On The Campus: Frat Boys at Bay
Rethinking Colgate University’s Residential Vision
Rethinking the New Vision for Resident Education at Colgate University
Adam Weinberg, dean of the college at Colgate University, in the Chronicle of Higher Education (Sept. 2, 2005) details his prescription as to how colleges can produce a better product – not academics, not intellectual diversity, but rather the socially-conscious graduate.
Here are excerpts and comments (in bold) from Tim Sanford, chairman of Students & Alumni for Colgate, Inc.
Adam Weinberg: “Colleges could significantly increase the depth and breadth of student learning if they dropped out of the amenities arms race and instead became more intent on capturing the educational moments that take place outside the classroom.”
Tim Sanford: Weinberg seems only to value those “educational moments” under the control of the college administration. Since when is it the responsibility – and within the purview - of higher education to “capture” the life experiences of students outside the classroom?
AW: “By the 1990s, that trend had led to an explosion of student-affairs offices and departments, charged with managing programs, residential units, cultural centers, campus safety, career services, and virtually all other nonacademic aspects of campus life.”
“The student-services model has allowed colleges to
become more open and welcoming to students from all backgrounds and helped
us cope with the increase of students arriving on campus with learning
disabilities, emotional and social problems, and psychological disorders.”
“By hiring so many trained professionals, we have robbed students
of opportunities to learn through their own problem solving.”
TS: Weinberg recognizes the problem but insists that the college should do more of it – “capturing the educational moments that take place outside the classroom.” The Nanny State mentality prevails.
AW: “Yet some colleges are experimenting with new residential models that focus on educating students…Students run their own dormitories through “consensus agreements” and work together to set standards, hold one another accountable, and make decisions about daily life.”
TS: Sounds like a fraternity or sorority. These “residential models” have for years required students to plan, budget, clean, maintain, govern, administrate, discipline and be accountable for the way they lived together. Yet, at Colgate University, where half of the alumni were in a Greek-letter organization, and one-third of the current undergraduates are members, the administration is hostile to the merits of fraternal living.
AW: “At Colgate University, we have built on those models by reframing our student-affairs program around the notion of “residential education,” to take advantage of learning opportunities that occur outside classes.”
TS: There is a presumption that the learning opportunities were lost before the college captured them. Students take advantage of “educational moments” without the direction of the administration in a way that that is most useful to themselves.
Such oversight requires greater control and supervision by faculty and administration. Students at Colgate have largely responded by simply ignoring the voluntary seminars. For social events, the college offers the carrot of funding. But the required paperwork and a mandatory presentation to a “Community Council” for approval gives students an incentive to plan their activities without the paternalistic permission of the college.
For students in fraternities or sororities, the sanctions for not playing the administration’s game is, by the policy of the Board of Trustees, suspension or expulsion.
AW: “The growth of student organizations with access to large amounts of money generated by activities fees has led to an explosion of poor-quality student-affairs programs. Students often respond to the overflow of programs by tuning out or by ignoring them altogether: Attendance at many programs is low, which not only wastes money but also sends a message to other students that it is not “cool” to attend such events.”
“We now emphasize creating fewer programs, ones that actually serve educational purposes. Our staff helps the groups identify what they hope to accomplish, find ways to make the programs more interactive, and encourage people to attend the event.”
TS: Weinberg speaks from experience at Colgate. The fallacy, of course, is that the college is the arbiter of what activities are planned. It is Weinberg’s team that determines whether an experience was valuable to students. Such patronizing and arrogant judgments – the “We know what’s best for you” mentality actually stifles the maturation of young adults.
Colgate boasts that its undergraduates are an exceptional cohort of young people – and indeed they appear to be given their SAT scores, GPAs, sporting accomplishments, and hours of community services. Why does the college feel compelled to “mold young minds” to their worldview? Or are they really as dysfunctional as he suggested earlier? In which case, does it make sense to spend $40,000+ a year for therapy and babysitting?
AW: “Our theme houses are becoming strong communities that anchor our campus life.”
TS: In an effort to make students feel comfortable with their environment and promote long-term friendships, Colgate theme houses are designed as residences for students who want to live with others who share a common interest or background - Asian, African-American, Latino, homosexuality, creative arts, sports etc.
Why was the Italian and French Theme House closed? What new houses were opened? Fraternity and sororities are “theme houses” that have always been strong communities. Why are the Greek-letter theme houses singled-out for sanctions – particularly when criminal violations are rampant at University owned housing, but almost negligible at fraternities and sororities?
AW: “We should train resident assistants to neither police nor indulge other students but to be community organizers who encourage innovation and teamwork. Since in reality we exist within a tightly networked society, we all need to learn to work, live, and learn together.”
TS: Learning opportunities are at the core of the Greek life experience. And, it’s not faculty or administration fixing problems, it’s students learning through life experiences what works, what doesn’t and taking the responsibility and consequences for themselves. Within the Greek-letter houses however, the “community coordinator” is a paid employee of the administration who acts as the eyes and ears and who supplants the elected leadership of the fraternity or sorority.