The use of "themes" is a longstanding tradition within the Ohio University Department of Residence Life.  The purpose for annual themes is to have an annual focus that would relate to the goals of the department and serve as a symbolic reminder of the purpose of our work.  As an added element, staff are given a small gift relating to the theme that serves to further remind staff of their important role in the department.

The power of the theme has grown throughout time. There is also a tradition of keeping the theme a "secret" until Orientation begins, which helps to keep staff excited and interested in beginning their year. One remarkable aspect of the themes is that staff really do take an interest and have a personal investment in supporting the theme and its relation to the goals. What follows is a brief synopsis of some past themes.

1987: FOUNDATIONS
This theme was chosen, "to help convey the importance of having a firm, solid base in place before any building can take place. The four goals represent the foundation upon which we want to build....The knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors that are shaped during the Orientation period will become the foundation for what we can even attempt to do over the next ten months." This theme was symbolized by the gift of 4 small bricks, representing the four departmental goals and for the beginnings of the Residence Life Foundation.

1988: FOCUS
This theme was specifically chosen to follow Foundations. Given the newness of our goals, it was necessary for the department to focus on the meaning and depth of the goals in our work. To move from laying a solid base, we had to challenge ourselves to become introspective so we could apply the goals to everyday interactions, tasks and behaviors. This theme was symbolized by a small glass prism. A prism takes in one beam of light but produces a spectrum of colors. We work with a goal in mind, but our efforts will produce a myriad of responses.

1989: HARMONY
Harmony was chosen to " help convey the message of working together" or 'in concert' with one another....Orientation is a time of opportunity for creating a sense of harmony between the goals and our roles as staff members." This theme was symbolized by the gift of a kazoo presented to all staff members.

1990: BRIDGES
This theme was symbolized by the gift of a small wooden bridge with four arches carved by a local woods crafts-person. The concept was that "regardless of what construction or materials, all bridges serve a particular purpose or perform a specific function. Bridges do more than just provide pathways for people and vehicles. They span the barriers that divide, and they bring peoples, communities, and cultures close together. The goals of the department are the foundation for building solid bridges."

1991: VISION
This theme was symbolized by a gift of a wooden artist's palette and paint brush. On the palette were four different colors of paint representing the four goals. Joe recognized that, "the word 'vision' connotes the idea of a mental image or picture in one's mind. Orientation is a time for us to share our vision of what life can and should be like in the residence halls. We need to pull together to develop a view of life in the halls that embraces our goals and values. By incorporating the goals of our department into each vision of life in the residence halls, we ensure the durability and persistence of that view."

1992: TAPESTRY
Tapestry was symbolized by a gift of a screen-printed woven tapestry of four colors of thread hung on small dowel rods. "Tapestry is a visual reference of what we want to create. A tapestry is often a careful weaving together of a variety of threads into a particular design or pattern. If it is done well, the individual threads that are used in the making become almost invisible and the overall pattern is what catches the viewer's eye. The threads that are used in a tapestry serve a dual purpose. They are woven together to create a tapestry while at the same time, they bind all of us together in this creative undertaking....Our challenge this year is to commit ourselves to the creation of a tapestry that affirms the dignity and respect of all on campus."

1993: ANIWNA
A Hopi Indian word, meaning "to cultivate," was symbolized by the gift of mixed flower seeds. The seeds given to the professional staff were later planted in memory of a deceased colleague. "The word, cultivate, has different meanings and uses. Our focus is on the use of this word as it relates to growing...This is what we want to convey with our theme Aniwna: to combine commitment, delight and dedication with intelligence, passion and labor. All of these ingredients are necessary for successfully growing a garden of flowers....While attending to the different needs of our students, we must keep in mind the common ground that we all share and need to cultivate."

1994: JAZZ
Symbolized by the logo incorporating a musical note and a staff with the words --creative, original, freedom within boundaries, collaborate, risk, experimentation, improvisation, diversity, spontaneous, fresh, flexibility, and various styles.  The theme of Jazz was to "convey the idea that individual contributions that may be spontaneous and even experimental at times can be part of achieving a common goal....When we work, there needs to be room for each of us to contribute our talents and knowledge toward the accomplishment of a common end. When jazz musicians play together they allow 'room' for each of the players to improvise and express themselves musically. But the individual players are always cognizant of the piece they are playing. Even as they improvise they don't lose sight of the fact that they are playing together. Our work will endure as long as we continue to contribute individually to the accomplishment of a common good."

1995: TRIBUTARIES
A tributary is usually associated with water and the logo used depicted 4 tributaries flowing together creating a lake or large river. This idea of flowing together to help create or contribute something greater was expressed through the theme. A small wooden boat was given as a gift to the staff in an effort to keep the notion of water in mind. Each tributary that flows toward this common end can be different and separate, yet is easily blends with the other three and creates something new and distinct. In other words, there is a way in which each of these separate tributaries contributes to the general creation of a larger lake or pool. It is not necessary for each tributary to give up its uniqueness but it is important for them to come together. Each of the staff members has something unique to contribute -- a gift to give. Our giving should be characterized by compassion, grace and civility. By successfully harnessing the course of such giving and directing toward a common good, we can contribute much to the life of the campus.

1996: VOICES
This theme was inspired by the writer Toni Morrison and her unique ability to give "voice" to important ideas and values through her writings. There's a direct connectioin between Morrison's stories and our work in residence life. The voices of different races, gender, sexual orientation, countries, cultures, experiences, individually tell little stories. On our campus, there are many voices vying for our attention, telling stories. The challenge centers around which voices will we hear and give credence? Decisions and judgments must be made. How do we know which voices to listen to? Which voices will inspire us? Move us? Compel us to act? What shall we give voice to? Through our work we should give voice to hope, compassion, justice, and forgiveness. Principles and values that reflect the department's goals are voices that should be heard. Voices that preach intolerance, hatred, and separation should be shunned.

1997: JOURNEYS
Probably what first comes to mind when one thinks about journeys is taking a trip or traveling. In keeping with this idea the department's theme, JOURNEYS, is an attempt to emphasize the idea of travel rather than destination. The intent is not to limit our thinking to just traveling a physical distance or going from one geographic point to another. Rather, think about journeys that we all have taken in our lives that are about personal growth and development. To be certain, these journeys have shaped and influenced our lives to date. But the idea of the theme is to get us to think about possibilities for the future, as well.

We need to view these journeys as more than just getting from point A to point B. Rather we need to fully appreciate what we encounter on the way. There is an importance to being open to the numerous opportunities that reveal themselves along the way.  Many times the unexpected part of our journey became the most important or significant occurrence.

1998: PERSPECTIVES
Often times what we do is look at things in relation to ourselves. This is only natural, the theme "Perspectives" conveys the necessity to look at things from different perspectives. The perspectives of people who are different, who come from different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicity, race, ability status, and sexual orientation are important to our growth as individuals. We need to broaden our perspective.

This is where the goals of the department can be quite helpful. For ample, if we look at our lives through the lens of community it becomes readily apparent that we can't just look at what we need as an individual but that the needs of others must be consider. Gaining perspective helps to put the trivial in place and allow the essential to garner the attention it warrants.

For a perspective to be meaningful and helpful it must be informed. Education and learning are certainly prerequisites to gaining an informed perspective. But experience is also an essential component. The more you can vary your perspective through life experiences over time the deeper your understanding.

1999: LANDSCAPES
Landscapes was chosen to represent the variety of opportunities, challenges, and experiences in the world around us. This variety reveals itself on a number of levels (i.e. campus, local, state, national, world). As we approach the new millennium, there is much discussion about our future and purpose. It is in this vein that we are reminded of our responsibility as Residence Life Staff. We have an obligation to help our residents navigate the lay of the land as well as to continually introduce them to new and broadening Landscapes.

2000: REFLECTIONS
Image, echo, duplication, mirror, imitate. Mediation, rumination, retrospection. All of these words connote some meaning associated with our theme: Reflections. The word reflections conjures up the notion of an image being mirrored back as when we look into a mirror, a still pool of water, or perhaps a shiny object. Depending upon the smoothness of the surface, the image is either very clear or distorted. But regardless, it is still the same object. What is hampered is our ability to see it clearly. This notion of seeing clearly is imperative to our work in the residence halls. Orientation, in-services, supervisions, programs all afford opportunities for us to see our work more clearly. Our actions and behaviors reflect who we are. We should reflect to the past, ruminate about our work, and allow this process to guide and direct our work into the future.

2001: MOSAIC

Question: How do you build a great residence life department?

Answer: One staff person at a time.

What truly brings a group of people together to accomplish great things is attention to the larger picture. Having a sense of the larger picture or what it is that we are collectively working toward is important. The same is true for a mosaic, our theme this year. For the mosaic to work, the artist has to have an overall picture or design in mind before making it. The department of residence life is not unlike a mosaic in that regard. We are made up of many different people in various roles. The four goals of the department: Human Development, Living/Learning, Tolerance, and Community serve as our overall design. As we put together our mosaic, the design we have in mind is the four goals. They provide a sense of direction and purposefulness to our work.

2002: IMAGINE
The theme was chosen to convey the idea that we need to "imagine" how the quality of life for residents can be enhanced through our work. If we want to be a truly inclusive community then we need to take the time to think through what we need to do to accomplish such a goal.

We need to imagine what new ideas, insights, and knowledge are necessary to create such a place. Imagine a residential experience for all of our students based on the four goals of the department. If we use our ability to imagine such a place and collectively decided to work toward that end, we could create a fair and just community for all of our residents. Imagine such a place...

2003: CONNECTIONS
In the early 1950's scientists realized that nucleic acid, DNA, was the material stuff of the gene. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery of DNA and the double helix. But the simple identification of DNA as the genetic material wasn't enough to advance further biological work. The missing connection was a detailed narrative of how that molecule was copied and how the cell reads its information. The answer to these questions could come only if a picture of the three-dimensional structure of DNA was produced.  But what's the CONNECTION with our work? Education is about making connections and not about making copies. We want residents to become engaged in their learning and focus upon a particular subject matter is not enough. It is our role, as residence hall educators, to help individuals make connections between their classroom work and the larger world. Our challenge this year is not unlike the challenge those scientists faced in the 1950's, constructing a model that helps to make CONNECTIONS.

2004:  INTERSECTION –

The theme represented in Chinese characters is INTERSECTION.  The word intersection connotes the idea of a point where two or more things come together or meet.  Each character taken separately has its own specific meaning.  However, collectively the four characters mean INTERSECTION. The characters themselves are the intersection of various pen strokes combined in a particular way to form the word.  There is not a randomness to these strokes rather an intentional intersection of the lines.  Although to the untrained eye it may appear to be indecipherable, the deliberate intersection of the lines form this specific word.  Perhaps the same can be said of your work in the halls and on the residential greens.  The deliberate intersection of the department’s goals creates a whole greater than its parts and presents a powerful basis for our work.  Often we see our work in the halls as separate and different from the learning that takes place in the classroom.  But when we approach our work as the intersection of the out-of-classroom experience with the in-classroom learning we can create a richer and more meaningful educational experience for all of our residents.

2005:  ELEMENTS

This year's theme represented by the symbols for earth, air, fire and water is ELEMENTS, which also represents the re-focusing upon the basic constructs of the work we do, which will be occurring this year through our strategic planning process.  Taking an in-depth look at the department from various perspectives will cause us to review the core of the department as well as the layers we've built upon our foundation.  As we undergo this task, we must always remember the basic elemental efforts of residence halls on campus - to build relationships with students, help them be engaged and successful as students and help them grow as individuals.

    
2006:  PASSION