others in need."  Working "side by side to help local or national charitable organizations" helps create a "sense of accomplishment and satisfaction."  Advnatage 6 - Athletics:  Many fraternities and sororities put together intramural teams.  Advantage 7 - Career Networking: Greek life allows the opportunity for members to tap into alumni which may result in "that head start in life, all because you joined a fraternity/sorority.

Overview

    Student affairs professionals may have a time consuming task to ensure that Greek life systems are used to the best of their ability without misuse, but the systems pros definately outweigh the cons of the system.  Can students who do not join Greek life have the same opporutnities? Yes, there are plenty of opporutunities for students within the Greek life system and outside the system to develope and aclimate to the collegiate life at the same speed.  The only difference is that there is a support network already set up in the Greek life system to encourage constant growth and development of members, whereas students who are not in the system will have to take the initiative upon themselves to seek out the opportunities to enhance their personal development.  What can the college or university do to help with these student who do not join the Greek system?  Supply the same opportunities through student organziation, intramural sports, career services, tutoring services, counseling centers, and much more.  The University of Mississippi, I feel does a great job in allowing students to develop through the access to these services. 

    Student affairs professionals must monitor and ensure that students in the Greek life system maintain their focus on their academics as the statistics have shows, many Greek life systems nationwide have down a great job in this area.  Many of the negative events that happen on college campus that involve fraternities and sororities may be reoccuring, but finding ways to limit these negative experiences will only make the Greek life systems that much better.  One of these negative events is hazing.  Even though it was make unlawful to haze, it is obvious that such activies still exist.  Hopefully these conatative stereotypical events can be sorted out and the pros have the opportunity to continue to outweigh the cons of the experiences students can have by being involved in Greek life.

Sources:
http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2012/01/campus_newspaper_focuses_on_po.html
http://www.universitylanguage.com/blog/17/college-greek-life/
http://thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu/2011/05/cons-of-greek-life
http://webmisc.onu.edu/org/ifc/advantages.htm