The Pulse September 2016

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

SEPTEMBER 2016

2016 RESIDENCE LIFE CONFERENCE AT TRENT UNIVERSITY OCTOBER 21 - 23, 2016

THE PULSE

Board of Directors PRESIDENT

CONFERENCE DIRECTOR

Daryl Nauman

Sara Wills

York University dnauman@yorku.ca

Carleton University sara.wills@carleton.ca

PRESIDENT-ELECT / FINANCE DIRECTOR

CORPORATE PARTNER RELATIONS DIRECTOR

Amanda Ziegler

Jessica Nayda

Brock University dnauman@yorku.ca

University of Guelph jnayda@uoguelph.ca

PAST PRESIDENT

SENIOR-LEVEL MEMBER AT LARGE

Julie West University of Guelph jwest@uoguelph.ca

Christopher Lengyell University of Toronto Mississauga christopher.lengyell@utoronto.ca

COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR

MEMBER AT LARGE

Brian Cunha

University of Waterloo mary.stefanidis@uwaterloo.ca

University of Toronto brian.cunha@utoronto.ca

Mary Stefanidis

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

MEMBER AT LARGE

Tammy Douglas

Nipissing University genevied@nipissingu.ca

York University douglast@yorku.ca

Genevieve de Bryun

MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATION MANAGER

Hilary Jandricic

OACUHO info@oacuho.com

Carleton University hilaryjandricic@carletonu.ca

Carol Ford

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Okay, let me preface this by stating the potentially obvious, I'm biased, but as I reflect on the last few months I suspect there are few departments on our campuses that work as hard as we do leading up to the start of the academic year. There are rooms to turnover, last minute residence applications to process, move-in packages and keys to prepare, not to mention student staff training that often consumes our Residence Life staff.

Why do we do it? It is the pride we have in our work. It is our passion to provide a residence environment and experience where our students feel welcomed, supported and that positions them for success from move-in all the way to graduation. We know that starting off on the right foot is so important for our students related to their persistence at college or university. It is also important for us to begin our relationship

with them on the right foot as those initial experiences shape their perspectives and can influence the type of community member they become. The dedication leading up to move-in and during the weeks that follow will pay off tenfold both for our students and for us.

So as we near the Thanksgiving Day long weekend, I encourage you to enjoy some muchdeserved downtime and take the opportunity to give thought to what you are grateful for in your life. From an OACUHO perspective, I am grateful for all the work going into the Residence Life Conference hosted by Trent University, as well as the work being done by Humber College to host our Fall Business Meeting. These will be great events, and I look forward to seeing many of you there!

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

2

in house

RESEARCH

with Research Writer Aman Litt

What is our job at Settlers?

I

had the absolute privilege of having a very eye opening learning opportunity while speaking recently with Seán Kinsella (nêhiyaw/Nakawē/Métis/Irish) who works at the University of Toronto Mississauga in Student Housing, is a Professor in Indigenous Studies at Centennial College, and one of the Co-Chairs for the CACUSS Aboriginal Student Services Assembly (NASSA). I initially came into the conversation hoping for some information about programming ideas for our Aboriginal students and how to better support our Aboriginal students in Residence. Simple start, right?

The conversation we ended up having was so much more complex meaningful than I had initially intended. In this article, I will be

3

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

discussing about a quarter of what Seán and I discussed and it is intended to be a preparatory article, basically what to read and research prior to the next related article.

Prior to our conversation, Seán had sent me a great amount of resources to look through, but as I read through the material, my frustration grew. All of them had to do with American institutions and I felt, at the time, that the Canadian situation is so much different than the American one; we don’t have the racial issue in Canada that the States does. Seán agreed with me that our situation is not comparable to the issues of our Southern neighbours, but our issues are a l l t h e s a m e t i m e s t i l l d i f fi c u l t a n d troublesome.

We will get into that conversation into a bit.

IN HOUSE RESEARCH

He agreed with me that further research needs to be done about Indigenous students living in Canadian Residences. He acknowledged that there are limited resources about Canadian schools. Seán also acknowledged during the interview that what we were talking about was based on his own limited knowledge and his perspective and experience, and should not be taken to be the perspective, opinions, or views of all Indigenous folks. He also acknowledged the teachers that his knowledge has come from and expressed gratitude for those who have taken that time for his own learning.

includes the Indian, Inuit, and Métis people of Canada”. Aboriginal is a constitutional term and is an older term. Seán explained to me that terminology itself, is a very large and complex issue; one that I hope to further divulge into in the future.

As you can see, from my shallow initial question, our conversation did not go down a path I had originally anticipated and I am so glad it did not. In our almost two hour conversation, I learnt so much and felt so excited about how much there is I can learn and help others learn, from the educational session I was being provided by Seán.

The first stop in our conversation was when Seán asked me to elaborate on my terminology. He asked me why I was using the term ‘Aboriginal’. I immediately felt a slight fear of ignorance, ‘was this an incorrect term?’, which ‘title’ should I use? I immediately felt illequipped for the forthcoming conversation, which I was, but not in the way my original fears triggered. He explained, as someone who identifies as Indigenous, that Aboriginal is not a term he uses; it is a government issued title and identity.

Let us go back to the larger issue Seán mentioned of Canada, Canadian universities and our potential goals with our Indigenous student population. As I explained, in many of the resources Seán provided me, it was a comparative of American institutions and multiple minority groups in living learning programs (LLP). These LLP’s were all separated by race, so there was a Hispanic LLP, an African American LLP and an Indigenous LLP (Sholton et al., 2013). I told him, that I could not imagine segregating and isolating cultural groups in such a way within our Residence and when we are discussing our Indigenous students, I feel the same way.

What I was struggling with was a vantage point opinion; I was only looking at academic success and personal well-being from a specific way of living. What I was seeing as segregating students is not always as black and white as that.

Seán explained to me that he prefers the term Indigenous, an academic term and one that has been embraced in a more internationally inclusive way including it’s use in the UNDRIP (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples). He explained that when one is using terms to describe Indigenous peoples that do not come from their own languages they must do their best to understand the language they are using and who they are defining under said titles. From that point on in the conversation, I decided to use the term Indigenous, unless I was intentionally using another term, for learning purposes.

As an example the term Aboriginal comes from the 1982 Constitution; Section 35 (2) states that “In this Act “aboriginal peoples of Canada”

I was then gently informed and educated on the fact that our Indigenous student population cannot be seen the same as our international students or first generation students because their circumstance is different. They are a minority of their own country, unlike an individual who travels from another country, within which they are, typically, the majority, and are the minority here. Therefore, our Indigenous students have different and unique

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

4

IN HOUSE RESEARCH

to all other individuals on our campus. This is an issue we will further explore in a future article.

Unlike many of our international students, there is a very dense, dark history that we all need to take the time to properly and respectfully understand. Suppression, repression and assimilation, we all need to work together to correct the wrongs within Canada; to make Canada, Canada, for all who reside within it.

We then started the discussion of the issues, concerns, apprehensions and traumatic stress related to living in Residence for our Indigenous students. The last Residential School closed down in Canada in the late nineties, 1996 (Puxley, 2015). When our Indigenous students come to University, their families may have extreme apprehension about their child living in Residence Seán explained. The overlap between Residential Schools and living in Residence is a difficult topic, but a topic nonetheless one that needs to be discussed and explored further. We cannot be conforming or contorting our Indigenous students to follow a Residential system based on a Eurocentric ideation of the world Seán made clear.

As Seán said, “It all starts with understanding treaty and our relationship to it and each other”.

Do we all understand what treaty is? As Canadians? We have a responsibility, a responsibility, that I will personally admit, that I have not abided by. There is a power dynamic in Canada that we must quit ignoring, rather than avoiding an uncomfortable situation.

I also asked Seán how we can open up the dialogue about Indigenous students and how to properly support our students. I admitted to him that sometimes I feel, because I am ignorant on the situation, that I am afraid to ask, in fear of being offensive or rude. That in itself, is one of the problems I am hoping this article will have us start thinking about. If we are not adequately educated about the history of Indigenous people, how can we effectively manage their academic and personal opportunities while in Residence?

The Indigenous population has a very strained relationship with what us settlers call Canada.

Our Canada is not their Canada and we should never assume that it is.

Seán also explained to me, that how we prepare for our International students, is not so far away from our Indigenous population. Many Indigenous students, particularly from small or remote communities may have a cultural shock at being in relatively urban centres for the first time, and additionally may be coming from places where English is not their first language.

“What are our priorities as an institution?” Seán asked me this and I’m echoing him and asking all of this. What is our goal? What is our priority? Until we can clearly answer these questions, with our Indigenous students in mind, the idea of discussing programming opportunities is immature.

5

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

Seán also discussed understanding the historical reality for Indigenous people including the Indian Act. What is it? Have I read it? When was it last revised? Do I know the difference between Inuit, Métis and First Nations and where these terms come from? Do I understand about Residential schools and the full ramifications that happened? Do I know about and understand the Doctrine of Discovery? What is the RCAP, and do I understand it? What about the TRC? Not only was the conversation challenging, but it was

IN HOUSE RESEARCH

enriching on understanding what gaps in my knowledge need to be filled. Not from only a professional perspective, but from a personal perspective and especially as a Canadian. I am also extending the challenge to you, so that hopefully, when we start to delve deeper into this subject, we will have all read the Indian Act and have a clear understanding of what it outlines.

to Indigenization. That is not a simple situation or one that is easily accomplishable. It is about understanding Indigenization and learning to work with and not for Indigenous people regarding creating collaborative measure.

This is an issue which is not easily digestible, nor one that I feel comfortable completing within one article. I will continue to do my personal responsibility, as a Canadian, to continue to learn more about the history and for my professional career, continue to learn on how to work collaboratively together, with more than my worldview kept in mind. Please make sure to read the Treaty within which your institution lies and we will continue this enriching conversation in future articles. Firstly though, we must all better understand our country’s history, so that we may join in on the critical conversation. Only then can the day to day goals, such as programming for our Indigenous students, be a manageable discussion.

By understanding the Indigenous cultures and worldviews we can better support our Indigenous students in Residence, to ensure their academic and personal success.

The discussion then went into Treaty and the respective Treaty lands all of our institutions reside upon. With understanding the Treaty process, it is also imperative that it is important to understand the parties whom have been excluded within Treaties.

This is just the basics, but we are responsible for understanding them, to be respective Canadian counterparts or our Indigenous students and overall population.

References Once we learn and understand the basic history, and just a snippet of it, because we will never be fully able to empathize, we will be able to start the critical conversation. We are all a part of this larger history. The challenges which we feel apprehensive about openly discussing are a mere drop in the bucket for what Indigenous families have dealt with for generations and will continue to endure.

When we talk about Canada, we have to talk about whose Canada we are talking about.

When we circled back to one of my original, ill-prepared questions regarding how to create better programming for our Indigenous students, we discussed the importance of holding institutions accountable

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, being Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11. Edited by Heather J. Shotton, Shelly C. Lowe, and Stephanie J. Waterman ; foreword

by John

L. Garland. (2013). Beyond the asterisk : understanding Native students in higher education. Sterling, Virginia :Stylus Publishing.

Puxley, C. (2015, May 29). Residential school report just the beginning of Canada’s healing: survivors. The Canadian Press.

Sholton, H. Lowe, S.C. & Waterman, S. J. (2013). Beyond the Asterisk: Understanding Native Students in Higher Education. Sterling, Virigina: Stylus.

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

6

Starting September Off on the Right Foot Franco Solimano Manager, Living-Learning University of Waterloo

Summer terms can vary for folks at each institution – for some it might be time to rejuvenate and relax, for others it could mean running a Spring operation. Each institution ultimately has its own way of maximizing the beautiful long days, but there is one common goal that every institution needs to eventually focus on during end of Summer – and that is setting up for the next academic year’s success. September brings about the chance to carry forward the momentum of big summer dreams or projects and turn new ideas into tangible executable action. It’s the best time of year to hit the refresh button, start new initiatives, and apply lessons learned from the previous year.

So how do you ensure you or your institution are starting off on the proverbial right foot with the new academic year and any new initiatives?

7

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

Well, that might look different for each institution and could be dependant on projects. At Waterloo, the summer term for Living-Learning was an ambitious one, and September has been all about hitting the ground running. The LivingLearning team has kicked off the year with a longer-than-usual laundry list of pilot projects and new initiatives – which means an increased focus on ensuring these projects are taking off properly. Here are a few key highlights that Waterloo Living-Learning will be keeping in mind throughout the start of the year to start off on the right foot and continue the positive summer momentum.

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

8

We’ve prepared, we’ve worked hard, but we are still open to facing obstacles and troubleshooting to make improvements. For context, the LLCs offered at Waterloo are all academic, and in an effort to offer stronger LLC experiences, the management team embarked over summer on an ambitious “Mapping Project” to better understand the unique student experiences offered by each of our academic partners. The result is an informative first year guide or “Map” for each LLC that summarizes in major themes how each academic partner would like to support their first year students t h r o u g h o u t t h e y e a r. C o n s u l t i n g a n d consolidating the input and feedback from academic stakeholders was a major part of the work carried out over the summer to create these LLC Maps. However, to truly start off on the right foot this Fall, we need to recognize that there will be September challenges of troubleshooting through the actual use of these maps for the first time. How will these new Maps provide direction for what programming will be offered? Influence what kinds of conversations to encourage? Highlight what types of resources to share with LLC residents?

We can make educated predictions to answer these questions, but actual implementation will provide us with many lessons learned as we try this for the first time. Ultimately, we know this approach will set our LLCs up for success, so our approach will be to remain as open and adaptable as possible to making adjustments when the need arises and as we learn through the process.

9

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

We will involve our fantastic student staff in the evolution of new initiatives. We have seen first hand how student staff are excellent sources of feedback for program improvements.

Our Peer Leaders have proven they can be empowered with freedom and ownership to ‘creatively create’ once they understand the

core “why” behind what you are doing with a new initiative. For our LLC Mapping Project, Peer Leaders are the ones who will be most frequently interacting directly with students and will provide the most powerful feedback about how this new model is impacting the support students are receiving, and where adjustments will be needed.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, o u r n e w Wa t e r l o o Entrepreneurship Residence Connection (WERC) program has developed a brand new student staff position titled “Entrepreneur-inResidence” (EIR) which takes elements of the Residence Don role and the Peer Leader position to create something brand new. These 4 EIRs will offer live-in entrepreneurial mentorship to residents in new ways that are still being explored. And on top of this, they are contributing strongly into the conversation about how their roles can connect residents with the campus entrepreneurial ecosystem. The feedback from our EIRs about their success/ challenges will be invaluable to the development of this new role and to WERC as a new project – which is already navigating uncharted territory for us!

We will integrate, communicate, and collaborate with other working areas. In Housing operations, the success of new projects and initiatives requires multiple stakeholders to be aware of how you program is growing, evolving, and changing. At Waterloo, the Living-Learning Management Team works alongside Residence Life and the Desk Services groups, and communication between all three of these areas is necessary for success. Our monthly Student Development Team Meetings ensures all 25 management staff members across Living-Learning, Desks, and Residence Life have an opportunity to present new initiatives to each other, provide updates on program changes, and keep each other informed of success/challenges. We already know students see our Housing operation as one united front, so it is important that our work and our knowledge of each other’s programs and projects reflects this.

Additionally, for larger operations it’s a good reminder that a Housing department includes projects beyond the scope of what our areas are working on – we need to remember that to succeed, it takes a village!

In addition to the couple of new projects already mentioned, the laundry list of new initiatives in

Living-Learning at Waterloo is extensive, but we are confident that keeping these three main approaches front of mind will help start the year off on the right foot. In sum, we need to be open to adapting and troubleshooting with a positive attitude, we need to invite student staff to remain involved and contribute to new projects, and we need to ensure we are communicating with other working areas to create allies and partners in collaboration.

Perhaps the final piece to keep in mind is that the complete academic year is a marathon, not a sprint. Most of us enter September full of energy and excitement, but remember that it is the only the first of an eight-month cycle – and if it throws you a few curveballs then it can make you feel like the whole marathon might be uphill! Keep your chin up, stay on track, and pace yourself for the full year to set up for success.

Have any additional tips or advice for how you started this year off on the right foot? Or questions about how Waterloo Living-Learning is managing new initiatives? I invite you to connect via email (franco.solimano@uwaterloo) or twitter (@SoliFranco) to share your experiences!

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

10

rlc 20 16 70 @t 5.7 ren 48 tre tu. .10 ntr ca 11 lc2 ex 01 t. 7 6.c 12 om 7

we invite you to TRENT UNIVERSITY for RESIDENCE LIFE CONFERENCE 2016 October 21–23, 2016

Residence Life Conference 2016 | Hosted at Trent University 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, Ontario, K9L 0G2

This time of Year Tammy Douglas Residence Life Coordinator York University

A

lways around this time of year I feel a low hum that starts to build – similar to that of a plane on the runway that is on its way to take off down the tarmac. This hum signals the return of life and excitement to campus as facilities are prepping rooms, student-staff are moving in for their training and everywhere lists are being checked off denoting the project accomplishments over the summer. Soon for York, and already for other schools, the gears will shift into training, and then just as quickly, shift once more into the marathon that is September to April. As I write this I’ve taken a deep breath, like anticipating swimming the length of a pool without coming up for air. Even though this cycle is dependable and the tasks that are done annually, monthly, weekly and daily have a chaotic rhythm to them, I often find myself thinking, “there must be something I’m missing, something I forgot to do.” I go over my list again and find that we’re actually in a good spot – even made improvements since last year!

I would call our summer preparations successful for a few reasons.

1. W i t h s t a ff t u r n o v e r a n d organizational changes underway we’ve been short a few staff with the same, if not more, projects than the previous year 2. We had the whole summer to accomplish our tasks (no pesky strike or conference planning to occupy our time and energy!)

3. We used feedback based on last year’s committee/project debriefs to make improvements 4. R e g u l a r c h e c k - i n s a n d checklists have kept our department accountable even with vacation time scattered among the team More than all of that, at this point this year, we are ahead of where we were at this point last year and that is celebration worthy!

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

12

Always around this time of year I feel a low hum that starts to build – I view the summer as the period of time that I can best use to make September-April run as smoothly as possible – because the only thing predictable in this line of work is that it is unpredictable! Those administrative details that are in the non-urgent/low importance quadrant of my work can all too quickly pile up until they become high urgency/ high importance due to looming deadlines – if these can be checked off the list while the days appear to easily float along then why not get them done?! Need to book space for Don Hiring in January? Do it. Need to order supplies? Stock up now.

Need to submit a proposal? The sooner the better. That room may not be available if you wait. That product may not ship in time. That event or idea may not be approved.

Working 2-3 months ahead of the curve can seem like plenty of time – a ridiculous notion maybe. Some

13

THE OACUHO PULSE SEPTEMBER EDITION

departments work on tasks 8-12 months in advance, some more. If possible within your department, complete tasks that can be done now easily, there will be more time to focus on the important items – like students and staff when they need you in the present.

Now, as I see students returning to campus and greeting friends once more, I feel the excitement building and all of the positivity that is paired with this fresh start. I know that what I do is only a small gear in the clockwork that is the school, but an important gear! All of these preparations are so painstakingly completed to ensure our students are welcomed and cared for upon their arrival. So as this low hum turns into a deafening roar, keep in mind that this is all part of a beautiful cycle. We’ve been here before and April will be here before you know it!

Ontario Association of College and University Housing Officers 312 Oakwood Crt, Newmarket Ontario, L3Y 3C8 
 Telephone: 905-954-0102 Fax: 905-895-1630