The New School’s Clothesline Project 2012

We are proud to announce The New School’s Clothesline Project 2012. You may have noticed the t-shirts hanging in the Stuyvesant Park Residence Hall Lobby, if not, take a look! The Clothesline, beginning in 1990 in Hyannis, Massachusetts, has become a national awareness campaign about sexual assault and domestic violence. The New School has participated for several years, but this is the first year it is located in our residence halls.

2012 Clothesline Project Display at Stuyvesant Park Residence

By creating The Clothesline Project at The New School we encourage residents to tell their story in their own unique way, using words and/or artwork to decorate the shirt. Once finished, it then hangs on the clothesline. This very action serves many purposes. It acts as an educational tool for those who come to view the Clothesline; it becomes a healing tool for anyone who made a shirt - by hanging the shirt on the line, survivors, friends and family can literally turn their back on some of that pain of their experience and walk away; finally it allows those who are still suffering in silence to understand that they are not alone.

If you are a survivor of sexual assault and/or domestic violence, you are not alone, and help is available. Reaching out for help can be difficult, but it is the most important step in taking care of yourself and beginning the healing process.

As a New School student you may contact any of the following offices:

• Student Health Services, Counseling Services 
- Telephone: 212.229.1671, option 1
• Student Support and Crisis Management - Telephone: 212.229.5900 x3189 or x3710
• Housing - Your RAs, HRs, GHC’s and RHD’s are all prepared to advocate for any resident who has survived violence, and can help you contact other resources on campus.

The city also has resources for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors;

• Safe Horizon: Rape and Sexual Assault Hotline - 212.227.3000

• Safe Horizon: New York City Domestic Violence Hotline - 800.621.4673

• NYC Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project - 212.714.1141

If you would like to make a shirt to add to the project please contact student health services at wellness@newschool.edu.

Please take a moment to notice the t-shirts around campus, educate yourselves on the issues surrounding intimate partner violence, and then help us to continue to be a university that will not tolerate sexual assault or domestic violence.

February's Program of the Month - Now and Then: The History of Black Music

Stuyvesant Park RA Bianca Mills' program "Now and Then: The History of Black Music" was a program about exactly that.

In honor of Black History Month, Bianca thought it would be interesting as well as important to depict how music played a role in African American Culture both in the past and the present. The program was a semi-elaborate way of comparing and contrasting the similarities of today's music with the music from the past. Everything was covered, from old time Jazz to current Hip-Hop, Rap, and R&B.

In order to best capture the essence of what Bianca wanted to portray, she asked Music Professor Richard Harper to come in as a guest speaker to educate residents about the different messages that music sends in Black Culture. Having him as part of the program is one of the things that made it so successful. He is very knowledge on the topic and new exactly how to bring this program full circle.

Another reason this program brought great success is because there was just the right balance of hands on interaction and discussion as well as learning. Since the program covered music from both the present and the past, residents were able to learn a few things as well as relate and participate.

In addition to all of the elements of the program itself, the overall success of the program heightened from the contributions of Dan Spicer, Alex Gleason, and Jacob Hernandez. They were all there to lend a helping hand as well as give their input to make this program possible.

Summer in NYC with a Free Room? Be a Summer OA

** Thank you for you interest, but we are no longer accepting applications for the Summer 2012**

The Office of Student Housing & Residence Life seeks to hire several Office Assistants (OAs) to compliment our summer 2012 housing program.

Qualified Applicants will:
· Be available to work from May 21st through August 12th
· Be available to work 20 hours per week, Monday - Friday between the hours of 9am – 7pm.
· Enrolled in classes during the 2011-2012 or 2012-2013 academic years

Summer Office Assistants are compensated for their summer work with a shared space within the building to which they are assigned.

Click here for the Summer Office Assistant Online Application (No longer available)

If you have questions, please feel free to contact myhome@newschool.edu or talk with your Resident Hall Director, Graduate Hall Coordinator, or Head Resident.

Reason Why It's Better to Live On Campus

Housing Selection is right around the corner (April 2nd deadline for applications) and you will want to know as much as possible about choosing your home for the next academic year. Here are some reasons to live on campus...

 Reasons why it’s better to LIVE ON!

Did you know that students living on campus...

• Do better academically than those who do not
• Are more likely to return to college the following year
• Are more likely to persist at college until graduation
• Have a higher degree of satisfaction with their college experience
• Participate in more extracurricular activities
• Have more interpersonal relationships with students, faculty and staff

PLUS, when you live on campus...

1. You have art studios, TV, and study lounges downstairs, instead of late nights in the library or studio.
2. You have a Security Officer at your door 24/7 for safety, instead of a Chihuahua who barks at every passing car, but loves strangers.
3. You have laundry facilities right downstairs, which is better than spending your weekends sitting at the Laundromat.
4. You have a better sense of community and social opportunities in your building, so you don’t have to find yourself wondering who the weird neighbor is.
5. You have one convenient bill for everything, instead of losing track and bouncing a check on your already depleting account.
6. You have staff available 24/7 to support you, which beats trying to locate your landlord, who only shows up to collect rent.
7. You get a new roommate if yours moves out mid-year, instead of paying increased rent when your friend decided to transfer.
8. You are close to your classes, so you don’t have to ride the crowded, long subway from Queens or Brooklyn.
9. You have leadership opportunities right in your hall, rather than making up stuff to put on your resume.
10. You have free high-speed internet, so you don’t have to play guessing games with your neighbor’s Wifi password.  

January's Program of the Month - Begin.Eat.Balance

Soon after the January new student check-in, the William Street RAs put together a program designed to help the 60+ new students start off on the right foot academically, and also to adapt to some of the special challenges that living at William Street presents for new students. 

The program, "Begin.Eat.Balance", consisted two distinct parts. The first phase featured several different "stations" around the student lounge, each offering different information and one-on-one counseling to help new residents begin the semester properly. Some of these stations included a table with information on where to purchase cheap art supplies, a table with information and counseling on time management and organization, a table with subway information and maps, and a table with information and assistance just for the new Pace University students living amongst our New School students. 

The second phase consisted of a fun "cooking show", where three RAs provided recipes and showed new residents how to use the convections ovens located in each apartment. A convection oven was brought down to the lounge, printed copies of recipes including gnocchi, cornbread, and chili were provided, and residents got to actually sample the tasty delight of each of these. 

Later on, all recipes were posted on the very active William Street facebook page. All in all, this program served a great need, and was a blast for all involved!

Here are some of the great resources from the event:

A list of ingredients for a great meal for 10 under $10!

Hall Councils Come Together for Mardi Gras

The Hall Councils of Loeb and 13th Street came together to host a Mardi Gras party at Loeb on Fat Tuesday 2012.

There was a live band of New School students, plenty of green, yellow and purple decorations, and food for all to enjoy.  The night was topped off with authentic king cakes ordered from the Mardi Gras capital, New Orleans, Louisiana.

The event really brought the two buildings together, creating a successful and well attended multipurpose program (social and multicultural) and encouraged collaboration between buildings, using the resources and talents of  both the Hall Councils and RAs.

- Laissez les bons temps rouler 

December's Programs of the Month - 20th Street and Stuy Park

We tried and tried, but with the great programs that happened in December we couldn’t pick just one!

Here are the 2 programs that tied for Program of the Month for December 2011:

20th Street – Loving Lampposts

RAs from the 20th Street staff, led by, Joel Arken, and in collaboration with Hall Council, screened the film "Loving Lampposts" in November 2011.

This film is about the autism spectrum and the many responses to the crisis of autism diagnoses and was shown to a group of residents in the 20th Street Residence Hall. After the film, there was an hour-long discussion about representations of people on the autism spectrum and the different strategies to better understand autism. Several residents had experience working in nonprofits or having family members on the spectrum, so there were many diverse experiences that helped shape a fascinating discussion. Due to the success of this event, a follow-up program might take place in the spring semester!

Stuyvesant Park – Be Good, Be Green, Be Glamorous!


Stuyvesant Park RA, Ayanna Heaven, noticed that our students have a passion for clothing and for sustainability. She saw this as a great need for students to be given different options for accumulating clothing and introduce a new way of thinking about consumerism. The idea of a Stuyvesant Park clothing swap event was born!

When a student gave an article of clothing, he/she received an entry ticket to come to the event. After 2 days of clothing collection, the big swap event occurred on November 17th. At the event, the clothing and accessories were arranged on racks and tables in a retail fashion. The Stuyvesant Park Study Lounge was truly transformed into a clothing boutique. It was very reminiscent of a Fashion's Night Out event, promoting residents to give pieces so that they were given a ticket to come. There were hors-d'oeuvres, music, and goody bags at the event for them. Residents seemed to really dig the clothes that they got, and it was a good turnout.

Hall Councils Come Together to Exchange Ideas and Inspire

Sunday, December 4, all The New School Housing Hall Councils gathered at Loeb Hall for the Annual Fall Summit to discuss and exchange ideas. Each hall attended with representatives from their respective Hall Councils. Everyone was able to hear what each building had been doing this semester, discuss the qualities that make up a good hall council, exchange programming ideas and plan for next semester.

It was a very successful program that allowed the individual buildings to put names with faces and open up to collaboration for the spring semester.

The event was coordinated by Joelle Riffle, RA and Hall Council Adviser at Loeb Hall, with assistance from Allysha Fabe, also an RA and HC advisor at Loeb. The event was also attended by Loeb's Hall Director, Chasity Wilson and William Street's Graduate Hall Coordinator for William Street, David Howe.

For more pictures, visit the Loeb Hall Facebook Page 

Special Interest Community Highlight: Alison Schuettinger, 20th Street Green Community

Originally from Fredrick, MD, Ali is currently a second year masters student studying psychology. She is interested in applying psychology to environmental sustainability in order to combat global warming using behavior change. Ali’s interest in being a Special Interest Community R.A came from her interest in living a sustainable lifestyle and how that relates to well being.

Q. What is your favorite part about the 20th Street Green Community?
A. The garden, the people that care.

Q. What has been your favorite program with your community?
A. I conducted environmental health and safety inspections right after (the regular health and safety inspections) and people paid attention to the signs I posted on doors and turning off lights and AC and unplugging electronic devices when not in use. One resident in 2F had all lamps, devices unplugged with cords out on floor and nothing left on. I will conduct these monthly.

Q. What’s one goal you have for your community?
A. For residents to use less energy. For students to become aware of environmental concerns and become aware of environmental concerns and easy behaviors they can acquire in their lifestyle that produce zero to less carbon emissions (compost, recycle properly, take the stairs)

Q. What is the most memorable thing that has happened in your community?
A. The first week this resident who I had just met volunteered to stand by compost bins and educate students that all NS products are biodegradable and organic waste can be thrown away in compost not landfill.

Q. What is your dream, no-budget, no restriction program?
A. To measure the ecological footprint of the (20th Street) Green floor. We applied for green fund, let’s hope we get it.

Introducing The Program Perks Card

So you have a coffee perks card, you have a deli perks card and now you can have a Program Perks Card!

What is the Program Perks Card? It is a card you get stamped for the different types of programs you attend in the residence halls over the term. Once your card is full (one stamp for each program type) you return your card to your residence hall office for a chance to win a $100 gift card!

There is one catch - you have to have your card full and returned to the hall office by December 9th, but with all the cool programs going on every week in the halls, getting a full card will be easy and fun!

Program posters will start to carry the following logos to let you know what you will get a stamp for, so keep an eye out.


If you have any questions contact your hall office, ask your RA, or you ask about the card at the next program you attend.

South Park and 90's Nostalgia: A Conversation on Politics, Culture and Comedy

Each month we highlight a program that took place in one of our halls that deserves extra recognition due to its innovation, creativity, or overall quality. This month we introduce RA Alex Gleason who hosted such a program at Stuyvesant Park which was certainly all of the above. He writes:

Academic programs should not just teach; they should extend into culture, comedy, and popular relevance. I believe that academic programs should allow for those distinct a-ha moments where connections are inexplicably made inside and outside of the classroom. The goal of my program, South Park and 90's Nostalgia: A Conversation on Politics, Culture, and Comedy, was to make connections in the direction of public discourse. The residents who attended were given information on how to write a précis (a short summary of a reading or presentation), and given criticism on how the world changed following 9/11. The goal of this program was to show the change in national rhetoric from the late 1990’s into today. I hope that my residents will be able to use the information to develop their own interesting and engaging thoughts. There will be more interesting programs and conversations to come, and I hope to see you all there!

Nutritionist at The New School

Did you know that for a limited time we have a nutritionist available to all New School Students (who have paid the SHS fee)?


This is free of charge and open to all students who have paid the SHS fee. If you are new to SHS, you will need to fill out paperwork to open a medical record if you haven't already done so.

Big Weekend Events rescheduled for 9/16 and 9/17

We weren't going to let Irene be the only one who had fun! The Scavenger Hunt and Classical Music Brunch have been rescheduled for this weekend!

Scavenger Hunt
Friday, September 16, 2011
8 pm start at Stuyvesant Park (318 East 15th Street)

Classical Music Brunch
Saturday, September 17, 2011
11 am to 1pm at Lang Cafe (65 West 11th Street)

Be sure to bring your New School ID with you to all events!

Civic Engagement Event on Sept. 13, 2011

International Student Services (ISS), Office of Student Development and Activities (OSDA) and The New School Civic Engagement Committee are sponsoring the 3rd Annual Volunteer and Civic Engagement Fair on Tuesday, September 13.


Civic engagement is an important part of being of being part of a community. As a part of The New School and New York City community, there are many opportunities for you to be involved and to make a difference.

If you would like more information on the event, please email issevents@newschool.edu or studev@newschool.edu. We hope to see you there!

It's All Fun and Games...

Summer officially began on June 21, but for most of us the summer started long before. Summer is a good time to explore this great city, prepare for new adventures and take new risks in life. All while embarking on the NEW YORK CITY Chapter in your book of life, ALWAYS remember to PLAY IT SAFE.

Here are a few tips on how to stay safe during YOUR NEW YORK SUMMER!

• Avoid drawing attention to yourself as a tourist: don't stand on street corners looking at maps and do your best to walk confidently, as this will deter many criminals.
• Be aware of your surroundings.
• In crowded subways, keep your wallet in your front pocket, rather than the rear, and keep your purse closed and held in front of you or on the side.
• Don't flaunt jewelery, cameras or cash in public. If you need to organize your wallet, duck into a store.
• Use caution when using ATMs and don't carry too much cash around with you -- most places accept credit cards and there are ATMs everywhere.
• After dark, stick to main streets if you don't know where you are going.If you feel uncomfortable or lost, approach a police officer or a friendly store owner to get your bearings or directions.
• When in doubt of your destination or the safety of a neighborhood, take a cab, especially late at night.
• Many business districts are desolate at night -- keep this in mind when deciding whether to walk or take a cab.
• If taking the subway late at night, stand near the "During off hours trains stop here" sign or in view of the Metro-Card booth. Ride in cars with more people and preferably in the conductor's car (you will see him look out the window of the train when it stops).

Tips Courtesy of GoNYC: http://gonyc.about.com/od/planyourtriptonyc/a/is_nyc_safe.htm

Images Courtesy of Tree Hugger: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/2009-summer-streets-new-york-city-nyc-august-car-free-roads.php

--Submitted by Mia Wright-Ross, William Street RA

Strong Programming to the End

As we slowly moved toward the end of the semester in April and May, the RAs in Student Housing and Residence Life were still working hard to provide opportunities for students to engage and learn from one another. In this post we highlight three of those programs and fill you in on how they made such a necessary impact.

On Saturday, April 30^th, the 20^th Street Residence Hall hosted a program that they called "The Garden Launch Party". This event was held on the 2nd floor outdoor patio as a celebration of the year-long efforts that date back to the spring of 2010. At that time, the members of Hall Council had the idea of starting a garden on that same patio and drafted a proposal to secure funds from the University's Green Fund overseen by the Office of Sustainability. The garden began with a few small temporary buckets of herbs and vegetables and has now grown into a permanent garden which is grown in a large wooden garden box. 20th Street is proud to be the first residence hall with a community garden and compost.

The garden party not only celebrate the start of the new garden but also served as the unofficial start of the Green Community. The Green Community is one of five special interest communities within the halls and is located on the 2nd floor so that members may participate in helping the garden flourish. Many members of the 20th Street community attended the garbd party including RAs,Hall Council members and The New School’s President, David Van Zandt. Mr. Van Zandt spoke about the importance of projects like these and how the university is truly committed to sustainability efforts. Organic food and drinks were served on compostable plates and students enjoyed the opportunity to mingle with one other. It was a great event and a huge success for the 20^th Street community.

Meanwhile, at the 13th Street Residence Hall Lang students were seizing the opportunity to learn more about all that Lang has to offer them during their time at The New School. For many residents, the end of the year is a time for reflection, as well as thoughts about the future. Lang freshman may begin to seriously consider different major options, and many have questions about course selection, registration, and academic planning. To help address these questions, 13th Street RA Malia Okusi invited two staff members from the Lang Advising Office to the 13th Street patio for lunch. On April 21st, Leah Weich, Associate Director of Academic Advising, and Shannon-A'lyce Jones, Academic Advisor for Freshmen and Sophomores, joined a group of residents to enjoy sandwiches and soda, and answer questions. Over lunch, residents were able to gain greater insight into the advising and academic planning processes, and get to know advising staff in a more informal environment. Students commented that they appreciated the informal opportunity to ask appropriate questions and gain new insights to all of the options available at Lang.

Finally, over at Stuyvesant Park, an annual tradition was underway. Recycled Runway is in its third year and is the New School’s first sustainable fashion show, where designers use old clothing or recyclable materials to make new garments. The goal for the show was to bring sustainable thinking to fashion and show that we do not have to be wasteful to create beautiful clothing. A sustainable lifestyle has become prevalent in many people’s lives, but usually only in the ways of recycling or reducing material intake. The creators of the Recycled Runway, Hannah Olpp and Eloise Lennen-Rodriguez both student at Parsons, The New School for Design, wanted to bring these ideas to the fashion industry and push the boundaries. Since there is so much excess in manufacturing clothes, using leftover materials and deconstructed fashion can be in our future of fashion. This show not only brings fashion into our sustainable future, but also informs people how to alter old clothing to make them feel like new. After three years, we are just getting bigger and better!

The Office of Student Housing and Residence Life wants to thank the Resident Assistant staff for dedicating so much time to creating these opportunities for students and hopes that if you missed any of these events, you'll stay tuned to more exciting programs in the fall.

Black History Never Ends

To recognize Black History Month at William Street, the RA team decided to get together and plan one meaningful event that would pulse through their community and get conversations started. As the they discussed it and began planning the event they decided to make a statement about how black history should not be confined to just one month. So this particular event was purposely held in the month of March.

The program centered around the viewing of a PBS documentary, "A Class Divided". This story was about a school teacher in Iowa who separated her all white elementary school class into brown eyed and blue eyed students, beginning the day after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Treating each group of students either positively or negatively based on eye color, the experiment had a profound affect on the way her students viewed prejudice in America.

The William Street community viewed the documentary together and three of the RAs took the lead in facilitating a discussion on racism and prejudice throughout our country. The discussion was quite productive and examined feelings, thoughts and identities in America. The conversation was supported by thought-provoking images that decorated the space as well a community of open-minded residents with a great dedication to the true history of America. This event was such a success that plans to develop additional black history programs were immediately discussed and have since been implemented to keep black history alive.

20th Street's Civic Duty

At 20th Street, we have been working really hard to encourage community involvement. When it was warmer out, we had a great time volunteering at the nearby Hudson River Park, where we helped clear out weeds. However, during February and March, once it got colder, we had to find a new way to get involved locally. We decided to contact St. Peter’s, a church a few doors down from us, to see how we could help out. We knew that they ran a food pantry so we decided to contact them to get involved. After arranging the date, we put up flyers and a sign-up sheet in the lobby and on a lovely Friday in February, a small group from 20th Street went over to work at the pantry.

At the food pantry, along with a couple other small groups, we worked on boxing up a bunch of food for the delivery the Church does on Saturdays. It was a really great opportunity to get involved locally. Our residents had a great time going to the food pantry and we returned in March to volunteer again. We’ve had a really amazing time working there and our residents have loved getting involved with the community in Chelsea.

Live On!

In case you haven't already seen the many flyers posted around your building about housing selection ... here's one more. Housing Selection is right around the corner and you will want to know as much as possible about choosing your home for the next academic year.

What you need to know:

• Check your mailbox for the 2011-2012 Housing Selection pamphlet- this has answers to all of your questions!
• Go to your MyNewSchool account to apply and pay your deposit by April 1.
• Check your email for your lottery number (this will tell you when you get to choose your room)
• Choose Your room! Selection begins April 11th and will take place in the Stuyvesant Park Residence Hall.

In addition to choosing your room, you'll have a choice to live in one of our Special Interest Communities if you think it's a good fit. These are communities of students who have similar interests in the areas of Green Living, Global Affairs, Honors, Healthly Living and Music. For more information on these and all questions related to the Housing Selection process please visit our website or visit your residence hall office.

We'll see you next year!

Pickles Prove Perfect for Programming

Pickling is an important survival skill, particularly for those living on limited supplies in enclosed spaces. In fact, the word pickle derives from an old Dutch word, ‘pekel’, for ‘brine’; a salty testimonial to the historical importance of pickling to those who lived for many months at sea. When the nutritional role of vegetables in the prevention of scurvy (a common disease amongst mariners) was recognized, pickled vegetables became a staple of thesea-diet. At present, scurvy is fortunately rare amongst New School students. But we can never be too vigilant.

The December- January program of the month, represents an inspired attempt on the part of its organizer, Camryn Mothersbaugh, to teach the residents of the Stuyvesant Park residence hall the art of pickle-making. Camryn’s goal was to teach students cooking skills that they could use in the dorm. She chose to run a class on pickling because, not only would the outcome be delicious, but pickling is an easy skill to acquire, and well-suited to the constraints of the dorm kitchens. Unsurprisingly, given this event’s unique character and the exciting promise that every student would depart “with a jar or two of pickles”, the program was very wellattended.

Camryn elected to follow a recipe for sweet and sour cucumber pickles. She began by demonstrating how to make the spiced vinegar used to preserve the cucumbers, and then let the students fill the jars with the vegetables and vinegar. Camryn says that her favourite part of the program was the student reaction over the following week, as students would approach her to tell her how well their pickles had turned out. Thanks to Camryn’s great program idea, the students at Stuyvesant Park now have the skills to survive long sea voyages, and the supplies with which to do so; something that will no doubt be appreciated even more as midterms approach.

Written by Simone Gubler- Philosophy Major at The New School for Social Research