Dean's "chats" held in Fireside Lounge

Dean of Students Charles Kenyon will be hosting chats to discuss everyday issues of college life with students every Thursday on the third floor of Campbell Student Union from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
 

Thursday, Feb. 14, will kick off the first weekly Fireside Chats with Kenyon.
 

During every chat, Kenyon will meet with students in the newly refurbished Fireside Lounge for open discussion.

"I love the new space and I want to see it get used for good purposes," Kenyon said.
 

Kenyon came up with the idea to act as a conversation starter for Buffalo State students. He explained that it would push students to have a more direct line of communication with the Dean himself, and to get familiar with some other students with similar human interests.
 

Every chat is free and open to any student, faculty or staff member, and will include light refreshments. Students are encouraged to bring any questions, concerns, comments and suggestions.
 

"I thought it would be a great idea to present an opportunity to talk with students," Kenyon said. "I hope it will encourage students to also open up about other interests besides school related topics."
 

Justin Li, a senior business major, said that he thinks the chats are a great idea.
 

"I think students will gain more value from the school, and their issues will have a better shot at being cared for," Li said.

Every week, there will be a different guest speaker who will talk about a certain topic for that day.
 

This Thursday, in the spirit of Valentine's Day, assistant director for health promotions Tammy Kresge will speak about healthy relationships. The conversation will be entitled, "Love and the Challenge of Forming Healthy Relationships."

Kresge said that he hopes to familiarize students with what a healthy relationship consists of, and to help them to be able to identify signs of an unhealthy one.
 

"People have a hard time identifying what a healthy relationship is and they get caught up in behaviors that are not really healthy," Kresge said. "Things such as jealousy can lead to emotional violence, verbal abuse, and even physical abuse."

Kresge explained that sometimes people don't see these unhealthy characteristics in a relationship as a problem.

"It's really important for these students to recognize these red flags sooner rather than later," Kresge said. "It's easier for someone to break off a relationship early on before they get too involved."
 

According to Kresge, social media plays a big role in some examples of unhealthy relationship behavior. Kresge said he hopes students will leave this chat knowing how to identify and remove themselves from damaging relationships.
 

"The topics will change from week to week," Kenyon said. "Students can of course stray off topic though - if they want to complain about parking, they can complain about parking."
 

Plans are underway for future chats to feature guest speakers from the Weigel Health Center, the Career Development Center and staff from Kenyon's office.
 

"As the schedule allows, I hope, to host guest speakers from other areas on campus," Kenyon said.

Caitlin Waters can be reached by email at waters1.record@live.com