Getting Involved, Sept. 16, 2022
Getting Involved Webinar, Sept. 16, 2022Question and Answer
Q: How can a newly transferred senior living off campus can get involved?
A: This depends on how far off campus your student is. Are they commuting from afar or just off campus? At any rate, a B1G university, we are not short on opportunities to engage with a broad variety of interest-based or affinity-based organizations, teams and clubs with similar backgrounds. And, now, they are interacting with virtual options to ensure accessibility and potential cases where students aren't directly on campus. If nearby, we suggest really being intentional about reviewing Student Life and the lists of those organizations. There are also a host of fairs throughout campus to connect with students in several different capacities that afford opportunities for students to connect.
Q: How can we help an out-of-state (OOS) student feel included? With so many kids knowing each other before they arrive, is there a way to help OOS kids feel the Spartan love? My daughter is a junior and never lived in the residence halls, so feels very ostracized.
A: At a B1G university, we are not short on opportunities to engage with a broad variety of interest-based or affinity-based organizations, teams and clubs with similar backgrounds. A large segment of students at MSU are OOS, so we suggest really being intentional about reviewing Student Life and the lists of those org's. Also, there are a host of fairs throughout campus where they can also connect with students in several different capacities, of which some include circles of OOS students and afford them opportunities to connect/share similarities. So sorry, she feels ostracized. We acknowledge and support her experience. We understand that's a tough experience to get over. Our staff across campus is very thoughtful of that sensitive to those challenges. It's one of the reasons we are trying to be intentional about those fairs and Fall Welcome festivities to ensure students have opportunities to get back into in-person activities where Spartans can not only socialize but also feel embraced by the community at-large. There are OOS student orgs to take part in and receive that "community."
Q: Why is there not more involvement with resident assistants (RAs) encouraging students to meet each other? My son is very outgoing and so has not had too much difficulty, but RAs don't seem to have any group gatherings to promote getting to know each other. Maybe even having some floor gatherings, like game night (dungeons & dragons, cards, video games, etc).
A: While our RAs organize hall events throughout the year, that is not their primary focus. RAs work with students on their relationships with their roommates, serve overnight duty and provide needed information. But the RA role has changed over the years and is less like a camp counselor and more of a mentor for students to reach out to when needed.
Q: Thank you for answering the above. That is too bad. I see from so many that there are so many disconnects between the students living on the same floor/area. This was not the case when I was in school and a lot had to do with the RAs helping us to make the initial meetings and promoting us to keep our doors open when we were in our rooms. I hope the RAs’ involvement in getting students to meet each other is reconsidered, especially with students losing some of their social skills due to social media apps.
A: There is not a plan to reconsider, but we do hope you inform your student of what is being shared here!
Answered Live in the Webinar
The below questions were answered live during the webinar. Responses can be seen in the recording of the webinar here.
Q: Some of the activities and clubs are late in the evening and don’t necessarily include people from the same residence hall. How can one get back to their hall safely? The question is specifically for commute between halls in the same neighborhood.
Q: I have a sophomore son. He is very shy and socially anxious. He does almost everything alone. COVID hasn't’t helped. Any ideas on how to get him more comfortable interacting with people and making friends?