UHDS News

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, 07/16/2012] — They came, ready to ride.

Thousands of Cycle Oregon participants gathered on the Memorial Union quad at Oregon State University campus Friday to check in and prepare to ride the mid-valley this weekend.

Now in its 25th year, Cycle Oregon hosts both week-long and weekend rides, but this is the first weekend ride that will be based out of Corvallis.

All parties involved in setting up the three-day event and providing weekend accommodations for the estimated 2,000 participants mentioned that Corvallis — whose name is Latin for “heart of the valley” — is an ideal location for weekend bicycling.

…

“It’s going really well,” Snyder said. “People are really accommodating.”

Read the Full Article — Joce DeWitt

[Daily Barometer, July 11, 2012] — For all involved in a START orientation session at Oregon State University — from incoming freshmen, to parents, to the START leaders themselves — the process is tiring, anxious and exciting all in one.
For those who never participated in one themselves, or just forgot because it was so long ago, a START session  is a guide for first-time OSU students to get shown the ropes, and be comfortably acquainted to their new life in Corvallis.
A typical START orientation consists of “introductions, team-building stuff, going over information. They also have an academic presentation that they go to for their college,” according to ElyseLipke, a START leader.
On top of those things, there are also academic workshops, an information fair for clubs and groups on campus, tour of the residence halls, Dixon Recreation Night, and of course, registering for classes and picking up an ID card.

Cont. …

Read the full article by Warner Strausbaugh.

New Student Programs & Family Outreach is collaborating with our campus partners to welcome new students at START – OSU’s summer advising, registration and orientation program. Students attend START to meet with an academic advisor, register for fall term classes, attend workshops on a variety of topics, meet current students and staff, and learn about campus resources. This summer orientation program aids in the transition process of OSU’s new students. A parent/family orientation program runs concurrently.

Please note that START dates this year are as follows:

• Monday, June 25 – Tuesday, June 26 – First-year START
• Thursday, June 28 – Friday, June 29   – First-year START
• Monday, July 2 – Transfer START
• Sunday, July 8 – Monday, July 9 – First-year START
• Wednesday, July 11 – Transfer START
• Thursday, July 12-Friday, July 13 – First-year START
• Monday, July 16 – Friday, July 17- First-Year START
• Thursday, July 19- Friday, July 20 – First- Year START
• Sunday, July 22-Monday, July 23 – First-year START
• Wednesday, July 25 – Transfer START
• Thursday, July 26 – Friday, July 27 – First-year START
• Monday, August 27-Tuesday, August 28 – First-year START
• Wednesday , August 29 – Transfer START

You will notice an increased amount of people on campus during these days and traffic to your department/office could increase. Usually our 2-day orientation program for first-year students involves about 800 participants (students and their family members). Our 1-day transfer sessions see about 375 participants.

Student unable to participate in START will be invited to attend new student orientation in September.

If you would like more information about OSU’s new student programming and/or START, please visit our web site: www.oregonstate.edu/newstudents . We are always looking for campus-wide participation in our programs. If you would like to be involved in any aspect please contact me.

Thank you in advance for your help in creating a welcoming environment for our new students.

New Student Programs & Family Outreach
Oregon State University
p: 541.737.7627  f: 541.737.6157

Approved building bonds put new student center, residence hall back on track

[Corvallis Gazette-Times, March 7, 2012] — Oregon State University will receive funds to build the Student Experience Center and a residence hall, after all.

Lawmakers passed a set of bills at the end of the Legislature’s short interim session, which adjourned Monday night. They approved millions of dollars in IX-F bonds for the new student center, a remodel of the Memorial Union’s east wing and a 270-bed residence hall.

Student fees will pay back the $47.2 million student center and $9.18 million renovation. Room and board fees will cover the $29 million residence hall.

Lawmakers put the projects on hold after the end of the last legislative session in June over concerns about the state’s ability to carry additional debt. OSU President Ed Ray, students and Oregon University System officials testified on behalf of the projects in front of the Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee in November.

Another OSU construction project — a classroom building — was also put on hold at the end of the last session, but the university plans to pitch the project during next year’s legislative session.

The news of the projects’ approval was great news for the university, especially for student groups involved in the student center project.

“They saw the need early on and worked to make this project come to life,” said Tiffany Perkins, an OSU senior who co-chaired the student committee that helped the project pass an initial student vote.

Students voted in May 2010 to pay $48 a term beginning last fall to pay off the bond. With funding secured, students will be charged the fee beginning spring term, and construction will begin January 2013, said Michael Henthorne, the director of the MU.

The new building will replace Snell Hall, built in 1959 as housing to accommodate the enrollment booms of the post-World War II and Korean War era. It now houses various student organizations and offices but it has numerous major structural deficits.

See the original article by Gazette-Times reporter Gail Cole.

[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.

[Sustainable Business Oregon, Jan. 10, 2012] — Students at the University of Portland and Oregon State University are joining a national competition this month, going head to to head with students at schools around the country to reduce their electricity and water use.

The Campus Conservation Nationals competition will run from February 6 and April 23 — schools pick a three-week window within those dates to run the program on their campus. Building dashboard software by Lucid, an Oakland, Calif.-based software company, will track each university’s progress including individual dorm performance and a national goal to save one gigawatt hour of electricity through the competition. A total of 250,000 students are expected to participate in the competition.

On the University of Portland campus, individual dorms will compete against each other for a $500 prize. The school also has laid down a challenge to its sister school, Notre Dame University.

The competition is organized by the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council.

Officials at UP say the efficiency competition is just latest in a stream of sustainability efforts. The school was the first college on the West Coast to discontinue the sale of disposable plastic water bottles on campus, has set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2040 and has reduced food waste by 70 percent in its dining halls.

Oregon State University also brings considerable sustainability cred with it to the competition. The school was last month named No. 4 in the nation for its green power use and last year received a gold designation from the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System.

Article by By Christina Williams. See the original post.

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.

[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.

[Campus Living, Nov. 4, 2011] — All UHDS residence halls and cooperative houses remain open during the Thanksgiving break; however, during winter break and spring break only Bloss, Buxton, Cauthorn, Finley, Halsell, Hawley, International Living-Learning Center, Poling, Sackett, and West will be open.

Residents who are unable to leave campus during break periods are encouraged to live in one of these halls.

Residents assigned to open halls may remain in their rooms during break weeks, but will be assessed at a weekly rate of $124.25. If you are an INTO-OSU student, this charge is already included in your housing rate.

The deadline to sign up for winter break housing is at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7.

Residents of all other facilities, and those who do not sign up for break housing, should plan on departing for winter and spring breaks (Dec. 11-Jan 7) and (March 25-31).

The break rates start on the Saturday after classes end at 11:59 p.m. and continue until the Saturday before classes resume at 8 a.m. Students who do not want to pay for break housing must vacate before – and return after –  this time period to avoid fees. Residents that stay past 11:59 p.m. on the Saturday after finals end will be charged for one week of break housing.

Room checks coming soon: In addition, UHDS will be doing health and safety checks of every room at the end of Fall and Winter terms.  If you want to be present schedule some time with their Resident Director or Resident Advisor.

Otherwise, staff will briefly enter your room, over the break to make sure that there aren’t any safety issues – such as waste in the trash, windows left open, or appliances plugged in (curling irons, extension cords, etc).

Brian Stroup and Kathryn Magura, UHDS Operations and Facilities