The Great Equalizer

The Great Equalizer
3/28/08 at 10:38:23 AM

—Rebecca Rassier, Community Coordinator
Individualized Degree Programs

During parents' orientation this summer, I mentioned to a group of parents that the Rec Center can be the great equalizer at a large campus such as the U. At the gym, students, faculty, and staff commingle and informal relationships are forged. I regularly see the director of undergraduate research at the Minneapolis gym and I believe he might even hold office hours there (I do know that he used a table at the Rec to promote the UROP program through the distribution of t-shirts). At the St. Paul gym, I regularly see faculty and students playing racquetball and I listen in on student/faculty conversations while I'm relaxing on the mat between exercises.

I've forged a few of these relationships, as well. A student who submitted a proposal this semester swipes cards at the St. Paul gym on Saturday morning. I don't make much of an effort for appearances before going to the gym on the weekend and so he has certainly seen me at my worst. Another day, he was working at the Minneapolis gym behind the glass, at the right of the entry. I glanced his way, curious to see if he was there, and he waved his arms broadly over his head to flag me over so he could inform me of his program approval process. Given the number of times I see him at the gym, it feels like I have given him more academic advice outside of my office than in it. It's a slightly disorientating scenario, mixing personal and professional time, but it's also fun to be connected with students outside of my office.

Perhaps not as desirable, another student has her locker right next to mine and I have found myself giving her advice about her senior project while in various stages of undress. Yes, it's awkward, but I like my locker location too much to move elsewhere.

These types of contact do pose interesting problems. For one, how do you document them? Our database allows us to code the type of contact--email, appt, phone, or walk-in. There isn't a "bumped into the student outside of the office" category. Am I expected to remember these contacts and document them the next day, when I get into the office? In the case of both students, I've had significant conversations that I would have documented if we had met in the office. Another problem is balancing the student's desire to talk with me and my need to make it to spin class on time. If the student comes to me in my office, my time is devoted to them. But when I'm in the gym, I have other priorities and yet I don't want to come off as brusque.

You may have read that the Rec Center is going to expand and that there will be a "specially designed health and wellness area designed specifically for faculty and staff" (from the MN Daily). I'm not sure if I'll use that space, though. Although there can be some awkward moments intermingling with students, for the most part I enjoy observing and talking with them in an environment in which they feel comfortable. Kate Maple encouraged us at the advising retreat to "know the territory where our students tread" and many, many of our students tread the territory at the gym. Then again, if I can get on a tread machine faster in the new space, I might throw all those good intentions to the wind...

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