UHDS News

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University’s Nutrition and Dietetics Club is celebrating National Nutrition Month this March with a two-day event in the Memorial Union Quad.

This year’s theme of “Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day” encourages personalized healthy eating styles that include lifestyle and cultural and ethnic traditions when creating balanced meals.

OSU’s Nutrition and Dietetics Club is teaming up with Be Well on March 5-6 for the two-day event, which will feature games, prizes, free food, and tips on how to stay healthy from guests representing Bob’s Red Mill, First Alternative Co-op, Wild Squirrel Nut Butters, and Food@OSU.

“This is an excellent opportunity for students to learn more about their personal nutrition and reflect on goals related to it while engaging with on-campus nutritional professionals and discovering services to help them achieve their goals,” said Lynn Cordes, a registered dietician with Student Health Services. “The Nutrition and Dietetics Club puts meticulous thought and planning into this event every year and it is reflected in the excitement and fun atmosphere found at National Nutrition Month at OSU.”

Read more.

Dear Campus Colleagues,

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) is pleased to announce it is now offering after-hours crisis counseling services. To access a counselor anytime, all students need to do is call our main number, 541-737-2131.

We recognized that students often face urgent concerns that are too overwhelming to wait for a scheduled appointment.  Therefore, we have worked to identify a resource that will serve our students when we are closed — after hours, weekends, holidays, and other times we cannot be open.

When students access our after hours service, they will speak to licensed, mental health counselors who will assess the students’ level of concern, identify appropriate interventions to de-escalate the crisis, plan for safety, and help the students get connected to resources that will help them long-term. In addition, the mental health professionals will be able to work with our campus personnel to assure that students in who are at great risk of harming themselves or others receive immediate assistance.

As always, students can see a CAPS counselor on a same-day basis for a first-time appointment or for urgent care during our regular business hours, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  We begin taking appointments at 8:30 AM, and students can simply call 541-737-2131 to schedule.

We hope that you will assist us in spreading the word about this new service, and will feel free to encourage students you are working with to use it if they are struggling with their mental health.

For more information, check out the CAPS website.

[Daily Barometer — Feb. 20, 2013] — Most have heard the term “social justice” before but may not realize how important it is for the health and well-being of our diverse campus. Social justice refers to equality and solidarity found in society.
Jesseanne Pope, a junior majoring in student affairs with a focus on social justice, has experience with this topic in her role as community relations facilitator.

As a live-in social justice and diversity educator in the Oregon State University residence halls, she has spent this year interacting with new students, encouraging campus involvement and promoting informative events about social justice, diversity and identity.

Pope’s enthusiastic interest in social justice issues began through the lens of women’s issues, such as reproductive rights, equal pay and sexual violence.

“I value humanity and think that most people nowadays have drifted far from the core meaning of humanity,” Pope said.

Pope recently attended the Social Justice Real Justice Conference from Feb. 14-16 at the University of Oregon.

According to the website, the conference had goals to “promote personal growth, leadership development, cultural pluralism, community education, positive social change and the ending of human oppression by exploring ways to mobilize and organize.”

Students led the conference with a focus on leadership and cultural openness. Additionally, the conference focused on issues related to women, ethnicity and LGBT rights.

Read the full article here.

[Life@OSU, Feb. 20, 2013] — Oregon State University dining centers and shops benefited from a little expertise from Cornell last week when Kathryn Hoy of the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs came for a visit. Hoy was invited by the Moore Family Center and the College of Public Health and Human Sciences, as well as the Be Well Healthy Eating committee.

An expert on how layout, design and product placement affect the healthy eating habits of children, Hoy was able to provide input to UHDS, MU and student health services representatives on a number of campus eateries and stores, which they may be able to incorporate into changes that will increase the sales of more nutritious food items.

Hoy works with Brian Wansink at Cornell, who has done landmark work in healthy eating and developing smarter lunchrooms. Normally her area of expertise is grade school children but she was able to adapt much of what she knew to the college setting.

At Pangea, for example, she suggested that the restaurant feature less nutritional information and more photos of healthy meals, and offered ways to make healthy offerings appear to be the economic as well as the smarter choice.

Read the full article here.

Psi Chi, the Psychology Honor Society, is teaming up with ASOSU Veterans Affairs to host a viewing of The Invisible War, a documentary about Military Sexual Trauma and women in the military at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 20 in Gilfillan Auditorium.

Gus Bedwell of Veterans Affairs will be our keynote speaker, and Julie of ASOSU Veterans Affairs will be hosting A Q&A session after the viewing.

Admission is free. (Check out the Facebook event)

As the topic of sexual trauma can be triggering, please make note of the available resources on and off campus.

Counseling and Psychological Services: (541) 737-2131
CARDV 24 hour hotline: (541) 754-0110

For more information regarding The Invisible War, please visit the official movie site.

View the video at the source: KVAL TV, Feb. 8, 2013.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Lunar New Year, known to many as the Chinese New Year, is fast approaching.

Oregon State University is celebrating with food.  To help make the meal just a little more special they brought in celebrity chef Jet Tila.

Chef Jet Tila has made several appearances on Food Network shows like Chopped, and he’s worked with big names like Anthony Bourdain.  However, all they had to do to get this high caliber chef to Corvallis was ask.

“It’s nice to be the token Chinese Asian guy, and fly around the country and talk about Asian food,” says Chef Tila, “But no, seriously, this is the biggest … I wouldn’t say holiday, but biggest day of remembrance for all Chinese people around the world. The Lunar New Year is a way for me to teach people about Asian Cuisine, and food is the most non political/confrontational way to teach people about culture.”

And for this chef, whether it is Corvallis or anywhere, being able to use his celebrity status to share culture through cuisine is the ultimate.

“It’s amazing that people would want to come out and say hello,” Says Chef Tila. “And if celebrity is helping educate people then that is one of the best things celebrity can do for anyone.”

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, Feb. 11, 2013] — Jet Tila of TV’s Food Network visits OSU and shares some stir-fry tips

The chef transferred the finished product — Chinese fried rice — from the wok to a bowl made from a pineapple shell.

“Does that look sexy?” he asked the audience. “Food must look sexy!”

Chef and Food Network television personality Jet Tila offered tips in Asian cooking and cracked jokes during an interactive demonstration Thursday at Oregon State University’s Marketplace West Dining Center. Tila shared his expertise and recipes with hundreds of people during the lunch and dinner hours as part of OSU’s celebration of the first day of the lunar calendar.

After fried rice, he began preparing spicy maple pork, a Thai dish.

“We’re going from China to Thailand in a snap,” he said.

While cooking in a temporary kitchen on a raised platform, Tila chattered about the proper cooking oil to use, techniques in chopping vegetables and the do’s and don’ts of Asian cooking.

Anyone can make good stir fry, Tila said, but there are certain rules they should follow.

“First rule of stir fry is this … everything in its place,” he said. “All that means in the culinary world is, get everything prepped and ready to go.”

Tila cut up the vegetables, including the ends of the bell pepper.

“I waste nothing because my grandmother would slap me on the hand,” he said.

He said the best investment any chef can make is one multiuse knife.

“I’m not a knife Madonna,” he said. “You just need one darn good chef’s knife.”

High-temperature, low-flavor oils are best for cooking in a wok, he said, and there is one hard and fast rule in Chinese cooking.

Read the full article by GT reporter Canda Fuqua. Photos by Jesse Skoubo.

[Daily Barometer — Feb. 8, 2013] — Before last night, celebrity chef Jet Tila had only been to Oregon twice.

“All I knew about this area is that you make good Pinot,” Tila said, preparing a demonstration on how to cook stir fry “like an expert.”

In an effort to liven up cultural dinners on campus, Jay Perry, Chef de Cuisine at the Marketplace West dining center, asked Tila to prepare traditional Thai and Chinese food. Tila was happy to come to Corvallis.

“I expected more knit caps and hacky sacks,” Tila said. “It’s all wet and cold. I’ve never been in a land of such green.”

Tila is was born and raised in Los Angeles. Tila grew up in his father’s Thai restaurant and with his grandmother’s traditional Chinese cooking. With these inspirations, he helped cook and serve lunch and dinner to a total of 652 Oregon State students, staff and the Corvallis community.

Working in the concept Ring of Fire, Tila had the opportunity to teach and cook side-by-side with Marketplace West employees.

“Working with [Tila] was fun,” said Majed Abdelras, a sophomore in business management.

“It would have been really stressful,” said Shayna Haack, a sophomore in human development and education. “But he was making jokes the whole time.”

Tila would step back from cooking to interact with the customers in line. He was curious to know who was eating the food and where they were from.

Read the full article on The Daily Barometer’s website.

Acclaimed chef and Food Network television personality Jet Tila will be headline University Housing & Dining Services’ Lunar New Year: a journey through culture and cuisine on Feb 7. Tila completed on “Iron Chef America” and is a judge on the popular show “Chopped.”  Thanks to his background and education, Tila is comfortable in multiple roles as a nationally celebrated chef and consultant, a teacher and a student in the art of food.

This celebration of the first day of the lunar calendar will take place on Thursday, Feb. 7 at Marketplace West’s Ring of Fire restaurant.  Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to1:30 p.m. and dinner will be served from 5to 7 p.m.

Chef Jet will be demonstrating his cooking technique and his recipes from 12:30 to1:15 p.m. and 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. with time to meet with students, OSU staff and faculty and the general public.  He will also be available for media interviews.

The menu will feature Chef Jet’s Asian Broccoli Salad with Crispy Noodles and Spicy Basil Pork.  The menu will also include Roasted Duck Leg in Mandarin Orange Sauce, Braised Beef Short Ribs in Plum Sauce, Buddha’s Feast with Tofu (vegetarian), Crispy Spring Rolls, Sweet Sticky Sesame Rice Cakes and other culinary favorites.  The meal will cost $9.

Video: Chef Jet on Vimeo.