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!

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!

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.

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

It's Holiday Time in the Residence Halls!

Happy Holidays! The students and staff in Student Housing and Residence Life have been hard at work to ensure that everyone in our community is able to enjoy the holidays. The holiday season kicked off with a Thanksgiving meal hosted by the staff at the 13th Street Residence Hall on Thursday, November 25th. Since many of our students cannot be with their families or may have never celebrated Thanksgiving, the goal was to provide an opportunity for residential and international students to experience a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. In collaboration with Chartwells, the 13th Street Dining hall staff served dinner to 42 students, double the number in attendance last year. Between 12 and 15 off-campus International students attended the event, which was co-sponsored by International Student Services. Students came individually and in groups to dine together on Thanksgiving Day.

In addition to many holiday gatherings and celebrations within the residence halls, the students and staff at the William Street Residence Hall collaborated with the local organization, Women In Need (WIN), to sponsor a children's holiday party in their East Harlem Center. Women In Need is an organization that provides New York City’s homeless women and their families with safe, clean housing and support and skills to become self-reliant.

William Street residents connected with over 15 children at W.I.N participating in holiday cookie decorating and arts & crafts including making reindeer, angels and snowmen to celebrate the holidays. As part of the "Help the Homeless" initiative at William Street, residents chose W.I.N. as one of the receiving organizations of the efforts of the initiative and hope to continue to volunteer their time throughout the year to support and work with the women and children involved in this organization.

Campus Sustainability Week... You should go!

Have you signed The New School Sustainability Pledge yet? Go ahead, the commitment is easy and you'll be just one of hundreds of other New School students who have done the same!

This year, The New School will be celebrating its first annual Campus Sustainability Week, with events running from October 25-29. These events aim to bring The New School community together in its common commitment to sustainability within the University and on a larger scale. The schedule of events is as follows:

Tuesday, October 26
ReNew School's Free Market
Time: 1:30-4 pm
Location: Wollman Hall, 65 West 11th St., 5th Fl.
ReNew School's community swap. Bring your gently used clothes, books and trinkets to exchange for new treasures.

Wednesday, October 27
New School Alumni Panel on Sustainability
Time: 5:30-7 pm
Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th St.
Graduates from Milano and Parsons discuss their work in sustainability.

Thursday, October 28, 2010
Green Fund 2010 Awardees Presentations
Time: 6-8:30 pm
Location: Kellen Auditorium, 66 5th Avenue
Recipients of Green Fund 2010 awards will present their projects.

Friday, October 29, 2010
Sustainability Town Hall Meeting
Time: 12-1 pm
Location: Kellen Auditorium, 66 5th Avenue
This brownbag lunch presentation will introduce the work of the Office for Sustainability and the Sustainability Advisory Committee.

Parsons Solar Decathlon 2010 Team Presentation
Time: 4-5 pm
Location: Kellen Auditorium, 66 5th Avenue
New School students present their entry in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2011 competition.

For more information, contact:

GWEN KILVERT THE NEW SCHOOL
Assistant Director for Sustainability & Energy Management Facilities
71 5th Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10003
kilvertg@newschool.edu

**Don’t forget that being green isn’t just a one-week event – it’s something that you can do every day of the year! Try following some of these tips to lower your impact and make your carbon footprint a little smaller:

Remember: less is more. Did you know that it’s possible to have more money, work less, and save the Earth by doing absolutely nothing? I know it sounds too good to be true, but cutting back on the amount of things that you are purchasing each month can make a major impact on your bank account and the environment. Think about all of that unnecessary packaging, and the pollution caused by producing and transporting goods – when you buy less (or buy used), these problems disappear, and the Earth is a cleaner place because of it.

This is an obvious one, but it seems like one can never be reminded too many times to TURN OFF THE LIGHTS when leaving a room empty. Unless you’re living in a haunted house, there are no invisible people hanging around your room, so when you leave, don’t forgot to turn the lights off.

Finally, be lazy. Do you hate doing your laundry every week? Me too. The solution: do it less often. Don’t make a trip to the laundry room unless you have a full load of laundry – running a regular wash cycle for just a few items is a waste of water and a waste of your money!

For more ideas on staying green, visit National Geographic’s “Green Guide” at http://www.thegreenguide.com/.

It's Green week... Commit!

Have you signed The New School Sustainability Pledge yet? Go ahead, the commitment is easy and you'll be just one of hundreds of other New School students who have done the same!

This year, The New School will be celebrating its first annual Campus Sustainability Week, with events running from October 25-29. These events aim to bring The New School community together in its common commitment to sustainability within the University and on a larger scale. The schedule of events is as follows:

Tuesday, October 26
ReNew School's Free Market
Time: 1:30-4 pm
Location: Wollman Hall, 65 West 11th St., 5th Fl.
ReNew School's community swap. Bring your gently used clothes, books and trinkets to exchange for new treasures.

Wednesday, October 27
New School Alumni Panel on Sustainability
Time: 5:30-7 pm
Tishman Auditorium, 66 West 12th St.
Graduates from Milano and Parsons discuss their work in sustainability.

Thursday, October 28, 2010
Green Fund 2010 Awardees Presentations
Time: 6-8:30 pm
Location: Kellen Auditorium, 66 5th Avenue
Recipients of Green Fund 2010 awards will present their projects.

Friday, October 29, 2010
Sustainability Town Hall Meeting
Time: 12-1 pm
Location: Kellen Auditorium, 66 5th Avenue
This brownbag lunch presentation will introduce the work of the Office for Sustainability and the Sustainability Advisory Committee.

Parsons Solar Decathlon 2010 Team Presentation
Time: 4-5 pm
Location: Kellen Auditorium, 66 5th Avenue
New School students present their entry in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2011 competition.

For more information, contact:

GWEN KILVERT THE NEW SCHOOL
Assistant Director for Sustainability & Energy Management Facilities
71 5th Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10003
kilvertg@newschool.edu

**Don’t forget that being green isn’t just a one-week event – it’s something that you can do every day of the year! Try following some of these tips to lower your impact and make your carbon footprint a little smaller:

Remember: less is more. Did you know that it’s possible to have more money, work less, and save the Earth by doing absolutely nothing? I know it sounds too good to be true, but cutting back on the amount of things that you are purchasing each month can make a major impact on your bank account and the environment. Think about all of that unnecessary packaging, and the pollution caused by producing and transporting goods – when you buy less (or buy used), these problems disappear, and the Earth is a cleaner place because of it.

This is an obvious one, but it seems like one can never be reminded too many times to TURN OFF THE LIGHTS when leaving a room empty. Unless you’re living in a haunted house, there are no invisible people hanging around your room, so when you leave, don’t forgot to turn the lights off.

Finally, be lazy. Do you hate doing your laundry every week? Me too. The solution: do it less often. Don’t make a trip to the laundry room unless you have a full load of laundry – running a regular wash cycle for just a few items is a waste of water and a waste of your money!

For more ideas on staying green, visit National Geographic’s “Green Guide” at http://www.thegreenguide.com/.

Day of Wellness THIS Sunday!

Looking for a way to release some of your

pent-up stress/energy/boredom? Come to the Day of Wellness! We will be holding free workshops all day featuring techniques to easily make you feel more relaxed and centered. Workshops include yoga, tai chi, art therapy, gyrokinesis, and meditation. There will also be henna tattoos, massages, running form assessments, make-your-own trail mix, and much more!

Wear something comfortable and easy to move in. Come early for warm-ups and stretching (so important!), and to sign up for free massages (first come, first served). Healthy snacks and drinks will be provided.

Write this down and get excited!:

Day of Wellness

October 24th

55 w13th St, 2nd floor

12pm-5pm

Co-sponsored by the New You Peer Health Advocates, Health Education, and the Office of Recreation & Intramural Sports

DON'T FORGET!

A guided group meditation is health on during Fall, 2010 on Wednesdays from 5-6 pm in the Loeb basement lounge. All New School students are welcome to drop in. The meditation may include breath 7 body awareness, relaxation techniques and/or metta (loving kindness) practices, and includes time for reflection. The group is appropriate for absolute beginners as well as more advanced practitioners.

Let the Games Begin!

Join us at the 2^nd annual New School Olympics on Sunday, September 26 at Chelsea Piers! The events will run from 1:30-5:30p.m., and will include 3-on-3 Basketball, Wacky Relay, Volleyball, Rock Climbing, Dodgeball, and much, much more!

If you live in one of The New School residence halls, contact your RA for more info and to sign up.

If you live off-campus,

you can join our Commuter Team by contacting the Office of Intramural and Recreational Sports at Recreation@newschool.edu.

You can also check out our event page on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=109845889071940

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.

Hip Hop Rules as February Program of the Month

February was Black History Month, and 13th Street RAs Grace Sanford, Mark Josephson, Avalon McKenzie and Malia Okuzi wanted to teach history in a very active way. In collaboration with The New School Hip Hop Club, the team set out to celebrate hip hop and the culture it was born from. Hip hop began in the late 1970's right here in NYC so the RA team recognized the importance of connecting our experiences while celebrating it during Black History Month!

In addition to the celebration, Grace shared that many students had a desire to learn, but they may not always have the extra time or cash to take a class uptown. In an attempt to remind students of all of the services we have right here on our campus, it only made sense to connect with the Hop Hop club to get things started. With the club's support, RAs and residents gathered in the Loeb hall lounge.

After introductions, they jumped right into a quick hip hop combination
utilizing techniques of popping and locking, and waving. It was a great workout and
a lot of fun. To conclude the program, a representative of The New School Hip Hop Club was on-hand to discuss how great of an impact a weekly hip hop class could have on our lives as students and New Yorkers.