Dave

Layers, Resiliency, Iron Chef Challenge

I went kayaking this afternoon after grading half of my Theories of Counseling exams which I gave on Thursday.  So far they have done a good job.  It was a beautiful Vermont fall day and I have been going kayaking as much as I can.  When I told someone that I was going kayaking this afternoon they exclaimed "but it is so cold out" - actually the temperature was 47 degrees but as I do during the colder months of our year and as I advise anyone who IS concerned about the weather in Vermont - just add another layer.  We add layers as fall progresses into winter and we take those layers off as winter progresses into spring.  It is just one of those Vermont cycles that many of us who call this place home absolutely love.  This is a picture from Indian Brook Reservoir which is in Essex, VT and about five miles from campus.  It is a great place just to hike around, snowshoe around OR kayak on. 

I received a wonderful email from the mother of one of our first year students.  She has been reading my blogs for a while and we have corresponded a couple of times.  Her daughter had been involved with a difficult situation with her roommate BUT her daughter had handled it exactly the way that we advise our students to handle conflicts.  They talked, she approached the RA (resident assistant) and there was a greater discussion.  Things did get quite difficult but they have all worked out in the end.  Mom was more concerned than her daughter was.  Our student did exactly what we suggest - she relied on her own good judgment, she used the resources we have in place to help when there are, as there inevitably are, conflicts and she bounded back quickly.  THAT is resiliency and something which is being researched more and more these days as we find that our students can and do handle difficult situations with more maturity and more insight than perhaps we give them credit for. 

Last week Logan (an Area Coordinator with Residence Life) stopped by my office to inquire about taking my Men & Masculinities course in the spring.  Students begin seeing their academic advisors on Monday to select courses for the spring semester. This is a course which is open to second semester seniors only and there is a strict balance of the sexes in the class - I will have 15 women and 15 men for 2.5 hours one night a week.  It is an amazing class.  Logan was a student in my Abnormal Psychology course when he was a sophomore and I really enjoyed his intellectual curiosity.  He was a leader in the class so I am happy that he wants to take another course with me.  In the process of our conversation he asked me if I might be interested in serving as a "judge" for an Iron Chef Challenge (stolen right off of the Food Network) which some of our students living in the 300's were having last Friday.  There were to be four teams of students who would use a grill (Residence Life purchased several barbecue grills which our students get to use) to prepare a complete meal.  I, of course, agreed.  Logan assured me that any meat WOULD be cooked thoroughly.......  I headed over to the 300's around 5:15 Friday afternoon after attending the Faculty Assembly and got there just in time.  Kerry Kirkwood is one of my students in Sports Psychology and she told me that when she heard that I was one of the judges she was quite excited since she assumed that would give HER group an advantage - HA...... no such deal............  As the other judges, including Brian Lee an Assistant Dean of Residence Life and Judicial Affairs coordinator AND avid Red Sox fan,  watched the final preparations, the students explained exactly what they had prepared as they set out to "plate" their dishes.  There was a chicken dish, a pork dish, a steak dish AND a dish that one student had learned to cook while in Africa.  All of the meals were amazing.  Glazed carrots, homemade chutney sauce for the pork, amazing potatoes, pasta and broccoli - all very nicely prepared and presented.  It really was a difficult decision and in the end the group which had prepared the pork with chutney won first prize.  What amazed me and impressed me and pleased me was the response of all of the students - there were probably twenty five students on a Friday afternoon at 5:00 cooking outdoors in the cool afternoon air having a great time.  It was a lot of fun and we all had a great time - I hope that they do this again AND that I get asked to judge again.

Tomorrow is supposed to be another great day so while I will grade a few more exams, I also will hopefully get back out to Indian Brook for more kayaking - the weathe forecast predicts "some" snow Tuesday into Wednesday but as we all know, weathermen don't always get things right.  The colors continue to be fantastic in the mountains around the College and the views across to the mountains is spectacular.  Perhaps when the snow does arrive, some late afternoon when the sun hits it just right and the mountain looks as if it is covered in gold I will get another great picture.......

Enjoy the weekend - take good care, GO SOX and always remember our service men and women in your thoughts prayers

Dave   

A hard frost and a long weekend

While the temperatures continue to be typically cool during the day, last night we had a hard frost and as I looked out my window at home this morning the frost had clearly killed the last of my flowers outside in my gardens - a sign that things ARE changing once again.  The weather forecast is for a beautiful weekend and our last chance to catch the beauty of fall foliage in Vermont.  I will head out again into the mountains armed with my camera to catch some of those great shots.  I am doing an interview for our Office of Admission this morning as most of our Admission Counselors are on the road and so many of us, faculty and staff help fill in during their absence as with a long weekend, many families will be traveling to colleges for visits.  I will have to see if Drew is still here so he can teach me how to upload or download (I never remember which is which) some of my pictures.

With the long weekend ahead our students are eagerly looking forward to home cooked meals, Mom and Dad's hugs and some time away from the rigors of our semester.  This is our sixth week and I am giving my first Abnormal Psychology exam this afternoon, have already graded and returned the first major Sports Psychology papers and will be going over my Theories of Counseling first exam with my class tomorrow before they all head out for home.  Most students, unless they are on one of our current sports teams will be heading home and as I talk with them I let them know that we all need a brief break from each other.

Last night the Student Association held its weekly meeting.  So far, Steve O'Neil, Liam Danaher and the E-Board are doing a great job providing a forum for interesting discussion and with the Board of Trustees having been here this past weekend Steve informed the SA of his reactions to being a part of their meetings.  Marilyn Cormier told the SA that they should be very proud of their E-Board as our Trustees were very impressed with our student leadership.  President Jack Neuhauser then spoke with the SA providing them with updates on the concerns, challenges and plans for the future of SMC.  Jack has a great way of combining a "professorial" presence with his unique sense of humor and students are very comfortable with him.  He again emphasized his desire to make plans, challenges and solutions transparent so that we ALL are not only aware of what is going on but are all a PART of the dialogue and discussion.  Given the current economic situation in the US and also globally, Jack addressed some of those concerns - these are very difficult and challenging times but Jack's calming and confident leadership came across very clearly last night.  He promised to return to the SA to keep them informed as he and the rest of this community develop strategic planning initiatives for the future of the College.

Facebook continues to intrigue me.  I have been contacted by several former students who graduated in 1984 -  it is easy to assume that this technology for social networking is something that only our current (and future) students are using to keep connected but Bob King, Sharon Hubregson, Janet Conlon, Mellin, Kathryn Markey, Bill Collins - all soon (summer 2009) to celebrate their 25th reunion have all discovered Facebook and have been in contact with me - re-connecting, updating, sharing pictures of families and just staying in touch has always been something that makes SMC unique and now Facebook makes that easier. People continue to contact me both through Facebook and emails about John Reiss' death and they all express their appreciation for having been one of his students and their sadness that they feel for all of his family.

I was a "guest speaker" on Monday night for Meaghan Cormier who is the RA on second floor Joyce Hall - as part of the Faculty Visitor Program a faculty member (Bill Grover) and a staff person (Marilyn Cormier) meet with the floor ON the floor five times during the first semester in an attempt to help our new students better connect with the College.  This program allows the new students to have direct connections with great resources.  I had been asked to speak on the topic of alcohol/drugs and almost the entire floor was there - they were very receptive to the discussion and I appreciated their attentiveness.  It is always a challenge to present information on "if you choose to drink, how can you drink responsibly" when the State of Vermont and the College make it very clear that those behaviors are illegal.  I hope that I helped them understand that making wise choices sometimes can make the difference between a fun time and an experience that is horrific.  It is also always good to remind students that while the "perception" is that all college students drink, do drugs and have lots of sex, the "reality" is that there are a large number of students, here and at other colleges/universities, who choose NOT do engage in those behaviors.  Two researchers, Berkowitz and Perkins have done extensive research over many years showing that students behavior moves towards the "perception" and not the "reality" so it is OUR responsibility to our students to make sure that they KNOW the difference between perception and reality.  It was fun to present with both Bill and Marilyn there as it was obvious that these young women like and respect both of them so the words of a "stranger" were supported by both Bill and Marilyn.......

Please take good care, be well, stay informed about our political situation and make sure that you are registered to vote, remember our soldiers and veterans in your thoughts and prayers and that there STILL are wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dave