The Weather Matches the Task

In this Issue:

• Winter Break closing reminder message
• Final grades: worries and reassurance
• Deacon Health hours and pharmacy availability
• Wake Alert message yesterday afternoon

I titled today’s message “The Weather Matches the Task” because it has been cold and rainy for most of yesterday and today. Taking finals and finishing those last papers and projects is not exactly fun, and the weather is reflecting that. But chin up, students: only a few more days to go until Winter Break! On that note…

Winter Break closing reminder message

Yesterday afternoon the Office of Residence Life and Housing sent a message to resident students with important reminders about the Winter Break closing. As a reminder, all resident students must be out of their rooms by 2 p.m. on December 15 (unless approved for interim housing), as card access to the buildings will end at that time. Rooms will be inspected over break, and students are reminded to take their room key and Deacon OneCard home with them during break. There is a handy Plan, Pack, Protect set of checklists to help students prep their space and their belongings for break.

Final grades: worries and reassurance

Even if the weather were not miserable, the stress of final exams tends to get students’ emotions stirred up, which is pretty normal. But add to that a lack of sleep, questionable food choices, and/or a lack of exercise, and this can create a perfect storm for anxiety, worry, drama, etc.

Our students tend to be perfectionistic and worry a lot about their grades. Those worries tend to be about the following:

What will my parents’ (or family members) reactions be to a bad grade in one class/a bad overall semester?  

What if I don’t pass the class?

What if this one grade tanks my GPA?

What if this means I can’t get into the business school/med school/law school etc.?

And – by extension – what if this means my whole life is going to be messed up?

Fully-formed adults know that there are very few things in the world that have irrevocable consequences. You can get a bad grade, have a bad semester, fail out even – and still go on to recover and turn things around. But our students’ brains are not fully developed yet, and they might not have the perspective to understand that. This is where you can come in to help.

If you think your student might be tipping over into Worry Territory, it may help to bring some older, wiser person’s perspective to the situation. You can acknowledge their stress AND help put it into perspective, using language like this:

I can see that you seem really worried about this class. I want to assure you that one grade/one semester will not determine your future.  

I know you are worried about this grade, but never forget that we love you unconditionally.

I have been in a similar situation where it seemed like things were really bad. Here’s how I turned it around…[or, I failed at X, and it was hard.  Here is what I learned…]

You see where I am going.

You can also encourage your student to celebrate their successes – and surely there have been many this semester! Your students tackled large textbooks, learned languages, read great works of literature or studied art or dance, got involved in extracurriculars, etc. They probably had moments where they struggled – but they grew from those struggles! They probably had to wrestle with decisions – or ethics – and made choices that felt right to them. They hopefully learned to self manage and become more independent.

While the grades in college are certainly very important, college students are also growing into who they will be in their adult lives. There is no grade for ‘growing into adulthood’ – but is very important nonetheless. And they ought to give themselves a pat on the back.

Again, hearing your unconditional love for them – especially when they are stressed – might be the best possible answer.  And have their favorite foods at the ready when they get home 🙂

Deacon Health hours and pharmacy availability

Deacon Health will have reduced hours from Dec. 16 to Dec. 20 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The last full day of Pharmacy services is Dec. 13. Students are encouraged to plan accordingly for their any medication needs.

Although Deacon Health will be closed for Winter Break, students can still call the nurse triage line for illness needs (call 336.758.5218 and follow the prompts).

Wake Alert message yesterday afternoon

Just after 5 p.m. yesterday, after the Daily Deac was in the queue to be sent out, the campus received a Wake Alert message about a shooting at a local high school. Our message told students “There is no reason to believe that the suspect in the reported shooting is on or near campus. The campus community will be updated should the risk to our area change.” This was mostly a message for awareness.

Checking our local news station, I saw this update on the situation. this is from a statement made by the school district: “We are sad to report that today after dismissal at Reynolds High School, a student was shot in the leg after an altercation near Northwest Boulevard. The student is in stable condition and recovering.”