Talking Stick - May/June 2018 - 46

develop strong communities?
What types of programming/
interventions can do that on a
broad scale?
Yes, that's possible. Social media
emphasizes the positive so much that
students don't have as many skills
communicating the full range of emotions in relationships. Social media
also encourages shallow relationships
rather than deep ones. I think the best
cure for this is more face-to-face interaction, where deep emotional connections are much more likely to happen.

Recently, our student employee
candidate pools have been
drying up. The number of candidates for positions such as RAs
and orientation ambassadors
are down a little, but it's particularly true for desk worker,
office assistant, and dining hall
positions. The national trend of
students working less seems to
help explain a bit. What other
factors do you think may be at
play here?
It's not just iGen teens who are less
likely to work; iGen and Millennial
young adults in their 20s are less likely
to work now than students were in the
1990s and early 2000s. It may be part
of the slowed developmental trajectory,
where working is seen as something
to be done later. Individualism and
entitlement may also play a role - the
idea that "I am in college, so I'm too
good to work in the dining hall." Sell
these positions as good preparation
for future careers - that if you've never
worked and you apply for your first job
out of college, that could put you at a
disadvantage. Work-study jobs could
also be advertised as a way to cut down
on student loan debt, a major concern
for this generation.

TALKING STICK

Because they
come from smaller
families and live
in an era of larger
houses, fewer
iGen'ers grew up
sharing rooms.
Thus, housing with
individual sleeping
quarters will be
more popular (such
as singles or quads
with individual
bedrooms and
shared living space).
They may also
balk at sharing a
bathroom. Beyond
that, emphasize
safety and stress
relief, that this is
a place you can
escape stress.

In housing and residence life
we expend a great deal of effort
and money on designing physical spaces that encourage faceto-face interaction and small
group gatherings. What lessons
did you learn about iGen traits
that should inform the creation
of these environments?

Make those spaces not just conducive
to face-to-face interaction but also very
comfortable and stress-relieving - so
squishy and inviting. Make it resemble
a place children would like to go to
relax; iGen has a longing for childhood, which they often recall as safe
and stress-free.

In addition, given what you
write about iGen, in particular
their aversion to risk and faceto-face socializing, what should
campus housing pros consider
in general when planning messaging or hall programming, as
well as when supervising their
undergraduate RAs?
Getting iGen to show up to face-to-face
events can be challenging, but they
need it more than ever. Use online
channels to get the word out, but make
sure it's something they have to experience face-to-face: something where
seeing the pictures online isn't enough
to experience it, perhaps something
involving touch or smell. And emphasize that being with people face-to-face
is a great stress reliever.

You write that the iGen'ers, as
a whole, are much more aware
of and accepting of diversity in
terms of race, religion, orientation, identity, etc. These are
topics that currently make up a
significant portion of first-year
student programming in the
residence halls. How do you see
that generational shift affecting
this sort of programming?
I think that means this programming
could be made less extensive. Students
still need to know that diversity is
valued, but many already have a good
deal of experience with diversity at
their high schools (more than ever

Talking Stick - May/June 2018

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