Dominican has just premiered a brand new videos page on myDU. The site currently features a few short news story videos, including excerpts from lectures by Lund-Gill Chair Stephen Kinzer, a news story covering 2008 Academic Convocation and DU Fest, as well as a segment entitled "A Week in the Life of DU," which features clips from several events that occured the week of September 7-13.
According to the post on myDU announcing the start of the page, new videos covering campus events will be posted frequently.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Lee Fair and the English Language School - we have the best!
Tuesday afternoon, Lee Fair met with my Intercultural Communications class to speak about all his endeavors with international issues, and told us about his life's journey from a lone white high school student on an all Native-American campus to being the Training Supervisor of all ELS teachers across the world, bringing the best of the best to Dominican University.
Fair, originally from Oklahoma, started his path to international affairs as a high school exchange student in New Mexico, with all Indian and Mexican students. It was government subsidized, and he couldn't eat at the cafeteria, and had to pay a lot extra for things he, as a white student, was not eligible for.
The culture was vastly different from the typical southern American life: "One of the first nights I was with my host family, I was taking a bath and my host mother walked right in, sat on the toilet, and started having a conversation with me!" he laughed, gesturing how he had sat up awkwardly in the tub, trying to cover himself. "I didn't know what to say, so I just responded, 'Si, como no?' to everything she said!" [Si, como no translates to "Sure, why not?" in English]
In the 1960s, after the assassination of President Kennedy, many young people were looking to make a difference in the world and promote peace. Fair, in his early 20s, decided to join the Peace Corps. He requested to go to an island nation, and was instead deployed to Afghanistan. He says the experience changed his life and he absolutely would do it again if he had to, falling in love with the Persian culture and lifestyle.
After his time in the middle east, became interested in library science and decided to pursue his Master's Degree. "I figure, I know nothing, but I can find everything," he told us, jokingly.
But then he realized that he could teach English to international students, got his degree certification at Concordia, and began working for the multi-national English Language Schools. Owned by a company called Berlitz, the ELS program is the largest English training school, "and the best in the world," Fair added. "There are 50 alone in the United States!"
He started the ELS program at Concordia, then brought it here to Dominican over 20 years ago--and the rest is history.
"We're not simply teaching English," Fair told my class. "We're teaching them communication, the nuances and semantics of language." It's so much more than just vocabulary.
Judging from my experiences with my international students from Colombia and Ecuador, the program is doing fantastic. And at $2500 per month, it better be! At times, I can hardly believe that my new friends have been here for only a few months--their English gets better every week I meet with them. My group is wonderful, and I'm so thankful for Lee Fair and the ELS program for giving us the opportunity to create meaningful relationships with people who are so different from me, yet very similar.
Fair, originally from Oklahoma, started his path to international affairs as a high school exchange student in New Mexico, with all Indian and Mexican students. It was government subsidized, and he couldn't eat at the cafeteria, and had to pay a lot extra for things he, as a white student, was not eligible for.
The culture was vastly different from the typical southern American life: "One of the first nights I was with my host family, I was taking a bath and my host mother walked right in, sat on the toilet, and started having a conversation with me!" he laughed, gesturing how he had sat up awkwardly in the tub, trying to cover himself. "I didn't know what to say, so I just responded, 'Si, como no?' to everything she said!" [Si, como no translates to "Sure, why not?" in English]
In the 1960s, after the assassination of President Kennedy, many young people were looking to make a difference in the world and promote peace. Fair, in his early 20s, decided to join the Peace Corps. He requested to go to an island nation, and was instead deployed to Afghanistan. He says the experience changed his life and he absolutely would do it again if he had to, falling in love with the Persian culture and lifestyle.
After his time in the middle east, became interested in library science and decided to pursue his Master's Degree. "I figure, I know nothing, but I can find everything," he told us, jokingly.
But then he realized that he could teach English to international students, got his degree certification at Concordia, and began working for the multi-national English Language Schools. Owned by a company called Berlitz, the ELS program is the largest English training school, "and the best in the world," Fair added. "There are 50 alone in the United States!"
He started the ELS program at Concordia, then brought it here to Dominican over 20 years ago--and the rest is history.
"We're not simply teaching English," Fair told my class. "We're teaching them communication, the nuances and semantics of language." It's so much more than just vocabulary.
Judging from my experiences with my international students from Colombia and Ecuador, the program is doing fantastic. And at $2500 per month, it better be! At times, I can hardly believe that my new friends have been here for only a few months--their English gets better every week I meet with them. My group is wonderful, and I'm so thankful for Lee Fair and the ELS program for giving us the opportunity to create meaningful relationships with people who are so different from me, yet very similar.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
See my pain...
I just wanted to follow-up to the last post with a visualization of the Mazzuchelli showers, so everyone can see my pain. This is what happens when you turn the hot water on in both of our two new showers. How is anyone supposed to shower here?
I should just shower in a sink.
I am a resident of Mazzuchelli Hall and we recently got new showers. I thought "Great! New, clean, unused showers", but I am sadly disappointed. We are better off with the old ones, as the water pressure is so terrible it just drips and drips out of the shower head. Horrible. My fellow residents couldn't agree more. As I showered yesterday resident Kelsy Holloway asked me over the wall, "Do you take long showers because this water is barely coming out." Too bad my shower had the same exact problem.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Study Abroad.....At Home!
DU is all about studying abroad. Many of the values this school was founded upon involve having an open mind to those of other cultures and religions. Because of this, we have many programs that can take student to Milan, London, Ghana, and......Montana?
Yes, even those who have a fear of flying can share in study abroad opportunities, well, perhaps study domestically would be more appropriate. As well as our over seas trips, Dominican also offers several service learning programs in the good ol' U.S. of A. Next semester, yours truly will be headed to Montana is conjunction with Theology 381, a Native American religion course. During the 15 day trip, we will be camping and helping out at several Native American reservations. At around $200 per student, this two week domestic study is a shorter, and cheaper, alternative to some of its foreign counterparts. Plus, it fufills both a theology and multicultural requirement. Not bad, huh?
So if you are moy malo at a foreign language or just can't seem to rack up the cash, look into a study abroad that may not be so abroad. It's bound to be just as educational and awesome as anything you can get by plane.
Yes, even those who have a fear of flying can share in study abroad opportunities, well, perhaps study domestically would be more appropriate. As well as our over seas trips, Dominican also offers several service learning programs in the good ol' U.S. of A. Next semester, yours truly will be headed to Montana is conjunction with Theology 381, a Native American religion course. During the 15 day trip, we will be camping and helping out at several Native American reservations. At around $200 per student, this two week domestic study is a shorter, and cheaper, alternative to some of its foreign counterparts. Plus, it fufills both a theology and multicultural requirement. Not bad, huh?
So if you are moy malo at a foreign language or just can't seem to rack up the cash, look into a study abroad that may not be so abroad. It's bound to be just as educational and awesome as anything you can get by plane.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Homeward Bound
Recently when speaking with freshman resident student Marissa Surma she mentioned the one thing she didn't like about Dominican so far, is how everyone goes home on the weekend. I understand exactly what she means, as I witness the parking lot empty out weekend after weekend. Does the social life just turn everyone away? Or is home just a comfort zone that everyone likes to resort to on the weekends?
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Erasing the Distance Premiere
The Department of Theatre Arts and Cheryl’s Dreaming Big shed light on mental illness through theatre!
ERASING THE DISTANCE-- THE PEOPLE I KNOW
A production chronicling 6 true stories of people whose lives have been impacted by mental illness.
Directed by Brighid O’Shaughnessy
Thursday, September 25, 2008 7:00 p.m.
Martin Recital Hall
Admission FREE
There is limited seating- do not miss this free event! Call the box office to make a reservation at 708-488-5000.
Dominican Students - Tell Your Story!
A new performance of ETD is being created by and for Dominican students to share their personal experiences with mental health. Email your story to shareyourstory@cherylsdreamingbig.org. Performance in Martin Recital Hall, December 4, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
Courtesy of Campus News
Monday, September 22, 2008
Go Green!
The garbage can in the Power 2 Lounge is filled past the brim at 1:47 PM Monday, September 22. The "go green" sign seems to lose significance against it. And it's pass the trash. As I'm sure other residents can attest to - it's not the first time signs in the Residence Halls lose key letters and obscure the message's friendly reminder. I'm wondering if the "p" just came loose accidentally or someone took it off. I'd like to think the best of people and say the "p" came loose by itself. Either way, no one can deny that it is amusing to see. Laughter is the best medicine after all.
Oh, and I checked shortly before 5 PM the same day and found the garbage was taken out.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
One More Thing
Feel free to check out this section of SGA's page on the myDU site. This page I've linked for you is supposed to introduce DU students to the Senate of SGA. It's very out of date....the page has all of SGA's Senate members from LAST YEAR!! We're going into the FIFTH WEEK of the 2008-2009 school year. If positions were determined last semester (in the spring!), why hasn't the page been updated??
With this year's sophomore president, is the website an indication as to how she plans to run SGA? If so, all in favor of impeachment say "I" or feel free to email SGA with any questions, comments, concerns at SGA@DOM.EDU
My Thoughts on SGA
This afternoon I was talking to my friend, we'll call her "Claire", about last week's Student Government Association elections. I found that the information she told me was very disappointing. Apparently, the 2008-2009 president elected is a sophomore girl. (The candidates ran for positions last semester and were elected but additional positions still need to be filled.) Now I asked myself, "How can a sophomore be elected president of the student government?"
"Claire" then told me that no one had run against her and that's how the freshman claimed victory. In addition to that, there was still a significantly large number of SGA positions still open that no one was interested in last semester.
Why are Dominican Students not interested in SGA? SGA is the voice of the student body. Wouldn't you think that a large number of students would like to make life on campus better for us all? In addition, wouldn't you think that seniors or juniors that were in SGA the previous year(s) would be running for president rather than a freshman going into her sophomore year??
What's going on with SGA?
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
International Experience...down the street!
I'm obsessed with travel and foreign countries. This semester I am enrolled in Professor Ric Calabrese's Global Communications class. My convergent journalism beat is diversity, and my Dominican Star beat is multicultural affairs. It seems there is so much variety surrounding my life at this moment!
"At this moment" is one phrase I learned that South Americans tend to use in their speech quite often. It's not necessarily odd; I just noticed they say it more than an American would. I'm not making generalizations--I hung out with four South American English as a Second Language students for two hours this evening on the Priory campus! In the Global Communications course, each of us American students is grouped with two to four international students, and our "assignment" is essentially to log 30 hours of time with them throughout the course of the semester...but most importantly, to develop relationships with them, and get to intimately and empathetically learn about another culture.
The international students are from everywhere: Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, China, Colombia, and Ecuador. I was grouped with the South Americans--two females and a male from Columbia, and another female from Ecuador. Ranging in age from early 20s to mid 30s, we were quite the diverse group.
We hit it off right away, quickly learning we all have much in common. According to Richard D. Lewis in The Cultural Imperative: Global Trends in the 21st Century, people from Latin/Hispanic countries are multi-active, as opposed to linear active or reactive. This means they tend to be more emotional, loquacious and impulsive...favoring relationships and connections and lively conversation. Other cultures in this category include Sub-Saharan Africans, Italians, Portuguese and Arabians.
(Linear active cultures are more task-oriented, planned, straightforward and direct [including Germans, North Americans, Norweigians and the Danish]. Reactive cultures are more of the listeners, introverted, and good nonverbal communicators [including Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, and Indonesians])
That the South Americans were multi-active was demonstrated quite clearly to me the moment we all sat down to chat! Each of my group members was eager to share about their lives and budding English skills, and the nonstop conversation was lively and exciting.
I honestly learned so much about South American culture in that short introduction time, random things about popular alcoholic beverages called aguardiente, or why the Galapagos Islands are popular (they have the world's largest and oldest turtles!), and personal things pertaining to family values and human rights. I will be sharing and discussing my experiences as the semester progresses.
People in any major would benefit from taking the Global Communications class, but you don't have to be earning credit hours to make new friends and hear different perspectives. I encourage other Dominican students to get to know our ESL/international students; It changes your paradigms and is simply fascinating!
"At this moment" is one phrase I learned that South Americans tend to use in their speech quite often. It's not necessarily odd; I just noticed they say it more than an American would. I'm not making generalizations--I hung out with four South American English as a Second Language students for two hours this evening on the Priory campus! In the Global Communications course, each of us American students is grouped with two to four international students, and our "assignment" is essentially to log 30 hours of time with them throughout the course of the semester...but most importantly, to develop relationships with them, and get to intimately and empathetically learn about another culture.
The international students are from everywhere: Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, China, Colombia, and Ecuador. I was grouped with the South Americans--two females and a male from Columbia, and another female from Ecuador. Ranging in age from early 20s to mid 30s, we were quite the diverse group.
We hit it off right away, quickly learning we all have much in common. According to Richard D. Lewis in The Cultural Imperative: Global Trends in the 21st Century, people from Latin/Hispanic countries are multi-active, as opposed to linear active or reactive. This means they tend to be more emotional, loquacious and impulsive...favoring relationships and connections and lively conversation. Other cultures in this category include Sub-Saharan Africans, Italians, Portuguese and Arabians.
(Linear active cultures are more task-oriented, planned, straightforward and direct [including Germans, North Americans, Norweigians and the Danish]. Reactive cultures are more of the listeners, introverted, and good nonverbal communicators [including Japanese, Chinese, Koreans, and Indonesians])
That the South Americans were multi-active was demonstrated quite clearly to me the moment we all sat down to chat! Each of my group members was eager to share about their lives and budding English skills, and the nonstop conversation was lively and exciting.
I honestly learned so much about South American culture in that short introduction time, random things about popular alcoholic beverages called aguardiente, or why the Galapagos Islands are popular (they have the world's largest and oldest turtles!), and personal things pertaining to family values and human rights. I will be sharing and discussing my experiences as the semester progresses.
People in any major would benefit from taking the Global Communications class, but you don't have to be earning credit hours to make new friends and hear different perspectives. I encourage other Dominican students to get to know our ESL/international students; It changes your paradigms and is simply fascinating!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Major Websites
Did you know there are websites for each individual major offered by the Rosary College of Arts and Sciences? Most of these sites either link to a main department (such as communications or psychology for example) or are simply informative pages detailing requirements and contacts for each major.
But one site cuts above the rest: The Art department. Aside from having a beautifully designed site with links to contact information, a gallery and a study abroad link for their European programs, the site also prominently features beautiful artwork by a Dominican student on the homepage. There are even links to individual pages on art department faculty members where visitors can learn about the professors and catch up on their recent work. It is by far the best site for any program at Dominican I've seen thus far. Perhaps other majors should follow their example and spruce up their websites a bit?
Department of Art, Art History and Design website
Who?
When was the last time you walked down the crowded halls of the first floor of Lewis and noticed the lonely registrar's office? Unless you are a senior in need of an audit, it's probably been quite some time since you thought about this office. With technology taking the lead as the main form of class registration and communication, what else does the registrars office provide for students? Need more information for your opinion? Visit the Registrar's website.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Here's the mail...it never fails!
Many resident studnets walk by their mailboxes multiple times a day, but never even bother to open it. Other resident students open their box at least once a day, only to find nothing. Do they even serve a purpose anymore? Most students communicate with their friends and family through email or the phone these days. If mail is used it is mainly for online ordering or care packages, which are picked up in the mailroom, so should residents even still have those tiny mailboxes?
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