Hofstra Intramural Sports Goes Online With IMLeagues

Starting this semester the Intramural and Recreation Department has gone green and simplified the intramural registration process by moving to the online intramural league program, IMLeagues. We are really excited about this new technology and how easy it is to use! Students began registering teams last Tuesday, with registration closing on Friday the 3^rd. So far, the website is a hit! We have gotten great feedback from team captains and players alike.

With IMLeagues, not only is registration easier, but adding members to your roster, viewing your teams’ schedule and staying on top of your ranking is simple and easy! No more last minute texting your teammates about an upcoming game. Updating your teammates about cancellations and rescheduled games is easy - you can send them an update via the IMLeagues Message Center.

This is going to be a huge semester for intramural sports with over 67 teams registered for volleyball, 3-on-3 basketball and indoor soccer! Soccer will be played on Sundays, volleyball on Monday and Tuesday nights and 3-on-3 basketball takes the court Wednesday and Thursday nights. Games started last night and the competition is fierce! If softball or flag football is more your speed, stay tuned for our multi-day tournaments taking place in April.

Some teams are still looking for Free Agents, so if you are interested in playing it’s not too late! Contact Shaun Fean at shaun.fean@hofstra.edu for more information. We look forward to seeing you and your team spiking, shooting and scoring over at the Mack Fitness Center!

Special thanks to one of our wonderful Grad Assistants, Liz Ulatowski for this guest blog!

The Big Game at Hof USA

Hopefully you made it out to Hof USA last night to enjoy the end of WinterBlast weekend with your friends watching the Game! Whether you were there for the game, the commercials, the halftime show or the camadraderie everyone had a blast! Student Leadership and Activities collaborated with Resident Student Association (RSA) and Lackmann Dining to put on a great event for all Hofstra Students. The event began at 5pm with FREE appetizers and continued with many great food specials offered from Lackmann each quarter.

Whether you wanted wings, sliders or, a meatball hero they had it all for a deal; although I had it from a good sources that the brownie sundae is the BEST at Hof USA :) We ended the night how we started with FREE food...icecream sundaes and rootbeer floats!It was great to see over 300 students throughout the event. Over 150 stayed for all 5 hours of the event to enjoy the festivities with friends.

Even after the game a group of students continued to discuss the game and got to see The Voice. I had a great time meeting new students, and dissecting the halftime show (was it good, was it bad...) and catching what ended up to me a very exciting game throughout the night. As a football fan dating back to elementary school (I am from Buffalo so you are either a Bills fan or you have nothing to do for the winter :) )I sure enjoyed the safety, the drives and the dropped balls at critical moments.

I hope you came out and if you didn't I hope you are able to join us at Hof USA as we continue to build programming in the newly renovated space. We have a special "First Friday" program each first Friday of the month (in March it's cookie and cupcake decorating) and every other Fridays of the month we have Karaoke (all Friday programming starts at 7pm). Plus look out for our special St. Patty's Day Friday event; Friday March 9 at 7pm. This is the prelude event to the Irish Fest on campus being hosted on March 11. A great game was played last night by both teams and we are looking forward to this becoming a traditional event on campus...so, see you next year!

Apply Now to Welcome the Class of 2016!

Applications for Orientation Leaders and Welcome Week Coordinators (WWC) are due on Thursday, March 1, 2012 by 12:00 p.m. to 260 Student Center. I must admit, I have a special affinity for all things orientation, as serving as an Orientation Leader (OL) is what sparked my own interest in pursuing a career as a college administrator. (See if you can pick me out of the vintage picture taken with my fellow OLs at my alma mater back in the 1990s.)

My desire to be an OL came from my own experience as a new college student, when I had a rather rocky transition to college. Like many new students, I struggled to find my social niche; the study skills that made me a high honors student in high school were not as effective at the college level; I was on the rocks with my long-distance high school boyfriend; and my attempts at coping with all this stress were less than productive. Sound familiar? I always believed that if I'd had someone older and wiser to guide me through the process my college transition would have been much smoother.

Fast forward three years: I was thrilled when I received a coveted and competitive spot on the orientation staff. The experience was extremely fun, but I also took my job very seriously. I was determined that my orientees would have a good experience, and even followed up with them throughout the year, after my official OL duties had ended. There was one orientee in particular, Scott, who I took under my wing, as I could see he was struggling. I checked in on him frequently and even tutored him in psychology, my major, as he was doing poorly in the class. One of the best moments of the semester was when Scott, who had gotten involved with the theater group on campus, presented me with a rose to thank me for helping him get a B+ on his psychology final. It was nice to feel like I had made a difference. Eventually, I learned that I could make a career out of helping college students, and here I am today.

My hope is that there are many of you out there who also have a desire to make a difference, help your fellow students, and serve Hofstra as an OL or WWC. Not only do these positions help the University, but they help you build important leadership skills that will transfer into that future career of yours. Check the Student Leadership and Activities website for details on how to apply. All applicants must attend one of the information sessions, which will take place over the next few weeks. Think of all the potential "Scotts" out there and consider applying. I hope to see your application!

Sopho(be)MORE!

Yesterday, the class of 2014 had an amazing opportunity to learn about leadership opportunities, involvement in campus life, and the impact of these opportunities from a completely different perspective. For the first time, the Class Programming Committee implemented a recruitment-style program for the sophomore class that focused on what students really want—information but from the student-leader perspective. Leadership positions from Orientation Staff to Student Conduct Board Members, to Pride Guides were represented in yesterday’s Sopho(be)MORE event…but you didn’t see me behind the Orientation Staff table—you saw some pretty awesome Senior OL’s, who are already on staff for summer 2012!

The concept came to the committee after lengthy discussions about what does a sophomore really need, what are they looking for, and what are we hoping to communicate to them during this important time? With the insight of student leaders to guide this discussion, we realized we want sophomores to be more involved, engaged, marketable and of course, LEADERS!

In addition to providing the sophomore class with leadership and involvement opportunities on campus, there were also stations for resume critique, DAR reviews and scholarship information setup. This year’s event also brought in an alumni perspective of how their involvement and leadership positions have helped them in life beyond Hofstra!

The Class Programming Committee received excellent feedback from the students who attended and we are looking forward to growing this program into a new sophomore class tradition!

Word on the Street

This weekend is a big one with Winter Blast and the "big game." Where will we find you?

Spring Time Here We Come!

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a great break, and if you weren't taking classes I hope you were able to relax. Hopefully you are getting back into the swing of things as the spring semester gets started. The Office of Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services has a lot of great events planned for this semester and I hope to see many of you that commute or live off-campus at them! Tomorrow we will be hosting a "Commuter Meet and Greet" in room 221 in the Mack Student Center. This is a chance for you to come meet and get to know other commuting students.

As a reminder, the Office of Off-Campus Living and Commuting Student Services is involved with a program called "Snow Angels." This program provides students from Hofstra an opportunity to help senior citizens that live in the area by shoveling snow. If you are interested in helping out please stop by the office.

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

New Groups at Student Counseling

So great to see everyone back on campus for the start of the Spring semester! I hope the nice weather makes it easier for students to get out and explore or even find their way over to the Saltzman Center for our new groups. I’m really excited about the free groups we are holding this semester and believe they will offer lots of opportunities for personal change and growth. Some of the groups being offered include Mindfulness Meditation, Social Connections and an Emotion Regulation Skills group. We will also be holding a Bereavement group for students who are looking to connect with others who share similar experiences of loss.

Student Counseling is always available to answer any questions you have about the groups or any of the other services we offer. Looking forward to meeting you in some of our groups this semester. Enjoy Spring!