Category Archives: #OzOrgs

Re-Branding SUNY Oswego

Posted on
by

This week SUNY Oswegoʼs PRSSA held their last club meeting. They used this meeting time to go over the re-branding of SUNY Oswego as a whole. The discussion involved reasons that we as current students at Oswego considered to be a good staple for the campus as a whole. Majority of the students focused on the lake and no matter how or when you come to this campus every organization is a community. Not only is the view here unmatched, but the atmosphere that you get to experience once you are here is unforgettable.

Being that decision day was yesterday, why did you decide to come to SUNY Oswego?

Finalizing Women’s History Month

Posted on
by

In my prior post, I explained how I wanted to venture out of my regular routine and attend some programs that promoted women. It proved harder than I thought because of my busy schedule. This weekend I did get to attend the Women’s Center’s final event to culminate a final celebration of women:  The Royal Dinner.

The dinner was held at Hewitt Union Ballroom and was adorably decorated. Everyone was dressed impeccably. As one of the co-directors required, everyone was to come dressed in what they defined as royalty attire. The food was widely liked. And the performances were off the chart amazing. If I had to single out my top three (which was hard to do) I have to applaud the SUNY Oswego Gospel Choir they literally sounded heavenly and divine. They were super on point. I cannot recall her name, by there was a young lady who recited two spoken word poems that just left me mesmerized. Her emotion and word play skills left me kind of speechless. Her poem dealt with themes and obstacles that almost every woman has to combat and go through.  I had to go up to her and commend her on sharing such a moving performance. Lastly. the event hosted recording artist Taina Asili and her band in a box. I had never heard of her before but by the end of her performance I knew I wouldn’t forget. She did an incredible job explaining the backstory of her songs. The instrumentals had everyone dancing in their seats. Most notably to me, she incorporated a lot of Hispanic influences that I identified with and enjoyed in her art form.

The event came to an end with the giving out of raffle prizes, awarding certificates to prominent students in the audience and organization, and the naming of the new president of the Women’s Center. There was soo much love and joy in the room. Although, I wasn’t an eboard member nor a regular attendee it was such a wholesome and warm environment I felt just as excited and moved by the achievements of practically strangers. But I can tell a lot of hard work was put into this event and the organization in general. I’m glad I was able to cover it for the SUNY Oswego Instagram page and share the event with the page’s followers because it was definitely worth watching and attending. By far the best Women’s History Month for me.

 

Women Athlete or Just Athlete?

Posted on
by

As many of you may know Women’s History Month is now coming to an end. This past week I had the pleasure of meeting with the Women’s Volleyball team to see how they celebrated.

This month the team has decided to each do their part in stripping gender roles from sports.  As the team prepares to go to nationals in a few weeks they have been practicing harder than ever. In the mist of nationals approaching, team member still had time to engage with youth in the community. Madison Seamans, a junior on the team stated “I celebrated women’s month by supporting athletics especially young women and letting them know not to be afraid to get out there.”

 

 

While attending the practice the team let me know about their t-shirts and the importance behind the slogan.

The t-shirts and the slogan were to represent that sayings such as “You throw like a girl”, shouldn’t exist. Yes, sports teams are separated by genders but should not separate how we are as  players. The team as a whole stressed that they should be identified as ‘Athletes’ not ‘Female Athletes’. Overall the team spent Women’s History Month stripping gender roles from sports, and being themselves.

5 things to do between classes…..

Posted on
by

Do you have a semester with 5 or 6 classes? Do you want to improve in college?  Every semester they offer I have taken the maximum amount of classes, and as a non-traditional student that is also a commuter, I find it hard when I have time in between classes every day and I debate going home or staying near campus.

Are you someone who prefers to do your homework at home?  I don’t go to the library much unless I am getting with my group or need some change in my studying technique before finals.

Even when it’s a ‘slow’ start at college or your trying to get into a good rhythm, here are 5 things to do with your time between classes if you have an hour or more, that has helped me tremendously!! 🙂

 

1.Make news friends or get with your groups for projects! I’m a non-traditional student that lives nearby, so my local friends would meet me for a quick lunch at places like Subway and Ruby Tuesday.  Or there’s cheap fast food places to eat or places like Azteca Mexican Grill, The Red Sun Fire Roasting Co, Kiyomi Hibachi Steakhouse, Wade’s Diner, Laparrilla, Water Street Cafe, The Press Box, GJP Italian Eatery, Dino’s House of Burger’s or Cheap Seats Sports Bar & Grille.  Plenty more on Yelp.com, CLICK on the link below:

https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Restaurants%20-%20Cheap%20Eats&find_loc=Oswego%2C%20NY2

2.  Perfect time to run errands, pay your bills or make phone calls.  Or even better to make an appointment with career services and get a ‘jump start’ on your future.  Time-management is important.  The helpful LINK below is for career services:

https://www.oswego.edu/career-services/

3.  If the weather is awesome, take a hike on SUNY Oswego’s trail or go check out the beautiful Lake Ontario near Rudy’s or at the Sterling Nature Center.  The lake has the BEST sunsets that are on the water!!!  Please stay on solid ground though!  The LINK below is for the SUNY Oswego trail map; so you can take advantage of the nice weather we hope to have coming our way soon!! 🙂 🙂

https://www.oswego.edu/rice-creek/sites/www.oswego.edu.rice-creek/files/rice_creek_trail_map_2014web2.pdf

4.  Bring your laptop and go over the next classes in your schedule to prepare yourself and be focused. Even better to catch up on homework, so you won’t need to do as much when you get back home.  Even if you have any questions, meet up with your professor during their office times; that is what their THERE FOR, is to help you!  Even better to print anything you need!

5.  Hydrate and make sure to eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner.  A perfect breakfast I have been making are smoothies, full of fruit, Greek yogurt, flax seed, chocolate protein powder, almonds and ice; which is very filling, and it is easier on a hectic schedule.   The LINK below talks about ways to make a smoothie more ‘filling’ so it can last you longer through a busy college day and until your next meal.

https://www.thekitchn.com/5-ways-to-make-smoothies-more-filling-213335

 

Keeping yourself focused and busy is key.  Remember that college is something that you won’t have to forever!  Take advantage of these ideas I share.  I don’t live too far but I can’t constantly drive back and forth between classes.  It would throw my day off.  I rather used these 5 helpful tips to have a smoother semester and so I don’t have as much homework to do at home, so I can ENJOY LIFE. :):)

Hope these ideas work for some of you and please comment below with your thoughts.

5 Studying Don’ts for Commuters

Posted on
by

 

I know that feeling of commuting home from a long day’s work or classes and just wanting to go home after and grab your laptop and hopping on the couch to relax.  But does this really help you learn or even bring motivation, while going to college?? I think not!!  Such as this example, which was a HUGE distraction for me.  So, I’m sharing these 5 Studying Don’ts and I also provided some handy tips that have worked for me throughout each semester.  I’d like to share these tips to help you get much closer to become an awesome and educated student.  The better my grades are, the more opportunities I have ever had before.

Here we go … 🙂

 

1. Don’t get too comfy on the couch and set yourself up an ‘office’ with as close as you can get ‘desk’, and this helps with getting rid of distractions.  Or put a desk in your room where there is a door you can close for a certain period of time you planned for school.

2. Don’t dehydrate yourself and drink LOTS OF WATER.  This can help you feel focused and refreshed, as staying hydrated is very important for every student to keep their brain strong to obtain a lot of information.  Put a lemon in your water, if plain water is getting too boring to drink after a while.

3. Don’t think your life sucks right now (ha-ha) because it will all be all worth it when you receive that diploma, in the end.  I will talk myself into how having good grades could potentially help me in my future.  I think most jobs know that a lot of young adults have their degree, but not all have really good grades and that takes determination from the student.

4. Don’t eat junk food or eat too late at time.  A way to not binge eat at night is by going TO BED at a decent hour.  You should reward yourself with a ‘sweet treat’ when you complete a planned study or assignment.

5. Don’t cram your work and try harder when it comes to planning and time-management for studying and assignments, etc.  It’s important to be organized and to divide up the school work between the days of the week, and maybe even on Sunday nights.  It won’t be like this forever and if I can do it then you can do it!!!

 

I never found myself going to the library unless it was to get together with the groups from my classes, for the project we have to complete together.  Places where there are a lot of people, seems to be distracting for me.  So, at home I have found that using a ‘HUGE’ desk calendar has saved me!!   Also, having the option in my house to have an office with a desk.  This room is separate from the rest of the house and has NO DISTRACTIONS. When I get in there, I am in the zone and can focus, kind of like when I am at work!  If you don’t have this option then choose an area where you can’t hear sounds that much in your place.  There is the option of going to Penfield library, which is huge and has computer labs and printer access, etc.

Good luck with your studies Lakers.  Comment below if you find any of these to be interesting, if any have worked for you or if you have certain tips of your own that you have found very useful as a commuter.

 

Peer 2 Peer Educator

Posted on
by

I am happy to say that this upcoming fall semester I will be a Peer Educator.

What is a Peer Educator?

This is a program held by the Counseling Services Center which Peer Educators (P2P) are SUNY Oswego students who involve, empower, and support educational campus environments related to psychological health and wellness.

What do P2P students do?

The role of the P2P Educator is to promote programs and provide information on mental health topics that can impact the academic and social success and overall well-being of SUNY Oswego students. P2P Educators are committed to teaching skills that can help fellow students reduce potential stressful life experiences (prevention) and to resolve situations more quickly should they arise.

Who are these P2P Educators?

P2P Educators are undergraduate students who represent a rich diversity of cultural and life experiences. They have a commitment to learning, teaching, assessing, role modeling, communicating in person and using social media, and effective presentation skills.

This is something I am very excited about and I can not wait to meet/help students. During my undergraduate career, I had my own experience of going to the counseling office because I felt that I needed help. At that time my friends thought I was in need of counseling because I was making decisions that they thought I could have prevented and were “affecting others”. Which made me feel like I was being attacked so I made the decision to speak with a counselor and it was the best decision I made.

While at first, I was nervous speaking about my experiences but then realized that they are there to help. These services that students take for granted are not only for people with “mental issues” but in actuality, it is for students who need someone to talk to. As a P2P I want to bring awareness to all students that these stereotypes of illness are not true which is one of the reasons I joined. The counselors on campus are all amazing people, help with different stressors in life, and are people who care about your well being.

Everyone is welcome so please stop by Mary Walker!

For more information follow this link below.

https://www.oswego.edu/counseling-services/meet-20152016-counseling-center-p2ps-peer2peer-were-here-help-you-fly

Vulnerability and strength come together for ‘Not Someone Like Me’

Posted on
by

Shana clicks off her phone and greets me as I pull up a chair. We’ve intended to have a lunch date, but as fate would have it we aren’t huge fans of the menu that day. Shana Weiss is a sophomore education student here at Oswego, and we’ve met today to discuss her upcoming role in a staged reading of “Not Someone Like Me” directed by Mya Brown, a professor at the college.

The show is structured as a series of monologues about survivors of trauma and assault within a group therapy session. The play, written by Susan Rice, features survivors of varying ages and backgrounds. Weiss plays Pam, a woman from a lower-middle class background whose mother’s dream for her is to pursue her education, but this dream gets harder after she is assaulted. Shana is no stranger to staged readings; she participated in one for a senior’s capstone last year called the Laramie Project, a show about the bullying and subsequent murder of a young gay man. “It’s different because I’ve never had this intimate of a look into someone else’s life. Laramie was intense, but this takes it to another level.”

The cast of five went through auditions in mid-March, got casted, and went straight to work. Weiss notes that this is a quick turnaround even in theatre, but also mentions that the cast got to spend two hours of alone time with the director, Brown, to develop their characters. “It’s been a very insightful experience. I’ve worked with a lot of different directors and directing styles, and it’s very important to her that you have a very good background on the character. It’s very important that you have a feeling with the character. She very much knows what she wants out of you and has this way of drawing it out of you without feeling like she’s controlling what you do as an actor. It’s very nice.”

In the wake of #MeToo, a national online movement where people who have experienced being sexually assaulted and harassed have shared their stories, this show that was originally selected in the spring of 2017 seems more timely than ever, and that isn’t something that has escaped Shana’s mind. “I feel like it lines up very well with the timing of the #MeToo movement. I feel that it’s very important that we’re having this show, especially around a time where when there’s all these allegations coming out, where there are all these issues… It was talked about before, but now its started to really pick up.”

Event co-sponsors include Artswego and It’s On Oz, an organization dedicated to the education and prevention of sexual and interpersonal violence. According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college. These statistics are alarming and bring up the issue that inspired an Academy Award nominated film The Hunting Ground. However, this show encompasses an array of experiences, and the production provides resources within their programs for anyone who may need to seek help. It is noted that the “detailed, vivid imagery” within the script that helped prepare Weiss for her portrayal may affect audience members sensitive to this type of content.

The event will take place in the Sheldon Ballroom on April 30th at 7:00 P.M. When prodded as to why people should come, Shana answers earnestly. “It is so important as to what is going on even though some of these stories have taken place 50-60 years ago. The fact that it’s still relevant and it’s still happening is why you should come see this show.”

Oz Org of the Week #1 (S.H.O.P)

Posted on
by

Kayla Murphy, the SHOP (Students Helping Oz Peers) coordinator working in the campus food pantry

The Oz Org Of the Week is a  social media campaign where clubs and organizations can featured on the campus’s social media channels. To be featured as the Oz Org of the Week all one has to do is drop me a line at kdamoah@oswego.edu.

Our first #OzOrg feature is Kayla Murphy, the SHOP (Students Helping Oz Peers) coordinator. SHOP is a volunteer-based on-campus pantry where SUNY Oswego students can access (and campus members can donate) necessities such as food, clothing and toiletries. SHOP currently has around 15 volunteers and is looking for more.

SUNY Oswego SHOP is open 5-7 pm Mondays, 9-11 am Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30 pm Wednesdays/Thursdays, 11:30 am-12:30 pm Fridays, 11 am-1 pm Saturdays, 11:30 am-1:30 pm Sundays in Room 3, downstairs in Penfield Library. If you are interested in volunteering, donating or have any questions you can email shop@oswego.edu or call 315-312-2446. Also be sure to show S.H.O.P some support by following them on Facebook @SUNYOswegoSHOP.