“Mackin Chat with Mac and Cheese: Featuring Richard Kolenda,” held in the Mackin main lounge on Feb. 12, encouraged students and residence assistants living on campus to build strong relationships with other on-campus students.

The event was hosted by assistant hall director Sarah Woods and RA Kassadee Paulo. Kolenda spoke about his experience as a student at Upsala College, where he played baseball and football. He was also the president of the Alpha Phi Omega chapter at his school, which was an exclusively male fraternity when Kolenda was a college student.

After introducing himself, Kolenda went around the room and asked the audience about their experiences living on campus. All the students in attendance spoke about their first year living in a residence hall and getting to know the people living around them, who quickly became friends.

Kolenda said the overall theme of the event was building bonds within residence halls. Kolenda spoke about the bonds he built with others when he lived on campus. He also spoke of the strong relationships he kept with his old college roommate, 40 years after graduation. Kolenda also shared stories of problems that occurred and situations he was involved in as his current position. Kolenda urged attendees to reach out to others because there may be others in the halls who do not have students that they can depend on.

Kolenda said that students should feel comfortable in the residence halls that they live in, since life in the residence halls is a huge part of college life.

“Living on campus is a positive aspect, and it is important for residence hall assistants to be able to provide help, support and resources to those who need it,” Kolenda said.

Christopher Lewand, the hall director for Mackin Complex and Sheldon Hall, said he also felt strongly about this topic. Lewand said he felt that college students are in a critical age range to be supported if they want to find success in and out of the classroom.

“College helps you determine who you’ll be, student affairs tries to help you determine who you are,” Lewand said.

Sarah Woods, the assistant hall director for Mackin Complex and Sheldon Hall ,attended the event because she felt it was important for RA’s to create bonds with residents. Woods also said she felt it important for residents to know about student affairs.

Students in residence halls are frequently new to living apart from their parents. According to an Iowa State University study, students who live on campus their first year graduate at higher rates than those that live off campus for all of their time in college. Oswego State’s residence life department frequently advertises that students are more successful when living on campus, and Kolenda stresses that students should find their living situation to be positive.

Photo provided by Oswego State News and Media Department