by Claudia González Kanady
We have all heard the saying, “We must meet our students where they are at.” I hear this when I was in undergrad from 2003-2008 and then again during graduate school from 2009- 2011. This saying was overused during my Resident Director years too, all 6.5 years. Meet them halfway. As an elder millennial during that time, I did not find it challenging to be approachable or relatable to college students then; except in 2014 when I did not know who Macklemore was, however that was a quick fix, adding more variety to my playlist.
Still now that Gen Z has entered their college era, have Residence Life professionals adapted and included Gen Z on how to do residence hall living? My answer is yes and no but some of us are trying. The gap between generations is a challenge that has always faced higher education. Geopolitics and, for this present, a pandemic have created a gap that is more evident and deeper today.
This blog series features different writers responding to the prompt, “How is the rising generation of college students changing residence life practice?”
The changes between generations have changed since the nuclear family has changed. The traditional roles by age, gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation have changed who is raising Gen Z. A diverse generation will bring new and diverse challenges. We are still resisting changes in a field that prides itself on being pioneers of change. Yet, we deal with the current events that endanger the livelihood of humankind as if they are on pause when we work and live life. Some of us still respond to questions, feedback, and demands for change by avoiding it or giving context rather than listening. The component of age and years of experience has been the dictator and agent of change. Being a basic need of students at colleges and being an auxiliary puts our work as a necessity but measures our success on occupancy alone. Those deciding factors give little room for change to occur based on the needs of the students that are coming to our colleges to broaden their world view. The resistance to change and the fight to retract change are common occurrences and foundation to the future that this generation will have to face in their adulthood. Our care, for some of us, has been misled by ideology and needs to be right and the best in our role. Still, the generation is changing housing. The college experience is changing and with the current climate there is an effort to make higher education more exclusive.
Having more students entering college authentically and in the midst of one or many identity developments is the forced that is changing housing. Many housing departments have adopted curriculum, interaction models, living learning communities (academic and identity based), more demand for all gender restrooms, and having dining options that are robust and inclusive are ways for how this generation has made housing adopt changes to ensure our residence halls are seen as homes. Still, we must wonder if housing leaders are adapting to the change and making the change at the right time.
And maybe the most important question for housing professionals is, am I creating a legacy where everyone is welcomed? How am I adapting to our student population and how can I learn to understand the college experience of today?
