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“The Changing Face of A&M-Commerce ”
A Q&A with Dean of Students Joe Webber on how students have changed in the last few decades.

Dr. Joe Webber, A&M-Commerce Dean of Students, began his career in Student Affairs as Director of Housing and Student Activities at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1968.
That was the year that Richard Nixon won the oval office, and Martin Luther King Jr. lost his life. The year that Hair opened on Broadway, and doors closed on Columbia University after students took over administration buildings to protest the Vietnam War. The year that hip hop artist LL Cool J, batting great Sammy Sosa, Egyptian terrorist Mohammed Atta and, in an all too ironic twist, 911 were born.

The Pride asked Dr. Webber, now approaching his 30th year at the University, to share his view of changing students in a changing world.  

Q: You've seen thousands of students come and go over the years. You've gotten to know many of them well. What are the most significant changes you see in the students of the 2000s as opposed to students from years past?
A: As you well know, my career has spanned almost four decades with each decade having its own fads, music and other unique characteristics. I observed early on in my career that I got older each year, and the students stayed the same age. Further, it became abundantly clear that it was my job to tell them what they needed to know, to tell them what I had told them and to tell them again, if for no reason other than the fact that I had a new freshman class every year. Having said that, I find that the contemporary student is more than likely coming from a single-parent household, s/he probably did not have to share a bedroom with a sibling and, most recently, students arrive on campus with fine tuned "game boy" and computer skills unlike previous generations. The common thread seems to be the fact that all of these young people are, or were, in the business of acquiring formal learning and establishing their independence from parents and others. Without exception, regardless of the fads and trends, all of these young folks, and some not so young, were seeking both affirmation as well as limits, to include discipline. (Believe it or not, discipline is a development process, and a very important one.)

Q: Knowing there's no such thing as a "typical college student," are there, nevertheless, any generalizations you can draw about today's students as far as their world awareness (both social and political) and their outlook on the future?
A: With respect to world awareness, both social and political, I would have to say that unlike many previous generations, this new group has to be more concerned about sexually transmitted diseases for which there are no cures, not to mention the fact that the world has changed dramatically since the 911 attacks. The implications have always been clear for making good choices relative to life's challenges and temptations; this reality has simply become more compelling. I would hope that students are becoming more aware of the world situation and its implications for each of them. Nevertheless, I'm finding that students still have an optimistic outlook for the future.

Q: What do you believe is the greatest challenge students face today in terms of succeeding in college and getting the most for their, or their parents', money?
A: I would say that their greatest challenges are those of setting goals, developing a plan for meeting those goals, in a timely manner, and being able to adjust to changing circumstances without being side tracked.

Q: Your university web page encourages students to become involved in out-of-classroom activities. Are students more or less involved in campus life than they have been in the past?
A: The biggest challenge for my people in Student Affairs is to come up with meaningful ways (programs) for getting students involved in campus life, for getting them connected with the University. This goal has become more difficult because the commuter student numbers have increased dramatically, with many of these individuals holding down part- or full-time jobs off campus. In this sense, I would have to say that overall campus involvement by students has dropped as compared with previous decades.

Q: A recent nationwide study of universities shows an all-time low in the number of freshmen who consider "helping to promote racial understanding" a "very important personal goal." In your experience, how does this figure relate to what's going on at A&M-Commerce?
A: I would like to think that our students are an exception to this reported nationwide study. I stay pretty well connected to our students; so it is my view that our students are sensitive to and promote racial awareness.

Q: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest level, where do you think today's students fall on the stress meter and can you explain?
A: That's an easy one: I would suggest that today's students are somewhere around an 8, if not higher. The world has changed dramatically, and not for the better. Jobs are becoming more scarce, temptations and distractions abound, and decisions in general have not become any easier.

Q: Is there one quality in particular that you see in students today that gives you renewed hope for tomorrow?
A: Yes, youthful enthusiasm has a way of carrying the day regardless of what generation we're talking about or what characteristics are dominant.

Clearly, enthusiasm and life's little jabs will ensure that this new generation of students will rise to any occasion.