A Cure for PGSD By Amy Scofield

**published in the Manhattan College Quadrangle

If you are a senior with no clue what to do about life after Manhattan College, the first annual Volunteer Expo on October 20^th may be an excellent cure for your Post Graduate Stress Disorder.

The expo, held in Smith auditorium from 3-6 p.m., is hosted by Campus Ministry and Social Action, who hope to help students make connections in the volunteer world and to also make them aware of a book called Response2010. This book is available in Cornerstone and lists many different volunteer organizations that will also be present at the fair, including Lasallian Volunteers and the Alliance for Catholic Education, among many others.

“It’s a little more casual than the career fair,” said Sandra Sanchez, who helped to coordinate the event. “But still, don’t show up in your pajamas.”

The expo also differs from the career fair because while students are encouraged to bring their resumes, it is not necessary because the organizations will have applications available. It is open to all students of any major, year or interest. “It’s all about using your skills and what you know,” said Sanchez.

Those who find themselves giving volunteering after graduation a second thought may be surprised to find that it’s a lot like a regular job. Generally, the two have similar schedules and volunteers will often receive room and board as well as a stipend and often benefits as well.

MC grad of 2009 Mary Morgan volunteers for the Colorado Vincentian Volunteers. She deferred a job at Pricewaterhouse Coopers for a year and couldn’t be happier. “I have learned more about myself, my beliefs and my place in this world. I have also learned about sociology, economics, global issues, management, psychology and more, which I feel will help me in future jobs…living off a stipend has taught me how to really prioritize my spending and how to live a simpler life. My clients have taught me patience, true gratitude and humility,” Morgan wrote in a letter to CMSA.

“Going to something like this [last year] would have helped me a lot with my decision. Once I talked to the directors of my program, even though it was only on the phone, I knew even more that it was a place where I wanted to volunteer,” Morgan wrote.

Sanchez takes a similar viewpoint of the expo. “We want people to know that the book [Response2010] exists, but we want to go from the book to the people.” 

Senior Dan Johnson is one person planning to attend. “I think it’s a great idea to have this event on campus because it gives students the opportunity to see various options they have after they graduate,” he said. “Plus with the economy the way it is, volunteering for a year or two can also be a good fiscal decision.”

Students Fed Meal Plan Information by Amy Scofield

There was light shed on meal plan concerns to a group of about 50 students on Thursday night at the Resident Student Association meeting. 

General manager of Sodexho Bill Sepkowski and business manager George Kuzma addressed the students with a brief explanation of the changes made to the meal plans and opened the floor to questions. Administrators were also present, including Dr. Richard Saterlee (VP for Student Life), Elaine T. White (Director of Student Development), Tom Ryan (VP for Finance) and Gabrielle Occhiogrosso (AC for East Hill and Jasper).

“The new meal plan has been designed to allow for more selection and flexibility,” Sepkowski said. “It has been in the process for a couple of years based on feedback from students, comment cards, and student survey responses.”

The new plan still allows meal swipes in Lockes; however, meal swipes are no longer accepted in Dantes, now open until midnight, and meal swipes are accepted up to $7.50 in Platos, open until 8. 

Furthermore, additional ACD’s have been given for each meal plan, which now roll over from fall to spring semester, and new Jasper Dollars are given for use at six off campus establishments, including favorite Broadway Joes, with more to be added. 

There is still the ultimate 15, 10 and 7 plan and traditional 19, as well as plus 15, 10 and 7 plans. The ultimate plan allows you to swipe more than once in a meal period while the plus plan is more structured. Additionally, there is an OV senior plan, with few swipes and much more ACD’s. All plans have Jasper Dollars and ACD’s.

“Now you get to have a plan that fits your dining habits and you can eat how you like,” Kuzma said. 

Lack of Dantes meal swipes was a primary concern, taken away because Dantes had become more costly than Lockes or Platos, especially once renovated.

“I used to eat in Dantes everyday for lunch and sometimes dinner every week,” Alison Landy, RSA president, said. “Without meal swipes, I don’t have enough ACD’s to do that.”

“We’ve been forced up or down,” Kate McCaffrey, RSA secretary, added. “That’s not really flexibility.”

There were several problems with this change. First, there were technical issues with ACD’s being unavailable or swipes declined.

“As of today [Thursday], all ACD’s should be available and accounts should be credited for purchases made,” Kuzma said. “We have also decided to expedite the portion of self service that will allow students to check their balance.”

Lines in Lockes and Platos were also brought up. Tables in Lockes are scarce and  junior Tim Corini said he waited 40 minutes for something from the grill station in Platos.

“It’s ridiculous that you have to allot an hour just to get food before class,” Corini said.

“We’re aware that Lockes is running out of seats while there are a hundred open in Dantes,” Sepkowski said. “We believe it’s an education issue and will be alleviated once students understand how the plans work.”

Something students may not know about the off campus jasper dollars is that there is a minimum. Broadway Joes, for example, requires a seven-dollar purchase. 

“There should be no minimum,” Sepkowski said. “If students are saying there is, then we will definitely look into it.”

One student questioned bringing meal swipes back to Dantes.

“Look, we’re open to anything,” Sepkowski said. “But we don’t want to make everything more confusing and anything we do has to be a collective decision between Manhattan and Sodexho.”

One smaller issue voiced was the new warning on the pizza station in Lockes, stating that the recipe now may contain peanut oil. Sepkowski said that it was probably a precautionary measure, in case the oil had come into contact with any kind of peanut oil during the cooking process. 

Secondly, the scoopers at the ice cream station, now self serve, are all placed in a bowl when not in use. The bowl water did not appear to be changed regularly. Sepkowski said that was only temporary, due to the regular self cleaning spigot being broken.

Tom Ryan, silent for most of the meeting, chimed in as it was closing. “We have made a few mistakes and we thank the students for their understanding. I would rather be criticized for trying something new to make things better than just collecting complaints.”

The last day for students to change their meal plans is September 17th. If there are any questions about the meal plans, students should email Bill Sepkowski at bill.sepkowski@sodexho.com

Connect to a Job Amy Scofield

**published in the Manhattan College Quadrangle

Social networking has overtaken porn as the #1 online activity. This incredible boost makes it an ideal way to find jobs for recent college graduates, who typically have their pulse on the beat of social networking itself.

A Wall Street Journal article says that 85% of hiring managers Google their applicants before interviewing them. Being on the first page of a Google search, with good content, is critical to making that great first impression. The key to that is fresh content.

Social media is a simple way to generate fresh content. You have to figure our your brand, which could be what you stand for or what your values are. What sets you apart from everyone else? Once you’ve found that. you need to update your job searching documents (resume, cover letter, references, etc.) to reflect that. Consistency is key, be it in font face or document format. When you have your brand and documents ready, you can take your job search to an online social networking platform.

The more obvious platforms include Facebook, Twitter and various blogs. “The idea is to make yourself an online social authority,” said Kyle Younger, a communications professional, who spoke to a group of MC students last Thursday. 

As a social authority, you will be constantly blogging, tweeting or making status updates about something you are passionate about, something that could have something to do with the type of job you want to get. If you want to work for a publisher, critique books that are coming out, for example. This will show that you are genuinely passionate about something and not just trying to get some job, any job you come across. 

One relatively new platform for social networking is called Linkedin. It was launched in May 2003, and is more of a professional networking tool than a social networking one. It is designed to let individuals connect to each other, be it colleagues, coworkers, relatives, etc. It will show you what different connections you have to various companies. You can put up a profile, complete with a summary of yourself (basically equivalent to an “About Me” on Facebook.), a resume and a picture. 

An interesting thing about Linkedin is that it not only allows you to search for jobs, but you can also search for companies. The page that comes up will give you information about the company, all in one place, as opposed to on scattered Pages. Furthermore, the page is typically created by the company itself so it will all be correct, as opposed to Wikipedia, which can be edited at any time by any person. The company info page will come in handy for going on a job interview. 

Knowing small details about the company is important. For example, knowing that the New York Times website is rated as one of the most popular websites online makes you look passionate about the job, again, as opposed to someone who is just walking into an interview blind. “Tell me about yourself,” or “Tell me what you know about our company,” are two very popular job interview questions and the companies page on Linkedin will help avoid not knowing an answer to the latter.

Using Linkedin is not the same as using Facebook. Since it is more a professional networking tool than a social one, they frown upon making connections with people you don’t know. When requesting a connection, you will have the opportunity to select ignore, accept, or I don’t know this person. If five people select “I don’t know this person” for you, you will be banned. 

“Social networking is shrinking the world,” Katie Taflan, who also spoke to the MC students. Taflan is Senior Assistant Director of Marketing at Columbia University Center for Career Education. 

With this shrinking, it is much easier to have a company in your back pocket, but it is also easier for the company to find a picture of you rolling on the floor drunk last Friday. So untag all your questionable pictures on Facebook, and move on to making connections on Linkedin.

Understanding Street Harassment By Amy Scofield

**published in the Manhattan College Quadrangle

Dr. Kimberly Fairchild is one person women can always count on to be on their side. The assistant professor of psychology spoke to a group of about thirteen students and faculty on Wednesday, February 18^th about her research regarding women's reactions to street harassment. 

It was part of a Brown Bag Lunch series in Cornerstone sponsored by the Women in Gender Studies cluster, a minor-like option at Manhattan College. The informal lunch discussion focused on a study that Fairchild put out online to various psychology websites and social networking sites. Most of the responses she got were from women, detailing themselves and their harassment experience, which Fairchild defines as “anything from catcalls and whistles, to leers and stares, to grabs and gropes.” 

Typical harassment experiences were found to occur between 12 pm and 6 pm, while on the street, at a construction site or in a parking lot. “This makes sense and fits the model because it's when people are out in the world and active,” says Fairchild, who received her PhD and the idea for this study at Rutgers. The consequences of such incidents include “increased self objectification, restriction of movement (for example, taking a longer and more complex route to avoid the situation) and fear of rape.”

There were four types of responses reported in the study: a passive response (brushing it off), a joking response (thinking it's benign or flattering), a self-blame response (a woman believing she brought it upon herself) and an active response (standing up and protesting).

Lindsay Farrell, a junior at St. Joseph's University, was harassed walking in the city with family and says, “My aunt was upset because I was so young, but to be honest, I wasn't that offended by it at the time. Sadly, I think our generation just expects to be seen as objects, and I wish we had better views of ourselves.”

The majority of the study participants took the passive route, like Farrell. Still, there are growing active response methods that women may take if they feel disempowered. One method is a website called hollabacknyc.com. This site allows women to blog about their experiences in addition to posting pictures of their harasser. A New Paltz University junior Nikki Wertheim credits the site as “allowing women to take back the street. It's awesome.”

Another route a woman could take is the legal one. “It might be tough to find a lawyer who would take the case on contingency but one thing you could do is stop and file a complaint with a police officer or ask your harasser for his information. You could sue for up to $5,000 in small claims court based on the City Human Rights Act. This act has a section on public accommodations, which include streets or subways,” says Barry S. Gedan, a local attorney. “But just imagine what would happen if women wore buttons that say 'you harass, we sue'...it might make people think twice!”

How To Prepare for Your First Dinner Party by Amy Scofield

A huge milestone in every person’s life is throwing their first dinner party. One of the first things you notice when you get out into the real world is that the parties are a completely different deal than they used to be. Calling people the day of and telling them that you have four kegs and a couple bags of Cheetos will no longer cut it. 

Yet, even if you have been throwing parties for years you could have a failure on your hands. You could be left wailing to yourself, “Where did I go wrong!”

Dina Karavalis, 27, found herself in this exact situation soon after she started teaching. It was around Thanksgiving and she wanted to invite her colleagues over for a night of relaxation and good food after a long week. She invited her co-workers for the Friday night party on Thursday, the day before. This was not her first party, though she could never pinpoint one as the best party she ever threw. She was surprised to find that it was nothing like she’d expected. Too many people came and no one liked the food she made (“Note to self: a first dinner party isn’t the place to try to make your first Turducken,” Dina says), so they were forced to give barely-disguised compliments. 

Dina’s colleagues decided to give her a second chance at another dinner party. This time, she followed a few simple tricks, finding that it ran much more smoothly and people really seemed to enjoy themselves much more. By following the same tricks, you surely can cook up the dinner party of your dreams.

Be organized. Make lists of guests, decorations and food so you don’t lose track.

• “On the day of, I ended up not having any sausage for my main dish. I didn’t realize it until I was halfway done and I needed it, so I had to rush around looking for sausage. Living in the city makes that kind of a pain,” says Dina.
• By making a list of everything you need, you can check each thing as you get it and give yourself a deadline to get it all. If you make different checklists for each area of your party you can even reward yourself for completing a list, which will make you want to complete them at an earlier date. That provides you with more time to prepare your house and your meal!

Send out invitations. Don’t just invite people by word of mouth.

• “When I was planning my first party, I just told people about it. That was a really bad idea because people overheard me and I ended up having a lot more people there than I wanted, because everyone heard me talking about it.”
• Invitations are a good idea because when you just tell people about your party, people tend to not write it down. A paper that they have a solid date on helps them remember it, and more people will be likely to show up! 

Request an RSVP at least a week in advance so you have time to plan how much stuff you will need.

• “Because so many extra people showed up, I didn’t have enough Turducken. I had to cut it up into really, really tiny pieces so that everyone could get some. It was a disaster.”
• By setting a specific RSVP date, you know how many people will be attending. A good trick is to add five to that number, just in case people RSVP late or want to have seconds. 
• This way you will be sure to have enough food for people and you also won’t have to pack your freezer with leftovers! 

Don’t make a super complicated, extremely specific dish to impress people.

• “My parents are Canadian, so I grew up on Turducken and I wanted to make it for my party. Needless to say, deboned chicken stuffed in deboned duck stuff in deboned turkey with breadcrumbs, sausage or stuffing didn’t go over very well.”
• People like what they like and not everyone likes to experiment. It’s best to make basic dishes like ziti or baked chicken and mashed potatoes with a simple vegetable that people are more likely to enjoy. There’s no need to go all out with fancy trappings to show off your culinary skills. Remember: the more people eat, the less you have to store in the fridge!

Make sure your house is clean and you don’t have anything lying around that you don’t want people to see.

• “This is probably the one thing I did right!” Dina says. “I’m a neurotic cleaner, so everything was in its place. I took anything that might even be remotely embarrassing, put it in my room and locked the door!”
• The last thing you want is your boss or colleague seeing your underwear lying around. Cleaning up not only gives the impression that you are neat and professional, it also prevents anybody from finding your not-so-hidden condom stash!

These tips are simple to follow and will surely lead you to a successful party. Now all that’s left to do is make a guest list and start planning!

SWE Can Do It! (A profile on the Society of Women Engineers) by Amy Scofield

The Fishbach Reading Room in the Leo Engineering building of Manhattan College can be daunting at first. The walls are filled with old radio equipment and tables surround the perimeter of the room. Typical of a college setting, there are a few computers that will either not turn on or not let you log in.

            Off this large room is a smaller, more homely room, designated only by a small sign notifying the student population that this houses the Society of Women Engineers, or SWE. Inside, a small group of girls get ready to begin their meeting and vote in new officers.

            Karen Tschinkel, a chemical engineer, can’t decide what she wants to run for. “I’ve only been really active in SWE this semester, even though I've always been in it, but I think I’m going to run for a position. There are a lot open and everyone is really, really easy going.”

            Tschinkel and 15 (representing about three percent of the 18.7 percent of female engineers in the department, according to Dean Tim Ward) other girls sit around the small, comfortable room donated by Conti Construction. One deep red wall holds a mosaic of famous women engineers, photos and bios collected by the girls. 

There are six positions up for grabs and they all sink back into plush beige couches and pillows, listening to each other try to sway the vote. Though each girl running for a position is very different and has different expectations of the group, there is an overwhelming general consensus: keep SWE, still in it's infancy of being an official club, going as strong as possible.

SWE has been an unofficial club at MC since the 1970's. A constitution was drawn up, but fell by the wayside. According to exiting President Annie Caraccio, people would “kind of pick it up when they felt like it, but then would drop it again.”

However, two years ago SWE became an officially recognized club in the eyes of Manhattan College. “It was a lot of paperwork,” says Caraccio, a chemical engineer. “We had to revamp the constitution, make an entirely new budget, basically restructure the entire thing.”

The SWE mission statement says that it is “a not-for-profit educational and service organization that empowers women to succeed and advance in the field of engineering and to be recognized for their life-changing contributions as engineers and leaders…it is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career for women.” 

“It's great for networking,” says Caraccio. “We are still a minority in the field and we do still have to work hard. But we have a lot of fun times.”

Tschinkel agrees. “It's still a male dominated field, but I think I have a better chance at getting a job because women are the minority. I'm not bothered by working with a bunch of guys as long as they take the job seriously, and don't look for the easy way out.” 

She says she found engineering because of her love of math and science, but was introduced to it by a male civil engineer. “I obviously thought that was the only aspect of it, until I saw an advertisement in high school for women chemical engineers at Manhattan.”

As an officially recognized club, SWE has to submit a budget and hold events. “In the fall, I don't think I was taken too seriously when I went up to student activities and told them what we wanted to do for the year and what kind of money we needed,” says Caraccio.

She did everything she could to prove them wrong. Some of the events that took place included a walk for breast cancer, resume writing workshops, a self defense class with tactical officers of the NYPD, a black box egg drop, monthly mediatations to relax, game nights, an ice cream social and Run for the Fallen, which will take place again during the week of April 27^th, due to inclement weather.  

“It was a lot, but we all worked really hard and pulled it off. I think we definitely get more respect off the bat. People want to plan events with us now and that means we're getting the name out. That's important, it's how we're continuing to grow,” says Caraccio, who would like to see the club expand even more. “We want the girls to all sign up for national membership so we get even more recognition

Tschinkel feels the same way. “I'd also like to see more stress relieving activities, those are important. Overall, I just want more people actually involved and not just put it on their resume because they went to one meeting in their lives.”

MC Students Take a More Hands-On Approach to Volunteer Work By Amy Scofield

Danny Crawford has been acting and putting on shows for any audience as long as he could remember. Stage fright was something he never had to deal with, yet the thin sheen of sweat pooling on his palms was something he associated with the feeling. His impending audience had gotten under his skin as anxiety and nerves took over. He mentally reviewed the crisp script in front of him, reading it to the best of his ability despite the tremors caused by his shaking hands.

“Last year’s show, from what I heard at least, was apparently not great,” Crawford says, referring to the yearly skit put on by the New York group of counselors at Camp Reynal. “And we wanted to make it outstanding this year for the kids.”  Of course, the doctors milling around didn’t help make him more confident about this task.

Crawford and the group of Reynal volunteers are part of a growing number of students who are partaking in more nontraditional community service such as working at a camp like Reynal, which caters to those who cannot get the typical camp experience due to chronic illness or disability.

These students are looking for more hands-on volunteer work, to more directly help people, and the evidence of this speaks for itself. Of course, with this extra effort comes an extra reward. Besides just seeing the gratitude on the faces of those they are affecting, the lessons that the students learn change who they are and stay with them for a lifetime. These lessons may have differed from expectations, but that’s what keeps them coming back for more. 

Gone are the days of mere fundraisers and toy drives. These students are not content just having a bake sale and sending the profits off to Galveston for the Hurricane Ike victims. They want to help the families rebuild their lives by helping them rebuild foundations on their houses or help poor families in Tijuana, Mexico build schools.

These trips to Mexico and Texas are orchestrated by the Manhattan College L.O.V.E.—Lasallian Outreach Volunteer Experience—organization, a branch of Campus Ministry and Social Action. Director Jenn Edwards says, “Numbers and interest has certainly increased—we had over 40 students apply for each trip, whereas last year they didn’t even have enough people to go to the Ecuador trip.”

In addition, the students who attend these trips learn so much more than students who just participate in typical volunteer activities. After they have been cleared through an interview process meant to weed out those who might be going for the wrong reasons, they are told what work will be expected of them and what they will be learning while on their trip.

Each group learns something unique to the area while helping to rebuild or work with the camp children. The trip to Mexico for example allows students to learn about Mexican culture as well as immigration and border issues in addition to mixing cement for schools. A trip to a camp in Maine called Camp Sunshine, in which students attended “bereavement week,” teaches students lessons in dealing with grief and loss of a child. Immersion trips, such as those to Ecuador, teach students about “being” by putting them directly in the culture for a week to experience exactly how the Ecuadorians live. 

Expectations of these trips typically differ from what the students actually get out of the process. Matt Rudkin, leader of Camp Sunshine, expected the trip to be “incredibly taxing and emotionally draining.” Yet, he came out “surprisingly uplifted” having witnessed the bonds that were formed between everyone involved. 

“I saw in 14 weeks a group of 11 diverse and unique Manhattan College students come together to unify behind a single vision. We had a strong sense of unity and I think the LOVE program is a great way to bring all kinds of people together,” says Rudkin, who learned the honor in celebrating the life of a lost loved one as well as to “cherish life and keep my priorities in perspective.”

Crawford had similar things to say. “I didn’t expect it to be as fun as it was. I had awful visions of sickly kids with a few years left to live, but the second the kids got off the bus you forgot they had kidney problems. I learned to live each day to the fullest, have no regrets, help others and have fun along the way. I couldn’t swallow a Benadryl pill until I was fifteen years old and my 8 and 9 year old campers had shots and huge pills to take every day.”

Students who go on these trips often find themselves returning. “LOVE gives students a chance to explore their commitment to social justice, enhance reflection on their own faith and spirituality and also to develop quality value-based relationships with not only their peers on the trip with them, but with the communities in which they find themselves doing service…they bring this knowledge back to Manhattan College and incorporate it into the way they live their lives and more often than not, they join us again to learn more,” says Edwards.

Crawford for one knows he will return. “It was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life,” he said. “They taught me so much about my life and their life that I have to return to the camp for years to come to be with them again.”