Where are you going?

With first-year students required to live on campus next fall, Georgia College & State University will experience another significant change in its culture as it creates unique activities to keep students around on the weekend.

“As the new campus housing makes GC&SU more and more a residential campus, I believe we’ll see more student-generated weekend activities,” Dr. Bruce Harshbarger, vice president for student affairs, said. “The Freshman Residency Requirement will keep a critical mass of students on campus and connect them to one another to a degree that will truly enhance the campus culture.”

For that reason, a group of students, faculty and staff called The Cross-Campus Team (CCT) has been meeting all fall semester to discuss and create activities and programs to enrich students’ overall educational experience at Georgia College & State University.

Dr. Robin Harris, director of the Office of Experiential Learning, said the CCT is designed to encourage maximum input into what the faculty and staff can do to ensure that a total learning environment is provided when first year students are required to live on campus in Fall 2003.

“We have been having extensive discussions about ways we can pool ideas, responsibilities and resources to meet our common objectives and goals in ways to best benefit the students,” she said. “Although ultimately each student is personally responsible for his or her own education, we want to assure that each student becomes aware of all the resources available to GC&SU and is encouraged and supported in behaviors and experiences which lead to student success.”

The group formed to facilitate increased cooperation among campus agencies and organizations who share the task of working with students.

“The Office of Academic Affairs and the Office of Student Affairs will be cooperating to integrate services, programs and opportunities in order to create and implement the best possible experiences for GC&SU students,” Harris said. “This means sharing ownership and responsibility for programs that have traditionally been viewed as the purview of one area or another in the past.”

Dr. Harshbarger said the CCT is working to identify “in broad strokes the residential programs, options and opportunities that should be highlighted in the 2003 University Housing Contract Booklet.”

“The Cross-Campus Team will meet periodically to outline elements of the residential learning environment at GC&SU that will best facilitate student success and manage the culture change of the campus that results from the Freshman Residency Requirement,” he said.

Most of all, the team wants to help new first year students who are faced with living on campus.

“The transition from high school to college is difficult for many students,” said Dr. Harris. “We want to provide a supportive environment, which helps students negotiate that transition effectively. Doing so requires extensive collaboration between faculty and staff and that is what the Cross-Campus Team is all about.”

Dr. Anne Gormly, GC&SU’s vice president and dean of faculties, first called the group together to begin discussions of the needs of new first-year students.

“I think it is important that faculty, staff and students work together to create the kind of learning environment that is important for student success,” Dr. Gormly said.

One faculty member told the team she has two sections of the same freshman class, one of which is composed of random students and the other of largely Napier students. She said that the Napier-dominated class was remarkably different from the other – their level of interaction and engagement is much higher, the class climate is richer, and their grades seem to be higher. Some faculty members with classes part of a learning community cluster have made use of the extra flexibility the residential population provides.

“Since they know that the students live in close proximity, they often suggest that conversations be continued in the residence hall and find that those extended conversations frequently occur,” Dr. Harshbarger said. “The accessibility of students, faculty and staff to one another and the opportunity to notice and encourage interests are seen as key elements of the expected culture change.”

If the culture is going to change on campus, the campus is going to have to do more for its students. GC&SU students have several ideas as to what may keep them on campus through the weekend.

A survey of more than 200 GC&SU students offered broad suggestions of ways to keep students on campus over the weekend. These included:

”Show movies in the auditorium or somewhere else where you can get a lot of people,” said sophomore Chris Davis.

”Concerts and other such activities could encourage people to stay,” said junior Dwight Schueler.

”Any night activities such as bowling or skating on the weekends with themes,” said senior Leona Gray.

 “I’m not looking for a fun activity; rather I want possible classes to be offered to count towards majors,” said senior Lindsay Jones.

 “There should be more involved things to do like front campus picnics and games,” said freshman Becca Hancock.

 “GC&SU should have Greek organizations plan events for all students to attend,” said senior Crystal Cammon.

 “GC&SU needs more extra curricular activities and cultural programs on the weekends,” said graduate student Meenal Atre.

 “If I were to stay here for a whole weekend, I would want a coffee shop open all hours,” said senior Brian Ullrich.

 “More social functions like concerts or fund raisers or charity work,” said senior Joe Simmons.

 “I think speakers would be interesting,” said junior Jesse Wright.

 “Maybe outdoor events like rock climbing, white water rafting and stuff like that where a group and GC&SU students can go together,” said senior Jill Williams.

 “I think that we should have more live bands on front campus that would help out a lot,” said junior Christy Couey.

 “Maybe bowling or pool tournaments,” said senior Roosevelt Whitney.

 “I would like to like to see more art and poetry events,” said junior Ashley Tinsley.

”Weekend athletic intramurals,” said junior Andrew Scott.

While students continue to suggest the need for a GC&SU football team, many students interviewed suggested more weekend scheduling of intramural activities, in addition to Bobcat athletic events.

 “I think if they did intramurals and other sports events on Friday and Saturday that would make more people stay,” said senior Jessica Sedor.

Coordinator of Intramural and Outdoor Programs Scott McCoy said weekend intramurals would not be impossible; however, there are no plans to change the schedule right now. McCoy said this idea would depend on availability of facilities and people to work. McCoy did note that there are basketball games planned for Sundays in January.

Other students said certain campus services could entice them to stay on the weekends.

“I think GC&SU needs decent dining hall hours on the weekend, like they have during the week, discounts downtown, actual entertainment through the college such as screenings of movies and programs and cheaper laundry service. People go home just to avoid paying for the machines sometimes,” said Karen Page, a senior Theatre major.

Marketing Manager of Dining Services Mike Haun said cafeteria hours are scheduled based on student demand.

“We want to do everything we can to make the students happy, and if there’s enough demand to keep it open longer, we will,” said Haun.

Other students said extended library and lab hours would be helpful in keeping them on campus.

“I think the computer lab hours should be extended,” said freshman Archona Sherchan.

“There should be longer hours at the library and computer lab,” said junior Brian Groover.

University Librarian Bill Richards said the new library was designed so that it can provide 24-hour service for students. He said virtually the entire ground floor, which includes the computer lab area, small group study areas and a coffee shop were designed so that it can be a 24-hour space. Richards said extension of weekend hours will “depend entirely on funding for staff.”

Many students are tempted to go home simply because GC&SU’s location makes it easy for them.

“The convenience of being close to home is probably what makes me go home. If I lived further away, I would stay,” said Kim Bell, a sophomore psychology major.

Dr. Harshbarger said he hopes upcoming changes will help the college to “become the students’ home,” no matter how close the student lives to campus.

“People who have attended a residential liberal arts college are usually profoundly impacted by the experience,” he said.

Dr. Gormly added she thinks “students will stay because other students are staying.”

Many students seem to agree with Dr. Gormly.

“I guess everybody else would have to stay here on the weekends for me to stay here on the weekends. Everyone seems to follow the same trend,” said freshman Matt Newman.

“I think if we make things available to students on the weekend (like food services, library, computer labs, social events), more students will come,” Gormly said.

In-hall programs were another aspect discussed by the team. One idea being considered is the creation of a ‘Faculty Fellows’ program.

Faculty volunteers would be paired with Resident Assistants and provided training and to ‘adopt’ a residence hall.

“They would be invited to hall programs, get to know the residents and serve as resource persons to the residents and their RA,” said Dr. Harshbarger. “A suggestion was made that some apartments or future housing could include facilities for new faculty members who might agree to live on-campus for their first year while looking for permanent housing.”

Drop-in tutorial clinics in the halls were proposed which could include assistance in math, science and an extension of Writing Center support. They discussed alternatives for building a constructive relationship between the faculty and freshman students such as having RA’s function as intermediaries who coordinate activities.

“The observation was made that incoming students might feel less committed to prearranged faculty assignments than ones they could design themselves,” said Dr. Harshbarger. “We also discussed the role of hall councils, in which students might invite faculty to participate with the goal of encouraging freshmen to shape their own residential experience.”

Several students have shown interest in the past success of “Bobcat Nights” and suggested more thumbed activities may tempt them to stay.

“Bobcat nights were definitely a step in the right direction to help keep students on campus during the weekends, but it needs to be bigger and more attractive,” said junior Iheanyi Maduka.

Dr. Gormly said she would support bringing more activities like this to campus as long as students are interested.

“Campuses at which there is a rich, active weekend life are those at which the institution assists students to generate their own weekend activities,” said Dr. Harshbarger. “Major events such as a Bobcat Night or a concert are great building blocks, but the glue that holds the weekends together must come from a variety of interest groups that meet their members’ needs.”

The more than 200 interviews for this story were conducted by the students in Advanced Newswriting and Editing as part of a class project.

In Part Two of our series, the community reacts to student comments. See the Dec. 6 edition of The Colonnade.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 15 2002. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry