WSA hosts Millennial Speaker

By Megan Schwark
Western Herald

The Western Student Association welcomed guest speaker Adam Newsted from Western Michigan University’s Millennial Identity Group to their meeting Wednesday.
Newsted, a WMU graduate, became involved in the Millennial Project when it first started a year ago and is now working in the Millennial Identity Group, a subcommittee of the project.
Millennials are the generation of students attending college at that time. Society has placed many stereotypical attributes on the current millennial, Newsted said.

Some of the attributes are carried on from childhood. The current millennial tends to have helicopter parents, which can rob students of their independence and hinder their ability to make decisions, Newsted said. Other attributes placed on students in this millennial include being sheltered, technologically focused, and team oriented, he added.

The goal of the Millennial Project is to break the stereotypes and focus on how students really are and what they need to be successful at WMU.

The Millennial Project has three subcommittees to help them achieve their goal, Newsted said. The Millennial Identity Group looks to gain student feedback in order to focus on the real issues the students from this millennial face.

Newsted also addressed the issue of international students and older students who do not fit into the typical millennial generation. The project aims to gain feedback from these students as well in to strengthen their WMU experience.
Another subcommittee focuses on teaching practices and helping faculty and students connect and understand one another.

The final committee, known as Bronco Land, is currently creating an online video game based on Bronco life. Bronco Land features a virtual WMU campus and is designed by Broncos for Broncos.

The game is intended as an orientation tool to give incoming students a chance to familiarize themselves with campus and prepare them for the challenges they will face during their freshman year. This includes everything from navigating campus and making it to class to roommate issues and time management.

Another version of the game will be open to all students.

Students will be able to customize their own characters and wander the campus while living out a virtual WMU experience.

Another project currently underway is We the Millennials, an online documentary intended to show student opinions of the attributes placed on them and to help both faculty and students address issues that these attributes may cause.
Students can give their feedback and WMU experiences at the Millennial Project’s Facebook page.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=21458

Posted by kleonard on Nov 3 2010. Filed under Breaking, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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