Hanging with Friends in DC

Erica and I had the opportunity to meet up with an old friend (and meet a new friend) in DC last weekend. Tim is a friend (I guess he's technically not an old friend, but when you switch jobs every two years like me, friends become old ones fast) from Kettering. We were both Research Assistants at KF, and now he's in his Ph.D. program at Cornell. This is the same school that Andy Bernard went to. He was with his girlfriend, Ellen, who is pictured, too.

It's easy to see why Tim and I are such good friends. We both have the same sense of fashion, and we both don't shave very much. We also have a penchant for hating Glenn Beck.

Moratoriums in Student Affairs

I've been thinking a lot lately about things I'm growing tired of in the field of student affairs. Maybe it's just the end-of-the semester fatigue/frustration that many student affairs folks feel at this time of the year (and probably even more so for doctoral students), but I'm becoming increasingly frustrated and mildly irritated by certain things in student affairs. I understand that it's difficult to break old habits and change language, so my suggestion is we place a one-year moratorium on the following two things for the good of our profession and the sake of my sanity.

1. Diversity Metaphors - Diversity work is hard enough without the complication of tired, stupid metaphors (e.g., crayons in a box, rainbow, symphony, orchestra, stir fry, mosaic). Yes, I understand that you may like said metaphors, but it muddles the meaning of diversity, downplays important concepts, and it isn't working. Plus, it irritates many students. Let's refocus our work on exploring and teaching the nuances sans metaphorical organizing mechanisms.

2. The term, or any variation of the word "para-professional" - Graduate assistant is not synonymous with paraprofessional. I don't even know what a paraprofessional is to be honest, but it sounds like something you could sign up for from late night tv to obtain a certificate online for. Just because grad students are 20 hours doesn't mean we need some sort of qualifier in front of our title. We never say "Student Affairs Paraprofessionals," so why do we say it in the singular? I think it's destructive and degrading to graduate students who do just as good (if not better) work than full-time professionals. (Incidentally, this doesn't happen in my office... it's very supportive, so this one isn't autobiographical in any way.)

Hopefully these are helpful. I doubt they get any traction in the field, but I hope that they get some chuckles. Do you have any others?

Old Photos

One of the coolest things about Facebook is the way in which other people can upload photos and "tag" you in them so they show up in your profile. This process often takes the form of getting together with a bunch of friends who are on facebook, taking pictures at the event, and having them uploaded a few short hours later. But every once in a while, someone with a box of old photos and a scanner upload some old photos from way back when. Case in point: My first grade class photo, a picture from a first grade play, and the last day of school in the sixth grade.






A few things to note. One, my fashion sense has progressed only mildly. Second, my hairstyle has remained remarkably consistent over the years, too.

A Day of Emotion

I just learned that as of a few hours ago, my brother, Scott, boarded a plane bound for the US from Afghanistan. After spending some fourteen months there, this day seemed like it would never come -- I can't imagine what he must be feeling.

Only a few months after my brother got married, he departed for Afghanistan as part of the United States ongoing battle with terrorism. He spent his days and nights trying to keep safe in the thick of the fight. He was able to come visit some of his soldiers at the mid-tour point here at Walter Reed hospital in Washington, DC, including one of his friends who had been seriously wounded and is now wheelchair-bound. Erica and I were able to spend some time with him that weekend, and it will forever be one of the most memorable late night pizza dinners on a Friday evening I'll ever experience. I could tell that the weight of a world was upon him, and I couldn't imagine how he was reconciling having to go back for another six months.

Shortly after his visit here, we learned that his platoon would be featured on 60 minutes. On October 19, 2008, Erica and I huddled close to the TV to watch the most gut-retching thirteen minutes of TV we've ever seen. There's something about watching your brother get shot at on TV that will do that to a person. (I've embedded the video of the 60 minutes segment on the bottom of this post.)

I know that this day is the culmination of thousands of prayers sent up from family, friends, friends of friends, and people who care for the safety of our fellow Americans who put themselves in harm's way each and every day. Some prayers were sent by name, others were sent in general. Both had a significant impact, I believe. The power of prayer truly is remarkable. I will continue to pray for our troops who remain in harms way, including the 17,000 additional troops that have now gotten the call, in hopes that they, too, return home safely when their day of emotion comes.


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Not a Big Chart Person

Those who know me well know that I am fanatical about leadership, especially as it relates to leadership for social change. And, those who know me really well, know that I am visual/spacial unintelligent (See Howard Gardner's explanation of multiple intelligences to get a better idea of what I'm talking about if you are unfamiliar.)

So, when I come across something that looks to be pretty interesting when it comes to leadership, I always try to learn from it. This, however, sometimes becomes difficult when I have to use my spatial intelligence to understand it. I can usually glean some meaning from such charts, graphs, and diagrams, but sometimes I think it's just a lost cause.

Case in point:



I'm not sure where to even begin with this monstrosity. I think I'll just move on. Any sense you might make of it, let me know.