Volume 39, Issue 3

The drinking habits of students who are members of Greek organizations and a student volunteer organization were compared using the Core Survey, a survey developed by the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention (1999) and administered widely to students in higher education. Three hundred and twenty-one students from a midwestern university participated in the study. Results indicated that Greeks drink more than volunteering students. However, there were no significant differences between Greeks and volunteers on certain specific negative side effects of drinking.

Using data gathered through the 1999–2000 NASPA Salary Survey, researchers examined the effects of gender, ethnicity, and highest degree earned on mean salaries of senior student affairs officers (SSAOs) at 4-year, public institutions. Analyses of covariance found that degree attainment and ethnicity significantly affected salaries, while gender did not. Although salaries appeared to be equitable, women and people of color were not represented proportionally at the senior levels of student affairs administration. It appears that women and people of color do not reach the position of SSAO at similar rates as Caucasian males, but once there salary inequity is not present.

In this qualitative study, researchers describe how 38 students constructed issues of power and authority during a pilot implementation of a residentially based self-governance program: the community Standards Model (Piper, 1997). Students' perceptions illustrated multiple constructions of power in four theme areas: (a) power as a possession versus power as an interrelational act, (b) power with versus power over, (c) content and process dimensions, and (d) staff and student talk. As a result of an enhanced understanding of student–staff power relations as perceived by students, we propose two interrelated, transformative conditions for promoting shared authority among students and student affairs professionals in ways that foster learning, while also minimizing acts of student resistance.

This paper reports on the experiences, perspectives, and opinions from a group of senior student affairs officers about leadership. Questions were sent to each of the leaders, and summaries of their responses are included in this report. The approach to leadership taken by the respondents could be categorized broadly as servant leadership.

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to examine the construct of marginality in transfer commuter students, and (2) to discover possible demographic (e.g., race, gender) and situational (e.g., on-campus support, employment) characteristics that might contribute to this sense of marginality. In the first analysis, no significant differences were found between transfer and native commuter students on marginality. However, results showed that these students have few sources of on-campus support, and that this lack of support contributed to feelings of marginality. Also, women and Asian American participants experienced higher levels of marginality. Finally, different variables were contributors to marginality for transfer students as compared with an overall sample of commuter students.

The Necessary Components Retention Program Assessment model provides a conceptual foundation for assessing factors that contribute to minority student persistence at predominantly White institutions. The six components of this model were used to assess differences between student participants and nonparticipants in a minority retention program geared toward African American students. The sample included 97 students--72 females and 25 males. Study results indicated that the model explained differences between program participants and nonparticipants. Leadership Opportunities contributed most to these differences, followed by Worth and Competence, Social Integration, and Ethnic and Peer Attachment. These results provide a framework for further exploration of the relationship between students' college experiences and persistence.