Conference enriches student affairs staff
Archived article from Nov 21, 2005
By Ashanti M. Alvarez
Vasti Torres, an associate professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, studies the college student experience. But she may have to set her research sights on Rutgers. “It never dawned on me you would have five residential colleges, four campuses, three locations in New Jersey. All you need is two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree,” joked Torres, who is also chair of the department of higher education and student affairs at IU. “I may have to come back and do a case study on this place, it’s so unusual.”
Torres was the keynote speaker at the ninth annual Student Life Conference held Nov. 11, an event for student affairs and academic support professional staff across Rutgers University. Torres’ talk was based on her research into the academic success and retention of first generation Latino students, but the address provided a common-sense approach to advising all students.
“Because of her excellent work as a scholar and contributor to ACPA [American College Personnel Association], ACPA recently asked her to run for president of the organization,” said Gregory Blimling, vice president for student affairs at Rutgers. Blimling met Torres when they both served on the editorial board of the Journal of College Student Development.
The Student Life Conference is a daylong event. About 210 people attended. Besides the annual talk – Blimling was last year’s keynote speaker – student affairs offices highlight their work in poster displays and staff members attend topical sessions ranging from standard student affairs concerns to emerging areas to practical work resources. Some of this year’s sessions were “Advancing Partnerships to Increase African-American Males’ Enrollment and Retention,” “What Students Need to Know Before Taking the New GRE” and “Campus Ministries and the University.”
Torres began her talk by highlighting factors that most influence academic success in
college, such as parental income and educational level, English proficiency and hours worked for pay. “This research focuses on deficiencies. It doesn’t tell us what we can do,” Torres said. “It gives us an excuse for explaining students’ failure.”
Torres has been developing strategies to help the most at-risk students. In her research, she has followed the progress of 21 students at Indiana, interviewing them annually. She found it helpful to reconstruct the negative images with which many of these students grapple. At most colleges, a large percentage of service staff are people of color. “If the only place you see yourself is cleaning, you have to wonder, ‘Why should I think I am going to do anything else?’” Torres said.
Providing alternative examples goes a long way, Torres said. She gave an example of a Latina student with a thick accent. “She was convinced that people who did not have accents were smarter.” Torres said that after she pointed out powerful people with accents, such as Mexico President Vicente Fox, “the next year, she was much more confident. When a student feels they are not going to do well, they need to see someone who has made it.”
Torres offered several solutions for reaching out to and encouraging students at risk of leaving college. Creating small climates is important, a job Torres said Rutgers does well, with residence halls, cultural centers and themed learning communities.
Structured experiences that help students develop and grow are also pivotal throughout a student’s college career. “We do a great job that freshman year,” Torres said. Sophomore year, however, can pose challenges as well – it’s a time when many students change majors and rethink their career paths. “It’s important we create these structured experiences that go beyond freshman year,” she said.
Student affairs professionals who may have limited experience with different cultures should increase their “multicultural competence,” Torres said. “Even though you can get information, until you get out of your comfort zone and experience something different, it’s not the same. It’s going to help you be a better practitioner in the long run.”
Student advisers also need to rethink their approach. Torres said that most advisers assume students trust their advice, come for help at the appropriate times, and prefer to talk to an adviser rather than get information from printed materials. “Most first generation students don’t understand advising,” Torres said. “They have no idea why you are there. They look to peers and pamphlets. They would rather look stupid by themselves than in front of you.”
Toward the end of her well-received talk, Torres told the audience that college staff members have a precious role. “Even if you are not an academic adviser, you are an adviser. You are an adviser every time a student walks into your office, and we need to remember that.”
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