tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213Sun, 26 Apr 2026 18:41:21 +0000Campus LifeStudentsCollegialityPersonallyNewsworthyStudent AffairsResidential LifeAdministrationRunningParentsSocial JusticeCampus editorial responsesAlcoholUpperclass Task ForceSophomore CollegeFacultySustainabilityDiningGreek LifeSexual assaultSno way... it's a SNOW DayAl BundyCareersFreakin' COLDMiguel GuerraTrinitonianTrinity news and views from the Dean of Students. Trinity University is in San Antonio.https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)Blogger341125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-8548230760691177738Tue, 20 Jan 2026 22:54:00 +00002026-02-17T17:54:52.553-06:00 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI have many to thank for their roles in my journey from a Hall Director to an Interim and Associate VP. and shaping me as a professional and person. So I acknowledge some of those people here. Apologies for those I have missed:To Susan Winter, Rich Egley, Coleen Grissom, and Felicia Lee, who served as mentors and offered me their guidance, leadership, and friendship. Tohttps://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/acknowledgements-career-of-40-years-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-7119633125818734389Tue, 20 Jan 2026 22:05:00 +00002026-01-22T12:30:37.163-06:00THE ENDDean Grissom made a living of being an outstanding orator and writer. I had things to say, but could never do it her way, so I didn't. As a Dean of Students I thought the worst thing I could do was be unknown to students. Overseeing the RAs, advising student government, and running the student conduct boards gave me a running start. The Dean of Students Half Marathon Challenge was another https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-end-dean-grissom-made-living-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-4550105410555269361Tue, 13 Jan 2026 22:54:00 +00002026-01-13T16:54:45.825-06:00Rest in Peace Coleen GrissomJanuary 9, 1934 - January 28, 2024Dr. Coleen Grissom was there for me at the beginning, at Trinity University, and I was humbled to be there for her, at the end, as one of her eulogists, following her passing in 2024. My remarks are below.The final time I spoke to Coleen was when I called last month to wish her a happy birthday. We got into a bit of a disagreement overhttps://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/rest-in-peace-coleen-grissom-january-9.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-3779603161397802826Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:39:01 +00002026-01-13T10:07:34.349-06:00Parent Article: Conversation starters I recently had a great conversation with my daughter when she came home from college for a visit. I tried this new craze among parents, often referred to as “listening.” This can be hard as a parent. If you are anything like me, and I hope you are not, it is much easier to unburden yourself by passing your parental to-do list to your student: Register for https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/conversation-starters-i-recently-had.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-1639339396395367134Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:38:07 +00002026-01-13T12:38:02.892-06:00Parent Article: Covid Generation Over the winter break I came down with a manageable case of Covid. While concerned for me, my college student -- home for the break -- was more fixated on its impact on her, and her scheduled return to college out-of-town. I found breakfast outside of my quarantine space, less out of love or ambition, I think, but more to keep me at bay. Long texts scolding me forhttps://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-post-covid-generation-over.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-2397445193013291842Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:32:14 +00002026-01-13T10:31:43.358-06:00Parent Post: Closing Time Remember all of the excitement of moving your student into the residence halls last summer? The move-out experience will probably be much different in the weeks ahead. Because of uncommon exam schedules, students trickle out over a period of several days, unlike the tightly scheduled move-in day. There simply can’t be the fanfare, staff availability, and volunteer https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-post-closing-time-remember-all.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-5076199269069049959Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:31:00 +00002026-01-13T10:40:04.084-06:00Parent Article: The Truth About Hazing I used to go back-and-forth with a local sportscaster who, each season, gleefully reported on a local team’s hazing tradition of new rookies. Harmless, he said. Lighten up, he scolded. In truth, this hazing was low-level and out in the open. However, the attempts to normalize hazing, and even laud it as mere shenanigans, was dangerous because it glorified https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-post-truth-about-hazing-i-used.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-2862270648078197532Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:29:22 +00002026-01-13T10:44:53.767-06:00Parent Article: Making the Grade Students sometimes have a natural obsession with grades that drive them – and instructors – a little crazy. From the perspective of institutions and the faculty, grades validate and reflect the mastery of topics and courses. Indeed, except in courses requiring daily work, many instructors assign only a handful of projects and exams to determine this level of https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-post-making-grade-students.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-5893053143281501363Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:27:07 +00002026-01-13T12:37:20.867-06:00Parent Article: Stay or Go If you ever have purchased a car, you had to make multiple decisions: price, horsepower, color, accessories, fuel economy, etc. Often the process ends like this: Going with what feels like the best and most reasonable choice. And, usually, it works out. Sometimes, it doesn’t: Why did I go with orange? Did I really need a convertible in Minnesota? Why did I go with my https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-post-stay-or-go-if-you-ever-have.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-6963086497049135546Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:25:05 +00002026-01-13T11:00:51.264-06:00Parent Article: Pros and Cons of Tracking Your Student's Movements through Tracking Apps In my former Dean of Students role, I was aghast when I once learned from parents of a student that they were tracking him from an app on their cellphone. Though he knew of it, this is a huge breach of privacy and trust. Knowing their son was out until all hours of the night seemed to be invasive and frankly,https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-posts-pros-and-cons-of-tracking.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-3307888249452102517Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:24:00 +00002026-01-13T11:13:04.768-06:00Parent Article: Rhythm of the First Semester and What to Expect Now what? After all of the applications, tours, decisions, packing, unloading, and last minute (if not outdated) parental advice, your students are on their own. As someone who sent four kids off to college and served as a campus administrator over several decades, I know there is a rhythm to the first semester. Certainly, there is ahttps://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-post-rhythm-of-first-semester.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-2201276989327473011Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:22:00 +00002026-01-13T11:38:24.649-06:00 Parent Article: Students and Grief When I received the call in my residence hall room, from my father, that my mom had passed away, I was stunned. It was unexpected at the time, and would change the course of my life in multiple ways, large and small. The hallowed halls of higher education are many things. But they don’t shield students from life. And death. I am certainly not the only one tohttps://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-post-students-and-grief-when-i.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-7591946735930844358Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:20:00 +00002026-01-13T12:07:12.151-06:00Parent Article: Navigating Privacy Within FERPA I recently spoke with a parent who was very frustrated by the lack of communication from the staff at her child’s college. The student was dealing with a serious issue involving health and safety, and her efforts to obtain information met with resistance. The reason? Privacy related to student records. This despite the student having signed a https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-piece-number-one-skill-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-9147204334991660702Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:18:00 +00002026-01-13T12:36:08.646-06:00Parent Article: The ONE thing your student needs to know in order to succeed As parents send their children off to college, there can be so many things to get done, logistics to plan, packing to do, and emotions to manage. As a father, who sent four kids off to college, and as a former Dean of Students, I have some experience with this. I’m not ashamed to say that I bawled like a baby when Ihttps://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-piece-navigating-privacy-within.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-3616043754953086850Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:16:00 +00002026-01-13T12:30:17.363-06:00Parent Article: Dining Drama A faculty member once told me that there are three perpetual givens on college campuses: There is no parking, the campus food is horrible, and faculty morale has never been lower. For students and parents, the food issue crops up often. Having worked and lived on campus for nearly 40 years as a residential and student life professional, I ate on campus a LOT. I havehttps://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-post-dining-drama-faculty-member.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-1503736343789637794Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:13:00 +00002026-01-13T12:19:46.165-06:00Parent Article: Managing Student Visits Back Home While many parents anxiously await and prepare for their students to come home for fall/winter breaks, many of their students are thinking one thing: “I can’t wait to see my friends!” Welcome to the unaligned expectations of the parent-student relationship. To be sure, many look forward to family time. But there can be adjustments. Here are some https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-post-managing-student-visits.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-8707956697178358352Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:46:00 +00002026-01-13T12:35:20.869-06:00Parent Short: Why YOU should share your pronouns I was a little slow to the whole pronoun thing. As a college administrator I saw the listing of pronouns when the practice emerged, and didn’t want to jump on the bandwagon, because, well, that is my general nature. But once I figured it out, I was a bit ashamed that I ever hesitated. Using pronouns is really important to non-binary people, https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2025/10/parent-short-why-you-should-share-your.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-1925785341818499404Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:43:00 +00002026-01-13T12:35:41.776-06:00Parent Short: PrideWhen I met my wife, who was from Boston, I told her I was from Wisconsin. It eventually came out that she while had heard of it, she didn’t know exactly where it was. “Wisconsin, Wyoming, Iowa – I don’t know,” she said. “I just know they are over there somewhere.” I am not sure how Iowa got lumped in there. I am obviously over this slight some 35 years later. For those of us inhttps://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2025/10/parent-short-pride-june-7-2022-when-i.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-2613681929999174800Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:38:00 +00002025-10-30T12:49:10.196-05:00Sleepwalking through CollegeJune 28, 2022Is your student a sleepwalker? Decent grades? Check. No major injuries? Check. An occasional call or text once in a while that isn’t a request for money? Okay, don’t get greedy. Whether internal or from outside sources, students are under to intense pressure to succeed and excel. What is more, they have inherited -- and have to cope with -- serious https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2025/10/sleepwalking-through-college-is-your.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-1648475847586776657Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:23:00 +00002026-01-13T12:34:50.449-06:00Parent Article: A Primer on Campus Conduct Practices for Parents -  Part 2A colleague (and parent) reminded me recently just how demoralizing, confusing, and anxiety-provoking the student conduct process can be for college students. They may experience an impulse to run to their parents for help and support – but are also wary – because they are embarrassed, anxious, and want to try to https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2025/10/parent-article-primer-on-campus-conduct_30.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-8717626418345512953Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:01:00 +00002026-01-13T12:34:22.295-06:00Parent Article: A Primer on Campus Conduct Practices for Parents -  Part 1My neighbor’s dog is named “Trouble.” I think he is just fine. Sure, he growls and jumps on me, but has only bitten me once. (The dog, not the neighbor.) Now, when we send our kids to college, we rarely think about, nor expect, that they will one day find themselves in “trouble” for violating campus policies. And it ishttps://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2025/10/parent-article-primer-on-campus-conduct.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-3919921501288451851Wed, 29 Oct 2025 14:31:00 +00002026-01-06T10:11:17.605-06:00Parent Article: Parenting and Student Slip UpsWhen one of my four kids was at college, they were taken by their friends to the emergency room because of excessive alcohol consumption. I didn’t like that my kiddo drank too much. I didn’t like the hospital bill. And I didn’t send my kid to college to be just like I was as a student. (In my defense, my tuition was much cheaper). But as we parents https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2026/01/parent-article-parenting-and-conduct.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-2456736475294600025Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:51:00 +00002026-01-13T12:33:12.368-06:00Parent Article: Importance of Campus VisitsWhile not everyone has the time or means to visit all potential campuses, such visits are critical, both for the college decision-making process and to signal interest to the schools. Some families like to sample a wide array of campuses so they can whittle down the list of decisions (large/small, urban/rural, near/far, residential/commuter). Others https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2025/10/parent-article-importance-of-campus.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-7536105064431035752Fri, 24 Oct 2025 19:59:00 +00002026-01-13T12:33:41.087-06:00Parent Article: Cheating in CollegeAs many as 60% of college students admit to cheating according to the International Center for Academic Integrity. Students have many rationalizations as to why they cheat (pressure to succeed, technology makes it expedient, tasks are meaningless). This is a significant issue for college campuses. Character and integrity are important components of college https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2025/10/prosper-collegiate-parent-article.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8334804648071945213.post-1501306875323547337Sun, 14 Feb 2021 01:06:00 +00002021-05-28T12:32:01.960-05:00CollegialityFacultyPersonallyNote: Christina Pikla shared her news with me last year and she and Rachael were excited to be interviewed for this piece. They have approved the final version. I am grateful to them for allowing me to share their story.This is a love story about two cisgender women who got married. To each other.When Christina Pikla, Director of Financial Aid at Trinity, received The Presidential Award for https://trinitydean.blogspot.com/2021/02/unmasked-all-you-need-is-love.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (David Tuttle)0