Student Life
September 24, 2020
Mid-semester changes in Student Life lead to restructuring
“Observe. Ask questions. Do not ask your team to do something you're not willing to do yourself. Be where you say you're going to be.” This is just some of the advice Corie Steinke has for whoever takes her place when she leaves Goshen College on Friday, just a few months after the start of the fall semester. After five years of filling numerous roles in GC Student Life, Corie Steinke will be leaving Goshen College on Friday, Sept. 25, to begin a new position as the director of discipleship and community outreach at Zion Lutheran Church in Lima, Ohio. ...
February 21, 2020
Future housing policy to prioritize on-campus housing
During Tuesday evening’s housing meeting, Residence Life announced future changes to housing policy and meal plans. Most of the changes will not apply to current students and will take effect in the 2023-2024 academic year. It was announced that beginning in the Fall of 2023, students will no longer be able to live off campus unless they are four years removed from high school, live with a parent or guardian, or are at least 23 years old. Students will also no longer receive the housing discount currently available to students with 112 or more credit hours and will no longer...
January 24, 2020
#dobetterGC campaign responds to last semester’s hate speech
On Monday, the Goshen College Department of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion shared plans to roll out a hashtag campaign - #dobetterGC - and hold a series of campus-wide activities in conjunction with Student Life as a response to the homophobic and racist slurs written on campus last semester. “We want to roll out this hashtag campaign that encourages Goshen College to be the Goshen College that we say we are,” said Dr. LaKendra Hardware, director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Zachariah Begly, a leader of Black Student Union, affirms the campaign as meeting a need in the GC community that...
November 13, 2019
Open Space discusses possible housing changes
Housing situations could see a makeover at Goshen College in the near future as Student Senate and members of the newly-formed student housing committee hosted an open space for students to discuss these potential changes last Monday, Nov. 11. Last year, a committee at Goshen College began looking at the different housing options for students with the goal of finding a financially sustainable and fair alternative to the housing options offered at the time. Gilberto Perez, vice president for student life, began the meeting by apologizing for the lack of student representation throughout the process and made an effort to...
September 12, 2019
Goshen College implements gender-inclusive housing
Goshen College, for the first time in its history, is offering gender inclusive housing. Introduced by Student Senate in October, gender inclusive housing gives students the opportunity to live in the same environment regardless of their gender identity. All throughout the past fall semester, Corie Steinke, director of student involvement, alongside members of Student Senate, resident assistants, and other staff members worked to propose a thoughtful, well-researched plan for what gender inclusive housing would look like at Goshen College. According to Steinke, one of the inspirations for having gender inclusive housing was so LGBTQIA+ students would have a housing option...
September 4, 2019
Student Life shifts roles
As the second week of classes at Goshen College comes to an end and students adjust to their new routines and living spaces, student life faculty also continue their work on creating an environment on campus that is welcoming, supportive and aware of its student’s needs. Gilberto Perez, Jr., vice president of student life has been working alongside a group of student life directors to identify the needs of all students. The student life department oversees all aspects that relate to and affect students, such as athletics, student involvement, diversity, equity and inclusion, community engagement and operations. A new and...
February 23, 2019
Housing policy faces changes
Housing policies at Goshen College are getting a makeover — but not quite yet. Ken Newbold, provost, Gilberto Perez, dean of students and Chad Coleman, director of housing operations, sent an email to residential students Friday afternoon addressing announcements made at the housing information night on Wednesday. The email came in response to student feedback following the meeting. There will be no changes to the housing policies for the 2019-2020 school year. In the email, Newbold, Perez and Coleman acknowledge that they need to have “additional discussion with student senate and a greater number of students before a final decision...
October 12, 2018
Open Space: Gender Inclusive Housing
Goshen College Student Senate hosted an Open Space on gender inclusive housing (GIH) on Wednesday, Oct. 24. Open Space, a time and space where students can have discussions around a variety of subjects relevant to campus life, is relatively new to campus and has covered a myriad of topics since its conception such as President Stoltzfus’ strategic two-year plan, safety issues and immigration. All students were invited to attend with the intent of having Student Senate and Student Life listen to students’ ideas on what GIH should look like. The event took place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., a...
September 26, 2018
Residence Life partners with FIRSST
This year, the Functional Immediate Response for Student Safety Team (FIRSST) will be partnering with Emily Hahn, Residence Life coordinator, to provide on-campus substance use education. “I believe that student-led initiatives and administration-led initiatives will be most successful when we work together toward our shared goals,” said Hahn. “That is why I am thrilled for the work that FIRSST, PIN and Student Life are doing this year.” In the past, FIRSST has not been recognized as an official on-campus club and thus had to work independently from Student Life. FIRSST was originally formed in 2015 in response to what students...
September 19, 2018
Residence Assistants find a home in student apartments
Starting this school year, Goshen College’s Residence Life has decided to place Resident Assistants in the Octavio Romero Student Apartments. Alongside these additions, other aspects of Residence Life have changed as well. The implementation of RAs in the student apartments began as a response to concerns of students that lived in the apartments who felt they were cut off from the rest of campus. Students felt that Goshen College stressed the importance of community but, when it came to living in the apartments, there was no such initiative. This concern ignited discussion and eventually the idea to place RAs within...
September 19, 2018
Student Senate changes provide greater student representation
Student Senate is making changes to be more efficient and effective this year by having better student representation. Senate will be asking what they call “the Big Seven” affinity groups to be involved this year by having a member of each of their groups serve as an advocate in Senate meetings. The affinity groups are Advocates for LGBTQ, Black Student Union, Commuter Student Association, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Goshen Student Women's Association, International Student Club and Latino Student Union. Corie Steinke, Student Senate advisor and associate director of community life, said that this is “giving a platform for people who...
September 12, 2018
Student life offices move to Wyse Hall ‘to offer a unified space for student support services’
A major overhaul occurred this summer as the student life department relocated to Wyse Hall. For years, most of the department operated from within the Administration building. But over time, student life and related departments, such as career networks and academic support, found themselves spread across campus. Chad Coleman, director of student life operations, said, “Some student life staff were working in Wyse, some in the Kulp basement, while the rest of us were still in the [Administration] Building.” In the spring of 2018, Gilberto Perez, dean of students, brought forward the idea to combine the departments under one roof...
September 12, 2018
College pursues ‘culture of care’ in alcohol protocol shift
Attitudes toward alcohol violations are changing at Goshen College. But Chad Coleman, director of Student Life operations, quickly explained that Goshen College’s official rules regarding alcohol use have not changed. “This isn’t a policy change,” Coleman said. “It’s a change in protocol.” The Student Life “Guide to Community Life” continues to state that Goshen College is a dry campus — alcohol is not allowed on college property or at college-sponsored events. Students are expected to obey laws regarding underage drinking and to be responsible for themselves and their peers regarding the use and presence of alcohol. Student Life is not...
September 6, 2018
Student life changes seek to provide support and accessibility for students
As the new school year rolls in, so have a number of changes surrounding the Goshen College Department of Student Life. Not only have the student life offices been moved into Wyse Hall, but multiple new positions have been created. These changes bring many benefits, including more responses from student life workers to students’ requests, widening the amount of inclusion on campus and within the community and more than double the amount of free counseling sessions available to students each year. Gilberto Perez Jr., dean of students at Goshen College, said that student life put together a survey last year...
April 27, 2018
Commuter students and Goshen College
An issue becoming increasingly more evident on campus is the physical divide between commuter and residential students. Corie Steinke, associate director of community life, said that commuter students and residential students often do not interact beyond the classroom environment, in large part because there is a lack of a true shared community lounge space. From 2007 to 2017, the percentage of traditional undergraduate students living off-campus rose from 30 percent to 40 percent, said Justin Heinzekehr, director of institutional research. When looking at all students, the percentage rose from 52.3 percent to 46.7 percent between 2013 and 2017. The number...