Students and staff from Eastern Connecticut State University attended this year's National Association for Campus Activities conference in Hartford CT on November 17-19. Students from Eastern's Campus Activity Board (CAB) competed in several categories and took home the honors for: best flier, best themed campaign and best traditional promotion for their division.

Associate Director of Student Activities/Student Center, Candace DeAngelis, was also recognized at this year's regional conference. She was honored with the Maureen McDermott/Michelle Delaney Staff Programmer award which is given to someone who best exemplifies outstanding achievement in the field of student affairs.

The National Association for Campus Activities advances campus activities in higher education through a business and learning partnership, creating educational and business opportunities for its school and professional members. NACA now has more than 950 college and university members and over 550 associate members who represent artists, lecturers and performers.

Do you want to use and develop your leadership skills? Do you want to help people? If one of your goals for this year is to help people while you gain leadership, communication, and presentation skills, you might want to check this out!

The First-Year Program Office is now recruiting peer mentors for the Fall-2012 incoming freshmen class. As a peer mentor you will be assigned to FYI 100, a single fall semester seminar that helps first-time, full-time students transition into college life. The mentors, who meet once a week with their students, will be involved in aspects of FYI 100 course instruction including syllabus planning, facilitating class discussions, and spending out-of-class time with students. The peer mentor role can include organizing social events, helping students connect with student groups on campus and explaining academic advisement and registration procedures. In brief, as a peer mentor you will be a helping hand for first-time, full-time students.

You are eligible to apply to the Peer Mentoring Program if you meet or exceed the criteria listed below:
 
1.  Will achieve at least sophomore standing (greater than 29 credits) before classes begin in Fall 2012
2.  A GPA of 3.0 or above at the end of the Fall 2011 semester. Note that current first-year students can apply now, but will not be called in for an interview until their Fall 2011 grades are recorded
3.  A strong interest in helping students achieve academic success and become involved in university life

If you think you might be interested, I suggest that you go to the FYP website. To navigate to our website, click on the "Academics" menu at the top of Eastern's homepage. Then, find "Academic Quick Links" at the left bottom of the webpage and click "First-Year Program."  Once at the First-Year Program website, at the left menu click on "Peer Mentoring Program". You can also simply go to http://www.easternct.edu/firstyear/mentoring_program.htm  .

After you have finished reading about the program and you think you would like to be a peer mentor, click the "Online Peer Mentor Application" at the bottom of the peer mentoring website page.

For more information about the First-Year Program and its services please contact us.

Dr. Martin Levin
Director, First-Year Program
(860) 465-5589
levin@easternct.edu

Adriana Sanchez & Amanda Wingard
Graduate Assistants,
First-Year Program
(860) 465-4579 
 fypassistant@easternct.edu

On Saturday, September 17, 2011, the Eastern Outdoors Club went on their second trip of the semester: whitewater rafting. The club members piled into two vans and drove two hours to Crab Apple Whitewater in Charlemont, Massachusetts. After they were outfitted in wetsuits, water shoes, and life jackets, they got into boats and started a four hour trip down the Fife River through class I-III rapids. Although it was a cold day and the water was frigid, nothing could keep their spirits down as they worked together to paddle through the rapids. After lunch, a huge water fight broke out between rafts. Buckets of water were thrown through the air, soaking everyone in sight. When the rafting was over, everyone was soaked, exhausted, but happy.

The Eastern Outdoors Club is hosting several other fun trips throughout the semester including:  zip lining, hiking, ice skating, a social, and a fall harvest farm trip. If you are interested in joining the group on any trip, come to our meetings held other Thursday at 1pm in Science 104. You can also email us at eoc@my.easternct.edu. The Eastern Outdoors club is an officially recognized club through the Student Government Association at Eastern Connecticut State University. For more information on SGA, use the following link. For a complete listing of all SGA approved clubs and organizations, go to the clubs listing page. 

See the Office of University Relations' article on the American Marketing Association and the honors that the group took home this semester in New Orleans.

The American Marketing Association is a Student Government Association officially recognized organization, For more information on the club, see their web page. For information on all SGA recognized clubs and organizations, go to the Student Activities web site.  

The Student Government Association is looking for candidates for the upcoming spring elections.

Electronic Applications are due on April 18, 2011 and must be submitted to the sgaelection@my.easternct.edu email account by 5 p.m by word document. The qualifications to run for the various positions are listed below:

• Senator - must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher
• Executive Board Member (with the exception of President) - been a member of the senate for one full semester and have left in good standing (meaning you were not impeached) OR served one full semester as President or Vice President of an on campus student organization that has been around for at least 2 years, have a cumulatve GPA of 2.5 or higher, and have 60 completed credits by the time of elections
• President - been a member of the senate for one full semester and have a GPA of 2.5 or higher
• Senior Class Committee - President, VP, Secretary, Treasurer, Senior-at- Large (2 positions) - anyone interesting in running must be a Senior in Fall 2011, a full time student and have a cumulative GPA of no less than 2.0 There are also 3 Junior-at-Large positions. Students interested in running must be a Junior in Fall 2011, a full time student and have a cumulative GPA of no less than 2.0.

Nominations will be accepted on April 18, 2011 at the SGA meeting at 3 p.m. in Student Center 107.

The application and full guidelines are located on the Student Government Association web page under the "SGA Elections" tab.

Melissa Griffin (Public Relations), Kristi-Salters-Pedneault (Advisor), and Chelsea Arne (President)

Eastern Connecticut State University Psychology Club members, along with over 20 current Eastern students and 25 alumni attended the Connecticut Association for Behavior Analysts (CTABA) 7th Annual Conference in Cromwell, CT on March 4, 2011. Dr. Deirdre Fitzgerald was the conference Chairperson and chaired three sessions, while Dr. James Diller chaired two sessions. The Psychology Club advisor, Dr. Kristi Salters-Pedneault was an invited speaker who presented a session on behavioral learning interventions for anxiety. Many Eastern psychology students and psychology club members volunteered their help to coordinate the conference.

Eastern senior Leah Hanrahan won the student poster award for her honors thesis. In attendance were more than 200 professional behavior analysts, teachers of regular and special education, birth-to-three providers, scientists, psychologists, related professionals, and students. An impressive array of noted speakers presented research on autism interventions, anxiety, behavioral assessment, and effective educational practices.

The Student Center and Fitness Center will operate on the following schedule for Spring Break, 2011.

The Student Center and Fitness Center will operate on the following schedule for President's Weekend, 2011.

The Student Center and Fitness Center will operate on the following schedule for the Winter Break in December, 2010 and January 2011.