The View from Student AffairsA Blog by Fr. James Maher, Vice President
for Student Affairs
Posted by: Fr. James Maher | October 29, 2008
I hope now that mid-term exams are over, you feel confident in your
ability to flourish and to seek any help that you may need for a
successful semester. Your academic success is very important
to us, so please let your
Academic College
Deans or
Freshmen Center
Advisors know if you need any additional support at this
time. The
Writing Center is
also a terrific resource for students as they prepare term papers
and other course requirements.
We are very proud of the state-of-the art
renovation to the Queens Campus
Library that just concluded, thank you for your patience. I
think you will find it has been worth the wait. As the
semester progresses many Queens campus students should be able to
find helpful resources and quality study space in this upgraded
facility. If you have not taken the time to tour the building yet,
I encourage you to do so.
There has been much opportunity for academic enrichment outside of
the classroom this semester as well. Perhaps you have been
among the hundreds of students who have already attended our
Academic
Lectures programs. There are still many opportunities
left including. On the Queens campus, please sign-up to
attend the lecture by the distinguished
UN representative, Amir
Dossal, on Wealth Creation and Poverty Alleviation on November
17, 2008 at 6:00 PM in Bent Hall, Rooms 277 A&B.
It is wonderful to see our students so engaged in the upcoming
Presidential Election. St. John’s University students will
have the opportunity to join with students from Wagner College and
the College of Staten Island to further assess this election.
Wagner College will feature two St. John's University professors,
Dr. Azedine Layachi and Dr. William Bryne, from the Department of
Government and Politics on a panel with the purpose of evaluating
The Meaning of the
Presidential Election. This program is scheduled for
Monday, November 17, 2008 at 7pm. Please RSVP on the
respective web pages, so that we know that you are interested in
attending these programs.
We in Student Affairs are well aware you live very full and busy
lives, if you are feeling a little stressed, then you may
want to take advantage of our new Stressbusters program where
students are trained to offer tips on stress reduction to
fellow students. Look for the Stressbusters team at the
Midnight Breakfast on
December 9th from 10pm to 12am in the Montgoris Dining Hall.
Our Department of Residence Life continues to keep pace with the
best practices in residential communities. Effective
Monday Oct 20th, Resident Students now have the ability to complete
on-line maintenance work orders to request maintenance work for all
non-emergency related issues. Students can submit, track and
monitor the status of a work order electronically,
around-the-clock. The on-line maintenance request
system can be accessed through St. John’s Central by clicking on
the “
Facilities
Service Request” link. For questions or comments please
contact the office of Residence Life in Donovan Hall.
Thanksgiving is always a special time for our country and also here
at St. John’s University. On the Queens Campus, University
administrators will serve our resident students a traditional
Thanksgiving Dinner with all the trimmings on Tuesday, November
18th in the Montgoris Dining Hall starting at 5:30pm. Similar
programs are planned for the Staten Island Campus on November 19th
and the Manhattan Campus on November 20th.
While many students go home to share a Thanksgiving Dinner with
their family, Student Affairs is very aware that some students live
too far away to make this a reality. That is why we have
established our
Thanksgiving Family Friend Program. If you are a student
interested in joining a local family for Thanksgiving Dinner please
complete this
student registration form by Monday, November 10, 2008.
Families interested in hosting International or out-of-state
students should complete the
family registration form by that same date.
Plans are currently underway to end the semester with a spectacular
Winter Carnival event. This program is scheduled for December
1st – 3rd on the Queens Campus. A St. John’s tradition, it
will include a jazz concert, horse and carriage rides around the
Great Lawn, a Community Dinner and a tree lighting and fireworks
display. Please watch St. John’s Central for more details as
they become available. The Staten Island Campus has their
wonderful
Winter Carnival
scheduled on Tuesday, December 2, 2008. Be sure to join them
for photos with Santa, a Build-a-Bear station, and a tree-lighting
ceremony, among other things.
Looking ahead to after the semester ends; you may want to be among
the fortunate few who spend their winter break helping rebuild New
Orleans. Join the Department of Student Life by putting your
faith and love into action while helping those in need. The
cost of this Service Experience is $200.00 (which includes airfare,
food, and accommodations). If you are interested in this LEADing
through Service opportunity, please email Mary H. Pelkowski at
pelkowsm@stjohns.edu.
The deadline for applying for this trip is November 7, 2008.
Student Affairs looks forward to the
opportunity to serve you and make your years at St. John’s
University full of many happy memories.
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