OACUHO Pulse - Summer 2018

THE PULSE THE NEWSLETTER OF THE ONTARIO ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY HOUSING OFFICERS

SUMMER 2018

Reflecting on our work as professionals, in anticipation of the upcoming academic year

Board of Directors PRESIDENT

CONFERENCE DIRECTOR

Ian Crookshank

Kristin Lennan

Ryerson University ian.crookshank@ryerson.ca

University of Guelph lennank@uoguelph.ca

PRESIDENT-ELECT / FINANCE DIRECTOR

CORPORATE PARTNER RELATIONS DIRECTOR

Valerie Bruce

Shaun McCracken

Ryerson University vbruce@ryerson.ca

Trent University shaunmccracken@trentu.ca

PAST PRESIDENT

ADVANCED-LEVEL MEMBER AT LARGE

Amanda Ziegler Brock University aziegler@brocku.ca

Melissa McNown-Smith

COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR

MEMBER AT LARGE

Lauren Gouchie

Humber College tuba.chishti@humber.ca

University of Ottawa lgouchie@uottawa.ca

University of Waterloo melissa.mcnown-smith@uwaterloo.ca

Tuba Chishti

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

MEMBER AT LARGE

Stewart Grunwell

University of Guelph bingolds@uoguelph.ca

Queen's University stewart.grunwell@queensu.ca

Brian Ingoldsby

MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATION MANAGER

Lauren Silvestro-Arbuthnot

OACUHO info@oacuho.com

Western University lsilvest@housing.uwo.ca

Carol Ford

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Ian Crookshank

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eflection is an essential element to growth and development as is evidenced in several learning theories, notably Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle. However, as “busy” housing professionals, it is often challenging to find time, space, and capacity to appropriately reflect on our experiences. There once was a time when summer marked an extended opportunity to contemplate and discuss but, whether from the nature of my position or the changing nature of our work, I’m now admittedly challenged to do so. In light of this, I’m grateful for the opportunity to put pen and paper, or fingers to keyboard, to let you into that journey in the most honest and earnest way I can.

1. Learning is everywhere and educators are everywhere. At our spring conference we were asked by Dr. Darby Roberts during the closing keynote to consider our role as educators. In the past, I have been challenged by this notion. I agree that in an ideal world we are all educators, however, when a chunk of my day could be spent editing an RFP, drafting a budget, or crafting a policy, I feel pretty far removed from the role of educator. However, when I think about my journey as a person to where I am today I can see how I received (and continue to receive) and participate in education in everything that I do. Most importantly, I have learned from so many people regardless of their position, place in life, or formal educational background. During my youth, as an example, I certainly learned from those in traditional educational roles, but many of the lessons I learned that made me the person and leader I am today came from people who spent their workdays fixing engines, trimming trees, or serving customers in a bank. Learning is truly everywhere.

2. Take a chance and try the uncomfortable. Based on any personality or strengths test I have ever done I’m a pretty big introvert. I compensate by using humour, listening, and when all else fails staying very still and hoping my shirt blends into the wall. Over the past few years, my role at Ryerson has pushed me to be in places where my comfort may be challenged - speaking to a room of 2000+ students can have that effect. Going into my year as President-Elect, I had many doubts, moments of anxiety, and outright fears associated with being at the front of the room without an escape. During the first fall business meeting I told myself I would get through it by

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picturing you all as friends. What I found was that as the meeting and then the year progressed, it was less about picturing a crowd of people as friendly faces but knowing that I was in a place of friendly support. I have been able to find a place of comfort, where I can be myself by pushing myself to be uncomfortable and to place a bit of trust and faith in others.

3. The future of our profession is strong. Over the year, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many members, attend several sessions/programs, and engage with professionals within OACUHO and the broader housing profession in Canada and abroad. I am excited by what I see. I recently had the opportunity to serve as faculty in residence for our New Professionals Training Institute and was privileged to live, learn and reflect with 50 new housing professionals. Their thoughtfulness, intention, sincere desire to learn, and depth of understanding is something that went beyond my wildest expectation.

4. We’ve got work to do. The OACUHO report on ethnic diversity in housing was published shortly after the spring conference. I encourage you all to read it. Here’s the link: https:// oacuho.com/_Library/member_resources/Ethnic_Diversity_in_OACUHO_-_Final_Report.pdf As a leader within our profession I implore you to do so much more than just that. We need to discuss this issue regularly. We need to look beyond our good intentions and well meaning attempts at inclusion and recognize that our profession isn’t really all that inclusive. We have a diversity problem, as in we aren’t that diverse. We are predominantly an association of white, able-bodied, cis-gendered, straight people. An issue that is even more prevalent as you climb up the ranks. As such, we need to be actively reflective. We need to consider who we recruit, how we empower growth and development, what we privilege, who we promote. We need to push each other to do better. We need to authentically see that we have an issue and be intentional in doing better.

I wish you all the best summers possible. One in which you find a balance of time to reflect as wells as complete the daily tasks that make up the work involved in your role.

Best, IC

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#NPTI2018 Reflections Four Residence Life Coordinators from the University of Ottawa attended the 2018 New Professional Training Institute from Sunday, July 15 to Thursday, July 19 at Queen's University, as first-time NPTI attendees, as well as first-time conference attendees. With intentionally-designed learning experiences and plenty of opportunities to connect with other new professionals, Rachel Duchesneau, Cynthia Robillard, Simone Schwartz and Michael Wells all walked away from the conference with new perspectives on the housing profession and a more developed network of peers. Here are their post-conference thoughts: What was your biggest take-away or learning moment from NPTI? RD: For me, the biggest take-away moment from NPTI was realizing the network that we, as Residence Life Coordinators, have amongst our peers, colleagues, and faculty members.

CR: My biggest take-away from NPTI was that as a new professional in this field, I am not alone. It was inspiring to know what sort of ideas and programs other schools have that are different from my own institution, as well as the challenges they face. I met a lot of collaborators that will be very useful resources in the future, and I am confident that this new network will be an asset for my career development.

SS: My biggest take away from NPTI will be the connections and the people. My biggest learning moment was recognizing that you may not have a best practice but there is always a way to develop better practices.

MW: From the session on Approaches to Supervision and Mentorship, learning about intentional 1-1s and how to approach situations from Supervising, Mentoring, Coaching or Advising.

What was your favourite memory from NPTI? RD: My favourite memory was probably the closing banquet. The opportunity to spend time with the entire cohort for three hours in a social setting was a lot of fun and helped to solidify the relationships made throughout the entire conference.

CR: My favourite memory was listening to the session co-presented by Mark Solomon, talking about challenging cases he had to deal with during his career while also approaching the content with a lot of humour. His calm and student-centered approach was inspiring.

SS: You will want to take professional photos but the wind on the boat will be too strong! Thank you for setting up a boat tour, I will never forget that experience!

MW: The socials were all a great way to connect with the other delegates, but I have to say I really enjoyed the escape rooms!

What was the most challenging part of NPTI? RD: The most challenging part of NPTI was probably the amount of material covered throughout the conference. A lot of the sessions were overly saturated in interesting and valuable content that would have been nice to have had broken down a little bit more.

CR: Staying focused and tuned-in without being able to get my usual hours of sleep. On the other hand, I enjoyed every moment and I would not have wanted it to be any different.

SS: NPTI was designed to teach foundational knowledge of student development and this has the consequence of forcing you to ask yourself what are you doing now that you want to do different later. I think this reflection will be invaluable to continuing to work in housing and student life.

MW: The most challenging part was staying rested and wanting to be fully engaged in the evenings.

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How do you anticipate attending NPTI will impact you as a professional?

RD: NPTI has given me some wonderful tools to use, resources to access, and professional development to consider whilst contemplating my professional trajectory.

CR: The fundamental knowledge I learned about residence life during NPTI will be a strong foundation of knowledge and best practices.

SS: I know that my NPTI cohort will be a valuable resource and I am excited to work with them as the future of OACUHO. MW: I learned more about other areas of Housing and where I might want to go further down my professional career.

Would you recommend other new professionals attend NPTI? RD: Absolutely! It was a really wonderful experience and provided me with a lot of information and resources to contemplate. The colleagues met will be valuable support for the year ahead and moving forward.

CR: Absolutely. Being able to learn from others, and having my peers ask questions or talk about subjects that I’m not always familiar with was the best approach for me to obtain this new knowledge. It also provided me with a valuable new network.

SS: Absolutely! Even the most experienced and practiced professional would benefit from NPTI if only for the valuable networking and connections you will make.

MW: Yes absolutely! From the numerous connections you make, from people new to the field and SHOs, the content is designed to be very applicable to the Housing field, giving many different takeaways.

What was your favourite part of Queen’s campus?

RD: Queen’s was a really beautiful campus, a lot of green space, beautiful architecture, and right by the water made for a beautiful and peaceful setting.

CR: The well-preserved buildings on campus created an impressive and inspiring historical feeling.

Admiring that architecture is an experience in itself.

SS: Queen’s has many collegial campus buildings interspaced with stretches of gorgeous greenery. Some of their residence buildings overlook the St. Lawrence River/Lake Ontario which was an impressive view to wake up to each morning.

MW: How close it is to the water!

Any final thoughts or shout-outs?

RD: I really enjoyed Lara Hof as a presenter, she was very engaging, the information presented was informative, but her style kept me interested throughout the entire presentation.

I also enjoyed the presentation by Jen Gonzales and Chad Nuttall, again, really interesting presentation with engaging presenters.

CR: Thanks to the organizers! They went above and beyond for us to have an incredible experience. I am also grateful for the experience I was able to have during the social activity. I felt (L-R): Cynthia Robillard, Simone Schwartz, Rachel Duchesneau like I experienced so much of Kingston as a and Michael Wells whole in such a short period of time.

SS: Shout out to the Queens staff that worked hard to get us from point A to point B every day, connected with facilitators to give us quality content, and took us out to see the amazing nightlife of Kingston. Thank you to the presenters for taking time out of their busy summers and putting together these workshops!

MW: The host campus did a fantastic job of developing a schedule that was a great balance of learning sessions that were engaging and also socials that were fun and let us really explore Kingston!

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Conduct & Mental Health: A Conference Presentation Summary By: Lauren Silvestro-Arbuthnot & Andrew Quenneville Western University

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ngaging a student in a conduct process can be challenging in even the most obvious cases. However, this can be made even more difficult when students navigating a conduct process face challenges with their mental health.

It is important that the conduct processes for these students are procedurally sound, but further, clearly communicated to the student that you are addressing the concerning behaviour, and not the mental health concern.

Here are five quick tips, adapted from the OACUHO Spring Conference Presentation, “Mental Health Street and Conduct Ave.: One of the Busiest Residence Intersections�

1. Clearly Documented Processes It is important that the conduct process is clearly documented in a place that is readily accessible to students. This can aid the student in proactively understanding your decision making and encourages students to communicate their needs throughout the process.

bandwidth within our teams to only wear one hat.

Creating partnerships on campus can be an effective tool to seek support with challenging conduct processes, especially those where there is a nexus with mental health. Campus colleagues are often eager to lend support and can provide expertise within their area of focus.

4. Be Flexible When student conduct and mental health intersect, it may require exercising flexibility with our processes. While we often provide our students with clearly defined rules of engagement for our conduct processes, those expectations are often rooted in responses to typical student behaviour. We owe it to our students to listen to their needs when they present them to us and to strike a balance between their needs and procedural fairness. For example, does the student require a support person to join them in a conduct meeting, can we provide the student with materials in alternative formats, and is it reasonable to work with the student to proactively create a plan for them to care for themselves upon learning of student conduct outcomes?

2. Wear One Hat 5. Know the Legislation When possible, partner with colleagues to ensure that students understand your role as a fact finder in a conduct investigation or as a support person regarding their mental health. While we all have skill sets that equip us for both conduct and supportive processes, students may find it challenging to parse out those different roles when you are fulfilling both. In our experience, students find the greatest comfort when seeking support from professionals who are not concurrently investigating their conduct and issuing them sanctions.

It is important that we always stay apprised of legislation that may have an impact on the work that we do. It even more critical in times of changing government leadership. Consult with your institution’s legal counsel to ensure that your own policy and procedures align with current legislation and determine to what depth you need to understand the laws in place. Examples of pertinent legislation include: the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Canadian Criminal Code, and Bills drafted by government.

While we can strive to only wear one hat, we also acknowledge that some of us may not have the THE OACUHO PULSE

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Change Leadership and Residence Life: Reflecting on the OACUHO Spring Conference, 2018 By: Stu Grunwell and Wes Forget Queen’s University I remember sitting in the session on Change Leadership during Senior Don training last August and thinking, ‘wow, Wes is crushing it’ (apologies for the dated slang used in my internal monologues).

Historically, our student staff at Queen’s have seemed resistant to change – though some may argue justifiably so – and yet, from sitting in on that session, it was clear that the many changes that were about to unfold were being communicated in just the right way. From building Change Champions of our more senior staff, to engaging them in the why behind these changes, from both operational and student-centric lenses, it really felt that this was different. It felt as though the stories I had heard of our department’s past challenges with programmatic change implementation may not be destined to repeat themselves.

The story begins when Wes, part of a Queen’s contingent, attended CACUSS where he heard David Ip Yam regale the audience with the notion of Change Intelligence and the Kotter model of leading change. The content resonated with Wes, as several changes were about to take form at Queen’s which were going to significantly impact the student staff experience. Moreover, this led to a recollection of some challenges with change implementation and communication that occurred years prior, when Wes himself was a senior student staff member and talks of unionization became the hot gossip around the cafeteria table.

During that time, it was Wes’ opinion that change was not handled effectively and there were more surprises than there were conversations and preparation. There were several outcomes (good and bad) including secret Senior Don meetings, union talks, and the implementation of monthly town hall meetings between Senior Dons and the leadership team, the latter of which still happen to this day.

Now that he had found himself on the other side of the table, Wes felt it was paramount that we think critically about how we position and explain these changes to our student staff, to ensure our team was not only understanding of these changes, but that they were supportive of said changes, too.

Using the Kotter model for guidance, a team of Carmen Law, Melyssa Kerr and Wes got to work on using the tenets of Change Leadership to create a plan and training session for the senior student staff members as they were identified as our change champions. Manager of Operations, Becky Shillington, joined the team as she and Wes planned to co-present the session. Becky, as the employer of the staff, and Wes, as a past student staff member, each shared their perspective on the past struggles with change and how the new changes were going to be handled differently.

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Without going over the contents of the presentation itself, suffice to say that, as a participant in the original session, I found it to be not only immediately successful, with our Senior Dons showing great appreciation for the motivation behind our departmental changes, but, more importantly, the session seemed to have a lasting impact. When experienced staff questioned our new approaches to community management, for example, the Senior Dons were there to talk them through the impact on the role, how such approaches may benefit their students, and how such changes may better serve to increase a sense of balance in one’s role as a Don. Through engaging with our Senior Dons via the tenants of Change Leadership, Wes et al. were able to encourage reflection amongst our staff on how they process change, and, more importantly, develop an understanding amongst our senior team of how a balanced approach to change implementation that engages the head, hands, and heart can better serve one’s understanding and acceptance of change.

Fast forward to the Spring Conference, and it is safe to say that our presentation went spectacularly off the rails in the best way possible. I suppose I should have expected this, having known for a while that Wes can be quite the compelling story-teller, but suffice to say that his raw, honest, and emotional recollection of past challenges with change did well to engage and challenge our colleagues to reflect on how we can best support our student staff through change implementation. After all, it is often our front-line staff that bear the brunt of executing the strategic changes developed by those in leadership positions. As the presentation became something more of a discussion on navigating change at Queen’s and our colleagues’ institutions, one theme that continued to emerge was the importance of humility in our roles as professional staff. Often, I will suggest to student staff that ‘I have as much to learn from them as they do from me.’ I’m really good at saying that; I’ve endeavoured to challenge myself to embody that position more regularly, which can be difficult to do at times when, ultimately, we as a professional team develop a plan, but the student staff execute it. That’s where the humility comes in – to acknowledge past mistakes, to open a dialogue with our student staff to foster a sense of a shared vision and commitment to its ongoing execution. Ultimately, we trust our student staff to be there for our residence students through some challenging times – they are our first responders to most crises after all. Throughout this past year, we’ve learned to expand our circle of trust with them to include discussions of vision, the process of change, and to recognize that we’re not perfect, but that we’re going to keep trying to be better.

Stewart Grunwell, Residence Life Coordinator, Queen's University

Wesley Forget, Residence Life Coordinator, Queen's University

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Indigeneity & Expectations of Labour By: Savannah Sloat (Haudenosaunee, Six Nations of the Grand River and English/Scottish), University of Toronto, St. George & Seán Kinsella (nêhi(th/y)aw/otipemisiwak/Nakawé/Irish), University of Toronto, Mississauga This year we decided to take a vulnerable step and present at the annual OACUHO Spring Conference. For many, this may not seem particularly significant. As Student Affairs professionals, we are often expected to present at conferences we attend and to add to the field of Student Housing this way. What made it different for us was the topic, specifically speaking about Indigeneity and the way it functions within a Student Housing context.

There is some research that highlights the tensions between Indigenous worldviews and Student Affairs (Martin, S.C. & Thunder, A.L., 2013: Springer, M., Davidson., C. E., & Waterman, S.J., 2013) including several stories in the most recent issue of the Communique (including “Indigenizing CACUSS: A Conversation about Moving Forward” Shallard & Kinsella, 2018) but this is also a field that needs additional study and resources. Additionally, as the Ethnic Diversity in OACUHO report(1) from the association indicates, the number of Indigenous professionals working within the field who self-identify as Indigenous is almost statistically insignificant due to how low it is (according to the OACUHO Project Update: Ethnic Diversity presentation at the Spring Conference, there are currently 2 professionals who filled in that survey who are willing to selfidentify).

This means that much of the labour of educating the association falls on the shoulders of both of us as folx who are higher profile and willing to speak about our experiences as Indigenous Housing Pros. With the presentation entitled, “Indigenizing Space & Place: Indigenous Cultural Awareness for Housing Professionals”, we were hoping to have participants rate their

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(1) https://oacuho.com/cgi/page.cgi/ resource-directory.html

level of competency in Indigenous cultural awareness using the CACUSS competencies framework(2), and present a number of articles that are current regarding discussions of indigenization and decolonization at PostSecondary Institutions (PSI). We approached the topic with care, and gave the following preface as part of the presentation: We are going to be discussing some issues and experiences that feel incredibly vulnerable for us as presenters and Indigenous folx that are in a field largely dominated by settlers. We ask that if you feel uncomfortable at times with our comments, or pushed by them, that you sit with that feeling rather than bring it into the presentation with the expectation that we will manage it for you.

We know that when we talked about issues of colonialism, white supremacy, racism, sexism, misogyny, transphobia and/or cissexism in institutional structures that it can make you uncomfortable depending on your intersectional identities and we ask you to sit in that discomfort and interrogate it for yourself (Sloat & Kinsella, 2018).

During the presentation itself we made reference to the challenges that are posed in trying to address large issues like decolonization and a few of the Indigenous perspectives on it.

Readings included Snelgrove, C., Kaur Dhamoon, R., & Corntassel, J. (2014); Tuck, E., & Yang, K. (2012); Landry, A. (2018, January 1); Todd, Z. (2018, May 4) & Cazares-Kelly, G. (2018, April 26). These readings represent (2) https://www.cacuss.ca/files/Competency-Docs/ CACUSS_Student_Affairs_and_Services_Competency_Mo del_FINAL.pdf

important theoretical underpinnings to understanding the debates on indigenization vs. decolonization, but they are by no means meant be fully inclusive. There are brilliant Indigenous scholars doing work on these topics in ways that are quite accessible for anyone working at a PSI. When the evaluations from the presentation were read through, three things stood out. The first is that folx wanted the opportunity to ask more questions, the second was that there needed to be more time devoted to discussion, and the third was that someone had written “very discouraging + too much reverse discrimination a shame” without filling in the rest of the evaluation. We would like to deal with each of these three points, because each has something to tell us about the level of understanding towards Indigenization that currently exists in our field.

Firstly, there needs to be more space to have open discussions around actual level of understanding of Indigenous peoples in the association. There is a tendency within Student Affairs to not want to admit areas that we lack competence. Given the way that Indigenous voices have been rendered invisible, and the lack of education built into the Canadian education system as a consequence of colonialism and white supremacy (Truth and Reconciliation Commission [TRC], 2015), it is understandable that many folx in Student Housing have very little understanding or interaction with Indigenous learning paradigms, or people on a regular basis. This means that the bulk of educating often falls on the shoulders of Indigenous students or Indigenous professionals – and this labour, like that of many marginalized communities – is generally unpaid or additional work to our actual roles.

Secondly, folx wanted more discussion within the presentation without fully understanding the level of labour that is being asked. Leading discussions around your identity and needing to provide proof that you are a human and act as the source of all knowledge for a particular topic is exhausting. As Cazares-Kelly, G. (2018, April 26) notes in speaking about racism she encounters as an Indigenous person in community events:

I am also encountering more and more people of color who are bearing the burden of the demand for representation.

We continuously hear things like, “How can we get a more diverse crowd?” “Why aren’t people of color showing up?”

“People of color need to vote.” Each time I want to scream, “Why would I want to bring my friends of color into spaces like this?”

In this article she also tells the story of confronting a white ally who has said something problematic and the burden she feels to address it (tossing and turning for three days) before actually having a conversation. For the person who made the comment, she likely thought nothing of it, but for Cazares-Kelly this created a major disruption to her life and an agonizing decision – which is all too familiar for Indigenous and scholars and Professionals who are Black or People of Colour. In addition, while we absolutely might have the ability to lead these discussions based on our education (both of us have Masters that have topical relationships to our identities and Seán is actually a Professor of Indigenous Studies at Centennial College), an important question to ask is who benefits from these types of discussions and what additional compensation should be offered. If the assumption is that we should want to do this work as professional development, we would perhaps push back on this a little as functionally most folx are expected to present on and lead presentations on aspects of their job, which under white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, and capitalism is compensated for in a way that speaking about identities is not. In framing our presentation we noted that we intended to focus on the resources as well as ways to build upon the core Indigenous Cultural Awareness competencies, and that this was not a questionand-answer or panel session. However, we found that there was a lot of feedback that implied that participants were disappointed that there was not enough time to address questions or comments. The tension for us exists in wanting to provide direction to colleagues while at the same time avoiding being their direct source of information on indigeneity.

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In conjunction with the inability to ask questions, a couple of participants participants noted that there weren’t any “solid takeaways” from the session, suggesting perhaps that the association is looking for a standard checklist on facilitating the indigenization process.

Indigenous nations, languages, histories, and identities are complex and far ranging; there is no one-size-fits-all checkbox.

Thirdly, the comment that was made about reverse discrimination is important to unpack, especially because it was directed at us as white-coded Indigenous professionals who were specifically doing a presentation in which we were getting folx to do their own labour in a s s e s s i n g t h e i r c o m p e t e n c y. R e v e r s e discrimination does not exist as LaFata (2015) points out: We don't exist in a vacuum in which all groups have equal power. Within every system -- from racism to sexism to classism to body-shaming to heteronormativity to religion and everything in between -- there's a privileged group and there's a disadvantaged group, with the former having all the power and the latter having none of it.

In the case of our evaluation, the individual who wrote it believed enough in their structural power to assert that their discomfort was more important to articulate than our comfort to exist in a professional space. For us, it also meant a debrief after the session and further time spent unpacking the comment and its implications – as well as an email to the President of the association – while we would be willing to bet that the person who wrote it thought nothing more about it. This is also not to say that the person should not have expressed this if they felt it, but rather that it shows the type of microaggressions that we deal with in our field as Indigenous peoples whose identities have been erased and pathologized for over 150 years. The implication of this encounter is the reinforcing narratives of erasure and dismissal of Indigenous identities.

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We had many conversations about this presentation. Before the proposal, we discussed whether or not we wanted to do it in the first place. After the proposal was submitted we mused about whether or not it would be accepted. The presentation went through many iterations and edits, often reframing and rephrasing things in an attempt to mitigate potential feelings of fragility or guilt. Overall, participants were kind in their response, a few reached out to us to make connections, and further conversation, but the impact of the comment regarding “reverse discrimination” had the largest impact. It was an outcome that we had discussed as a distinct possibility knowing that Indigenous voices are consistently disregarded and discredited (Wolfe, 2006; Lawrence, 2003). For us, facilitating a presentation has had a distinct implication as professionals who have now been labelled by our colleague.

In the era of “Indigenization” and “Reconciliation” we are distinctly aware that we need to tread carefully. As we mentioned in our presentation, the perspectives of Indigenous folx on these topics are as varied as the nations we come from.

In terms of asks, what we hope is that fellow professionals would do the work to educate themselves on their own. There are many “Indigenous 101” courses offered through PSI and Indigenous Centres on local campuses that folx can utilize to gain a base level of education around the topic. Learn what the Indigenous peoples of your area historically are. Work to understand that Indigenous peoples live in a colonized state and that the effects of that violence are felt continuously. What treaties cover the territories you live in? What are your responsibilities under them? How can you move past guilt? How can you move past Indigenization as a concept and move toward antiracism as a practical commitment(3)? These are not questions that we are able to answer for you and the work of reconciliation, while often falling to Indigenous peoples, has to be done collaboratively with settlers doing the learning about truth and culture on their own and working (3)https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/02/anti-racism-aslifestyle/

with Indigenous folx to implement policies that are mutually beneficial.

The question to leave you with is how are you doing this in your own practice to ensure you are not having negative impact on Indigenous peoples in your professional practice, especially given the ways that they may not be present or are rendered invisible in your day to day life depending on the institution you are working in.

References Cazares-Kelly, G. (2018, April 26). 3 Things to Keep Me From Rolling My Eyes at Your White Privilege. In Colorlines: https:// www.colorlines.com/articles/3-things-keep-merolling-my-eyes-your-white-privilege LaFata, A. (2015, June 19). Why ‘Reverse Discrimination’ Isn’t Real. In Elite Daily: https:// w w w. e l i t e d a i l y. c o m / n e w s / w o r l d / r e v e r s e discrimination-not-real/1077620 Landry, A. (2018, January 11). Decolonization And Indigenization Will Not Create The Change We Need. In Indigenous Motherhood: https:// indigenousmotherhood.wordpress.com/ 2018/01/11/decolonization-and-indigenizationwill-not-create-the-change-we-need/ Lawrence, Bonita. 2003. “Gender, race and the regulation of Native Identity in Canada and the United States: an overview.” Hypatia 18(2): 3-31.

Jones, Michal MJ. " More Than a Theory, More Than a Trend: Making Your White Anti-Racism a Lifestyle Commitment." Everyday Feminism, 8 Feb. 2015, https://everydayfeminism.com/ 2015/02/anti-racism-as-lifestyle/.

Forward.” COMMUNIQUÉ 18(2), WINTER 2018: 9-10.

Snelgrove, C., Kaur Dhamoon, R., & Corntassel, J. (2014). Unsettling settler colonialism: The discourse and politics of settlers, and solidarity with Indigenous nations. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 3(2), 1-32.

Retrieved from http://www.corntassel.net/ Unsettling.pdf Springer, M., Davidson., C. E., & Waterman, S.J. (2013). “Academic and Student Affairs Partnerships: Native American Student Affairs Units”. Beyond the Asterisk: Understanding Native Students in Higher Education. Stylus, 2013: Sterling.

Todd, Z. (2018, May 4). Indigenizing Canadian academia and the insidious problem of white possessiveness. In Urbane Adventurer: Amiskwacî: https://zoestodd.com/2018/05/04/ indigenizing-academia-and-the-insidiousproblem-of-white-possessiveness/ Truth and Reconciliation Canada. (2015).

Honouring the truth, reconciling for the future: Summary of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Winnipeg: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Tuck, E., & Yang, K. (2012). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1), 1-40. Retrieved from http://www.decolonization.org/index.php/des/ article/view/18630/15554 Wolfe, Patrick. 2006. “Settler Colonialism and the elimination of the native.” Journal of Genocide Research 8(4), December: 387-409.

M a r t i n , S . C . & T h u n d e r, A . L . ( 2 0 1 3 ) .

“Incorporating Native Culture into Student Affairs”. Beyond the Asterisk: Understanding Native Students in Higher Education. Stylus, 2013: Sterling.

Shallard, M. & Kinsella, S.C. “Indigenizing CACUSS: A Conversation about Moving THE OACUHO PULSE

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The Power of Experience Reset By: Tim Lade, Sheridan College When I was seeking out new opportunities at the end of the summer last year, I found myself reflecting on the idea of experience within the student housing field. I had spent ten years already as an RLC, had a tonne of on the ground experience working with residents, student leaders, parents, and colleagues. When I was first looking to start a career in student affairs, I had received feedback that employers were looking for more experience than I had. Now, with a decade under my belt, one of the pieces that I was hearing was that I possibly had too much experience to be an RLC still. A colleague of mine had once shared that had someone shared with them that they were “too old to be an RLC.” Term limits for live-in roles are nothing new, but as I was looking for a new opportunity myself, and I was still loving being a live-in staff member, I was seriously wondering how I could frame my experience so that I didn’t come across a bushel of tomatoes that were past their prime.

A favourite author of mine wrote that “I think the future deserves our faith.” I don’t interpret that as in the religious sense but in the way in which we have gaps in our minds when we have an unknown. We fill it up with the experiences we have from the past. If I am asked in an interview “tell us about a time you handled a critical situation” I am going to fall back on my experience and my story and share what I’ve learned, how that impacted me, and how I want to use that knowledge going forward. The first problem that I previously mentioned though is how do you answer that question without sounding a) too knowledgable b) that you’ll be bored in the job and c) that you are still open to learning and growth. Robert Marzano suggests that, essentially, you can teach an old RLC a new trick by challenging their understanding of the trick. Cognitive restructuring notes that one can adjust their thinking to new theories and ideas by having a teacher or a mentor help shift their thinking out of the old and helping evolve into the new. The way that I’ve wrapped my head around this is thinking that my experience is absolutely valuable but what I’ve learned as a professional 1, 5, or 10 years ago is great foundational thinking but needs to be challenged and helped to evolve by a supervisor and mentor. It does me, nor the students I work with, nor my colleagues or the institution I now work in, no good to come into a new setting and say this is how we did it here and it worked there, so it’ll work here. Being open to learning and growth and allowing your frame to shift to new perspectives is one of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn in my career. Fortunately, it has given me far more perspective on the changing student experience than a process I learned a decade ago. It’s one thing to believe in what history taught you; it’s another thing altogether to consider that as inscrutable gospel.

One of the pieces that I have come to appreciate as being incredibly useful in helping to challenge foundational thinking and prompt growth and development is that of a core competency model. I have spoken on this previously within the hallowed pages of this fine publication and have also recently presented on the concept at the OACUHO Spring Conference hosted by the incredible team at the University of Guelph. When we provide a framework for a new employee, particularly when they have experience, it gives them a roadmap to work form. As someone who has been down a lot of the roads that new professionals face and learned from those experiences, it’s easy to conclude that 2 + 2 equals 4. As a new employee with a tonne of experience though, having that thinking challenged means that the solution one was comfortable with now sounds like 2 + 2 equals a bag of zucchini. A core competency framework clarifies the context of why things work the way they work and helps an experienced professional transition, learn, grow, and shift their lens into a new way of thinking.

At the end of the day, we are looking to provide safe and secure, academically focused residence halls for the students who call campus home. The professionals providing that service will come from a variety of places and backgrounds with varying levels of experience. The trick as mentors and supervisors to these professionals is to ensure they have the tools to learn and grow and that we consider applicants of all forms.

Foundational experience, when tempered in the right way can provide a significant win to the student experience and we have the ability as leaders to provide the tools to get the job done in a developmental and leaderful way.

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ACUHO-I

Housing Intern Tiara DeGuzman, Ohio State (Intern at Western University)

My First OACUHO: Setting Intentions & Seeing Student Affairs Anew

T

he night before a conference, everything is quiet. My green suitcase sits in the corner, the handle covered by a neat list of "things to remember in the morning" (toothbrush, deodorant, charger). I sit at my kitchen table with chamomile tea to my left and my journal splayed open to my right. I grip a pen, tight, in my right hand and I tap it on the table's surface, hoping that the satisfying "plunk" will assuage some of the anticipatory anxiety already formulating in my shoulders.

The title on the journal page is "INTENTIONS." For the past few years, I have set intentions before every major trip, and though it primarily started as a way to cope with anxiety, it has continued on in my life as a practice of presence that has allowed me to be strategic in my personal and professional experiences. I have set intentions with travel partners, developing expectations to mitigate potential issues; I have done it with my students, asking them what they hope to gain from their travel experiences; and I have implemented it into my personal practice- creating intentions that encourage me to reflect on the things that I am experiencing.

That being said, I can honestly say I never dreamed I would find myself creating intentions to attend an OACUHO conference.

I'm an African American woman from the East Coast who is currently pursuing a Masters in Higher Education and Student Affairs at Ohio State. Like my fellow classmates, I applied for summer internships through ACUHO-I, interviewing to work at institutions across the world. I set intentions for the process, looking for institutions that were (1) passionate about diversity and equity (2) allowed me to do a wide variety of projects (from curriculum development to writing/editing work to program planning) and (3) allowed me to explore a

location I'd never been to before. Luckily, I was able to find everything I wanted in a place I never expected I'd work: Canada! I accepted a 2 month summer internship at Western University where I would work on living learning curriculum development, diversity & equity work and sustainability initiatives among other tasks.

As an intern, I also received the opportunity to attend the OACUHO conference.

As I readied my intentions the night before the conference, I thought about the experiences I wanted to have and finally came to a few intentions that I thought would be great for my first time. These intentions included: making connections with people at different institutions, practicing self-care throughout the conference, learning more about diversity and inclusion, and gaining a greater understanding of Canadian higher education. Though I was initially nervous I wouldn’t be able to fulfill these intentions, I was pleasantly surprised to find that each experience at OACUHO exceeded my expectations.

Making Connections “Would you rather miss out on a great opportunity or endure one scary moment?” I read this quote in a book a few days before my OACUHO experience, and this was the quote I decided would be my motto when it came to making connections. Though networking can be nerve wracking and awkward at times (how many times can you comment on the weather?), I found that making connections with others was very organic at OACUHO. I am used to attending larger Student Affairs conferences in the US so OACUHO was refreshing; the smaller numbers allowed me to learn names early on and engage in continuous conversations with familiar faces again and again throughout the week. I had a great conversation about Marketing strategies with a professional from McMaster. I met a group THE OACUHO PULSE

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of professionals from University of British Columbia who were my teammates at Trivia Night. I got amazing tips on the best places to eat in Toronto from a University of Toronto professional who eventually ended up being my bus-mate on our trip back from Country Heritage Park. A conversation about my first OACUHO experience even led to the production of this article! Though I was an American visitor, I loved that I was able to get acquainted so quickly with many of the members of OACUHO. The conversations I had were some of the greatest learning moments of my summer experience as a whole!

Practicing Self-Care Though I love conferences, I knew there would be moments where I would need to take time for myself and practice self-care throughout the week. Before attending the conference, I looked up the University of Guelph to see what areas I could explore/reflect in when I needed a relaxed atmosphere. I woke up early one day and took the arboretum walk with a colleague.

I turned in early most nights and journaled about my experience each day to process it in a safe space. I was up front with my supervisor about what I needed, and processed my experiences with my colleagues 1:1 when I didn’t want to talk in big groups during busier times. The best part about this was that I was encouraged by my colleagues to practice self-care as well. I didn’t feel FOMO (fear of missing out) when I missed a late-night hangout in order to rest, and actually- most people encouraged me to take time for myself when I needed it. I loved seeing OACUHO members hold each other accountable when it comes to self-care, and this is something I definitely intend on bringing back with me to my own workplace.

Learning More About Diversity & Inclusion As someone who is deeply passionate about social justice, I made it my mission to attend every session that had to do with diversity and inclusion at OACUHO. Diversity and inclusion is such an important topic to me both personally and professionally, and I knew that working in Canada would allow me to gain a more global perspective of diversity and inclusion work. I wasn’t disappointed.

Though all of the sessions I attended were impactful, many of the things I learned in the diversity and inclusion sessions have stuck with me long after the conference, influencing the way that I do my work as a professional in the States. My time in Canada helped me to gain a deeper understanding of Indigenous rights, something that many institutions in the United States rarely, if ever, mention. I learned the meaning of the term “settler” and explored how I could advocate for Indigenous rights as a “settler of color” working in Student Affairs. I had great conversations in the Professionals of Color

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Affinity Group, and I also gained a greater understanding of the experiences of professionals of color at the Ethnic Diversity in OACUHO session. Each session taught me how important it is to bring critical thinking, vulnerable dialogue and counter-storytelling to the work that we do as professionals. Through the telling of stories from marginalized voices throughout the conference, I was able to envision how equity and social justice can positively transform Student Affairs on a global scale.

Gaining a Better Understanding of Higher Education (Canadian Style) During my time at OACUHO, I had constant discussions with others about the similarities and differences between Canadian Student Affairs and Student Affairs in the States. Though Canadian Student Affairs has some larger differences that I observed (the focus on cannabis education, Indigenous rights and harm reduction for instance), I honestly found way more similarities between the two. From my experience at OACUHO, I found that Canadian Student Affairs and Student Affairs in the States are both dedicated to finding new ways to support the constantly shifting population of students; both are committed to assessing how our programs and initiatives are affecting our students; and lastly, both are engaged in important conversations around mental health wellness and diversity and inclusion. The students, though they have different cultures, still need similar things- support from faculty and staff, a sense of belonging, and personal/professional guidance on who they can become as future leaders. I appreciated how much drive many OACUHO members had to support students and get better as professionals. My experience at OACUHO reminded me how grateful I am to work for and with students.

Before I attend a conference, I always set intentions.

Though this is a way of helping me to be strategic in my personal and professional endeavors, this is also a way for me to reflect and practice gratitude throughout my experience. Thank you OACUHO for being one of my greatest teachers this summer and thank you to the people who influenced me with their openness, their vulnerability and their grace. I intend to let your influence follow me wherever I go! *** Tiara DeGuzman (she/her/hers) is a Student Affairs professional working in Residence Life who is currently pursuing her Masters in Higher Education and Student Affairs at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio (she graduates in May 2019!). Tiara enjoys reading, traveling, and facilitating workshops on topics like intersectional feminism, queer development, and utilizing journaling to cope with systematic oppression. You can find her on Instagram at tiaradee_itsme or on her website tiaradeguzman.com.

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