#SAGeeks - Some Epic Nights with Board Games

The SAGeeks series is all about celebrating the geeky and nerdy sides of all of us working in higher education and student affairs. The series is edited by Jenn Osolinski and Lynne Meyer. Check out our resources page for more geeky goodness.

When I first read that there would be a blog series about “geeking out,” I knew that I had to write something. But I wasn’t sure what my topic would be. Would it be my intense love of Star Wars? What about Game of Thrones? Harry Potter? After some thought, I came to the realization that I needed to write about something that I have recently started to geek out about. Board games. I’m not talking about Monopoly, Sorry, or the Game of Life. I’m talking about epic, hours long, thematic games.

I was first introduced to many of these unique, intricate board games through my current boyfriend. These board games have taken up hours of my time on the weekends and have brought my friends closer together while threatening to tear us apart. Trust issues become serious problems in the board game world.

There are a few board games in particular that I would like to highlight for you, dear reader. These board games are some of my favorites and the best part about them is that they have taught me so much about myself and the world of Student Affairs.

T.I.M.E. Stories

This is the most recent board game that I have played. The plot is simple.

Your team of friends are time agents who must go back in time to prevent temporal faults and paradoxes that threaten the whole universe! The best (or worst?) part of the game is that you cannot fail permanently. You will travel back in time as many times as is needed for you to successfully complete the mission. This means that you can play the same story over and over again until you get it right. Wouldn’t it be nice if we got infinite do-overs in the real world? Each story requires the team to solve puzzles and roll die to try to kill your enemies.

The cooperative style of this game relates directly to the work we do in Student Affairs:

Failure

How often do we have to work together, depend on each other to complete our work on time, and when we fail, have to pick up the pieces and try again? Daily. Many times, failure isn’t an option for us. We can’t fail that resident struggling with conduct behavior because if we do, they may drop out. We can’t fail to pull those grade checks for that Greek chapter because their headquarters needs them.

Patience

When you fail to solve that puzzle for the 3rd time, you want to throw your hands up and give up. But you must have the patience to continue. Persist through your frustrations. When a staff member asks questions for roughly 10 minutes of every staff meeting, it is easy to get frustrated with them and stop answering the questions. This is when patience is so necessary. Without patience, so many situations would cause us to throw in the towel and call it a day.

Dead of Winter

In this game, you play as a team of survivors who have set up a colony during a zombie invasion in the middle of winter. You can pick different goals and players each time you play. No matter your end goal, you must roll dice to attack and kill the zombies that have invaded your colony while searching through card decks at locations outside of the colony to aid in your mission.

At the end of each round, you must feed your survivors and survive any zombie spawns. If you fail to feed your survivors, the morale of the group is lowered and if it gets to zero, you lose the game. Throughout the game, you have the option to allow helpless survivors to join your colony, but you will have to feed them as well. This game is about weighing your options, chances, and hoping for the best.

Taking Chances

Sometimes we have to search a deck of cards, hoping for the one card that we need. Sometimes we get that card. Sometimes we don’t. Positive changes are rare when you don’t take a chance. That new involvement initiative you created could fall flat. A brand new, large scale program that you spent thousands of dollars on could only bring in 100 students. Or it could bring in 2,000 students and become a new campus tradition.

Helpless Survivors

Sure, in Student Affairs we probably won’t have helpless survivors who want to escape zombies, but we will have students who need our help. These students may not be able to offer much, but that doesn’t mean we should abandon them in the cold. It is so important for us to recognize when students are struggling and to help them with the resources we can provide.

Board games have provided my friends and I with countless hours of frustrating, stressful, and fun entertainment. We have learned so much about ourselves and each other while rolling die, solving puzzles, and moving pawns across boards. I have developed a love so extreme that I have potential board games bookmarked on my web browser. I am a proud Student Affairs board game geek.

No matter what you geek out about, make it fun.

Geek on.

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Kelsey Murray is a Hall Director at the University of Tennessee at Martin. She is a Colorado native who transplanted to Tennessee. In her free time she enjoys binge watching Netflix, playing her ukulele, and obsessing over her cat, Penny Lane.

Movie Review Monday: 10 Cloverfield Lane

Welcome to another edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film is the 2016 thriller, 10 Cloverfield Lane, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Goodman.

I had been curious about this film after hearing some good buzz about it earlier this year. It is something unique, engaging, and fresh that presents a bold new front for franchise film-making.

We meet Michelle (Winstead) at the beginning of the movie, who gets in a car accident and is "rescued" by Howard (Goodman) and is being held in an underground bunker. Howard tells Michelle that the world outside is unsafe and he did her a favor by getting her down into the safety of the bunker. Michelle is suspicious and schemes to find a way out into a possibly unsafe world outside.

The movie is claustrophobic, intimate, and intense. Goodman delivers a great performance as a quiet, powerful, and quirky character. The thrills land each and every time, and there is this sneaking question in the back of your head the whole time of Howard's true intentions and if the world outside truly is unsafe (no spoilers!). The movie reminded me a lot of the recent movie, Room, which shared the sense of tight, up close anxiety (You can stream Room right now on Amazon Prime).

You really shouldn't go into this movie knowing too much. The reveals are half the fun but even without them, the acting and intensity of the movie are worth it. I knew that the movie exists in the same universe as it's spiritual predecessor Cloverfield (2008). Other than that, I didn't know anything about this movie. That connection can get the gears moving for you, but I honestly only knew the premise of the prior film, but now after seeing (and enjoying) 10 Cloverfield Lane, I'm going to seek out the original to get more background.

You can rent 10 Cloverfield Lane now from your favorite On Demand service or from Redbox.

Thanks for stopping by!

#SAGeeks - Geeking Out About Talking Politics

The SAGeeks series is all about celebrating the geeky and nerdy sides of all of us working in higher education and student affairs. The series is edited by Jenn Osolinski and Lynne Meyer. Check out our resources page for more geeky goodness.

Politics has always fascinated me. The dynamics that define the polity of our global societies have driven me to learn about the cause and effects that continue to shape our world. Additionally, learning to understand how these decisions may impact future cultures, economics, and social outcomes through calculated thought, excite me to think of what may be.

As much as I geek out about politics, it’s important for me to be aware of my personal political views when I engage in discourse on a college campus. In my role as an educator, I want to encourage exercising the collective people’s voice in political discourse and civic engagement. That’s what the First Amendment is all about. Specifically, I view my role as someone who can empower others through objective exploration and potential outcomes. It is not my job to persuade a conversation in a particular direction. Like the saying goes, “we don’t have to agree with another person, but we should learn to respect the (diverse) opinions of others.” This is that moment to learn.

I truly believe in empowering students to find their voice and define their own successes through personal development, exploration and experiential learning. In relation to politics, this means offering conversations and scenarios that include tools for students to navigate through them. For example, if a polarizing political subject becomes the conversation, the tools may be the pros and cons from multiple sides of the debate. The trick is to instigate civilized dialogue and to ensure the environment remains welcoming, supportive and encouraging to those who participate or may want to. This may require setting guidelines to maintain a positive constructive discussion. You may also have to adjust your level of moderation. And, depending where you may be on campus: a classroom, student club meeting, in the residence hall, or out in the quad, other adjustments may be necessary to ensure a healthy discussion.

What are the goals of talking politics on campus? For me, it’s to help promote awareness of political diversity and encourage political discourse. However, I’ve made sure to never force discourse. I feel it should be a natural occurrence, just like any other conversation. The reason I hope to promote political awareness with students is because we’re talking about their future. We’re talking about my future. According 2008 NY Times exit polls following the presidential election, voters ages 18 to 29 were 18% of the voting electorate. Voters between 30 to 44 years were at 29%. Compare that to 2012 exit polls from the Washington Post, those same age groups were 19% and 27% respectively. According to the 2012 US Census, 18 to 44 year olds made up about 37% of the population. Interestingly, the US Census estimated there were 82.909 million people between 25 to 44 years, which is comparable to the 82.932 million people ages 45 to 64. This is a major chunk of the US population that could have a major voice in the political direction of the United States. But it’s not enough to hold conversations and debates. Actions to carry out voices must also be encouraged.

It is within the realm of actions, that the political will of a majority of the people begins to falter. In helping students become aware of social, political and economic issues, engagement through actions has been the best way, from personal experience, to help students learn how to make change happen. Actions could be to organize voting parties, volunteering for a local or national campaign, writing about issues for the school’s newspaper or a personal blog, or even involvement with an organization that advocates for specific issues that a student may be passionate about. In a way of saying, “it’s not what you say, but how you say it,” that will speak volumes to disrupt for good.

Politics can be an amazing opportunity to learn, connect and build with those around you. In higher education, the opportunities for students to become civically mindful and engaged can compliment a student’s academic experience on many levels. Even some experiences may translate over to experiences outside of politics and outside the classroom. On a personal level, politics in higher education invigorates me to continue my own political passions on the issues I care about, and to learn of other political concerns. Politics can and should be an inviting and enabling environment, and that is what I hope to create if I ever find myself debating the issues. How can you promote healthy political discourse and civic engagement on your campus?

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Hing Potter currently serves as an Admissions Outreach Specialist at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, Washington (30 minutes north of Seattle). Before returning to his hometown, Hing spent time at College of Western Idaho, Boise State University, Bodies In Motion recreation and had a previous stint at Edmonds CC. Outside higher education, his passions include the great outdoors, volunteering and Seattle sports. Connect with Hing on Twitter, Instagram, and on his blog.

#SAGeeks - A Story About San Diego Comic Con

The SAGeeks series is all about celebrating the geeky and nerdy sides of all of us working in higher education and student affairs. The series is edited by Jenn Osolinski and Lynne Meyer. Check out our resources page for more geeky goodness.

It started on social media.  Ryan McRae posted “anyone interested in free tickets to San Diego Comic Con (SDCC)?  Let me know!”  From that post a dream was realized.  Ryan worked at a university near San Diego.  He had reached out to SDCC for tickets as a prize for a “geek week” of programs he was hosting.  In talking to his contact, they mentioned they wanted to reach out to higher education people because they were trying to develop partnerships.  They were offering free tickets to San Diego Comic Con with very few strings attached.  This was six years ago.  My unofficial motto has always been “if it’s free, it’s me!”  So I contacted his person and was surprised how easy it was to get free Comic-Con tickets for me and my partner (and our two daughters).

As a thank you, our family took Ryan out to dinner at SDCC.  During dinner, Ryan and I discussed how we give presentations all the time.  We could totally do a panel at SDCC and talk about how being a geek works for us in our daily jobs.  After all, Ryan put together geek weeks for his job.  I had also begun to do some research on geek/nerd students myself.  We decided then and there that we were going to attempt a panel for 2011 at SDCC.

I did some research and realized how easy it was and how little work was needed to submit a proposal for SDCC.  I had done things for ACPA, ACUHO-I, WACUHO, etc. and this was so much easier.  Part of it asked who would be on our panel.  I reached out to 3-4 other colleagues who I knew were geeks like Ryan and I.  When I approached them and asked “Hey, would you be willing to be included in a panel proposal for San Diego Comic-Con?” They all basically reacted the same way – no chance this was going to happen, but sure, put my name down.  I submitted the proposal for a panel six months before SDCC.  And then forgot about it.

One night in June (about a month prior to SDCC) I received an email.  Our panel had been accepted!  I couldn’t believe it.  I reached out to our colleagues who all gave me their names and we all were just in shock.  We had a lot of work to do in a short period of time.  

We did our first panel in July of 2011.  We got a corporate sponsor to make us t-shirts.  It was amazing and epic.  We had about 150 people attend our first panel that year.  They lined up an hour before the panel just to hear us.  We were the last panel of the day, so we knew they weren’t waiting for anyone else.  At many regional conferences, 150 people would be a keynote.  For about four of our group, this was the first time they had ever been to SDCC.  Many of us had crossed this off our bucket list.  But what we discovered is how big a need it was.

When coming home to my campus, our VP of Student Affairs asked me about SDCC.  He had no clue.  When I explained attendance was 125,000 and explained our panel, he asked if I would do a training for SA professionals on our campus.  Other staff from our panel found connections across the country and continued building a network.  I encountered a student who attended our panel who was applying for an RA job on his campus because of our encouragement.  We had colleagues who felt freed up to pursue their geek identities on their campuses.  Geek Week programming exploded across the country.

We then took our group (called geekEd.) to ACPA where we received more feedback on just how “freeing” it was to encourage people in their love of pop culture.  We started doing more research, connecting with faculty, and the rest has been history. Since then, our group has had a panel each year.  SDCC is developing a Comic Conference for Educators and Librarians, and we have been a part of it.  Over the past 6 years, Ryan’s generosity and our dream has allowed almost 50-60 professionals and students to attend their first ever SDCC.  In addition, we have promoted a sense of belonging for geeks on our campuses, and campuses across the country. Students tell us how we gave them the freedom to pursue geek weeks, comic conventions, and other programming that speaks to them on their campuses.  We have engaged in social justice work through pop-culture and have opened doors around mental health and support because of our passion/obsessions.   There are so many more stories to tell, but for me, this is where it all began.

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Tyler Miller is an avid geek, with passions from Batman, Dr. Who, Stargate, Star Wars, Star Trek, the WWE, and Fantasy Football to name a few.  He is also proud of his geek family, consisting of his wife Kari, and five daughters; Eliana (9), Samara (6), Johana (4), Natana (3), Talyah (11 months).  Tyler has worked in college housing for the past 22 years, and loves the experience working with students and staff in college environments.  He is also the President-Elect for the Western Association of College and University Housing Officers (WACUHO).  

You can connect with Tyler via Twitter, @tmiller1212 or on Facebook.

#SAGeeks - The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The SAGeeks series is all about celebrating the geeky and nerdy sides of all of us working in higher education and student affairs. The series is edited by Jenn Osolinski and Lynne Meyer. Check out our resources page for more geeky goodness.

I'm a geek about pretty much everything - musicals, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Legend of Zelda, astronomy, physics, and a lot of other things. I have been this way since I was a child, obsessing over Pokemon and Sailor Moon. This led to me being a not so popular kid when I was in school. On top of being a geek about the aforementioned things, I was a teacher’s pet to boot and truly enjoyed learning everything I could. I didn’t have many friends, and was constantly bullied, not only for being nerdy, but for being fat. College changed all that - I found friends who had similar interests. College became a place where I began to discover who I truly was as a queer agender person - which ultimately led to me pursuing a career in Student Affairs.

Now, as a new student affairs professional who took a job in a new city after graduation, I struggled to find friends outside of my institution. In a strange twist of fate, my geekiness, in conjunction with my role as a student affairs professional, has helped me find friends, find a personal outlet outside of work, and find a way to let my geekiness shine.

My most recent geek discovery--and now nerdy obsession-- has been the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The first time I attended a live show was with a group of students who were on an outing with the Programming Board (yay discounted extra ticket!). After that first show, I kept going back, and eventually joined the cast. One of the things I love about my cast is our emphasis on equality and social justice themes - from gender and color blind casting for the shadow cast to audience participation lines that calls out racist/sexist/homophobic comments and lines. For me, being on cast is the first time outside of my job where I can be my full authentic self as a queer agender person. It's a place where I'm accepted just as I am, and have built amazing friendships outside of work. More than anything, I’m relieved to have peers outside of work. Beyond a “How’s work going?” conversation, I can unplug, relax, and have fun.

Authenticity is something I value, and I'm open with my students about my secret life as a Rocky Horror cast member. I only mention it if it’s relevant to the conversation, but if they were to ask I wouldn't deny it. My boss even came to support me on my first night playing a character (The Criminologist). It is a lot of fun when my students come to see the show - I don't think I'm the person they would expect to see on cast - and it gives us something unique to share. My cast has become my home outside of my institution and something I wouldn't trade anything in the world for.

So if you are ever in Atlanta on a Friday night - come see me at the Plaza Theater for the midnight show and let me share my nerdiness with you!

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JLP Prince serves as the Director of Community Engagement at Agnes Scott College, a private liberal arts women’s college, in Decatur, GA. They hold a B.A. in Religious and Ethical Studies and minors in International Studies, History, and Communication from Meredith College (Raleigh, NC) and a M.A. in College Student Development from Appalachian State University (Boone, NC).  JLP is a strong advocate of experiential learning within a global context and works so that all students can engage in experiential learning. They are passionate about topics surrounding social justice and equity and enjoy having dialogue around philosophy, intersectionality, and the understanding of difference.  In their free time, (in addition to Rocky Horror!) you'll find JLP hammocking outside, reading a book, singing in Agnes Scott’s Collegiate Chorale, or having a grand adventure.

#SAGeeks - A Life of Geekiness

I've been pretty geeky my whole life. From playing video games for as long as I can remember, to old photos of me reading Spider-Man comics as a kid, to pretending to be all my favorite superheroes with my brother and my friends when we'd play outside as kids. I've always been obsessively into the things I love, wanting to know everything I can, and always appreciated learning and doing well in school. I was kind of awkward and quirky, which led to me not having the best time making friends, but I could at least always escape in the worlds of my favorite video games.

Life was hard for me at times because of my geeky tendencies. I'd sometimes rather engage in my own personal interests then go out and do anything else, or care to connect with other people based on what they were into. I eventually grew to appreciate my own enthusiasm for what I was into, and work to appreciate the same energy and passion in others. People love to talk about what they're into, so I found a way to connect and make friends even if we didn't share my niche interests.

Reading books like Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth and Nerds helped me come to terms with my geeky personality. It wasn't a flaw, like I felt for so long (especially during my hormonal teenage years). It was an asset I could use to my advantage. I could showcase my geek pride in my office and it would help me, not hinder me. There were other people who struggled like me, I wasn't the only one.

Creating this site and being a part of programs like Rutgers Geek Week and connecting with professionals in higher education who care about this stuff has really helped me develop as I continue through the early phase of my career. While I don't know what the next few years will exactly look like, I at least have a lot more confidence in myself and have a positive outlook for the future.

This #SAGeeks series will seek to shine a light on others like me who live an especially geeky life and work in the realm of higher education and student affairs. They geek out about a lot of different things; theater, board games, professional wrestling, comics, and much more. They'll talk about the highs and lows of being geeks/nerds and proudly featuring your passions. You'll hear from professionals all over the country. I encourage you to reach out and geek out with them!

Also, shout out to my editors Jenn Osolinski and Lynne Meyer who approached me with the idea in the first place. And check out my resources page for more geeky goodness.

Movie Review Monday: Serendipity

Welcome to another edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film is the 2001 romantic comedy, Serendipity, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale.

I always knew about this movie and just randomly decided to watch it recently. It does feel a bit dated in some ways having come out 15 years ago, but the story is pretty evergreen. It follows John (Cusack) and Sara (Beckinsale) as they try to figure out what to make of a chance encounter that leaves them both reeling. They have an undeniable chemistry but are both with other people. They figure if fate steers them back to each other, then they'll give it a try. What follows is a fun ride figuring out if life is sending you signs or not.

I feel like we can all relate to this movie. We all have those "ones that got away" that we wish we could reconnect with or look for fate sending us signals in our lives. Sometimes it can be silly but it is a nice sentiment to see the universe as a slightly more magical place, with soulmates, destiny, and signals coming from the universe.

There are some great supporting performances in this movie from Jeremy Piven, Molly Shannon, and Eugene Levy. Where the film suffers for its sort of (for lack of a better word) serendipitous plot movements at times, it makes up for it with its message and implications. My partner and I enjoyed the movie enough and it has a good pace and doesn't go too long either. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a light rom-com to pass the time.

You can catch Serendipity streaming right now on Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Thanks for stopping by!

Weekly Geek Outs - 07/08/16

Greetings!

Back at it this week after taking last week off for my brother's wedding (which was wonderful!). Here's what is going on in my world this week:

• Parenthood

Jenn and I finally finished this series this week. Wow, such a powerful, emotional show. I really enjoyed watching it, especially with Jenn since we reminisced about our childhoods, what we'd want to as parents together, and just shared in the joy of this modern family drama. All of the show is on Netflix, and it is a good ride with great story beats that really resonated with us. It is a well done show with a lot of stellar characters and actors. If you liked Friday Night Lights, check out this show! If you want a wholesome, heartfelt show to binge watch, check out this show!

• Check I'm Here

I recently signed on to blog with the super cool folks at Check I'm Here, a great higher ed tech company that helps colleges across the country track, assess, and engage their students. My first blog post went up this week, and there will be much more goodness to come on there soon! I appreciate everyone's support there.

• Meetup.com

I found some meetup groups in Maine when I lived there to go out to, but none of them were based out of Meetup.com, so now being near two cities I knew I wanted to search for more cool groups around here. I've found some for me as well as some for me and Jenn. I look forward to meeting new people here as well as reconnecting with friends in the area. It's always rough transitioning and dealing with getting to know new people again, but I feel confident it will be okay.

Thanks for stopping by!

Book Review: Brewing Up a Business

"Of all that the world has to offer, it is innate human potential that is the most impressive."

I recently finished reading a book that I've been meaning to read for a while now, Brewing Up a Business, by Sam Calagione about the founding of Dogfish Head Brewery. I got the second edition a few years ago when it came out and actually got it signed by Sam when he came to visit University of Delaware to promote it. Dogfish has always piqued my curiosity since it is something from Delaware that a lot of people know of. I've had a few beers of theirs that I've liked, and recently (finally) visited their brewery in Delaware (they have a ale house here in Maryland that I need to check out too). Nevertheless, I've appreciated them as an ambassador of my (sort of) home state and was excited to sit down with this book after far too long putting it off.

I will say that this book didn't grab me in its entirety. There are cool parts, like the stories about the early days of Dogfish Head. There are also less cool parts, like going into how to balance your small business's budget (oversimplifying a bit here). I personally wasn't reading this book for the introduction to business lessons. I wanted stories and advice about life. I appreciate that the book has both, but it ended up with a decent portion of the book not being for me. I skimmed through the parts that started to lose my attention. It felt mostly like pretty boiler plate leadership and business tips that are very much currently part of the zeitgeist on sites like Inc or Fast Company (granted this book came out several years ago, so it was probably a little ahead of the curve).

There are some fine morsels in there (see the above quote which I love). There is also some neat connections for me personally between the obvious location for the brewery in Delaware, where I grew up, but also where I was born in Maine (the state as a whole, not my hometown). I really like craft beer, going to breweries with my partner, trying new things, and meeting the people who are passionate about their craft. It helps get a local flavor wherever I go and is a great way to relax and connect with others. I look forward to continuing this trend. I appreciate the opportunity to read this book to deepen the respect I have for Dogfish Head.

Go check out this book at your favorite book retailer or your local library. Sam Calagione also released another book recently, Off-Centered Leadership, so if you want more from Dogfish Head, check it out too!

Thanks for stopping by!