Campus Emergency Alert Systems

Now that severe weather season is brewing again here in the midwest, I'd like to emphasize the importance of campus emergency alert systems and communicating with your child during an emergency.

Most campuses have emergency notification systems in place. Make sure your child signs up for the text, email or phone call notifications available through this system. Unless it is specified, parents should not sign up under their own phone numbers. It does no good for you to receive a text at midnight about a campus emergency while your student remains ignorant of the situation. These systems send thousands of texts or emails at once, so adding numbers or email addresses slows the system to a crawl and may delay notification to students on campus when they need it the most.

Discuss with your child how you will communicate with them during an emergency. Land and cell phones aren’t always the best way to stay in touch, so it can be helpful for your child to quickly post information about his location and status to social media. Here in tornado alley, it is common for people to post the location of where they are sheltering to social media as they reach shelter. At the very least, you will know that they are aware of the danger around them and have taken the necessary precautions.

End of Semester Wrap-ups

For most students, the spring semester will end before their spring break tan lines fade. This is the time of year when deadlines, exams, and papers come fast a furious. On my campus, students have only three busy weeks of classes after they return from spring break and this is also a very busy time of the year socially. There are numerous scholarship banquets, end of the year student club meetings, and a final community service push before students leave campus. All of this activity can leave your child feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, so this is a great time for you to talk with him or her and conduct a mental wellness check. As you talk to your student ask:

• What big deadlines or exams do you have coming up? How are you preparing for them? Asking your student about how he plans to work on assignments isn't prying, it's actually a good way for you to prompt him to think about how he will finish the semester strong.

• Do you need any time away from campus? This may be a good time for a weekend visit home where your child can get away from campus and concentrate on studying or finishing papers without distractions.

• If you suspect your child is feeling stressed or needs help from a counselor, this is a good time to remind him about campus resources that can help him with study skills, time management, or stress management.

• Send him a care package or a pizza party. Care packages are fun to send any time of the year but this is a great time to send a little extra something to your child. Treats from home and gift cards are popular or you can also send a pizza party from the internet. Many national (and local) chains offer online ordering for everything from pizza, to wings, to salads and drinks. A typical pizza and wing combo from Pizza Hut runs about $40.00. Order it from home and have it delivered to your child at college *Always make arrangements with your child in advance!

It's Not Too Early to Talk About Spring Break- Part 2

Have a frank discussion about safety - Spring break should be fun, but that doesn't mean students can let their guards down.  Students may not respond well to parental lectures about safety, so instead you may ask them scenario specific questions such as "What is your plan if someone in your group drinks too much? What would you do if you are separated from your group or your money is lost or stolen?" Questions like these are not lectures, but are simply opportunities for students to consider problems before they occur. 

Discuss your communication expectations for spring break - Students may not return calls or texts while on break, but they will usually post to social media. If you expect your student to reply to your calls or messages within a certain period of time, say, 24 hours, be sure to tell them your expectations in advance. Otherwise, let them know that you'll be checking in with them through social media instead. 

It's Not Too Early to Talk About Spring Break - Part 1

Contrary to popular belief, many students just go home, stay on campus, or take a long weekend instead of a full-blown beach or ski vacation for spring break. If your child is travelling with friends however, it's vital that you have a detailed discussion about your expectations during spring break.

Spring Break Tips for students - Part 1

Be Prepared - Remember the Boy Scout motto and plan ahead for the unexpected. A stocked first aid kit and road emergency kit are always helpful to have and keeping them in one's vehicle is a good habit to establish. Kits can be assembled from items on hand or purchased complete. If traveling to remote locations, extra blankets, an emergency hammer, water and food are good to have in the vehicle as well.

Write an itinerary - Even with everyone carrying a cell phone these days, asking your student to send you an itinerary can help you know approximately where they will be and when. It can also help your student plan their trip. Most students have never planned a lengthy trip by themselves, so creating an itinerary for you can actually help them see where they may be short on time or need an extra stop. If they're hiking or camping remind them that it is sometimes required, but always a good idea, to sign in with park staff before they hit the trail.

Have a plan "B" - The itinerary will help your student plan for the obvious, but what about those hiccups that invariably happen along the way while on a trip? This is a good time to ask your student about their Plan B and offer some advice on how to handle emergencies. Is the spare tire inflated? Do they have extra cash or travelers checks? Do they know that they can still call collect from a land line phone? (Try 1-800-CALL-ATT or a similar service.) If you belong to a motor club or have access to roadside assistance, this is a great time to remind your student about the benefits of your plan.

Pests on campus: Lice and Bed Bugs

Winter is the time when lice and bed bug infestations start to make their appearance on college campuses. Not only are more people exposed to these pests while they travel for the holidays, but lice in particular seem to thrive when students start sharing hats, scarves, and jackets. 

Bed bugs, lice, and other creepy bugs exist on college campuses just as they exist everywhere else. While bed bugs and lice certainly have what one Residential Life veteran calls the “yuck factor” the good news, if you can call it that, is that these pests do not vector diseases and there are plenty of ways to get rid of them. 

Lice can be treated with over the counter shampoos and sprays and a complete laundering of all fabrics (clothing and bedding) in hot water and a hot dryer. Bed bugs, however require heat treatments of the affected rooms and everything in them by a professional exterminator.

Students should notify staff as soon as possible if they suspect bed bug infestations because they can easily spread from one room to another on clothing. In fact, when students travel, they should also inspect hotel rooms and hostels for bed bugs and lice to avoid bringing them home with them. Complete information and pictures to help identify these creeps is available at these Centers for Disease Control (CDC) websites

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/bedbugs/

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/

Of course, prevention is the most effective way to avoid any infestation of anything from insects to rodents, but college students are not necessarily known for their outstanding housekeeping skills. Students who leave food and other attractive items out for any length of time are sure to become magnets for pests. Keeping rooms and apartments clean, and free from clutter and open food items is the best prevention. Also, students who live on ground floor levels should keep doors and windows closed and pay close attention to any pests they see.  Generally, if there’s one cockroach or ant, there’s a whole family somewhere nearby and the student should immediately contact staff for abatement.

Career Assessment and Counseling in College

Most college career or counseling centers offer skills and interest inventories that can help students clarify and focus their career plans. Your child probably took the EXPLORE, PLAN or another similar test in the 8^th through 10^th grade that helped them assess their skills, interests, and future college or career goals. Tests offered at colleges are similar to these and may include the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the Strong Interest Inventory, or the Pearson Career Assessment Inventory. While these inventories will not tell your child specifically, “You should be an accountant” or “pursue a degree in aerospace engineering.” they do help students focus their major and career search on areas in which they show both interests and skills. It is rare to see a student who is completely surprised by the results of an inventory because they tend to clarify what students already know intrinsically. The problem with these inventories is not usually in the administration or in reviewing the results with the student, but in the students’, or parents', disappointment that they simply don’t have the interest or skills to be a surgeon or whatever other prestigious profession they had their hearts set on.

New Semesters Always Come With Long Lines

At the beginning of each semester there are crowds and lines everywhere on campus from the Bursar's office, to the bookstore, to the dining hall. In fact, there actually are more people on campus during the first few weeks of each semester -before students start dropping classes or just skipping them. During these weeks everyone is trying to get settled into their new semester schedule and all these crowds and lines can cause problems for students as they go about their daily business.

Send your student these tips for a smooth spring semester transition.

Plan for long lines – Students should give themselves an extra 30 minutes to do anything on campus during the first two weeks.

Start early – College students are notoriously nightowls, so the busiest times in most campus offices are the hours between 10:00am and 3:00pm. If your student needs to conduct business in a campus office they should try to either make an appointment in advance or go to the office as soon as it opens in the morning.

Do it online – Even students who grew up using the internet fail to realize that many of their day to day tasks such as paying bills or changing meal plans can be done online. When in doubt, they can check online or call the appropriate office to see if the errand can be handled online instead of in person.

Pack a lunch or snacks –It takes students time to adjust their on-campus dining times to fit into their new class schedule. To avoid rumbling stomachs and low energy, students should take snacks or lunches with them for the first few days of the semester in case the food court lines take longer than their class breaks allow. After about a week they should be able to gauge the busiest times in the dining hall and make schedule adjustments.

Be patient – Use the time spent waiting or in line to catch up with friends and family via text or social media, review class syllabi, or write a grocery list. Using “wait time” wisely will make the wait fly by and free up time later in the day.