Environmental Audit of the Student Life Offices

A presentation by:

Britt Q Hoover

Marleigh Luster

Tristen Shay

Ruth Sterner and

Antonea Widony

Mission: To conduct environmental audits of the Student

Life offices which include the Dean of Student Life Office, Disability Access Services, Career Services, New Student Programs and Family Outreach and The Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards

Questions asked by Auditors: What aspects of the space are encouraging? What aspects of the space are discouraging? How accessible is the office? In what ways could the office be improved?

The Project

Encouraging Features OSU Pride! Signs, gear, orange and black in

all offices

Safe Space stickers and Ally signs in most offices

Well-displayed resources for underrepresented students in many offices

Institutional and athletics pride

evident throughout the offices!Easy to access resources

for students

Poster for scholarships for LGBTQQI

students

Representing some of the diversity at OSU

Overall great balance between professional and personal

Well-lit spaces

Representation of women, students of color

Lounge and student computer spaces

Encouraging features continued…

Discouraging Features

Bare, bland hallways, lobbies, or office spaces

Christmas trees and ornaments (particularly in mid-January/early February)

Lack of directional signs, evacuation routes, gender neutral bathrooms, etc.

Could a display of patriotism be unwelcoming to some international students or students who have lost a loved one due to military conflict?

Items that could go either way: Values posters, gender messages, and cultural artifacts

“Opportunity: Don’t wait for your ship to come in… swim to it.” Could this motivational poster discourage someone who can’t swim?

Integrity poster: Do students who come in for a conduct violation automatically need to be confronted with messages about integrity?

“RISK: What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” What mixed messages could this poster be sending?

Gender Messages

Woman-empowering posters and artifacts:

On the one hand, they send encouraging message to women.

On the other hand, they could potentially create unwelcoming environment for men.

Are they potentially gender-normative and/or heterosexist?

More Gender Messages

While commendable to honor the agricultural history and future of Oregon, all the posters in the series displayed around Career Services feature men AND most motivation posters involving physical activity also feature men.

Cultural Appropriation?While arguably also encouraging, there is a noticeable Asian “theme” throughout many of the offices. There are several pieces of art featuring Chinese characters, books on Zen, Tibetan statues, etc. These “cultural artifacts” could potentially be viewed as cultural appropriation and/or there is the potential for students of non-Asian cultures to think “Where is my culture?”

Also, in Career Services, there is a “African tribal mask” hanging in a hallway. However, it is displayed without context (history, purpose in office, artist, influence)… as apposed to the panda picture which has context

Stars in Accessibility

∞The DAS welcome desk is lowered to be accessible to students in wheelchairs

The Career Services lobby has a computer that is accessible to wheel chair users

There are clearly visible and easy to access resources outside DAS and Dean of Student Life offices

Although most of the NSPFO offices require navigating through a narrow hallway, Donna’s desk is accessible to all

Most office furniture is easy to move and adjust

Most hallways, aisles and doorways were wide- however people needed to keep their doors all the way open for maximum accessibility

Inaccessible desk in Student Conduct

Computer designated wheelchair accessible in Career Services, however printer is out of reach

Room for improvement

DAS office features automatic door; however, it was blocked by boxes when two auditors dropped by

Website Design

“Every office should download a screen reader and check out what their websites sound like.  It’s a real eye opener.” - Tristen Shay

Most websites were found to be “well-organized and accessible”

Disability Access Services’ website was especially easy to navigate and accessible for students

Some of the web pages included pictures of students but failed to capture the diversity of OSU

DOSL’s website prominently featured links for “non-traditional students,” veterans, students of color, students with disabilities, LGBTQQIA students, etc.

Specific Suggestions from the Auditors

Better directional and emergency evacuation signage for all students

Staff who were comfortable could put Safe Space/Ally stickers on doors

Bilingual signage and/or resources in offices

Spruce up stairwell to NSPFO and Career Services

Add more color, art to blank, bland spaces to make space more inviting and welcoming to students

Keep all doorways unblocked and open

Move printer in Career Services lobby to more accessible space

Make sure all reception desks and student desks are lowered

Questions to consider when dealing with items that could go either way

• What non-verbal cues does your office produce?• What social and attitudinal factors are being

displayed?• How do these cues affect students’ attitudes and

behaviors?• Are these the attitudes and behaviors you are

trying to instill in students?• Are you leveraging everything at your disposal

(including your physical environment) to ensure student success and development?

• Is that something that you should be doing?

For the items that could go either way, we suggest…

For items that are kept in public areas (i.e. front desks, hallways, lobby areas, etc.) we suggest putting some educational materials by the items, including how they are typically displayed, used, historical significance, etc. Context can do a lot to educate people and make them less likely to see these items as discouraging.

When you purchase new posters, flyers, and artwork ask yourself whether they are inclusive of gender, sexual orientation, age, race, nationality, physical and mental abilities, and more

For items that are kept in personal spaces we suggest being ready to have open, honest conversations with students about why you choose to display the items that you do. Be prepared to talk with them about previous experiences you have had, traveling that you have done, holidays that you celebrate, values that you hold dear or other experiences that explain why you decorate your desk or office the way you do. This can be a great way to learn more about your students lives and interests too.

Questions and/or Comments?