Part II -- Lewis Takes On

This blog picks up where I left off last week...

“Kill the Messenger”

Faculty members may see this manifest itself in a variety of ways, but most likely during in-class discussions/debates or in on-line discussions. Of course, those courses which lend themselves to debate will be most prone to this unprincipled attack. Other areas where this may rear its ugly head may include elections (student government, greek letter organizations, etc.) In these arenas, student affairs professionals have a great opportunity to engage in not just traditional student development, but in “classroom-esque” academic development as well.

In order to properly address this, we – faculty and staff – must engage students preemptively in discussions about the differences in principled and unprincipled debate. Also, we cannot shy away from using current events and current commentators to illustrate not only the weakness of these arguments, but the social irresponsibility of those who engage in them (usually under the guise of “journalists”). It will be clear in a moment where I stand politically on most issues, but, politics aside, the effect cannot be ignored. Commentators like O’Reilly (who resorts to name-calling – e.g., “Pinheads”), Hannity (who will “shout down” those who disagree, or turn down their microphones), and Coulter (whose work at times is not only poorly argued, but poorly researched) are lowering the standard of discourse, and our students are, at times, following suit. It is up to us to teach them how to engage in debate that speaks to the message, not the messenger; and is well thought out, well researched, well organized, and amicable.

Note: I am sure that Franken, Stewart and Colbert will come up as well – and they should – they are good illustrations of satire, a good form of entertainment, not argument. (Although I did have one first year student who did not get the “joke” of Colbert’s show – he thought he was serious. Sigh.)

“Stop the Madness”

Again, it is imperative that we address this issue “head on.” There is no shortage of data on this, and Student affairs professionals should start engaging in programming that addresses how and why society’s threshold for violence has lowered, while the use of violence has increased in severity (and subsequently, frequency). Even utilizing students’ own emails – where they use inappropriate or aggressive tone – as instructional tools should be considered. Too often, we are afraid to use these “real life” examples to illustrate how students’ aggressive behavior is considered (by students) to be “acceptable” and/or “assertive.” It is only by addressing these low-level or “entry-level” behaviors that we can begin to make a societal difference on our campuses.

“All or Nothing”

It is this construct where I am most concerned about our millennial students (and increasingly about our non-millennial students, given the “osmosis effect” I speak about in my faculty/staff training programs). Given their well documented mental health issues, lack of basic stress coping mechanisms, increased propensity for self-injury, and the above mentioned issues, confronting their hyperbolic response is fast becoming not just a student developmental issue, but a health and safety issue. It is critical that we teach them that one bad grade is not the end of their academic career, that a lost relationship is not the last one they will have, and that there are healthy and appropriate outlets for these stressors. But, we must use real life illustrations and examples – or they will see us as disingenuous.

So, what about the students I mentioned in Part One? We must focus on:

1) Preventive efforts, especially in the area of mental health,
2) Challenging intellectual dishonesty, and
3) Changing the construct that allows for zero-sum argument and outcome only.

I realize that the last two are large initiatives, but it is fast becoming a health and safety crisis. Finally…what do we do when they are already acting out? How do we respond on the scene? That is for another entry.

Have a great weekend.

Scott