Word on the Street!

I'm feeling so inspired after seeing Cory Booker speak today. He was a perfect choice for P.R.I.D.E. Week and Debate 2012. Many of his comments resonated with me, not just in my work with students, but personally as well. I also thought that his thoughts about carrying forward a "conspiracy of love" was very similar to our idea of "paying your P.R.I.D.E. forward." So tell us, how will you be part of this conspiracy, paying kindness forward in ways big and small?

Do You Know What Your Hofstra I.D. Is For?

On Monday, February 27th, The Office of Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services held "Do You Know What Your ID Is For?" an event that helped kick off P.R.I.D.E. Week, and gave students an opportunity to find out all the information they need to know about their Hofstra I.D. In the morning, the day started out with a breakfast in the Office of Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services, and a chance for students to speak face to face with an employee from Hofstra Card Services. As a part of our Commuter Round-Table Discussion Series, our goal is to inform students on campus about anything they might need to know, especially when it comes to the perks of their Hofstra I.D. After our early morning breakfast we headed down to the atrium of the Mack Student Center to stop students on their way through campus and ask if they had their I.D. on them. If they did have their I.D. they would receive candy and they also have a chance to take a picture with an over sized I.D. card. There are many more events that will be taking place for the duration of P.R.I.D.E. Week, so make sure you check them out!

-Anita Ellis, Director, Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services

Vagina Monologues

What a great way to spend a Thursday evening on campus... the energy from the room was electric, the production was poignant, entertaining, thought provoking and funny! The whole cast and crew did an excellent job on the opening night of Vagina Monologues. Vagina Monologues is in its' 15th year and generates broader attention for the fight to stop violence against women and girls, including rape, battery, incest, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sex slavery.
There are two more nights of the Monologues - this Friday and Saturday. Tickets are on sale until they are sold out. They will be available at the box office the night of the event. Each night the show starts at 8pm in the Helene Fortunoff Theater. Student tickets are $10 and all others are $12. It's not only an awesome production but, you can feel good that all the proceeds from shirt sales and ticket sales go directly to Nassau Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Women and Girls of Haiti funds. The students and staff worked really hard to put on a great production and to educate the Hofstra community about the violence against women.
At the end of the show the producer and directors got up and asked the audience to join the fight against violence in the #1BillionRising program an active way for 1 billion (and more) of us to join the fight against violence against women. For more information you can email HofstraVday@gmail.com

What is V-Day? from V-Day Until the Violence Stops on Vimeo.

SGA Leaves a Legacy: Kicking Off 2012 with a Revamped Constitution

With growth comes change, innovation, and a redefined purpose. With an effort to focus their perspective and lens, Hofstra’s Student Government Association has worked diligently over the last six months to revamp, update, and streamline their Constitution and Policy Series. Armed with the revised pillars of Accountability, Equity, and Presence, the seven senators on the Constitutional Convention Committee completed their revisions of the 70-page document and prepared for their presentation to the Senate on February 9^th in the Cultural Center Theater. The Senate debated diligently, remembering the importance of taking their own personalities and biases out of the positions since they were putting forth a document that has remained unchanged for over a decade, and would be their legacy to Hofstra University. After six hours of debate and amendments, the proposed Constitution and Policy Series passed unanimously!

Some of the highlighted modifications and additions include: a strictly enforced attendance policy and new cap for number of senators, firmer accountability of club office spaces including an annual application for office space, a more equitable financial process with bi-annual budget weekends allowing clubs to request money on a semester basis, a stronger presence in the campus community through fall elections targeting first-years and transfers interested in getting engaged early, and a Programming Board that will be open to senators and non-senators tasked with planning campus-wide events throughout the year. The Student Government Association is excited to put these changes into effect with the swiftly approaching election season! They encourage new faces to run for a Senate position as they are always looking for new energy and innovative ideas. If you know a star student looking for a new leadership experience and an opportunity to represent their constituents, perhaps this is their chance! Let them know they can contact electionscommission2012@gmail.com with any questions. I know I speak for many when I congratulate this year’s Student Government Association for achieving such an undertaking with diligence, commitment, and pride.

PAY YOUR P.R.I.D.E. FORWARD DURING P.R.I.D.E. WEEK!

If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, then you’re well aware that next week is P.R.I.D.E. Week! A myriad of events will be taking place from February 27 through March 2 to highlight our P.R.I.D.E Principles (How many principles can you name? Take the survey, below). I’m hoping you have already reserved your spot to see our P.R.I.D.E. Week keynote speaker. Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, will be speaking about “How to Change the World With Your Bare Hands” during common hour on Wednesday, February 29. Don’t miss out on this Debate 2012 kickoff event!

In addition to the week-long schedule of events, the Division of Student Affairs is encouraging Hofstra students, faculty, and staff to “Pay Your P.R.I.D.E. Forward” and engage in random – and not so random – acts of kindness throughout P.R.I.D.E. Week. Remember the film, “Pay it Forward,” in which Haley Joel Osment’s character tries to make the world a better place by paying a good deed forward to three unsuspecting people? His hope was that those three people would continue the trend of paying it forward, and good will would spread throughout an ever-widening circle of people.

Okay, let’s see if we can create this phenomenon here at Hofstra. Whether you act as an individual or through the collective efforts of a student club or organization, office, or department, you can spread cheer throughout our community! Stop by the P.R.I.D.E Week table in the Student Center Atrium to sign up, and check here for more ideas on how you can pay your P.R.I.D.E. forward!

Word on the Street!

Next week is our second annual P.R.I.D.E. Week, which celebrates our P.R.I.D.E. Principles. The P.R.I.D.E. Principles are the competencies you will develop throughout your time at Hofstra if you are an active, engaged student, and they reflect what is important to us as a community. Everything we do in Student Affairs and across the University aims to help you develop these outcomes. So, pop quiz-- how many of them can you name? (Need a reminder? See hofstra.edu/pride.)

Mayor Cory Booker Kicks Off Debate 2012 During P.R.I.D.E. Week

Two-term Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Cory Booker, will be kicking off “Debate 2012: Pride, Politics and Policy” when he speaks to the Hofstra community as part of the second annual P.R.I.D.E. Week on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m. The event will be held in the Helene Fortunoff Theater in the Monroe Lecture Center. His speech, “Changing the World with Your Bare Hands,” aims to empower people to take action and be of greater service. There will also be a Q&A session so come prepared with questions!

You must RSVP to attend. Space is limited and will fill up fast! To register now, visit www.hofstra.edu/CoryBooker.

About Cory Booker
Mayor Booker’s career began in 1998, after serving as Staff Attorney for the Urban Justice Center in Newark. He then continued his career as Newark’s Central Ward Councilman. During his years of service, then-Councilman Booker earned a reputation as an innovative leader willing to take bold action to effect change. For his work, he has been recognized widely, including, among others, TIME, Esquire, New Jersey Monthly, Black Enterprise (naming him to the Hot List, America’s Most Powerful Players under 40) and The New York Times Magazine. For more information about Mayor Booker visit www.corybooker.com

Join Student Affairs and the Political Science Department on Tuesday, February 28 starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Mack Student Center Theater for the showing of the Oscar-nominated documentary, “Street Fight,” that chronicles the contentious 2002 mayoral race in Newark, which pitted Mayor Booker against incumbent Sharpe James. Professor Rosanna Perotti will present an introduction to the movie and set the context for that election.

P.R.I.D.E. Week events
Check out the full listing of P.R.I.D.E. Week events here.

Playing It Safe - Fire & Personal Safety

The Office of Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services had a great turnout at our "Fire and Personal Safety" event, and our students were offered amazing safety information in return. We want to thank the members of the Hempstead Volunteer Fire Department, the Hempstead Police Department and the Uniondale Fire Department for taking the time to come meet our Hofstra students.

Some highlights that we took away were; every private house is legally supposed to have a fire alarm and CO2 alarm near every bedroom, everyone should plan and practice and evacuation routine, check to make sure that windows can easily be opened, and keep stairs and hallways clear of clutter. Click here for more fire and personal safety information.

-Anita Ellis
Director of Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services

Word on the Street!

This one is mainly for undergrads-- based on national research, we always say that most students change their majors. Is that true here? Have you changed your major since your orientation, officially or unofficially?

Spread the Love!

It's Valentine’s Day and Hofstra has been offering many fun events to spread the love.

There are events for everybody whether you prefer the classical Valentine’s Day experience of a chocolate tasting or something more unconventional as the “modern” love humor by Wendy Williams.

“Let’s Talk About Love” with Wendy Williams was a unique experience. If you are tired of all the “sugarsweet” couples, movies, restaurant, and love quotes on Valentine’s Day, you would have certainly enjoyed Wendy Williams. Students submitted questions about love beforehand and Wendy Williams gave advice, coupled with a great sense of humor. Students asked many interesting questions-- questions you probably ask yourself. What do you think?

Is love and emotion or an ability?

How can I break the ice without being too straight forward?

Wendy Williams gave advice on all those topics. How to break the ice? – “With a smile and eye contact. That always works.” Is love an emotion or an ability? – “Love is an emotion, but emotion is an ability”. I certainly had many laughs at “Wendy’s Talk” and enjoyed this more atypical Valentine’s Day experience.

The unconventional Wendy Williams Valentine’s experience was great, but I can’t help to still be somewhat romantic during Valentine’s Daytime. And I mean, who does not love chocolate…

I certainly do. I convince myself that the idea that chocolate makes you happy is not a myth. That’s always a great excuse, and so was the “The Taste of Chocolate” event.

Yes, it is a more typical Valentine’s day experience, but after all, it was more than that. The event offered many different kinds of chocolate, including somewhat more adventurous flavors as chocolate with bacon, beer or sea salt. I was skeptical at first, but it certainly tasted good. This was a great occasion to go spend time with your friends, boyfriend or girlfriend. It was a classic romantic event with still a bit of “spice."

I loved both of the events. There was something for everybody. So go Spread the Love on campus and we hope you enjoyed all the Valentine’s Day events offered.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Show Us Some Love

Earlier today, close to 100 students showed The Career Center some love in the Student Center!


How? 

They "liked" us on Facebook and some students chose to follow us on Twitter, that's how!  And in exchange students received FREE Career Center Show Us Some Love T-shirts!

A big thank you to all the students who participated and for those of you who missed out--we'll still LIKE you, that is if you will "LIKE" us!

Black History Month Reception

“ Celebrate Black History Month every month”. That’s what sparked my mind after I had attended the Black History Month Opening Reception. Each February, Black History month honors the struggles and victories of millions of American citizens. I, learned this should be honored every month through consistent equal opportunity movement and institutional development.

The Black History Month Reception, sponsored by the Office of Multicultural & International Student Programs, enlightened me and I am positive each of the many attendees had the same experience. Particularly, for an international student like me,  it was very interesting to learn about the different perspectives of Black History Month, but most of all about the current debates still present.

Student-leaders from the Hofstra African Students Association and the African Caribbean Society, as well as a performance by the Hofstra Gospel Ensemble, kicked off Black History Month at Hofstra University and there are many more powerful and interesting programs to come throughout the month. Student keynote speaker Christian Mpoy was a great start to Black History Month.

The heart of the reception was the keynote speaker Dr. Jonathan Lightfoot, an assistant professor at Hofstra. His speech was powerful and passionate, conveying to everyone to keep in mind that the present will be the Black History of the future.  Even in today’s time there are many aspects that still have to progress in regards to equal rights for everybody. Dr. Lightfoot gave some real time examples so everybody understands that even today, African Americans don’t have equal rights in all aspects of life. As an example he mentioned the tremendous majority of African American football players in the NFL, but at the same time, the tremendous minority of African American coaches in the NFL. As the Super Bowl took place just recently, this was a very relatable example. As the keynote speaker for a place of education such as Hofstra, Dr. Lightfoot expressed his appreciation for Hofstra’s effort and acknowledgement for equal opportunities. At the same time, he expressed a lack of African American professors nationwide, despite a large pool of qualified applicants. For several years Dr. Lightfoot has been working towards a “Praxis of Antiracist School Leadership Preparation”. His speech certainly sparked my interest and encouraged me to attend many other Black History Month programs this year.

 

The Gospel ensemble performances and the great food served added to the excitement of the audience. It was a large crowd in attendance.

I expected to gain knowledge about Black History, but more than that, I came out with heart and passion. Thus, “Celebrate Black History Month every month”.

"How You Doin'?" - Wendy Williams is Coming to Hofstra!

Looking for something to do this Valentine's Day? Head over to the Monroe Theater to see Wendy Williams in action at the "Let's Talk About Love" event, starting at 2:15 p.m. (but arrive early, space is limited)!

Similar to the "Love & Relationships" segment on her daytime talk show, Wendy will talk about love and answer questions submitted by students! Also, 15 lucky students will be chosen to have lunch with Wendy following the event.

"Let's Talk About Love" is part of Hofstra's Sweet Valentine Event Series.

Learn to Lead with PRIDE!

Looking to enhance your leadership skills? Then I have the perfect program for you! The Office of Student Leadership and Activities has launched a new initiative called the P.R.I.D.E. A-La-Carte Leadership Workshops program. This program allows students to choose from a variety of workshops centered around the P.R.I.D.E. Principles to help them develop their leadership skills. Multiple workshops are offered throughout the academic year, and in order to complete the series, each participant must attend five workshops (one workshop for each principle) and two leadership programs over the course of the year. As a result of student feedback and assessment, these workshops are scheduled on different days and at various times. This is to accommodate as many students’ schedules as possible. Graduates of the P.R.I.D.E. program will receive a certificate of completion and will be entered into a drawing to attend a leadership conference of their choice (guidelines will apply).

This past fall semester we kicked off the program by hosting four workshops and this spring we have ten more workshops for you to choose from! This past Monday, February 6, was the first workshop for the spring semester and it was a great success! The topic of the workshop was “Failure IS an Option” where we discussed that failure is inevitable and thus in order to be great leaders we must learn to embrace it and learn from it. Students opened up and shared their own failures that they have had to overcome and it was one of our best workshops yet. This semester we have a lot of great presenters lined up including faculty and higher administration, so don’t miss out! You do not need to be a part of the larger program to attend a workshop.

Below are the remaining spring workshops. Make sure to take advantage of this great leadership and resume-building opportunity. See you there!

SPRING 2012 LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS
All workshops are held in Plaza Room West, Mack Student Center.

Wednesday, February 15, Common Hour
(D: Diversity and community) – Understanding Individual Diversity
Presented by: Ashley Gray, Assistant Director of Student Leadership and Activities

Thursday, February 23, 3 p.m.
(P: Personal and social responsibility) – Leading Up
Presented by: Sara Hinkle, Associate Dean for Student and Community Development

Wednesday, February 29, 5 p.m.
(I: Integrity, Ethics and Leadership) – What Would You Do?
Presented by: Kathleen Wallace, Professor of Philosophy

Tuesday, March 6, 4 p.m.
(E: Expression and free exchange) – It’s All About Effective Communication!
Presented by: Holly Seirup, Associate Professor of Counseling, Research, Special Education, and Rehabilitation

Wednesday, March 14, Common Hour
(R: respect for self and others) – Love Your Self First
Presented by: Eduardo Duarte, Associate Professor of Teaching, Literacy and Leadership

Thursday, March 22, 5 p.m.
(E: Expression and free exchange) – TBD
Presented by: Brendan Caputo, Assistant Dean of University Advisement

Monday, March 26, 3 p.m.
(P: Personal and social responsibility) – TBD
Presented by: Jennifer Boscarino-Green, Senior Associate Dean of University Advisement

Tuesday, April 3, 2 p.m.
(D: Diversity and community) – TBD
Presented by: Gerard Brogdon, Director of Multicultural and International Student Programs

Thursday, April 19, 11 a.m.
(I: Integrity, Ethics and Leadership) – TBD
Presented by: Jayne Brownell, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs

For more information email OSLA@hofstra.edu or visit hofstra.edu/leadership.

Word on the Street!

Have you heard? The theme for this year's debate is "Debate 2012: Pride, Politics & Policy." To prepare for the upcoming year of programming, you may see students and administrators walking around campus this week with an iTouch doing a quick survey. This is to be sure we're inviting speakers who will talk about the issues that matter to you. But if you missed the iTouch, take this one question version and tell us what you care about most!

Help Improve the Portal at IT Listening Sessions!

Last semester, nearly 100 students participated in the Dinner and Discussion sessions held at the home of Vice President for Student Affairs, Sandy Johnson. The topics discussed were "Getting Connected" and "Staying Informed" at Hofstra. During these discussions there were a number of students with ideas and suggestions about improving the Hofstra Portal and the filtering of information.

In response, we have gathered key administrators from different areas of campus and have scheduled three listening sessions. We invite you to delve deeper and work with our technology gurus on how to make your experience better. We want to know: How are you currently using the portal? What works for you? What would you like to change? Let's discuss technology on campus and how we can improve functionality and communication.

Please RSVP for the session you would like to attend by emailing studentaffairs@hofstra.edu. We would like to get an accurate count for ordering food. Space is limited to the first 20 students who RSVP for each session!

Monday, February 13, 2012: 200A McEwen, 6-7 p.m.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012: 200A McEwen 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 16, 2012: Student Center Room 141, 8-9 a.m.