Theories Of College Student Development

Running head: MENTORING FOR ACCESS AND PERSISTENCE

MENTORING FOR ACCESS AND PERSISTENCE

Christopher Jones

EDU 773

Salem State University

Instructor: Kevin Piskadlo

MENTORING FOR ACCESS AND PERSISTENCE 2

Abstract

This paper will take an in depth look at the life of cadets at West Point and how they

navigate through some of the difficult hardships that exist at their military academy. The

Internet, and Books, I will show the many challenges that future military men and women face

while maturing into adults. I will explore the history of the military, and share some views and

opinions of the military academy known as West Point. I will introduce a program I designed to

implement at the academy West Point which will suggest some alternative approaches to use

when dealing with some of the issues at military academies. My intent with this analysis is to

raise awareness regarding student/cadets transitioning through military institutions and how we

as civilians in society can assist them with this change and promote equality and fair play.

Keywords: Cadets, PTSD (Post, Traumatic, Syndrome, Disorder), Military


UNITED STATES SOLDIERS CREED

I am an American Soldier. I am a Warrior and a member of a team.

I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.

I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.I am an American Soldier.

Hooah!This is an example of a Soldiers Creed. It is one of the first items learned upon entrance

in the military. Soldiers are required to know this passage word for word after being given

proper time to learn it. A commanding officer can request a soldier to recite this piece at any

given time. If a soldier fails this task, he could be subjected to harsh punishments. The text in

this creed is very strong and powerful language, and once learned, a soldier lives and dies by it.

After reading Absolutely American, I wondered how many soldiers/cadets have the same

feelings regarding the creed after they have completed their military career.


The United States military is one of the largest in the world. It draws its manpower from

a large pool of paid volunteers. It consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast

Guard. All of the branches work together during operations and joint missions under the

authority of the Secretary of Defense with the exception of the Coast Guard. From the time of its

inception, the military has played a decisive role in the country’s history. Many United States

citizens have dedicated their lives and careers to the armed forces, and have taken advantage of

many opportunities afforded to them for being associated with our forces.

One advantage the military offers for years of service is education. According to

Wikipedia, the G.I. Bill was implemented in the United States to provide many returning

veterans funding for their education. This initiative’s purpose was to assist men and women with

the sudden change to a postwar economy by improving job skills and incomes. There are many

advantages with serving in the military, Career Training Retirement, Discipline Training, and

Physical Benefits. If an individual is really excited about joining one of the armed force

branches, they could apply to what is known as a military academy. Currently, there are over

sixty some odd military academies in the United States. West Point is one of the most

prestigious military academies in the country. West Point has been a part of the United States

history since the Revolutionary War. Former President George Washington played a key role in

the creation of this military academy. West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military

post in America. The institution currently serves a little over four thousand cadets, including

male and female genders, and has over sixty-five curriculum majors of study.


According to (Lipsky, 2004, p.6) “the mission at West Point is very simple, take civilians

and turn them into officers”. In today’s military society, that challenge is more difficult than

ever before. The military academies in the United States today have taken on a different look

and demeanor than in the past years. (Lipsky, 2004, p.7) suggest that, “when the draft ended in

1975, civilian culture and military culture lost track of each other”. Somewhere along the line

the military lost a lot of its appeal to the young men and women currently in society. I agree

with Lipsky’s statement regarding separation between society and the military. Forty to fifty

years ago former soldiers were looked upon differently, if you served in the military. Many men

and women looked at the armed forces as a viable and lucrative career. People of color had a

different opinion when asked about the military, but over time with media publicizing the many

problems and issues relating to the service, many people including minorities and people of color

have lost confidence in our branch services division.

According to (Lipsky, 2004, p.19), the evolution of West Point has under gone some

major changes as well. In the earlier years at West Point the institution was built on toughness.

It was almost expected that the upperclassmen would abuse the under classmen. (Lipsky 2004,

p. 21) “suggest that physical harassment, verbal abuse and hazing were the norms at West point”.

Privates or Plebes were constantly abused during their first year. The administration itself

orchestrated their own kind of hazing ritual. Many first year cadets would opt to urinate in the

sink in their rooms rather than risk a walk down the hallway to the bathroom, for fear of being

seen by an upperclassmen and being hazed.


Life at a military academy can be daunting to new arrivals. In a cadets first year, he or

she is taught to view their surroundings through a very small lens. Superior officers are not

interested in hearing your opinion. Your job is to basically keep your mouth closed and follow

the orders that are given to you. This method or tactic can be closely related to Perry’s Model of

Dualism. According to (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, and Renn, 2010, p. 86) Perry suggest that

“Dualism is a mode of meaning making in which the world is viewed dichotomously: good –

bad, right – wrong, black - white”. The military is set up that way by design. The reason for this

way of life is probably due to the fact that during a war, decisions must be made swiftly and with

the utmost precision. Because lives are on the line, the individuals involved do not have a lot

time to dabble in the grey areas. (Lipsky, 2004 p. 34) suggest that at the academy or “leadership

laboratory”, nobody was worried about being original or entertaining. You were told what to do

and when to do it. A lot of cadets liked that style of living.

Another common theme that can associated with West Point is Perry’s Model of

Relativism when comparing the relationship among officers and upperclassmen of equal rank.

(Evans et. al 2010 p. 86) suggest that, Relativistic thinkers acknowledge that some opinions are

of little value, yet reasonable people can disagree on some matters.

Chickering’s Theory of development can definitely be applied to the makeup of West

Point Military Academy. (Evans et. al 2010 pgs. 67-69) suggest that an individual’s

psychosocial development has seven stages or vectors. In my opinion, the military academies

need to focus largely or should be concentrating on the seven vectors to further develop those

future leaders.


Developing Competence, Managing Emotions, Moving Toward Interdependence,

Developing Interpersonal Relationships, Establishing Identity, Developing a sense of Purpose,

and Developing Integrity are all key elements for individuals navigating their way through an

institution such as West Point and life after West Point.

Reading the bestseller “Absolutely American” gave me a pretty vivid picture of life at

West Point Military Academy. For the most part, life as a cadet is dictated to you. The

institution literally strips and breaks you down as an individual to only build you up again into

what they want you to be. Perry’s model of Dualism really stands out as a common theme

throughout the story. That military mentality way of thinking is good for some, but what about

the individuals that want to pursue a career in the military, but would struggle with the rigid

lifestyle due to cultural differences etc. What do they do, or where do they go for support?

My proposed program for West Point is called MAP (Mentoring for Access and

Persistence). MAP is a unique mentoring program geared for military personnel, which matches

various military counselors and professional counselors from the civilian world to counsel

military men and women in need of assistance. The program would focus on the following

areas:

1. Awareness – Exposing young cadets to opportunities and lifelong military benefits.

2. Financial Readiness – Exposing cadets to financial opportunities in and out of the

military.

3. Persistence – Providing personal support and coaching on life skills.


Mentoring program would be a two year program for military personnel and the

Persistence program would be a four year program for cadets.

MAP Program Curriculum

Mandatory Orientation – Military Personnel / Counselors

Leadership Development

Real Time Experience

Persistence – “Steps to Success”

Graduation - Portfolio


References

Evans, N.J., Forney, D.S., Guido, F.M., Patton, L.D., Renn, K.A., (2010) Student Development

in College. San Francisco, CA

Lipsky, D, (2004) Absolutely American, New York, NY

MICRO-AGGRESSIONS IMPACT ON SOCIETY 4

Diversity and issues of cross-cultures are central to most important conversations and

discussions that take place on many of your colleges / university campuses in the United States

today. Several departments within Student Affairs Divisions in a lot of institutions of higher

education are faced everyday with the challenge of not only making sure are in agreement with

their college’s mission statement, but also ensuring that they maintain and abide by important

policies, procedures and practices. The makeup of our student bodies are changing continually

by becoming more racially diverse, older, more international, and more openly lesbian, gay,

bisexual, and transgender (LGBT). Diversity within higher education has taken on a new

meaning. In the past, when referring to diversity on a college campus, one might automatically

think of race involving a student of color, but on today’s campuses, a person cannot be quick to

jump to conclusions and instantly make any assumptions until they have heard all the facts,

because the parties involved could have a totally different issue unrelated to race.

A lot of experts would probably argue that technology and computers are the wave of the

future in higher education, but in my opinion, Multicultural Competence Awareness is a vital

component necessary in creating and maintaining a safe, inclusive, fair, and healthy environment

conducive for all faculty, staff, and students to be successful.

The history of Micro-aggressions can be traced as far back as when the first slaves were

brought to this country from Africa. According to (Davis 1989, p. 3), “Americans share a

common historical and cultural heritage in which racism has played and still plays a dominate

role. Because of this shared experience, we also inevitably share many ideas, attitudes and

beliefs that attach significance to an individual’s race and induce negative feelings and opinions


about nonwhites. To the extent that this cultural belief system has influenced all of us, we are all

racists. At the same time, most of us are unaware of our racism”. Also, coupled with that belief,

is the need to categorize different ethnic groups. This behavior has also aided in the

development of Micro-aggressions. Cognitive psychologist have suggested that humans have a

need to categorize people in order to make sense of their external experiences. Very similar to

many identity theories, Micro-aggressions are easily formed when external situations impact a

person and they internalize that experience and for an opinion of that person and ultimately that

individuals race.

In my opinion, the “Cycle of Socialization, developed by Bobbie Harro” can be closely

related to Micro-aggressions and how they are formed. In this particular theory, Harro describes

in detail the evolution of a person’s life. In the beginning, a person is first born into a situation

guilt free, with no information stored inside of them, virtually a blank slate. The first form of

socialization is your parents, teachers, relatives etc. Those individuals whether intentionally or

unintentionally start to program that person’s thought patterns with traditions, and values. Then

those values get reinforced as that person matures by other influential groups resulting in

internalization of those patterns, and then based on that information, an individual at some point

has to gain further knowledge and decide to take action against unfairness or do nothing and

promote status quo. (Wijeysinghe, Bailey 2001) Suggest that Racial Identities are results from

internal processes as an individual encounters external influences. I agree with this theory

because in many cases the first teachers of a new born baby are parents. Whatever that parent

was taught as a child from their parents is going to be passed down to the next generation.


I disagree with the theory of individuals behaving like their parents because they were

exposed to a family trait or habit at a young age, and by default they continue the cycle. Not

everything we inherit from our parents is positive. I believe that some of the cycles and trends

passed down from one generation to the next need to be broken. My father, who unfortunately is

an alcoholic, showed me the negative effects of alcoholism. As a result of watching him battle

with those demons over the years, and witnessing firsthand how it ruined many happy and joyous

family occasions, none of his kids including myself wanted anything to do with drinking alcohol.

My father picked up his drinking habit from my grandfather and his generations, and it was

passed down from one generation to the next, but the cycle was broken during my generation. I

believe through education and personal pain and struggle myself, my brother and my sister were

able to break that habit in our family. Similar to Harro’s cycle of Socialization, when we came

to the point in our lives where we had to make a decision on whether we would follow in the

footsteps of what we were taught as children and continue the trend or make a change, educate

ourselves on the negative effects of alcoholism and take a stand, we chose to make a change and

break the chain. I believe in regard to Micro-aggressions, every person at some point of their life

reaches a crossroad in terms of whether or not they are going to have the courage to speak out

against racial prejudices and discrimination or simply do nothing, and let the injustice continue.

As a practicing professional in higher education, I think the subject of Micro-aggressions

will have a major impact on me and my continued work. The reason why I feel this will be a

work in progress is because, prejudices, and race / group discriminations are here to stay. The

subject of dispelling Micro-aggressions is a tremendous under taking because you are trying to

convince another individual or individuals to give up some of their traditions and beliefs.


As much as we would like to think as higher education administrators, we can save the

world, the reality is, some people in this world are not willing to be saved change their

philosophies. In fact, some of the privileged people feel that society is fine just the way it is or

question why do we need change? Unfortunately, racism, is alive and well in this country.

Discrimination amongst cross-cultures has not changed much throughout the course of history. I

do believe that there has been progress in certain areas, but we still have a long way to go and

with the aid of media technology, we have constant reminders on a daily basis to let us know we

have to continue the fight for equality for all.

In terms of theoretical concepts covered throughout the course that is applicable to my

work in student affairs. I think Bailey’s racial identity development theory can be applied in

assisting me reach some conclusions. I agree with Bailey’s suggestion of in order to gain a better

understanding of individuals and as groups we must continue to examine how we interact with

one another. The subject of identity focuses on understanding self-awareness, the nature of

mankind, and inter-cultural similarities and differences. Once insight and knowledge is gained,

an individual can begin to understand the life and needs of others.

The identity I identify and associate with is the Black Identity. The development of

African Americans or Black people in this country is a unique experience. Black people were

brought to this country by force, and brutally enslaved by white people, for several hundreds of

years. Africans were stripped of their culture, traditions, and customs and forced to learn another

culture or suffer horrific consequences. The family structure was totally destroyed by separation,

and men in particular were not able to lead and guide their families as they wished, but were

forced to accept a lifestyle that was considered less than human.


This oppression and abuse had a devastating and crippling effect on the Black Race and culture.

The psychological and emotional toll of slavery still plagues the development of black people to

this day. In my opinion, the United States and several other social ethnic groups are still

suffering consciously from the inhuman mentality slavery has left behind. Because black people,

in my opinion have been oppressed the most, understanding their stages of development is

critical to interpreting other identity groups.

Another concept / theory I feel will be helpful in terms of student affairs work is Cass’s

Model of Homosexuality Identity. With the rising number of students regarding (LGBT) issues,

and new laws being introduced and passed within society today, I believe educating and

displaying compassion and acceptance for this culture is vital for our countries future success.

The issues surrounding Gays, Lesbians, Bi-sexual and Transgender people are unchartered

waters for the most part, and really need some professionals to further explore their world to rely

much needed information to the rest of society.

Issues regarding Micro-aggression sounds like an easy subject to discuss and

work within in terms of society and higher education, but the fact of the matter is that it is a very

difficult and complex area to work within, and one must possess a high level of skill, knowledge

and training when addressing this issue with students, faculty, staff and members of society. In

my opinion, as a professional, there is no such thing as too much training when working with a

sensitive topic as Micro-aggression. Economically, society is in a state of panic and individuals

are very desperate in their everyday situations, and as educators and administrators in the field of

education, we have to act very cautiously when interacting and working with various cultures on

issues of culture and fair play.


I agree with Reynolds, in our required reading, that this work must continue to be

supported by different agencies and professional national / local associations. Preparation and

training programs at various undergraduate and graduate level institutions must continue to

increase awareness regarding the issues surrounding multiculturalism. Finally, as individuals, I

believe that each person owes it to themselves and their fellow man to continue to educate

themselves and others of the dangers of unfair treatment and discrimination regarding

multiculturalism. Educating, raising awareness, and changing negative views when needed is

the only way society has a chance of overcoming this disease that currently plagues our nation.


References

Davis, P. (1988). Law of Micro-aggression Citation: 98 Yale L. J. 1988-1989

(pp. 1559-1578). Retrieved from EBSCO host database.

Reynolds , A. & Pope, R. Multicultural Competence in Student Affairs

(pp. 156-157). San Francisco, CA:

Wijeyesinghe, C., Jackson, B. (2001, 2012). New perspectives on racial identity

Development (pp. 11-25). New York, NY:

Theories Of College Student Development

Education

Transcript of Theories Of College Student Development