STUDENT AFFAIRS 14 ANNUAL REPORT Student Affairs worked with the Student Government Association, Faculty Senate, the City of Aberdeen, and Brown County to officially proclaim Oct. 18-24 as Free Speech Week. “I commend our students, faculty and staff for their civic engagement, commitment to the First Amendment and collaboration with community partners,” said Northern President Neal Schnoor. As part of Free Speech Week, the Student Government Association tabled in the Avera Student Center during the week to promote student awareness of the First Amendment and distributed red, white, and blue tie-died mini handkerchiefs. “The Free Speech Week Proclamation prompted a lot of good discussion around the First Amendment, civility, academic freedom and the importance of hearing all perspectives on a college campus,” said Dean of Students Sean Blackburn. “I believe it’s significant that the freedom of speech is recognized first in the Bill of Rights,” said Aberdeen Mayor Travis Schaunaman. “There’s a strong responsibility for citizens to exercise this right and to speak out.” This effort is consistent with the SDBOR statement on Opportunity for All. “Regents recognize that South Dakota’s public universities are part of the rich tradition of American universities, a tradition built upon free speech, scientific discovery, and academic freedom. ‘As our students expand their understanding in a field of study, we encourage that students be exposed to a variety of viewpoints, ideas, and theories, so that they can be debated and critiqued,’” the SDBOR Aug. 5, 2021, statement said. Free Speech Week, held annually on Oct. 18-24, is a nonpartisan celebration of the freedoms of speech and the press. A Free Speech Week website was created to further the discussion on the topic. This has been a year of success in both improved occupancy and retention rates. Residence hall occupancy increased by 4.79% in 2021 from fall 2020. Importantly, residence hall first year student yields increased from 63.05% (fall 2020) to 78.34% (fall 2021)—a 15.29 point improvement! Residence hall students were retained at a higher rate (70% to 62.3%) than off campus students. In the fall 2020 university-wide cohort retention decline, the residence hall decline (6.7 points) was less than the off-campus student retention decline (9.7 points). The progress continued into this spring. Historically, the residence halls experience a significant drop in occupancy between a typical fall and spring semester. This is usually around a 10% drop between the terms. Fall 2021 to spring 2022 saw a significant decrease in that loss at only 1.5%. That translates into more students living on campus creating a better living-learning environment, greater student retention, and increased residence hall revenue. Sabolo and his team have been dedicated to improving the residence hall community, occupancy, and retention. Groups commemorate Free Speech Week Northern State University campus organizations joined local and regional entities in commemorating Free Speech Week during fall 2021. Residence Life improves occupancy rates in 2021-22 Marty Sabolo and his team in Residence Life are responsible for implementing Student Affairs Strategic Plan goals around increasing occupancy and revenue in the residence halls.
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