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 

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 

And the Winner is.....

Each Residence Hall at The New School has its own Hall Council. Hall Council is a programming body and a place to advocate for making changes in your building, in Residential Life across all of the buildings, and throughout campus. Hall Council is comprised of four elected officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Additionally, each floor (or in some cases every other floor) has a Floor Rep. And, every resident in the building is invited to attend weekly or bi-weekly meetings. Anyone can present an idea for a program or advocate for change. Everyone in the building can vote and influence the decisions made by Hall Council. For information on when and where these meetings are, look for fliers, bulletin boards, or speak to your Resident Advisor. We’re always looking for more people interested in getting involved and making an impact on their community.

Many of you recently voted in Hall Council elections. I’m sure information was posted in your building. Please join me in congratulating the newly elected executive board members:

13th Street

President – Safiye Senturk

Vice President – Jacob Hernandez

Treasurer – Joe Hirsch

Secretary – Nicki Lardieri

20^th Street
President – Alison Schuettinger
Vice President – Kristin Molloy
Treasurer – Joel Arken
Secretary – Taranjit Cheema

Loeb Hall

President – Carmen Ortiz

Vice President – Stephanie Hong

Treasurer – Scott Percelay

Secretary – Lana Nguyen

Stuyvesant Park

President – Krista Sison

Vice President – Jassiel McBride

Treasurer – Boyun Yang

Secretary – Vanessa Rivera

William Street
President – Sunny Bertsch
Vice President – Casey Corrigan
Treasurer – Karyn Hsu
Secretary – Nellie Gillus

Thanks to all of you who voted and we hope to see you getting involved with us!

Get Ready for Hall Council

Welcome Students!!

As the summer is coming to an end, and the school year is quickly approaching, the Housing and Residence Life staff would like to welcome you to one of our Residence Halls. We are eagerly awaiting your arrival and can't wait to kick off the year with a bang!

We know this is an exciting time for you, and are thrilled that you are either joining our community for the first time or returning for another year with us in Student Housing. There are many great ways to get involved in your community, meet new people, and learn about your new home. If this sounds like something you’re looking to do, consider joining Hall Council!

Like planning parties? Want to get involved with the community? Interested in gaining leadership experience? If you answered yes to any of these questions (and even if you didn't), you should check out your residence hall's Hall Council. HC is a student-led organization that is run by students, for students. It is an excellent way to get involved and build community, as well as have your voice be heard. With positions such as President, Secretary, and Floor Liaison (to name a few), there is something for everyone!

For more information, see the attached flyer and don't forget to ask Housing staff for more information upon your arrival.

We look forward to meeting you soon!

October’s Program of the Month Proves: There’s No Place Like Home…on Halloween!

A round of applause goes out to October’s Program of the Month at Stuyvesant Park Residence, where each floor participated in a Halloween Decorating Contest. The result? An eclectic hodgepodge of spooky, silly, and spectacular hallway artwork!

And while each floor had an original budget for their decorating supplies, some thought outside the box and used recycled materials, making for a sensational yet sustainable outcome!

Pat Pellicano, the RA on the 6^th floor, knew just what to do with all of those leftover Trader Joe’s paper bags, which helped his floor tie for first place. Reversed, cut and pasted, the bags became the ground to the floor’s videogame fantasy ‘Mushroom Kingdom’ theme, which included eye-popping walls of tinfoil, yellow stars, and a sneaky Princess Peach inside the trash chute! Hey, the rules never indicated that the decorations had to be scary!

Also sharing the win was the first floor, who took their festivities to a theatrical level. RA Ariel Redmond watched her residents collaborate in a rousing rendition of the murder mystery, ‘Clue.’ The judges were escorted by a butler and maid into a dining room full of hors d'oeuvres, until a sudden scream stopped everyone in their tracks. A once lovely Miss Scarlet hung from the rafters, while a mysterious body was found sprawled out on the carpet. Passing down the hall, one saw how residents had utilized their bed frames and doorways as jail cells to contain any suspects in the crime. Red hands and questionable faces were everywhere among this floor’s creepy creativity!

But what made this program a success was not the array of cobwebs, fake blood, and plastic road-kill (gross!) alone. The true key to success? Teamwork. This was the first program of the year where an entire residence hall got involved, and it showed. RAs did their part in tying the event to the larger community of New York City, offering holiday safety tips for residents during their individual floor meetings. Hall Council stepped up to the creative challenge as well with floor liaisons helping delegate tasks, and healthily competitive attitudes from residents made it all happen!

Congrats to all for helping make Stuyvesant Park a funky, fun-filled community. You rock!

For a photo-recap of this program, check out the New School’s Stuyvesant Park fan page on Facebook (http://tiny.cc/1031SPR).

Special congratulations to RAs Nina Barry and Elaha Astanaha over at Loeb Hall, whose Art Therapy program placed them in second place for October’s Program of the Month!