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.

Stuy Park hosts the 2nd Annual Recycle Runway

Congratulations to our April Program of the Month, “Recycled Runway!” The event was sponsored by Stuyvesant Park RA Hannah Olpp and Loeb RA Eloise Lennen-Rodriguez, who collaborated with the Stuyvesant Square Community Alliance. The girls worked hard at gathering an entirely student-organized team: from models and designers to photographers,

all participants were members of The New School community, eager to showcase their sustainable art!

Just in time to celebrate Earth Day, Hannah discussed the importance of being environmentally conscientious throughout all aspects of one’s life. “Hopefully through this show we can educate people a little bit about being green, even through their clothing,” she said.

The runway show participants prepped for the big event over at Stuyvesant Park Residence, and then headed out into the park where they strutted their stuff along a fully sustainable Astroturf runway, crafted from recycled bottles.

Sisters on the Runway at Loeb Hall

Loeb Hall RA, Liz Irwin is making a giant impact in our community! Through her involvement in Sisters on the Runway student organization, Liz has created opportunities for the Loeb residents to participate in community service, fashion, art, gender studies, media/public relations, event planning or whatever interests them, Sisters On The Runway offers the opportunity to put their skills towards a great cause.

1 in 4 women are affected by domestic violence. This frightening statistic inspired the creation of “Sisters on the Runway”. “Sisters on the Runway” was founded in 2005 by three Montclair High School students Elizabeth Eddy (Parsons), Gabriela Graham (Barnard College), and Juliana Colangelo (Barnard College). The three envisioned an organization that promoted student involvement in community service while spreading awareness and raising funds for a domestic violence shelter. Domestic violence is a problem that affects all ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic levels yet it is often ignored in society. “Sisters on the Runway” has founds a home in many schools on the east coast including Penn State, Umass, and New School University. Sisters on the Runway has since raised over $50,000 for domestic violence shelters.

This years event: Parsons New School for Design, New York City, New York; October 22, 2010- Elizabeth Eddy, Parsons Junior, along with the organization she cofounded “Sisters on the Runway”, held a benefit fashion show fundraiser for Safe Horizon. Safe Horizon is a New York City based Domestic violence shelter (www.safehorizon.org). The event showcased 10 Parsons designers as well as New York City based designers and alumni, such as Vena Cava. The event sold out within ten minutes of the doors opening. A silent auction and raffle raised a large amount of funds with sponsors such as Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Ruinart, Yumi Kim, NBC Universal, and more. The event also included a guest speaker Sil Lai Abrams, a relationship expert for men’s fitness and anti-domestic violence activist. Food and drinks were also served. The total funds raised was just under $7,000.

Sisters on the Runway was recently featured on Fox 5 “Good Morning Street Talk” for domestic violence awareness month. http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/about_us/street_talk/street-talk-oct-23-2010