The Three R's - Rights, Responsibility, Respect

Good evening welcome to the session called the 3 R's rights responsibilities and respect these three concepts are priorities to us in the Dean of Students office and are key to your success we know that many people have welcomed you to Iowa State today but we in the Dean of Students office would like to change the wording of that greeting slightly and say welcome to our community the word community is an important one it's a word you'll hear often at Iowa State because it's so descriptive of who we are the purpose of this presentation is to introduce you to your new community with more than 25,000 students plus over 3,000 members of our faculty and staff the community of Iowa State University is larger than ninety eight and a half percent of the towns in Iowa in land size our community is nineteen hundred and eighty four acres or 3.1 square miles which is 11 times larger than Disneyland we have our own daily newspaper post offices health center ATMs laundromats apartments radio stations a symphony and theaters we also have our own restaurants hotels libraries and sports teams in terms of ethnic and religious diversity our community is much different than most in this state for instance about 700 of our community members are African American 400 are Latino or Hispanic and 600 are either Asian American or American Indian we are 30 percent Catholic and 45 percent Protestant with additional students representing the Jewish Hindu Muslim Buddhist and other faiths our community is made up of people from all over the world in fact about 10 percent come from 118 other countries also 13% of our undergraduates are students twenty-five years of age or older we're telling you all this because we want you to start thinking of Iowa State as your community like other communities this is a place where we all contribute to each other's success and well-being to help you get acquainted we would like to look at four things that you can expect from your new community then we'd like to examine four things that your community will expect from you among the things you can expect from your community the first one is this it will welcome you whether you are a first-year student or a transfer student moving into a new community can be a little scary we in the Dean of Students office hear all the time from students about what worried than the most you know what the number one concern is every year meeting people here are a few comments straight from the students I was most worried about not fitting in not making friends at college I was worried about what my roommate would be like could we stand to live with each other one thing that worried me most about college was moving to a state where I had no relatives and where I knew no one we in the Dean of Students office like to ask our students this question after you arrived what made you feel okay at ease less frightened the good news is that again the answer has to do with meeting people for example my roommate was one of the first people I met and we got along really well later I met more people who made me feel comfortable to the people in my residence hall took me and my roommate under their wings and accepted us right away the morale of all this is that everyone feels just as nervous as you do so by simply showing some interest in others you could develop long and rewarding relationships this sense of community follows us everywhere at Iowa State giving us a common bond so who do you talk to if you're having problems making the transition to this community the Iowa State community is full of resources many of which are listed in your orientation notebook you need to keep in mind that for every question or problem you might encounter there is also at least one person on campus or probably dozens who are eager to help you you can start with your Resident Assistant or academic adviser and we're always happy to help you in the Dean of Students office where we have 13 different departments from student advocacy and the Women's Center to Student Activities disability resources and recreation services now let's move on the second thing you can expect from the community it will help you succeed the second most common anxiety after social adjustment is academic performance so let's put some of your fears to rest if we didn't think you could succeed in college you wouldn't be here admission to ISU is a selective process in fact we only accept students whose academic record or life experiences indicate that they are prepared for the academic challenge just by being here today you've already succeeded the next few years will definitely be a challenge though that's why we have a number of resources available to help you achieve success first remember that your best friend academically is your advisor if you're having any problems don't hesitate to give him or her a call in addition our Dean of Students office offers the academic success center as a resource and clearinghouse for information on academic performance from tutoring to study skills from help rooms to supplemental instruction the academic success center can put you in touch with the resources you need this program and most other academic support programs is explained in your orientation notebook just keep in mind that this entire community exists for one purpose to see you succeed the third thing you can expect from your community is it will allow you to be yourself in this community you have the right to be an individual to be yourself and to make your own decisions for instance one student said his biggest worry was will there be peer pressure and another student said the thing that worried me the most was just being on my own and whether I could succeed at ISU in anything I do if you're feeling pressure to make a decision you're not comfortable with give a very simple answer I'll think about it then do just that think about it and make a decision that's right for you if you need some help along the way again you can talk to your advisor or your Resident Assistant or come to see us in the Dean of Students office by the way we're pleased to note that same students who worried about peer pressure said that is use greatest strength is it's a sense of community and Midwest family atmosphere so what's the fourth thing you can expect from your community it will be safe Iowa State is not immune to crime the majority of incidents here involve theft and vandalism we encourage students to help us promote a safe and secure environment we're trying to do things to protect you and your community our Department of Public Safety known as DPS is staffed 24 hours a day with professionally trained officers the university also promotes a drug-free and alcohol responsible environment and we maintain security programs in the residence halls and classroom buildings and there are a few simple things you can do to always keep your car in place of residents locked don't allow unknown persons in your room avoid isolated poorly lit parking lots streets or buildings at night don't allow alcohol or other drugs to cloud your decisions walk with another person when alone walk in well-lit and well-traveled areas never leave your personal property unattended hopefully you won't have any problems but if you do again we're here to help if it's an emergency you can dial nine-one-one 11 phones both on and off campus as well as from the emergency phones located around campus so those are the four things you can expect from your community now let's move on to the four things the community will expect from you all of these are based on one simple premise that's true no matter where you live that everything you do in some way affects the whole community our first expectation of you as a community member is you'll live up to your adult responsibilities here in Iowa State there is a Student Conduct code that describes your obligations in the university community and in the larger community of Ames you'll find that the conduct code addresses many different areas including things like harassment and hazing vandalism theft and misuse of computers other areas of particular concern are alcohol illegal drugs and acquaintance rape as far as alcohol and illegal drugs are concerned the policy at ISU is this the possession or consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs is not permitted on or within university facilities we do make exceptions for alcohol for specific events and for locations like the sports arenas though underage drinking is always prohibited off campus Iowa's drinking laws are enforced as aggressively as possible if you decide not to drink you should know that there are plenty of other students who share your views we promote and reward programs fostering alcohol-free activities we challenge you to consider alcohol use and abuse while in college because we know that alcohol abuse accounts for most of the student conduct violations and law related problems we see among our students we know that alcohol abuse among students often results in lower grades and physical illness another outcome of alcohol abuse unfortunately is acquaintance rape this problem is not caused only by alcohol but in nearly every case it is a significant factor despite continuing education on these issues they are still problems in our community if you or someone you know has a problem with alcohol or has been sexually assaulted please ask for help you can talk to any one of us in the Dean of Students office our Women's Center the Student Counseling Center or the Department of Public Safety in fact in the fall you will be receiving a brochure from our Department of Public Safety and bulletins twice a year with updates on campus safety programs and upcoming sexual assault prevention programs they also contain the names of people to contact for assistance now the second thing your community expects from you is this you will be honest in all your academic and personal affairs in your dealings with faculty staff and your fellow students your actions and activities must reflect honesty and integrity at all times still we know that competition for grades and the pressure to achieve sometimes leads to poor decisions concerning your academic work dishonesty is considered a very serious offense here and it's pursued aggressively with stiff penalties more students are asked to leave our community for violation of our academic honesty policy than for any other single cause we take it seriously because in the long run it affects the reputation of the entire institution and ultimately the value of your degree you'll find more about this in the policies on academic dishonesty and the computer code of ethics and just remember all we asked is that you do your personal best the third thing your community expects from you is you will work hard the biggest problem you will face your first semester is time management even if you've been terrific at time management in the past there's something about the total freedom of college that disrupts all patterns it's helpful to recognize several things about college life as you begin first understand that classes and labs take up at most four or five hours a day learn to balance classes and studying as a general rule for each hour spent in class spend 2 hours out of class studying learn to manage your work as well if you're stuck on something break it down into smaller problems or go on to something different for a while recognize the difference between quantity and quality do the right things not just more things recognize that the responsibility for understanding assignments completing work and submitting that work is yours instructors won't hound you for papers learn to study in an appropriate fashion get away from distractions set goals make lists plan your days and avoid the unnecessary anxiety caused by procrastination second understand that non-academic pursuits will eat away at your time over half our students work at part-time jobs thousands of students participate in activities and organized groups and clubs learn to prioritize activities and recognize when the wrong things are taking all your time the fourth thing the community expects from you is you will respect others and their ideas at all times earlier we gave you a few of the facts about the diversity of our student population that's something we're proud of and it's definitely a benefit to your education but the reality of it is this while you're at Iowa State you're going to come into contact with people who are different from yourself in many ways you may be exposed to attitudes and ideas that are new to you for instance those effeminacy conservatives gay men and lesbians Hindus atheists Christians Muslims people from small rural towns and large urban areas outspoken activists and even vegetarians the diversity of our population is one of our strengths but it can also be the root of some serious social challenges we guard the right of everyone to hold and defend even the most unpopular ideas but we fully expect our students and faculty to show the good sense not to act on any discriminatory opinions in ways that are hurtful toward others it's easy to hold stereotypes from a distance so the best thing you can do is to get to know people one-on-one we urge each of you to come to campus with an open attitude your years at Iowa State will give you an excellent chance to learn about people from other cultures and backgrounds and we invite you to take advantage of this opportunity now over the past few minutes you've probably heard the words your community no less than 30 times this emphasis is deliberate because the one message we want you to remember tonight is that we're all here to support each other you've all heard the disclaimer don't try this at home well our disclaimer is don't try this alone this campus has literally hundreds of people within a few square blocks who are here simply because you're here and who understand the unique challenges you're going to face in the next few years so don't be put off by a professor's credentials or an administrators title if you need anything at all just ask that's true for your parents partners and friends too because they are important members of our community as well please remember we in the Dean of Students office are here to help you succeed and reach your goal of graduating in the mean time we hope to get to know each of you we invite you to come talk to us at anytime and we hope that you'll enjoy being a part of the Iowa State community your new community