August 2017 Pulse

THE PULSE THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY HOUSING OFFICERS

August 2017

THE PULSE

Board of Directors PRESIDENT

CONFERENCE DIRECTOR

Amanda Ziegler

Kristin Lennan

Brock University aziegler@brocku.ca

University of Guelph lennank@uoguelph.ca

PRESIDENT-ELECT / FINANCE DIRECTOR

CORPORATE PARTNER RELATIONS DIRECTOR

Ian Crookshank

Jessica Nayda

Ryerson University ian.crookshank@ryerson. ca

University of Guelph jnayda@uoguelph.ca

PAST PRESIDENT

SENIOR-LEVEL MEMBER AT LARGE

Daryl Nauman

York University dnauman@yorku.ca

Valerie Bruce

COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR

MEMBER AT LARGE

Kristina Bartold

Wilfrid Laurier University cwebb@wlu.ca

St. Jerome's University kbartold@uwaterloo.ca

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Andrew Natale

Brock University anatale@brocku.ca

Ryerson University vbruce@ryerson.ca

Carley Webb

MEMBER AT LARGE

Jennifer Tabar University of Waterloo jtabar@uwaterloo.ca

MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATION MANAGER

Nathan Riley

OACUHO info@oacuho.com

Queens University nathan.riley@queensu.ca

Carol Ford

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As I write this, I am immersed in my 1irst ever ACUHO-I experience. Let me tell you, it is quite the experience. The opportunities have been plentiful, bordering on overwhelming and as someone who values learning I know I will take a lot away from this conference. While there are certainly differences in the nuances, there are many similarities across the world in the key trends we are facing in terms of the changing needs (and wants) of our students, their mental health and the increasing internationalization of the educational experience.

The Power of Sharing

Additionally, we wrapped up an excellent Spring Conference in May with some of the highest quality programming I have seen during my time in the association. From CHO’s to New Pros (it sounds better that way), there was something for everyone to engage with and learn from during the conference. I commend the folks at Carleton for putting in the hard work to bring the 1irst RCI to Canada as well.

I am tremendously proud of our association and our members for their leadership, collaboration and involvement in the housing 1ield and I am excited to see where we will go in the years ahead. While it is often the case that we are focused on the speci1ic goals of our individual institutions, conferences provide us the opportunity to share our experience and expertise with each other. By sharing, we make ourselves greater and we provide a better learning experience for all students.

All the best, Amanda OACUHO President


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in house

RESEARCH

with Research Writer Aman Litt

Masculinity within Residence “I pretend to be a bad boy in college but deep down I’m depressed, I don’t know who I am or what to do with my life” (Watson, 2015).

Everyone struggles with insecuri=es and/or bouts of mental health struggles throughout their life, but moving away from home can arguably be one of the most difficult transi=ons of a young person’s life. The transi=on of living with your family, whom you have known since birth, to this dynamic, evolving, ever changing environment can be daun=ng. One really can feel the need to prove themselves and assert their iden=ty within this popula=on of peoples from a mul=tude of backgrounds, ethnici=es, cultures, upbringings and ideologies. “Young men struggle with privilege and oppression in college and university residence halls just as they do in other educa=onal and social contexts” (ScoN, 2012, p. 201).

As we know, young adult males struggles to find themselves throughout their lives and some=mes resort to extreme, dangerous or violent methods to prove or validate their iden=ty to others. “Research studies focusing on men enrolled in college reveal that men engage in a higher number of violent acts and sexual assaults and spend more =me engaging in drinking and partying than do females” (ScoN, 2012, p. 201). Though this is a situa=on which is problema=c, a lot of social structures chalk this type of behaviour up to ‘boys being boys’. This type of mentality is not only damaging to the environment and individuals impacted by the ac=ons, but also damages the individual themselves. Socially we are isola=ng and stereotyping heterosexual men that they: cannot express their emo=ons, need to assert power over others, especially women, not care about their academics and be reckless with their safety and self (ScoN, 2012).

How can we break the cycle and the s=gma? I think we already are working at this and there are many ins=tu=ons making great strides. Men seek out mental health resources far less than women do within their university careers, which is why our live-in support staff can play such a vital role in suppor=ng men in residence (ScoN, 2012). By simply allowing staff and the community to be beNer educated on the subject is a great start.

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IN HOUSE RESEARCH

G

et the conversa=on going and challenge staff to do programming, passive or ac=ve to address the issue with their communi=es.

“College has made me depressed again but it’s so easy to get drunk and fucked up all the =me that no one ques=ons it. They think it’s ‘just living out the college experience’” (Watson, 2015).

A ques=on I ask myself is what training or prepara=on do we provide for our staff for this specific popula=on? I also want to be sure that in this ar=cle I was not being exclusionary; this is not a binary compara=ve of men and women because such a binary does not exist. We do great work with educa=ng staff on sexual minority groups, ESL students and having inclusive communi=es, but it can be easy to overlook the needs of a group which will struggle to acknowledge their own issues.

A first great step is to reading the well researched ar=cle “Men’s Iden=ty Development: Issues and Implica=ons for Residence Life,” wriNen by David ScoN, Wade Livingston, Pamela Havice and Tony Cawthon, if you have not done so already. Challenge your colleagues to read the ar=cle as well, make a lunch=me discussion forum aaer everyone has had a chance to to read it to ensure that people actually engage with the ar=cle.

have known each other for awhile. This young man, charming, outgoing, good-looking, had, seemingly everything in order, but as we chaNed, you could see the cracks. He struggled with his masculinity, he went to the gym a lot because he feels he is not big enough or strong enough. He has a partner, who he calls ‘his girl’, but it is not meant to be demeaning, it is meant to be a sign of affec=on. He also indicated that this is how many of friends refer to their partner and had never really reflected on the ownership aspect of the term, un=l we discussed it. He is very smart and has a high GPA, something which he was mocked for in high school, but has been applauded for, for most of his university career. He has found a posi=ve space to be a ‘smart person’ on campus, but he did acknowledge that when he goes out ‘with the boys’ there are =mes he ignores or just laughs along at conversa=ons he might not be totally comfortable with, but he is in no way willing to address them with his peer group. I asked him who he goes to for emo=onal support and he said he goes to his mother and sister and not his male friend group or family.

When doing research for this ar=cle, I met with a few university male students and spoke with them about the process. Clearly, being an older female interviewing them, I did not receive the open feedback that I feel that someone like Keith Edwards has and does achieve with a male popula=on. I did manage to have a very open and honest discussion with one individual, for which I was grateful.

He was a current University of Alberta, third year, heterosexual, male business student and we

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IN HOUSE RESEARCH

The rela=onship between masculinity, power imbalance and violence is something which cannot be ignored. The seemingly shallow rela=onship men can have with other men is something which needs to be considered as well.

We also cannot ignore the loud chan=ng from the ‘other’ team. Please refer to the starred ar=cles in the reference sec=on for examples of shaming the system and/or men for trying to “[turn] men into women” (Starnes, 2017). For as many posi=ve strides there are, there are just as many, if not more, demeaning, ignorant and nega=ve strides in the opposite direc=on. Educa=ng yourself on both angles will allow you to beNer understand the current social state.

that some men s=ll engage with sexually demeaning conversa=ons, for example, commen=ng on the servers figure at a bar or threatening to hit someone who cuts you off in traffic, but the group did feel that this was more talk than ac=on anymore. When I asked why no one ever tried to squash the conversa=on, they said if it was about someone they cared about they would have, but otherwise, they chalked it up to harmless ‘bar banter’.

Rather, aaer my unsuccessful aNempt with genera=ng a focus group with the youth on campus (the =me of year can also be a large factor, which I will not ignore), I sought out male, post-secondary graduates within my social circle. As we spoke and explored, there were a lot of things which came out.

As we spoke and I explored further, I asked what their personali=es and behaviours were like today, now all in their early to late 30’s, in comparison to who they were iden=fying as in their college years.

They all discussed healthy rela=onships with individuals who iden=fy as female, having successful friendships, family lives and careers, but when it came to meaningful, emo=onal connec=ons with peers to discuss issues, or seeking out professional therapy for mental health reasons, we fell flat.

The rela=onship between masculinity, power imbalance and violence is something which cannot be ignored. The seemingly shallow rela=onship men can have with other men is something which needs to be considered as well.

We also cannot ignore the loud chan=ng from the ‘other’ team. Please refer to the starred ar=cles in the reference sec=on for examples of shaming the system and/or men for trying to “[turn] men into women” (Starnes, 2017). For as many posi=ve strides there are, there are just as many, if not more, demeaning, ignorant and nega=ve strides in the opposite direc=on. Educa=ng yourself on both angles will allow you to beNer understand the current social state.

A couple of the interviewees indicated having gone to therapy, but it was couple’s therapy, introduced to them by their partner. They all also s=ll admiNed to having ‘boy’s talk’ from =me to =me, depending on the group they were with.

When I explored this topic further, they explained

The goal of this ar=cle was not to demean anyone or indicate that any one route is the best, but I do think that by talking about this issue and talking to men, we can get them to start thinking about how they act and why they act in such ways.

Rather, aaer my unsuccessful aNempt with genera=ng a focus group with the youth on campus (the =me of year can also be a large factor, which I will not ignore), I sought out male, post-secondary graduates within my social circle. As we spoke and explored, there were a lot of things which came out.

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IN HOUSE RESEARCH

. As we spoke and I explored further, I asked what their personali=es and behaviours were like today, now all in their early to late 30’s, in comparison to who they were iden=fying as in their college years. They all discussed healthy rela=onships with individuals who iden=fy as female, having successful friendships, family lives and careers, but when it came to meaningful, emo=onal connec=ons with peers to discuss issues, or seeking out professional therapy for mental health reasons, we fell flat.

A couple of the interviewees indicated having gone to therapy, but it was couple’s therapy, introduced to them by their partner. They all also s=ll admiNed to having ‘boy’s talk’ from =me to =me, depending on the group they were with. When I explored this topic further, they explained that some men s=ll engage with sexually demeaning conversa=ons, for example, commen=ng on the servers figure at a bar or threatening to hit someone who cuts you off in traffic, but the group did feel that this was more talk than ac=on anymore. When I asked why no one ever tried to squash the conversa=on, they said if it was about someone they cared about they would have, but otherwise, they chalked it up to harmless ‘bar banter’.

The goal of this ar=cle was not to demean anyone or indicate that any one route is the best, but I do think that by talking about this issue and talking to men, we can get them to start thinking about how they act and why they act in such ways.

What are some posi<ve things being done?

The University of Regina has a run a ‘Man Up’ awareness week for the last two years, which includes a ‘Masculinity Confession Booth’ where men can privately share (Paling, 2017). Research you neighbouring ins=tu=ons and see what they are doing, and see what posi=ve strides your campus is currently doing and promote it. Sharing and using the media to show the

conversa=on as a normality will only help the social s=gma start to dissipate.

What can help, but also feel non intrusive and up to the individual to control? Here are some great programming or community sugges=ons for the upcoming academic year: 1) Write, write, write: Journaling and sharing, even if it is only to yourself can be extremely therapeu=c and the values and benefits of journaling is something which can easily be shared to student via passive programming opportuni=es during the year.

Passive programming is a great way to promote the values of wri=ng your feelings and thoughts out and it allows the audience a longer =me to engage with the informa=on, when they are ready.

2) Talking to a friend. Having someone you trust and can confide in can be very emo=onally freeing and can help with the understanding that someone else knows and that someone else cares about you and your situa=on. Create a buddy program, where students commit to being another individual’s call if they need a ride, help or someone to talk to. It will help strengthen your community and you can challenge students to try and reach out to an individual they do not know so well yet.

3) Seeking out professional help. This is where we lose our target audience the most, but think about ways you can can make mental health professionals more accessible on your campus. If your campus is anything like ours, mental health professionals are very busy and not always locally accessible to students in Residence. Pitch the idea or put in a proposal for walk-in opportuni=es in Residence buildings, where students would not have to travel far to seek support, but would s=ll be private. Have focus groups with students and see how they would like mental health professionals be accessible to them. Perhaps an online forum is something which would be less in=mida=ng to students.

Assess what is currently been done at your organiza=on and research ways to remove the hurdles which are preven=ng students from seeking out support.

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References Addis, M.E. & Mahalik, J.R (2003). Men, Masculinity, and the Contexts of Seeking Help. American Psychologist, p. 5-11. *Nardi, W. (2016, November 2). TRENDING: Universities work to purge male students of their ‘toxic’ masculinity. The College Fix. Retrieved from https://www.thecollegefix.com/post/29757/ Paling, E. (2017). ‘Masculinity Confession Booth’ Offered by University of Regina Group.

HuffPost Canada. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/04/03/masculinity-confession-bo_n_15693652.htm l Scott, D.A., Livingston, W.G., Mavice, P.A., Cawthon, T.W. (2012). Men’s Identity Development: Issues and Implications for Residence Life. Journal of College and University Student Housing, 39(1), 200-213. *Starnes, T. (2017, January 17). ‘Toxic masculinity’? Dude, now America’s universities are turning men into women. Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/01/17/toxic-masculinity-dude-now-americas-un iversities-are-turning-men-into-women.html Watson, S. (2015). 17 Heartbreaking Confessions from College Students who Suffer from Depression. BuzzFeed. Retrieved from https://www.buzzfeed.com/sheridanwatson/heartbreaking-confessions-from-college-s tudents-who-suffe?utm_term=.pivD6NjnE8#.odXPxGLXpQ

Don’t miss out on another fantastic learning opportunity at Fall Business Meeting on October 13th 2017 at the University of Toronto Mississauga Campus!

Learn more and register today at http://fbm2017.com! #FBM2017

It has been more than a month since we hosted RCI: Canada and Blossom, yet the energy, learning and new connec=ons are s=ll providing momentum to our membership.

If you asked us a year ago what our hopes would be for the conference we would have said: an educa=onal and fun opportunity to learn from and teach others. We were ac=vely reviewing notes (thank-you to Western for their notes on the last Spring Conference) in order to provide the best possible opportuni=es going forward.

From May 7-8th, sixty people par=cipated in in first RCI: Canada. Kathleen Kerr and Jim Tweedy led the Canadian con=ngent of professionals looking to learn more about curriculum for their own ins=tu=ons. Two days of intense learning for this group brought a plethora of teamwork, crea=vity and innova=on in crea=ng maps for their own ins=tu=ons.

#OACUHO 2017 Host Reflection

Natalie Allen & Laura Storey Carleton University

On May 8th, we officially kicked off Blossom with our opening keynote, good food, great conversa=ons and a “night in residence”. Informal conversa=ons and started here, and these conversa=ons would con=nue throughout the conference – both formally and informally.

During the learning experiences, the more formal learning opportuni=es were provided to delegates. The hot topic at the spring conference this year was diversity and inclusion. In a conversa=on that started in the Expert Speaker session on The State of Canadian Student Affairs with Adam Kuhn and John Aus=n, delegates explored unaddressed and under-examined issues including representa=on and diversity in our professional staff teams. This conversa=on con=nued during The Elephant in the Room: Exploring Ethic Diversity in Student Housing by Brian Cunha and Aman LiN, which received runner-up accolades from our delegates.

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Taking top honours as “best in show” was Residence Student Deaths – SupporAng the Community during Worse-case Scenarios with Chris Alleyne, Peggy Wakabayashi and Irene Thompson. Faced with several student deaths in their residences this year, they shared their experiences with topics like grief, community of care, and policies and procedures in the wake of student death. While the topic was, imaginably, a difficult one to discuss, our membership appreciated the vulnerability of the presenters and the opportunity to share in this challenging conversa=on.

At the banquet, we honoured David SterriN with the Life=me Achivement Award. With his 41-year career in Housing and Residence Life and his work in gepng OACUHO off the ground many years ago, this award was well deserved. David regaled us with a tale on how OACUHO started and the pranks during days of yore. If anyone finds David’s chair…

Based on twiNer, anecdotal and formal feedback, highlights were the banquet bus-tour, the banquet venue and the great variety of food throughout the conference. We could not have agreed more; the plans have been years in the making and we couldn’t be happier that you enjoyed these parts of Blossom.

Delegates also commented on our volunteers; and we’d be remiss if we didn’t again recognize our great team and all the work behind the scenes to make Blossom a success. It takes a village to host a conference.

Lastly, we got significant feedback from delegates on the quality of the learning experiences offered this year. Thank-you to all those who presented, aNended presenta=ons and who supported all learning at all opportuni=es.

As hosts, we have learned much about our team, our colleagues and how to beNer serve our students. It has con=nued to energize us as we work, plan and prepare throughout the summer. I think we reached our goals to have an educa=onal and fun opportunity to learn from and teach others.

BLOSSOM REFLECTION

Core Competencies are Fun For Everyone!

Tim Lade Residence Life Coordinator MacEwan University

In a first season episode of the West Wing, two characters, Sam and Toby are tasked with retrieving the President’s nominee for the supreme court when they get lost on the highway. At one point, Toby asks Sam how he knows the route, and Sam explains that he has been using celestial navigation to find their way. Celestial navigation has not worked out at all for our characters because what he thought was the North Star, was, in fact, the lights from a jet. Celestial navigation is the practice of using measurements taken between planets or stars and the horizon with the use of a device like a sextant. Normally, you would use the sun, but you can use any number of stars that have been documented. Criticism of celestial navigation is that it really isn’t necessary any longer given the invention of GPS and Throop (1984) claims that celestial navigation is based on the fallacy that the earth needs to be considered the centre of the universe for the system to work. Throop (1984) further suggests that just because the premise is flawed, doesn’t mean it is not a useful tool at the end of the day.

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When we think about ploAng a path, we rarely consider how things were done 200 years ago. When I am asked to take on a new project, I do not look at student housing systems from the 1800s. Yes, understanding conceptual frameworks are key, but I would not want to reproduce “in loco paren=s” just because that was a system in play at the =me. How we develop the student leaders we work with is just as valid. Throughout my =me working in student housing, I have come to

appreciate that when we talk about what an ideal RA or Don or CA or Fellow looks like, we cannot con=nue to focus on the capaci=es we looked for in a residence life leader ten years ago. Beyond that, we cannot use the same methods for training and development we have always relied on in the past. As Captain Spock once said, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” In other words, change is inevitable if we want to level up and succeed.

One of the magical parts of working at MacEwan University in our rela=vely small residence system is that we have the flexibility to grow and innovate quickly. The ins=tu=on is nimble and not risk adverse to new ideas. Several years ago, I was presented with an idea that seemed controversial at the =me, but considering recent developments in residen=al curriculums in Canada, has shown itself to be a major turning point in leadership capacity development: residence life staff core competencies. Akande (2007) wrote that in a world that is constantly shiaing, it is a fundamental ability of leaders to have the capaci=es to not only grab the ball and run with it but to also enable the leadership of others, build rela=onships, and develop the resilience needed to respond to rapidly changing situa=ons. These fundamental competencies are vastly different to the event planning, cheerleading, arts and craa specialists that we looked to fill our residence life staff roles of the past. At MacEwan Residence we were struggling to fill our team with the tradi=onal concept of what an RA was and some=mes found ourselves with RLS resigning because it was a far bigger job than the understood at the =me that they applied and accepted the role. The ques=on we were then lea with was: What does an ideal residence life staff member look like and what is it that is essen<al that they do? Beyond that, we wanted to know how do we go about training and developing that staff member and how do we lay a founda=on for their success beyond the ten days we spend together in August?

The first step in our process was to connect with our wellness and psychological counselling services team who leads the RLS training around rela=onship building, helping skills, and assis=ng distressed students. We spent several days working together and brainstorming all the capaci=es that fit the idea of an “ideal, essen=alist RA.” Aaer narrowing our list down to fourteen ideas we spent =me unpacking each one, the specific skills required and the outcomes connected to that competency. In selec=ng, community, for example, we looked to define how that might present itself and what a community builder would deliver to the residence community and then mapped out a brief descrip=on of the competency with clear language that framed the end goal. While it would be safe to say that would have been sufficient, par=cularly for our first aNempt at the ini=a=ve, we decided it was key to explore each competency further. Beyond that, we wanted to use these core ac=vi=es for more than something we just reviewed during training. Our goal then was to layer them within our recruitment and performance management pieces and to guide the evolu=on of an RA over the course of their leadership career in residence. It was determined that two addi=onal things would need to happen. First, we divided the competencies into two groups of seven: the first group for new RLS and the second group for returning and Senior RLS. The inten=on was to lay out a blueprint for what the development, over two or three years, might look like for RLS and give them a sense of what to aim towards when recruitment for the following year’s team began. Secondly, we wanted to provide a series of sub-competencies made up of specific ac=ons, behaviours, and goals that reflected back to the main competency.

We brought in members of our student staff team at this point to help us flesh out our ideas from their perspec=ve and what those behaviours might look like. Using “ini=a=ve” as an example, we ended up with the following: Ini<a<ve: understand the mutually dependent nature of the team and foster a coopera=ve, collabora=ve, and corrobora=ve environment that allows each individual to contribute their own unique skills and talents posi=vely.

The sub-competencies include: -

Able to cri=cally analyze and synthesize the ideas of others;

-

Able to collaborate with others and offer assistance when appropriate/required; and

-

Applies and adapts your personal style and approach to support effec=ve group func=oning.

Overall, this was a process that took a considerable amount of =me over a four week period to run through, but by engaging with the very employees we would expect to live this model, we set a tone of co-ownership, and as such, this was =me well spent. At the end of our development period, we sought consulta=on with the en=re residence services team, our campus partners, and our wider student staff. We tweaked some areas and removed one and replaced it aaer a year with an emo=onal intelligence competency to beNer speak to the skill we were looking to address, but overall, this model has become the cornerstone of everything we now do with our residence life staff through the life of their role.

The competencies have been woven into our interview ques=ons, our onboarding and training prac=ces, and our performance management ac=vi=es. We have planned a large scale assessment of the model for this next academic year, and we will be looking to review the en=re system. While it has been extremely beneficial to our program with a higher overall RLS GPA, stronger staff reten=on, and higher scores for candidates, no system is perfect, and one that does not look inward to assess itself is not worth the digital ones and zeros it is built on. We are commiNed to constantly improving this program and assessment will be essen=al to that goal.

In the final reflec=on of this journey, we sought out to determine what an ideal member of our RLS team looks like and how our efforts to develop that team should be framed. When we talk about the future of student housing, the conversa=on steers towards the value of living in residence and the outcomes of that experience. Any discussion around that piece must consider the leaders who are suppor=ng the development of our communi=es and helping them find their ideal selves and the skills necessary. If our goal is to unfurl a program that creates impacsul residen=al communi=es where students are supported and can excel, a core competency model can play a key role in developing student leaders and laying a founda<on for enhancing the value of residence and the en<re on-campus experience.

References Akande B.O. (2007) Developing Leadership Competencies. In: Gramlich D., Träger M. (eds) Herausforderungen einer zukunftsorientierten Unternehmenspolitik. DUV Meyer, N. (Director), Meyer, N., Nimoy, L., & Narita, H. (Writers), & Winter, R., & Nimoy, L. (Producers). (1991). Star trek VI-- the undiscovered country [Mo=on picture on DVD]. United States: Paramount Pictures.

Sorkin, A. (Writer). (2000, February 16). Celes=al Naviga=on [Television series episode]. In The West Wing. Los Angelas, California: NBC. Throop, K. (1984, December 15). My Turn at Last! Analog Science FicAon/Science Fact, CIV (13).

18 Reasons to attend #OACUHO2018!

Jessica Nayda Residence Life Manager University of Guelph

1.

The University of Guelph main campus spans more than 1,000 acres, including an arboretum and a 55-acre research park. A walk in the Arboretum is the perfect way to start your day!

2.

South Residence, designed by the same architect who designed the CN Tower, was the largest student residence in North America when it opened in 1970.

3.

Established in 1874, the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) is Canada's largest and most renowned agricultural college.

4.

The Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph is the oldest school of its kind in the Western hemisphere. It was founded in 1862.

5.

Old Jeremiah, a Civil War era cannon, is a local landmark. Painting the cannon is time-honoured Guelph tradition.

6.

The Bullring, a circular brick building in the middle of campus, once served as a….bull ring. It is now a popular gathering space for students.

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7.

The world’s most popular French Fry potato, the Yukon Gold, was created by a University of Guelph researcher and a local farmer.

8.

The term ‘hat trick’ was coined in Guelph.

9. In 1920, an apiculture building was built on campus that was the first of its kind in North America for beekeeping studies. The Honey Bee Research Centre produces delicious honey!

10. Colonel John McCrae, who wrote the poem "In Flanders Fields” was born and raised in Guelph.

11. Guelph was the first city in Canada to have a female Mayor, MP and MPP all at the same time.

12. The Art Gallery of Guelph is home to an internationally recognized collection of Inuit art and sculpture.

13. Guelph is proud of its “green” reputation and has the highest waste diversion rate in in Ontario.

14. Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space, is a graduate of the University of Guelph.

15. Guelph is ranked as Canada’s Most Caring city, based on its volunteerism and charitable giving rates.

16. The national food security initiative, Feeding 9 Billion, which provides insight, outreach and education around issues of food, agriculture and hunger globally, is based out of the University of Guelph.

17. Lawrence Hill, Robert Munsch and Thomas King, all celebrated authors, call Guelph home.

18. Our team here at the University of Guelph has been excitedly planning for OACUHO 2018. We look forward to hosting you next May!

First OACUHO

Conference Reflection

Steven Voulgaris Residence Life Coordinator Centennial Place

Having been a part of the Brock University Residence Life system for the majority of my undergrad, I no=ced changes to the system, many of which were rooted in the ideas shared during the OACUHO conference. I was excited to see what this year’s conference had to offer. As a new professional involved with a different Residence Life program, I was thrilled by the idea that what I was about to learn and take away from this conference could change how future students learn and experience our residence. Overall, I was expec<ng to hear many great ideas and presenta<ons and Blossom 2017 did not disappoint.

From Zebulun Davenport’s Keynote on changing the way we talk about our profession to Keith Edwards pushing us to find our celebra=ons in life, the message about progression and educa=on was always clear and constant. For me, it was exci=ng and interes=ng to see the direc=on that policies and processes at different ins=tu=ons were going and how they were progressing. Having a background in educa=on, and recently comple=ng my Bachelors of Educa=on, it was refreshing to see how many of the residence policy changes mirror those within the educa=on system. One example is using a backwards design model for instruc=on. In summary, backwards design consists of iden=fying the expecta=ons that you want your learners to meet, as well as skills that the learners should be able to do to express that they have met the expecta=on, and then crea=ng trainings or lessons to teach the learners that skill.

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Whether created for staff and performance domains, or having a founda=on in conduct, the focus on educa=on and educa=ng everyone within the building makes our residence buildings our informal classrooms.

With that being said, I am excited to see where residence culture and learning go from here. Entering into the realm of residence educa=on, and with the addi=on of the Residence Curriculum Ins=tute within the conference, really opens up the poten=al of what students can learn while living in residence. I am interested to see what the next steps are from here. I think that the beauty about this conference is that the presenta=ons and the informa=on that was shared both iden=fy what was successful and how things can be changed. This not only promotes change, but it also celebrates risks and trying new things to see how residence life stays on the edge of innova=on in experien=al learning. The aforemen=oned is the sole reason that this progression into residence educa=on should also be aNributed to the people. The amount of hard work and constant tweaking and reworking that was discussed at this conference shows the dedica=on that the OACUHO professionals have for residence life, as well as their desire to take risks and aNempts to make student experience at their respec=ve ins=tu=ons beNer. Overall, the OACHUO Blossom Conference of 2017 was an amazing experience and I was able to expose myself to different ways of doing things and different ways of thinking. As this is the first year that our residence has been open, many details and processes s=ll need to be sorted out and updated to provide the best experience and educa=on possible for our students. In combina=on with my experience at Brock, I hope to be able to take some of the valuable informa=on that I learned and create posi=ve change for our residence system by trying new things and always discovering how things can be tweaked in order to be more effec=ve. I would like to give a huge shout out and thanks to the staff and volunteers at Carleton University for their fantas=c work in making this conference happen, in addi=on to their hospitality over the week. Kudos to you! I look forward to many more conferences to come.

Restorative Justice

Training Reflection

Matthew Wensink Residence Manager McMaster University

The Restora=ve Jus=ce Training through ACPA was one of those trainings that lea me feeling excited, a bit nervous and full of hope! You might be able to resonate with that feeling aaer a conversa=on or a conference that speaks truths to myths and sheds a light on the next few steps to be taken.

As defined by Howard Zehr, “Restora=ve jus=ce is a process to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific offense and to collec=vely iden=fy and address harms, needs, and obliga=ons, in order to heal and put things as right as possible”. As someone who is passionate about finding ways to make our conduct processes fairer and focused on resolu=on for both the accused and vic=ms, restora=ve jus=ce should be the standard to aim for. Of course, I did not always think this way. Restora=ve jus=ce is quite oaen muffled by myths that the processes give the accused a lighter outcome than tradi=onal prac=ces, that it requires a highly trained professional and that an organiza=on’s prac=ce needs to make a giant leap into RJ prac=ce.

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With a closer look into these myths, one can easily see that these cannot be the things that prevent us from establishing a restora=ve prac=ce. Allowing a vic=m and all harmed par=es the opportunity to ar=culate how the accused has harmed them and allowing the accused a chance to ar=culate talk about what had occurred can be a life-changing experience. Furthermore, there is poten=al for the accused and vic=m to present relevant outcomes that can be more likely to decrease recidivism. Too oaen we take for granted student’s crea=vity in designing effec=ve and meaningful outcomes. This prac<ce does not need to be led by a highly-trained professional, but follows some basic and straight forward guidelines that can be found in the resource list I’ve aQached towards the end of this reflec<on. An organiza=on does not need to decide whether it will move to a restora=ve jus=ce approach in every single way, but can make small changes and modifica=ons to prac=ces in order to become more restora=ve.

In order to speak fairly to restora=ve jus=ce prac=ces, I must also speak to the challenges. Incorpora=ng restora=ve jus=ce circles into our prac=ce is likely to take more =me than what we’re spending currently in our conduct proceedings. A preconference with all par=es occurs, involved par=es are gathered and the circle occurs, taking anywhere from 45 minutes to a few hours. The circles not only take =me for someone to lead, but also require spaces appropriate to host however many people may have been impacted by the situa=on. Restora=ve jus=ce approaches are also voluntary and require an admission of guilt from the accused and a willingness to par=cipate from the accused and vic=m. With that being said, due to the =me it takes to facilitate a RJ circle from pre-mee=ng to closing of the circle, conversa=ons with stakeholders need to be well-planned and wellar=culated.

Part of arAculaAng restoraAve jusAce processes to your community is a recogniAon of the origins of the pracAce. Broadly speaking, restora=ve jus=ce prac=ces have origins from different groups in several loca=ons. Restora=ve jus=ce circles began in northern Canada and restora=ve jus=ce conferencing originated in New Zealand. Within Canada, restora=ve jus=ce prac=ces have become an increasingly common community prac=ce within schools, prisons, Universi=es and colleges. Many of these ins=tu=ons have been progressing from a tradi=onal discipline that focuses on a puni=ve outcome for the offender to developmental discipline that is s=ll offender-focused but offers support for improved decision-making. Restora=ve jus=ce takes developmental discipline to a posi=on that has more of a balanced focus on offender and vic=m in order to support everyone involved. Restora=ve jus=ce looks into the harms, what can make things right and how trust can be rebuilt.

Restora=ve jus=ce prac=ces can be used throughout the academic system, inside and outside of the classroom.

Whether a University has been using restora=ve jus=ce prac=ces or not, there is always more work to be done and more areas and cases that can u=lize restora=ve jus=ce. Universi=es need to work together to determine best prac=ces in complex cases such as sexual assault, campus climate challenges and issues impac=ng external communi=es. I encourage all University staff, especially those working in student conduct, to explore the possibility of implemen=ng restora=ve jus=ce prac=ce or improving upon what already exists.

I want to thank and give credit for this training to the facilitators of this workshop. Please see below for further reading and informa=on on restora=ve jus=ce: Karp, David R. 2013. The LiNle Book of Restora=ve Jus=ce for Colleges and Universi=es: Repairing Harm and Rebuilding Trust in Response to Student Misconduct. Intercourse, PA: Good Books.

For other helpful resources on Restorative Justice, feel free to check out Skidmore College’s “Campus RJ” page on their website (www.skidmore.edu/campusrj)

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