UHDS News

Community Relations Facilitators assist University Housing & Dining Services’ Multicultural Resource Coordinator in working with staff members and residents in a variety of tasks specifically related to social justice education and cultural development.

There will be four Community Relations Facilitators for the 2012-13 academic year. Each student will work an average of 15 – 19 hours each week. This position requires independent work as well as collaborative relationships with three other CRFs as well as a variety of student and professional staff from Residential Education (UHDS), cultural and resource centers, and other campus partners.

The major duties of this position will likely include serving as an ambassador of UHDS to outreach to various campus partners, helping build collaborative relationships between UHDS residents and student staff, and campus partners engaged in social justice education and cultural development, developing and facilitating educational workshops for residence hall audiences, developing and executing large scale events, and contributing to a social justice focused blog.

Compensation for the Community Relations Facilitators is a place to live on campus (UHDS double room as a single), premium meal plan and $300 per term stipend.

• Community Relations Facilitator Application

Please contact UHDS Multicultural Resource Coordinator Teresita Alvarez with questions about the application.

The Leadership in Social Change Award provides $5,000 for a summer internship in an organization that works for social justice.

If you are a sophomore, junior, or senior in the College of Liberal Arts, College of Science, or College of Education who is interested in issues of equity, justice, and social change, this award will support a summer internship that will allow you to gain valuable experience working in a social change organization. Your internship must involve some form of active work for social change—advocacy, public policy analysis, worker organization, community development, education for social action.

Application deadline is April 1, 2012.

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Your application consists of five parts:

1)    a complete application form and answers to the questions listed below,

2)    an unofficial copy of your current transcript,

3)    description of the nonprofit organization(s) and internship job descriptions under consideration,

4)    your resume, and

5)    three academic references (name, phone, and email).
Name:

Student ID number:

Address:

Phone:

Email:

Major(s):

Class Standing:

Minor(s):

Previous volunteer involvement including date, organization, and job title:

Please answer the following questions (on a separate paper) and attach your answers to the application form. The combined responses should not exceed two single-spaced pages (i.e. ½ page per question, or approximately 300 words.)

1)    What are your ideals for humanity or for an ideal society? What have you already done to contribute to this ideal? What would you like to change in this world?

2)    How would this internship support your educational, career and life goals?

3)    List three learning objectives (skills and knowledge you expect to learn) from your internship.

4)    How do you see yourself influencing individuals, groups, organizations, or institutions after you complete this internship?

Please return your completed application to:

Karen Mills
School of Language, Culture, and Society
Waldo 236
kmills@oregonstate.edu

For more information, contact:

Dr. Susan Shaw
Transitional Director
School of Language, Culture, and Society
Waldo 234
541-737-3082
sshaw@oregonstate.edu

University Housing & Dining Services is now hiring a student mentor for the 2012-13 CAMP Scholar Internship program.

The CSI Mentor supports the CAMP Scholar Interns (CSIs) in their transition to college and their personal, academic, and internship success. The CSI Mentor will serve as a direct liaison between the CAMP Scholar Interns and the Multicultural Resource Coordinator (MRC) in UHDS as well as other OSU departments.

The successful candidate will also be responsible for developing professional development opportunities, conducting weekly 1:1 meetings with each CSI, providing preliminary academic advising, and assisting with the overall leadership of the program. The CSI Mentor will also assist the MRC in the selection of the new class of CAMP Scholar Interns during Spring 2013. The successful candidate will also receive training in advising, coaching, mentorship, identity development, and social justice related topics.

The CSI Mentor will work approximately 15-20 hours each week. This position requires independent work as well as collaborative relationships with campus partners. (Note: Student staff may only work up to a total of 20 hours per week in any on-campus employment positions).

Online Application Form (Due March 23, 2012)

CSI Mentor Position Description

If you have questions about this job opening please contact Teresita Alvarez, Multicultural Resource Coordinator for University Housing & Dining Services at 541-737-8268 or email teresita.alvarez@oregonstate.edu.

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, Feb. 23, 2012] — It was a Wednesday about 4:30 a.m. when Alvaro Llanos and Shawn Simons woke up to a fire alarm in their freshman dorm room at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. The two thought it might be a drill until they opened their door to find thick smoke. They began crawling on their hands and knees, searching for an exit. They had too much adrenaline to be scared.

“The number one thing we were thinking was we need to get out of here and we need to try to get out of here alive,” Simons said.

“We were in survival mode,” Llanos added.

The two men, who were 18 at the time, didn’t know they were crawling directly toward the fire. The ceiling collapsed, and a fireball fell on Llanos. He suffered third-degree burns on 56 percent of his body. Simons burned his hands and almost lost four fingers because the floor seared his hands.

That fire on Jan. 19, 2000, killed three students at the dormitory and injured 58 others. Simons and Llanos were two of four who were seriously burned. The fire had started in a communal lounge in the middle of their third-floor hallway when two residents had set a paper banner on fire.

The friends, now both 30, told their story to about 300 Oregon State University students and staffers Wednesday night while also presenting a documentary of their experience “After the Fire” with the film’s director Guido Verweyen. The film chronicles Llanos’ and Simons’ recovery and their friendship that helped them through it.

The presentation at the LaSells Stewart Center was organized by Fire Prevention Officer Jim Patton of the Corvallis Fire Department. It was paid for by 10 nonprofit organizations.

Read the full article by Emily Gillespie.

[Daily Barometer, Feb. 23, 2012] — RecycleMania is now on its fifth week. Many events are already over, and were successful. Some are happening right now, including the Res Hall Competition. And more are still to come.

Besides the overall competition, the Beavers are leading the Civil War thus far. The results up to this point are Oregon State University at 8.5 pounds per person and University of Oregon at 5.9 pounds.

“The Res Hall Competition is going on through the week,” said Andrea Norris, the outreach coordinator for Campus Recycling. “It seems to be going pretty well. It improved a lot from week one to week two, so there seems to be a pretty good awareness of what’s going on.”

Currently McNary Hall is ahead with 2.6 pounds per capita of recycling. Each hall has an “Eco Warrior,” who is that hall’s contact for the challenge. Sackett Hall’s Eco Warrior is holding a competition for who can make the best sculpture out of recycling.

Many events are still coming up, the details of which can be found online at recycle.oregonstate.edu. …

Read the full article by Gwen Shaw.

Looking for a job that will help you enhance your leadership skills, share your knowledge about OSU and to connect with prospective students?

The Office of Admissions and University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS) are now accepting applications for the Ambassador position for the 2012-2013 school year.

U.S. News and World Report listed on-campus tour guide as the best college job to boost your resume.

Applications need to be received by Feb. 17 in order to be considered.

The form below will allow you to submit an application for two different positions. One is as a Tour Ambassador with the Campus Visitor Center; the other is as an ambassador for University Housing and Dining Services (UHDS).

Campus TOUR Ambassador Position Description

UHDS Ambassador Position Description

Online Application Form

Ideal Candidates:

• have a wide range of OSU experiences
• enjoy working with people
• have public speaking skills
• are outgoing
• are self-motivated

Benefits of Being a TOUR or UHDS Ambassador:

• excellent work experience in a professional setting
• positively impact future OSU students and families
• work within a dynamic team environment
• competitive pay
• leadership credit and a resume-building experience

Qualifications:

• Current undergraduate student in good academic standing.
• All Ambassadors must maintain full time student status and a minimum 2.75 institutional cumulative grade point average during their period of employment.
• Full time student at Oregon State University for at least three terms with the intention of remaining a full-time student during the 2012-13 academic year.
• Demonstrate excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to effectively and positively represent Oregon State University.
• Commitment to promoting diversity.
• Knowledge of resources and services at Oregon State University.
• Well-rounded academic and co-curricular experiences at OSU.
• Exhibit leadership, initiative, dependability, discipline and self-confidence.
• Possess a current, valid driver’s license.

Period of Employment:

July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013 (including some or all of winter and spring breaks)

Spring Term 2012 Training/Leadership class: Students selected as TOUR Ambassadors are required to participate in AHE 406 during spring term.

Want to be student ambassador but cannot commit to all these dates?

We will be evaluating applicants to be part of our on-call tour guide program for recruitment programs and special group tours. Simply submit an application and indicate that you are interested in being an on-call tour guide. The interview process will be the same.

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. is best remembered as a civil rights leaders whose Aug. 28, 1963 “I have a dream … ” speech inspired a generation. In it, he challenged the crowd of 300,000 in Washington, D.C., to pursue a society in which people are judged not for the color of their skin but for the content of their character.

But on April 4, 1967, King delivered another speech at New York City’s Riverside Church  — and in it, he was just as impassioned in calling for an end to the Vietnam War:

“We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation,” King said in the “Beyond Vietnam” speech. “The choice is ours and — though we might prefer it otherwise — we must choose in this crucial moment of human history.”

His words echoed Monday morning through the Memorial Union Ballroom at Oregon State University, where the the 300 people in attendance observed the national holiday at OSU’s 30th annual Peace Brunch.

Keynote speaker Robert Thompson, an African-American studies professor in OSU’s ethnic studies department, said the New York peace speech signaled a moment in King’s intellectual journey where his “stance on nonviolence became more assertive.” There, King spoke precisely on the U.S.’s role in fostering what Thompson called the “triplets of misery”: racism, economic inequality and American imperialism.

…

President Ed Ray reflected on the April 1967 peace speech in his remarks by acknowledging that King knew he would spark controversy with his firm anti-war stance. Ray said he wondered if King felt a sense of urgency with his words; King was assassinated exactly a year later in Memphis.

“We need to sustain this struggle,” Ray said.

…

The brunch included performance by Outspoken, OSU’s men’s a capella group, poetry recited by OSU student Anderson DuBoise III, a traditional strolling presentation by a fraternity and sorority, and an awards presentation.

Eric Hansen, the associate director of University Housing and Dining Services, was presented with the Phyllis S. Lee Award. It is named after the former director of OSU’s office of multicultural affairs. Jodi Nelson, the executive assistant to the vice provost of student affairs, was presented with the Frances Dancy Hooks Award, who is named after the civil rights activist who joined her husband at the university in 1994 to give the keynote address at the Peace Brunch.

Read the full article: “MLK’s peace legacy.” Story by Gail Cole. Photos by Jesse Skoubo. Corvallis Gazette-Times.

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, Nov. 11, 2011] — Officials announced Thursday that nearly 25,000 students enrolled at Oregon State University this fall, a record total that includes a significant number of transfer and out-of-state students.

Overall, OSU’s student population is 24,977, up 5.1 percent from last fall. It’s the second-largest percentage increase of students within the seven-institution Oregon University System.

The numbers are based on an annual count of students during the fourth week of the term.

Among this year’s students, 1,804 are transfer students and 1,519 students hail from outside of Oregon.

A shaky economy explains the increase in both demographics. More people are likely to attend a community college and eventually a four-year university when unemployment is high, and budget woes in California and Washington have sent public university tuition in those states skyrocketing. That made Oregon’s public universities look appealing and provided OSU with its two biggest sources of out-of-state students.

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, Oct. 29, 2011] — Performers Joaquin Zihuatanejo and Nancy Giles, who help create dialogue on society and social justice, plan to perform during Oregon State University’s Diversity Summit Nov. 2 and 3.

Zihuatanejo, a poet, spoken-word artist and award-winning teacher, will perform his spoken word routine Nov. 2. Giles, best known for her work as a comedian, actress and CBS “Sunday Morning” contributor, also speak at the event and answer questions from the audience.

The public event is free. Zihuatanejo’s performance is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., followed by Giles at 7 p.m. Both segments are in the Austin Auditorium of LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26th St., Corvallis.

For more information on the public event or the OSU Diversity Summit, visit http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/care.

[Campus Living, Oct. 21, 2011] — For the first time in 10 years, the Division of Student Affairs is hosting the “c.a.r.e. harmonize our voices, transform our world” Diversity Summit Nov. 2 to 3 in the CH2M Hill Alumni Center.

Themes of the summit discussed in sessions and panels will include identity, culture, consciousness, justice and engagement. In addition, the summit will include three nationally renowned keynote speakers: Spoken word artist, poet, and an award-winning teacher Joaquín Zihuatanejo; Maura Cullen, who is widely considered one of the nation’s foremost authorities on diversity issues on college campuses today; and ward-winning journalist and scholar Helen Zia.

The registration deadline is Oct. 30.  Space is limited, so we invite OSU students, staff, and faculty to register early online: http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/care/registration/.