This month the SAA Org held a twitter session in which SAA members
participated in a live “tweet-up”. At the event, members would tweet a
response to a series of questions following the theme of international
education. Many of the questions focused on how student affairs
professionals can best support international students on campus. The
event was a great way to connect with other professionals around the
country via social media.
Great Lakes Affiliate of College and
University Residence Halls
(GLACURH)
Rotary Lights
UWL Career Services
MCPA Update
Reflection
Spoken Word
@UWLSAAORG
#saa705
#SAABuddies
#SAAConnect
This November, I acted as the graduate advisor for the 2015 UWRF GLACURH delegation! I am on
a committee in Residence Life that works with RHA, so I was so excited to see more of what these
student leaders can do.
The theme for GLACURH at Saginaw Valley State University was “Back to the 90s” so we took a
tongue-in-cheek approach and made it the 1890’s! This was kicked off by our roll call, a dance to
“Maple Leaf Rag” using top hats and canes. After the fun began, I sat in the boardroom for a bit,
to get experience with how GLACURH works administratively. It was very interesting being
“behind the scenes”, and seeing what our student delegates do.
Saturday was a day filled with programs. I helped our students put together and set up their
programs, attended other programs, and attended Advisor Resource Training (ART) sessions. I am
excited to bring these experiences back to RHA at UWRF!
The banquet was a great way to wrap up the weekend. The highlight of our night was when
UWRF RHA Advisor and Residence Life Area Coordinator Bill Lenarz won Advisor of the Year at
the GLACURH level! We are so proud of him and thankful for everything he does for us, and I am
so proud of our students for putting together a winning bid. GLACURH 2015 was an amazing
weekend, and I know that our students walked away with helpful leadership experience and
memories to last a while.
Roughly 75% of the world’s population suffers from Glossophobia or the fear of public
speaking. The prospect of interviewing for an internship or job terrifies most people, but
only through practice can someone get over their fear of speaking or interviewing with an
employer. The Career Services Office, which is located in 1140 Centennial Hall, offers a
number of services to improve a student’s interviewing skills. Students may make an
appointment with a Career Counselor to have a Mock Interview. A Mock Interview includes
the counselor asking a series of general interview questions and then giving feedback. If
scheduling an interview is not possible, students can access Interview Stream through their
Eagle Opportunities account, which can be found on the Career Services website. Interview
Stream allows a student to either create their own set of interview questions or pick from a
database of already established interviews. An automated, CGI employer will then ask an
interview question and the student will then give their response while being recorded. The
student can then watch their interview and be able to see how well they did and what they
still need to work on to improve their interviewing skills.
This year the SAA on-campus cohort
maintained the tradition of helping set up
the Rotary Lights downtown in La Crosse’s
Riverside Park. This year, six SAA Org
members helped put up approximately 100
trees, in addition to a few other tasks! This
volunteer opportunity is one of the
organization’s main fundraising events. For
helping set up the Rotary Lights, we were
able to decorate a tree along the sidewalk.
The tree (pictured to the left) is a fun way for
SAA students to help promote the SAA
program to the La Crosse community. Even
though it was fairly cold, second year
students said the weather was much better
than last year.
Hello from Central Minnesota everyone! I am a second year graduate student in the fullyonline SAA program through UWLax. Aside from homework and course readings, I work as
the Academic Support Center Coordinator at Anoka Ramsey Community College in Coon
Rapids, Minnesota. I coordinate tutoring services for the Academic Support Center, as well
as supervise over 25 student tutors.
As both a full time student, and a working professional, I cannot stress enough the
importance of getting involved in a professional organization. We hear it in our classes,
(some of us) are told about opportunities at work, but finding an organization that fits your
needs can be difficult. I recently was appointed to one of the Graduate Liaison positons on
the Minnesota College Professionals Association (MCPA) Board of Directors. This position is
responsible for outreach to graduate programs, and coordinating events for undergraduate
students, graduate students, and professionals at various events throughout the year.
Through this role I have been able to network with other graduate students, hear about
their experiences in different programs, network with professionals, and feel like I am a
part of something. While this organization is not the largest, it remains affordable and
relevant to my daily work as a working
professional and a graduate student.
I know that I have sent out information
via email, I wanted to use this
opportunity to again invite anyone to
join MCPA. I realize that many of you
might be residents of Wisconsin, but
there are several of us that live or work
in Minnesota, or some of us that realize
an organization based primarily in the
Minneapolis/St. Paul area might have
more events closer to our area than
similar WI organizations. For more
information, please visit
www.mcpa4you.org or contact me at
atkinson.laur@uwlax.edu.
On November 16, 2015 a group of students at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse organized a
solidarity protest march for the students of color at the University of Missouri. The protest was
organized by a group of undergraduate students who call themselves No More Broken Spirits (No
More B.S. for short). This group organized a march that included silent protests through the floors
of several academic buildings as well as louder protest throughout the campus streets where we
chanted “Black Lives Matter”, “No More Broken Spirits”, and “United We Stand Divided We Fall”.
After an hour of walking through campus we gathered in a small field where several students of
color explained how institutionalized racism was hindering their academic progress at this
institution. Their personal stories of both overt and covert racism both inside and outside of the
classroom really allowed me to reflect on my experience as a person of color in higher education.
As someone who identifies as an African-American man I thought it was very important for me to
be there to support these students. Oftentimes students of color don’t turn to student affairs
professionals because most of us don’t look like them and most of us do not share their
experiences. If we show up to their events and hear what they have to say they will be more likely
to come to us when they have experienced racism on this campus. The protest has led to a lot of
conversations about race these past few weeks. Last week Chancellor Gow sent out an email that
stated he has had conversations with several students of color who requested more recruitment
of faculty of color, more recruitment of students of color, and more culturally competent
classroom spaces.
Lastly, this protest reminded me that with progress
comes resistance. Although this was a peaceful protest
there were several students who were upset about the
protest. They didn’t understand why this was such a big
issue or why we were protesting. Essentially they didn’t
understand why we were mad. Around this time a year
ago I wrote a spoken word piece about Ferguson and
racism in America that I still thinks is applicable today.
We need to have the tough conversations about racism
in America not only for ourselves, but for our students
who need to feel safe on their campus. Below is the
piece I wrote last year that illustrates struggles we are
still having both on our campuses and in our society.
La Crosse has its problems, I get we’re not perfection
But we also aren’t Ferguson so where is the connection
As I precede through this dissection of my internal reflection
I’m really sick and tired of this systematic rejection… Why am I mad?
Because I live in a society where White is always good and Black and Brown are always bad
“But Charles… I’m not racist and talks like this make me glad”
And I respond but it’s hard to understand a racial oppression that you never had… Why am I mad?
Because as I look at Black history, there certainly is no mystery
That the slavery and hypocrisy is a perpetuation of my misery… Why am I mad?
Because I live in a society where racism is invisible, in high school’s it’s not teachable
When you define it as the KKK and not a system of oppression than equality is not reachable
And as I sat and watched no indictment my response was “unbelievable”…
A young black man’s life was taken not lost that’s a fact…
And all I heard from the police statement was Darren Wilson we got your back
Why did you wait until the night… just to wipe it under the rug?
Why was the picture painted in the media not of Mike in a cap and gown but of a “thug”?
Why am I mad?
Because honestly… that could have been me.
There’s a subconscious fear of the Black man… Why can’t you see? Me
And in terms of the protest we need to keep the focus
These aren’t people who are crazy these are people who are hopeless
And as for racism…how do you fight a mindset that is justified with privilege
Institutionalized in this country that paints a White America image
And that’s not just Ferguson, that’s right here in La Crosse
This is an issue for everybody, we can’t afford another loss
This really pains me, I swear it hurts my heart
But I learned in America, if you’re Black it’s okay to be mad but you also have to be smart
We need to step away from social norms that teach oppression and dominance
We exist in two realities, exist in that double consciousness
Learn to respect the difference learn that cultural competence
Let’s have the hard conversations, make each other promises
Know it won’t be easy, but that’s what we need to do
So as I close the question isn’t why am I mad… the question is why aren’t you?