UHDS News

This fall, University Housing & Dining Services brings you the chance to win plasma TV for your room and to be featured in photos for upcoming UHDS publications.

How to enter: Submit a photo of your room, your name, and short description of what makes your room unique via oregonstate.edu/uhds/photocontest. Photo submissions will also be added to Facebook album on the UHDS Facebook page.

[The Daily Barometer, Oct. 17, 2012] — Halloween is two weeks away, and many students will don makeup and costumes in the spirit of the holiday. According to Community Relation Facilitators and members of cultural centers on campus, the choice of costume should be planned in a way that is considerate of other cultures.

“Halloween gives people the power to pretend they are something they are not,” said Agustin Vega-Peters, ASOSUdirector of multicultural affairs. “What people sometimes forget is that others might see their costume as mocking their cultural heritage.”

Vega-Peters noted, as an example of inconsiderateness, that costumes resembling mariachi members are often oversimplified and portrayed in a way that mocks the Mexican pastime and cultural staple.

Community Relation Facilitators released a video on Monday on their Facebook page titled, “Think before you costume.” The video took an upbeat approach to the issue, embracing the holiday while remaining informative. Community Relation Facilitator Justin McDaniels hosted the video, pointing out appropriate and inappropriate costumes as a way to supply a distinction for the viewer.

Examples of universally acceptable costumes included a gamer, a Beaver fan and a college student. Inappropriate costume ideas included dressing up in stereotypical costumes including a Geisha, an illegal alien, dressing in derivative Native American regalia and wearing blackface.

“These costumes are doing something wrong,” McDaniels said. “[They are] identifying a certain culture or heritage and they are doing it in the wrong way.”

The video included representatives from the Black Cultural Center, Asian and Pacific Cultural Center, Native American Cultural Center and Centro Cultural Cesar Chavez. Each group showed examples of offensive costumes, further explaining how they feel about the costumes and the undertones attached to them.

“The way we dress up matters,” McDaniels concluded. “The way that we can costume ourselves can affect others in a negative way. We want this Halloween and harvest time to be equitable for everyone.”

As mentioned in both the video and by those involved, many people see Halloween and costuming without having any limitations, and while they are able to wear what they like, others may feel offended by culturally insensitive costumes.

“We want to focus and educate about the unspoken oppression that Halloween costumes portray in cultures around the world,” said Tomomi Kurosaki, graduate assistant from the Asian and Pacific Cultural Center. “The purpose of this event is to let others know that sometimes dressing up in clothing representing a culture can be offensive and an inaccurate representation, and we also want to explain what [that] clothing means to us.”

The campaign will feature an event today, sponsored by the Asian Pacific Cultural Center and Community Relation Facilitators titled, “My Culture is NOT a costume.” Alongside educational segments, the event will include festive traditions including caramel apples and mask decorating.

“We want students to have fun this Halloween,” said Teresita Alvarez, University Housing and Dining multicultural resource coordinator. “At the same time, we want them to take a look at some of the costumes that are out there and [see] why they are problematic.”

Read the full article by reporter Jack Lammers.

 UHDS’ Katie Van Winkle, an assistant coordinator for room management, was featured in a front page article in OSU’s student newspaper (The Daily Barometer) on Thursday, Oct. 18.

[The Daily Barometer, Oct. 18, 2012] — Just four minutes before the deadline Katie Van Winkle hit submit, entering her piece, titled “Speak Up,” into the Muhammad Ali Writing Award on Ethics competition. Little did she know the 10-page narrative that took her only three hours to write would become a finalist and receive an honorable mention in the Sala Kryszek Writing and Art Competition.
A self-professed “shy writer,” Van Winkle began to develop her voice and writing style in the seventh grade when her English teacher, now mentor, Charles Sanderson, took notice of her special talent. He encouraged and pushed her to enter writing pieces into state and national writing competitions.

“Sanderson made me more willing to experiment with my writing,” Van Winkle said.

Last spring, it was Sanderson who gave Van Winkle the information about a writing contest sponsored by the Muhammad Ali Center. This national writing competition is held annually and offers awards to college students who honor and uphold Muhammad Ali’s legacy of living a life dedicated to high ethical standards.

Among the judges for this contest was Elie Wiesel. Esteemed author and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Wiesel has made a huge impact on Katie’s life. After reading “Night,” Wiesel’s memoir about his experience during the Holocaust, Van Winkle began to understand the impact that stories and writing can have on others.

Van Winkle cherishes the opportunity to be judged by Wiesel.

“I feel really honored, he spoke up for his experiences and what he believes in,” Van Winkle said. “I read ‘Night,’ in high school and learned so much from it. I feel humbled and honored. I’d [like to] ask him about courage, about the importance of speaking up for the things that you believe in.”

This competition and experience has given her confidence in her writing and in the knowledge she can make a difference with her words.

Van Winkle has made a difference. When she received news from Sanderson that the book, “The House on Mango Street,” by Sandra Cisneros, was going to be pulled from her old school’s approved book list because it was considered to contain inappropriate content and language, she jumped into action.

She wrote an essay titled “Saving Mango Street,” which was published in the magazine “Rethinking Schools,” that then launched a letter writing campaign on Facebook. Van Winkle testified to the school board. Her efforts were successful. Van Winkle was able to help save the book that Sanderson had taught to her class years ago.

“[It] allowed the opportunity for valuable teaching moments about domestic abuse, violence against women and speaking out,” Van Winkle said.

Her winning essay — “Speak Out” — was a narrative tying together her personal experience with sexual abuse, her involvement with CARDVA (Center Against Rape & Domestic Violence) and her efforts to save “The House on Mango Street.” This ethics essay on women’s violence held a powerful message about speaking up and standing strong.

“If you don’t talk about it, people don’t know and can’t help,” Van Winkle said. “I don’t want people to feel like it’s their fault or that they can’t talk about it or that they are alone.”

Looking to the future, Van Winkle says that she wants to become a counselor and to work with women and children who have been affected by domestic violence. She plans to continue to express herself and to communicate through writing.

“It is easier to communicate through writing verses statistics or numbers; writing really gets people to think [about] things or to change or to react,” Van Winkle said.

Those who have a story to tell, need someone to talk to or have experienced sexual abuse can contact CARDVA or CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services).

“Basically, everybody has a story,” Van Winkle said.

Read the original story by reporter Brytann Busick.

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, Oct. 5, 2012] — Oregon State University officials are addressing complaints about a litter problem on the edge of campus on Southwest Western Boulevard.

Concerns surfaced last week when Corvallis councilman Mark O’Brien received an email from a resident complaining about cigarette butts and discarded coffee cups across from the International Living-Learning Center.

O’Brien, who said he also noticed the litter problem when he drove on Western Boulevard, responded to the complaint by contacting university officials in charge of a month-old campus policy that prohibits smoking on campus.

O’Brien also brought the concern before a City Council meeting last week to make other council members aware of the problem.

Lisa Hoogesteger, the director of healthy campus initiatives, responded to the concerns in an email, noting that leaders of the Smoke Free OSU initiative identified immediate “action steps” they will take to address the problem.

Steve Clark, the vice president of University Relations and Marketing identified one of those steps as the placement of a large urn at the corner of Southwest 16th Street and Southwest Western Boulevard.

“We heard people saying there are cigarette butts being dropped, and the receptacle is too small and it’s filling up,” Clark said.

Clark said the university also is working to increase how often such receptacles are maintained.

OSU has also hired a student to conduct a survey of areas known for cigarette litter issues.

“We have a student doing a sweep of those areas to determine to what extent it is a problem,” Clark said. “Really what is important here is to educate.”

O’Brien said he was pleased with OSU’s response to the complaints.

“To me, it’s all taken care of,” he said. “They did a good job.”

An additional concern regarding second-hand smoke in the area was brought to O’Brien’s attention as well. He said, however, that the ban on smoking is a university policy and not a city ordinance.

Clark said that as a result of the smoking policy, some students and staff choose to cross Western Boulevard in unmarked spots to smoke on the other side of the street, causing safety concerns. The university has marked Western Boulevard at Southwest 15th Street and Southwest 26th Street as safe places to cross.

“OSU has promised to take steps to fix it,” O’Brien said, “and they have.”

See full article by reporter Joce DeWitt and photos by Amanda Cowan.

[The Daily Barometer, Oct. 3, 2012] — Finley Hall, a residence hall run by University Housing and Dining Services, is not a permanent residence hall anymore. The first two floors are now occupied by office space, as is Finley’s main lounge. Located next to the parking garage on the south side of campus, Finley now provides temporary housing for new student overflow, INTO OSU students and returning students. Last year, Finley housing themes included an upper-class and transfer student wing, as well as an ROTC wing. Both themes have now been moved to other permanent halls.

“UHDS made the decision to consolidate some vacancies that we typically see at the end of each fall term,” said BrianStroup, assistant director of operations and facilities at UHDS.

“We anticipated using the space to house academic scholars and some pre-college programs that the university hosts, as well as provide short-term housing for any overflow of students. However, students who are planning on attending OSU starting in the fall of 2013 will be able to select Finley Hall as an option,” Stroup said.

The organizations that utilize the office space include the health and science business center, the university administration business center and some math instructors.

“These three OSU groups were in need of temporary office space for the 2012-13 academic year as they await their new on-campus space to be ready to move into,” Stroup said.

Finley Hall students still have access to resident assistants and many activities like they did in the past. Finley Hall Resident Director Christine Nguyen also manages Bloss Hall, on the other side of Arnold Dining Center.

“With the exception of some lounge space being used by three OSU departments, Finley Hall residents have resident assistants and resident directors like any other residence hall, and through that have access to programming and activities in their building,” Stroup said.

The decision to change Finley Hall was made by the UHDS department leadership team.

“It was an approved decision by the UHDS Department leadership team, to make the best use of our capacity for a year with little freshman class growth anticipated,” Stroup said.

The changes are temporary, however, with Finley returning to being a full time residence hall in 2013-14.

Read the full article by reporter Vinay Ramakrishnan.

During the Oct. 3 NBC  Today Show, Oregon State was named a top pick “School Fit for Foodies.”  The segment during Tuesday’s show highlighted about a dozen colleges/universities across the nation, ranking them as great selections based on individual interests, like the outdoors or being career minded.

See the video. (The OSU portion starts at about the 5 minute mark).

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, Oct. 3, 2012]

Excerpt:

The group discussed and debated a motion by workgroup member Betty Griffiths to recommend the formation of another workgroup to examine on-campus housing.

“The intent of this motion is to ask that people seriously examine this and seriously work on it,” Griffiths said.

The motion posed a conflict in the eyes of workgroup member Dan Larson, associate director for operations and facilities and Oregon State’s University Housing and Dining Services.

“This motion puts on hold work that we are doing right now to address the need,” Larson said, noting that the university doesn’t want to wait for recommendations of a workgroup.

“If we have one group looking at student housing while OSU also is looking at it. … It seems that they would be at odds with each other.”

Ultimately Griffiths abandoned the idea of a new workgroup and suggested attacking the issue through OSU’s own processes, including an update of its master plan.

“I just want something to happen. Whether it’s through (OSU) or another workgroup,” Griffiths said.

Larson agreed, and the workgroup eventually passed a motion that “requests that OSU place a priority on exploring public-private partnerships and other options for innovative on-campus village-style development to house students, faculty and staff.”

Read the full article by reporter James Day.