All posts by Phillip Pronschinske

Campus, Study Abroad, Winona State University

Study Abroad: A Student Perspective

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Each semester, a select number of students from Winona State embark on an academic journey away from the community of learners they know in order to learn in another culture across the world.

According to publicity materials from the university, the study abroad program at Winona State is open to any student, provided they meet three basic criteria: they are not on disciplinary or academic probation, they have their Warrior Hub account paid in full, and they have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.

If a student meets these requirements, the next step is for them to meet with a peer advisor. Peer advising was introduced this year as a way to guide students through the programming, application and preparation process with aid from a student who has already studied abroad. Since the peer advising program is relatively new, there is currently only one peer advisor: Kathreen Smith.

Smith is a senior at Winona State triple-majoring in economics, political science and communication studies. She studied abroad in Muscat, Oman, during spring semester 2015 and said she had a great experience. Smith said she believes everyone should study abroad at some point and hopes to help other students accomplish their dream of studying abroad.

Smith said she mainly helps students narrow their program choices, as this is where students often struggle.

“Some people don’t even know how to look for one, they can search through and read it but they don’t know what exactly they’re looking for,” Smith said.

Students first apply for approval from Winona State to study abroad through an online application. For semester study away programs, once a student is approved by WSU, they can apply to the program of their choice at the respective university abroad they wish to attend. Following this application, students wait to hear back from the institution abroad. If they are accepted the preparation for their semester abroad begins.

Cassandra Pearson, a senior global studies major, said although her experience studying abroad in Shanghai, China, two years ago was good, she dealt with frustrations both before and after the trip. The first, she said, was in regards to paperwork.

“I actually got really confused on the process at first because you need like a lot of paperwork to fill out just to apply at the WSU stage to get approved to study abroad,” Pearson said. “You had to have like two letters of recommendation from professors and then you had to fill out a sheet saying what courses you’d think you’d take over there and how they would come back to WSU.”

The second, Pearson said, was due to slow response from her abroad university when she needed to know if she would actually be allowed to go or not.

“It was very frustrating, especially waiting so long for that paperwork and you know not having signed up for housing here, not having signed up for classes and if this fell through I would just have a semester of nothing,” Pearson said

Lastly, Pearson said the school in Shanghai was awful with communication and as a result, she did not receive her transcripts until nearly a year after completing her semester abroad.

“I had a bad situation leaving in the case of getting my grades to come back and so I went through a phase of really regretting it, but overall I’m really glad I went,” Pearson said.

When Pearson traveled abroad, the peer advising program had not yet been put in place, as a result, she experienced greater difficulty getting some of her personal questions answered.

“This program to this school [was] fairly new,” Pearson said. “I think maybe two or three students had gone before me and I knew one of them personally but he wasn’t the most reliable with answering questions.”

In the time since Pearson’s semester abroad, the application process has been moved online entirely and the peer advising program has been put into place. These changes may rectify some of the issues within the current application process.

Despite the potential frustrations, Smith’s advice to those who wish to study abroad is simple.

“Just do it. Make it work,” Smith said, “There’s always a way to make it work. There’s so many different options out there.”

Short video newscast to accompany this article:

Kathreen Smith talks about who has the most safety concerns for students abroad:

Cassandra Pearson talks about a strange experience she had when registering for classes at the start of her semester abroad in Shanghai:

 

Relevant Links:

WSU Study Abroad Student Resources:http://www.winona.edu/studyabroad/resources.asp

Book an Appointment with a WSU Peer Advisor if you’re considering going abroad:https://my.setmore.com/shortBookingPage/406bc7da-1b59-4cc0-a262-ff8eadba2667

Study Abroad Vs. Travel: Studyhttp://www.winona.edu/studyabroad/about.asp

 

Campus, Campus, News, Security, Winona State University

Winona State Welcomes New Director of Security

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Winona State University’s newly appointed director of security, Chris Cichosz, officially began his duties this past Monday.

Cichosz, a Winona native, received his associate’s degree in law enforcement from Rochester Community and Technical College, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and sociology from the University of Wyoming, and a master’s degree in public safety executive leadership from St. Cloud State University. For the past 15 years, Cichosz has worked for the Winona County Sheriff’s Office, serving as an assistant detention deputy, patrol deputy, K-9 handler, narcotics and violent crimes investigator and chief deputy.

Cichosz will be responsible for the coordination and management of security departments at both Winona State University and Southeast Technical College. Cichosz said he hopes to bring a more holistic approach to campus security by combatting underlying issues.

“I try to take a big picture approach not just a ‘take care of that one incident’—more try to take care of what’s causing whatever it may be or how we can make it better in the long run—not just right now,” Cichosz said.

As part of this approach, Cichosz said he plans to conduct more active training in the form of practical drills. He plans to build off of some of the training Donald Walski, the former director of security, brought to the university. These include active shooter training or response options to train derailments.

Cichosz said these drills will help better prepare students, faculty, and staff to deal with potential crisis situations on campus.

Cichosz explained he’s had opportunities to attend many different types of training.

“I’ve been able to take in a lot in a short amount of time that has kind of really influenced how I look at things overall,” Cichosz said.

By raising the stress level, Cichosz said, practical drills become more akin to real life. This, as a result, better prepares participants to respond accordingly to actual crisis scenarios.

“That’s how I trained in law enforcement, and that’s how that stuff seems to sink in with people more,” Cichosz said.

Cichosz expressed his interest in returning to a university setting. He said he had always wanted to return to Wyoming where he completed his undergraduate degree. Now that he has a family, Cichosz said the idea was out of the question.

“This opportunity for director of security at Winona State presented itself and it was a good opportunity for my family and I as we progress in our lives,” Cichosz said. “I kind of seized the moment.”

Cichosz said he had always looked forward to teaching in some capacity and feels this new position will allow him to be involved in through daily campus interactions.

“I don’t necessarily think I have to be teaching classes to teach students,” Cichosz said.

In addition, Cichosz said his biggest priority as director will be to improve and maintain relationships between the university and the Winona community as a whole.

Don Walski, who previously served as director of security, said he has known Cichosz for several years. Walski stressed getting to know the staff and establishing close relationships on campus. Walski is confident Cichosz will succeed in his new role at the university.

“He’s a great guy. He’ll do a really good job,” Walski said.

Cichosz said Walski has been a great resource both during the application process and since starting as director.

“I talked with Don a lot going through this process,” Cichosz said, “[To get] a sense of an idea of what this all entails and what am I getting into?”

Cichosz said he plans to keep in contact with Walski as he has been invaluable in learning all he can about this position.

“He has obviously done a good job of keeping the campus safe and I’d like to try to expand on that,” Cichosz said.

Cichosz said his first week on the job has been a flurry of meetings and introductions. He is confident he will settle into the position quickly. Cichosz said he is looking forward to working with a diverse group of students and campus personnel.

“This is a good opportunity to get into that type of environment and to be in that situation,” Cichosz said.

 

Click the link below for a brief video newscast on Cichosz & what he believes are the biggest security issues facing Winona State University:

Winona State University Welcomes New Director of Security

 

Cichosz’s ideas on how to potentially combat bike theft on campus:

 

Campus, Community, Events, Winona State University

Second Warrior Debate engages students, faculty

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By Phillip Pronschinske & Shane Carlson

Winona State University hosted its second Warrior Debate of the academic year this past Tuesday, March 15, in the Phelps Hall TV Studio. This debate focused on whether Winona State University should establish a social media code of conduct.

Each debate is led by a moderator, with each side given a limited amount of time to present their arguments.

First, those for and against the motion receive seven minutes respectively for opening statements. Next, there’s another seven minute period for rebuttals and questions posed by the moderator. This is followed by a brief period of questions from the audience. Finally, each side receives three minutes to make their closing arguments. Audience votes are taken before and after the debate using placards scanned by a tablet. The winner is determined immediately via tally.

Four Winona State students participated in Tuesday’s debate. Arguing for the motion were Benedict Linsenmeyer, a senior studying law and society, and Danielle Weiler, a senior majoring in individualized legal studies. Arguing against the motion were Duc Nguyen, a junior and Michaela Curley, a freshman, both of whom are majoring in business administration. Ken Graetz, WSU’s director of Teaching, Learning and Technology served as moderator.

During the debate, Curley and Nguyen argued against the motion on the grounds that Winona State’s current code of conduct already contains guidelines for appropriate social media use, therefore, establishing a new code would be redundant.

Arguing for the motion, Weiler and Linsenmeyer argued standards for social media conduct would not, in fact, limit speech, but rather encourage it and promote appropriate use.

WSU’s director of Student Conduct and Citizenship, Alex Kromminga, said an interesting aspect of the debate is students are not necessarily allowed to choose the position they argue.

“It really does take you out of your comfort zone,” he said.

Kromminga said the inspiration for these events came from a series of YouTube debates by a group called “Intelligence Squared.”

Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Life Denise Lloyd-McDowell said once Kromminga brought the idea to a board meeting it grew bringing together different groups on campus.

“The Warrior Debates was a brainchild that came out of the Student Life and Development directors meeting,” McDowell said.

Afterward, the idea was brought to Student Senate, where Kromminga said the idea was so well-received, they felt they should contribute. He said senate had discussed the idea of a social media code of conduct before and was interested in getting student feedback. This led to their proposition of the debate’s theme.

Regardless of the importance of the issue, Kromminga said these events are more about the act of debating itself rather than the outcome of the vote.

“A big thing to glean from it is understanding how to develop an argument,” Kromminga said.

He also said decisions made by the voters in attendance may not necessarily result in any policy change.

“Even though there’s a voting aspect to the debate just to give a sense of accomplishment for either team, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the university is going to adopt a social media code of conduct,” Kromminga said. “It’s an idea to figure out, ‘Do we need to have more conversations, more education on how the campus views social media and our responsibilities in those realms?’”

Kromminga said the university hopes to continue having these debates each semester. If they garner more interest, there is the potential for more, and perhaps the formation of a new club on campus.

“Our hope is, is that this movement would be more student-driven,” he said. “We really do want students to kind of start taking a lead and thinking of different topics…we’re hoping students that come and observe will show more of an interest and want to take on the next go-around.”

McDowell said she is optimistic about the future.

“I’m excited that Winona State University can create this opportunity for students and find yet another way to help another group of students get engaged in the college experience,” she said.

Kromminga said he hopes that these events can pave the way for more debates in the future.

“I think it would definitely be something a lot of students could benefit from.”

 

Alex Kromminga on the advantages of these events:

Denise Lloyd-McDowell on her reactions to the event:

Duc Nguyen on his preparations for the debate:

Campus, Events, News, Panels, Winona State University

WSU Hosts All Male Panel on Gender Based Violence

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Winona State University hosted the latest in its monthly panel series on gender-based violence this past Monday, Feb. 15. As a joint effort between the Minnesota State University Student Association (MSUSA) and Winona State’s RE Initiative Club, a panel is held each month focusing on gender-based violence in the community. Monday’s panel focused on how gender-based violence specifically affects males.

According to a prepared statement from the club, Winona State University’s RE Initiative supports survivors of gender-based violence, and works to create a culture of respect and responsibility within the community. According to Kathreen Smith, President of the RE Initiative on campus, these panels begin a dialog about gender-based violence on campus. Smith said the panels are Q-and-A format, but often delve into more intricate discussions.

“Normally one question turns into a really great educational discussion,” Smith said.

According to her, they’ve been averaging around 30 attendees at each event. Numbers for Monday’s panel were in line with previous events.

Monday’s panel consisted of six men: two faculty members and four students.

Hunter Beckstrom, a junior who works in the RE Initiative as a peer advocate, served as moderator for the panel.

Before the Q-and-A began panelist Jacob Stock, a Women and Gender Studies (WAGS) minor, began by defining gender-based violence. Stock said it’s used as an umbrella term to refer to any type of violence in which gender plays a role. This can include sexual assault, harassment, stalking, domestic violence, and partner violence. Stock explained that typically this violence is perpetrated by males.

“As our training goes, it is most often the male figure perpetrating these crimes against a female figure, but of course there are exceptions to that as well,” Stock said.

Much of the panel’s discussion revolved around redefining masculinity, and the difficulties that brings. Ben Strand, a panelist and Senior Journalism major, said men often feel restricted by traditional definitions of masculinity and are pressured to conform to those guidelines.

“If males don’t fit into this spectrum of what is defined as masculinity in our society, then they feel like because they don’t fit in they don’t belong,” Strand said.

Stock explained males are typically socialized to be more violent and domineering throughout their lives, which contributes to this stereotypical idea of masculinity.

Alexander Hines, WSU’s Director of Inclusion and Diversity, was also on the panel. He gave an example of male socialization with an activity he frequently does with young men. He asks them to come up with 20 words that come to mind when they think about what it means to be a man. In this activity, Hines said the word that doesn’t come up is the most disconcerting.

“They talk about power, control and respect,” Hines said.

According to Hines, the word they don’t use is love.

“If you don’t love yourself, how are you going to love the body of that female?” Hines said.

WSU Student Senate President and panelist Joshua Hanson explained how society tells males they are supposed to act a certain way. Men are raised to believe they’re entitled to the privileges they’ve grown accustomed to, even though that’s not the case.

“It starts from boyhood and how you are told about masculinity,” Hanson said.

As an example, Beckstrom said walking home late at night in Winona, is radically different for males and females.

“Girls walking home at night have to have a whole game plan,” Beckstrom said, “I just walk home, it doesn’t matter where I go or what I do.”

A portion of the discussion revolved around portrayals of men in the media and how that contributes to societal ideals of masculinity and assumptions based on gender. The panelists emphasized critical analysis of the media along with the importance of continually questioning the messages it sends. Strand said people should ask themselves why certain characters or people are portrayed in a certain way.

To emphasize the importance of events like this, Beckstrom cited a statistic. Although Winona State is regarded as a safe campus, according to the most recent campus climate survey, it’s at the national average of one in five women being sexually assaulted during their lifetime. Hanson emphasized that having a conversation about these issues isn’t always easy.

“The conversations that you have to have aren’t always comfortable,” Hanson said. “You can’t be comfortable always in this work.”

As the panel neared its end, the focus shifted to advice on how attendees could prevent future gender-based violence.

“The conversation that we are having here tonight shouldn’t be ended when the last question is asked and the final answer is given,” Strand said. “It needs to extend beyond this room here,” Strand said.

After the panel concluded, Alexander Hines stressed the importance of greater faculty and administration attendance at these events. Hines said that getting figures of the university to participate in these types of events would help to spread this message.

The next panel in this series will take place March 25 in Stark 103 at 7 p.m. and will focus on how gender-based violence affects people of color.

 

Strand on his personal commitment to stopping GBV:

Stock on things students must be more aware of:

Hanson explaining the statistics:

 

Campus, Digital Life and Learning, e-Warrior, laptop program, technology

Addressing The Costs of WSU’s Digital Life

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Since its inception 19 years ago, Winona State University’s e-Warrior Digital Life and Learning Program has become a key part of the university’s educational vision, earning Winona State the moniker of “Laptop University.”

Each full-time student at Winona State is automatically enrolled in the program and given the choice between a Mac or PC laptop computer. Since 2014, students have also been issued an Apple or Android tablet device. Students are issued new laptops and tablets every two years they remain at the university.

According to current tuition rates, each full-time student pays $485 dollars per semester to participate in the laptop program as well as a “technology fee” of approximately $100 dollars. Given these kinds of costs, some students argue they could buy a laptop for the cost of a single semester in the program. Director of User Services Robin Honken explained that it’s difficult to get students to see the full value of what they pay.

“I think things that maybe are taken for granted here wouldn’t be had you had a different experience.” Honken said her daughter attends a college where they don’t have a laptop program. When her daughter spilled on her laptop, she had to go without a computer for a period of time. In this regard, Honken said students at Winona State are lucky because they can get their laptop replaced immediately.

Kenneth Janz, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief Information Officer at Winona State, oversees the program. Janz said it’s difficult to see why the program costs so much each semester if you only think about the program in terms of tangible items.

“There’s a lot of hidden costs that people don’t see but are there,” Janz said.

According to Winona State University’s 2013 Digital Life and Learning Board Report 65 percent of the program’s cost goes to hardware, which includes the laptops and tablets students receive every two years. 15 percent goes to paying the full-time professional staff and students who work in technical support and 10 percent goes towards maintenance of the machines, which includes warranties, repair, spare laptops, and other components. 5 percent goes towards purchasing software applications such as the Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Cloud Suites, and 5 percent goes towards other miscellaneous costs of the program like the laptop buyout program for seniors, training or administration.

In addition, Janz explained the “technology fee” covers the cost of printing, printers on campus, wireless access points and certain software not covered by the e-Warrior fee.

Janz explained one of his department’s biggest costs is managing the sheer amount of internet traffic from every device on campus. Janz elaborated with a recent example.

“None of the other CIOs in MnSCU have the problems we have. There was a day last week where we had 15,000 leased IP addresses on campus.” Janz explained that each device whether it’s a cellphone, tablet or computer has its own unique IP address.

“Not all of the students are here at the same time taking classes, which gives you an idea of how many devices each student carries. We have way more devices than people actually on the network and we have to manage all of that.”

The fees students pay each semester go into paying for all that bandwidth and the hardware to manage it.

Despite the advantages it provides, some students would like to see changes in the program, particularly in the ability to choose different price points.

Jason Carpenter, a senior at Winona State, said more options for him would be beneficial.

“I’d love it if students could get reduced fees if they didn’t take tablets or additional electronics. Since I didn’t take one, I’m not a liability for the university leasing them out.

Nathaniel Nelson, a junior, said he prefers to use his own devices, even though he’s still required to participate in the program.

“The MacBook Airs and the PCs themselves, they’re not exactly up to snuff with most industry standards,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he built his own computer to ensure he has the most powerful hardware.

“I’m paying the fee but I just don’t use it as much,” Nelson said.

Since his personal computer can’t have university software on it, he also subscribes to the software he needs separately as well. Nelson said he’d like to see more options within the program.

“You can’t just have one laptop for every individual…everybody’s different…I’d rather see more choices.”

Like Carpenter, Nelson also said he’d be interested in seeing more variations in price. Despite his criticism of the program, Nelson commented on the value of the program as a whole saying each student having a computer is a good thing.

“When you have standardized hardware, it makes it easier to teach,” Janz said. Janz also acknowledged that not every major’s needs are met by the program. Janz said the Graphic Design department in particular is one major they’re working with faculty to improve, as they require devices with more computing power than many other majors.

Janz said his department brought up the idea of a “Bring Your Own Device” option for the program in 2013 based on student surveys, but it didn’t gain any traction. This would mean students would purchase their own devices and the cost of the program would drop to $200 or $300 dollars a semester. Janz said many students questioned why they would still have to pay that much if they brought their own devices. Janz cited the costs for bandwidth, campus technology like access points, projectors and printers. Janz said they will most likely float the idea to the board of trustees again in the year 2019 when their current leasing contract expires and the program must be renewed. Janz said they will keep proposing it in the hopes of offering more options for students.

“We’re constantly trying to find the middle ground to make the program as useful and as valuable to the students as possible,” Janz said.

 

*For more detailed info on the e-Warrior Program check out the most recent program assessment.*