Posted on Sep 14, 2001

Talking it over

Several campus offices have been busy this week in offering counseling to members of the Union community.

The Counseling Center and chaplains in Religious Programs are available. Please feel free to refer students and others to the counselors at ext. 6161.
Viki Brooks-McDonald, Protestant Chaplain, can be reached at ext. 6618. Margo Strosberg, Jewish chaplain, is at ext. 6539. George Forshey, Catholic chaplain can be reached at ext. 6087. Additionally, Gretchel Tyson, trained in disaster mental health counseling, is available at ext. 6609. Members of the Dean of Students office are available at ext. 6061.
Employees may also contact the Edison Employee Assistance program at 1-800-EAP-9411 or 464-1212.

Students who need to miss academic appointments may contact the Dean of Students Office at ext. 6116.

Information on victims is available through the Victims of Crime hotline at (800) 331-0075. A number of employers also have information on their Web sites.

Finally, the American Red Cross, overwhelmed with blood donations on Wednesday, has asked donors to return in about two weeks. Plans for a campus blood drive were under way at press time.

Posted on Sep 13, 2001

The normal class schedule for Friday, September 14, will be followed. In recognition of the great tragedy our country suffered, the President of
the United States has declared this day as a Day of National Mourning. We ask that at 12:00 pm the entire Union community observe a minute of
silence. The bells of Memorial Chapel will ring to mark the beginning and the end of the period of silence. I ask the faculty and students who are
in class at this time to join in the observance.

Memorial Chapel will be open all day as a place for reflection and
prayer. The counselors and chaplains remain available.

Posted on Sep 13, 2001

September 13, 2001

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Saturday's Union College football home opener against Worcester Polytechnic Institute will serve as a vehicle in which to pay tribute to our fellow Americans who lost their lives in Tuesday's attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  At the same time, the game will serve to say 'thanks' to the thousands of people around the country who
continue to help with the rescue efforts going on in New York City and Washington.

Kickoff is at 1 p.m.

The athletic events scheduled for Friday, which involve Union College's remaining fall teams, have been moved to Sunday (see schedule below).

'After careful consideration and conversation with all our student-athletes, administration, faculty, staff, conference members and colleagues, we feel that we can best honor those who perished, and thank those who are giving their time and resources to the rescue effort, by dedicating this weekend's contests to them,' said Union College Athletic Director Val Belmonte. 'It is our full intention to use this weekend's contests as a show of support for America.'

Belmonte said that there will be no charge for this weekend's football game against WPI, but that there will be student-athletes stationed around the field with donation boxes.  All proceeds collected will be given to the Disaster Relief Fund.  Belmonte also said that fans entering the game will be given an American Flag while supplies last.  The players will wear black armbands during the game and have requested that fans wear a yellow ribbon somewhere on their attire.

Belmonte also said that the center portion of the main bleachers will be roped off and available to the Capital District's fire and police and their families.

'It is our hope that the residents of the Capital District will join with the Union College family to show support for our nation by coming to Saturday's game and participating in the day's events.'

Head coach John Audino said that while there have been obvious distractions, his team is ready to take the field.

'I fully support our administration's decision to go on with the game and I look forward, as I know our coaching staff and our players do, to using the game as a means of support for our country.

'Practice this week has been secondary to working through each individual's emotions as a team,' Audino continued. Any player that felt the need to go home to be with family has been allowed to do so with the blessing of the entire team. But, there is also a need by many of our players to be on the field on Saturday. To be able to participate in a show of support for our country is a tremendous opportunity for us as individuals and as a team.'

ECAC Commissioner Phil Buttafuoco issued a statement which said,

'The members of the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association mourn the tragic loss of lives, bodily injury and acts of destruction which occurred this past Tuesday in this nation.  In on way or another, each of our institutions has been personally touched by these events.

During a telephone conference call this morning, the institution's representatives determined that all conference athletic events would be played as scheduled unless an institution makes a decision of its own on campus to the contrary. The administrators believe that athletic events, along with other campus activities, are a way to bring people together in a common expression of sympathy and mourning.

'Each institution will provide its own method of respect before and during each athletic contest.'

Union's Schedule for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 13, 14, and 15 is as follows:

Thursday: women's field hockey will host Skidmore at 7:30 p.m. on Frank Bailey Field (rescheduled from Wednesday).

Friday: all events cancelled in observance of the National Day of Mourning.

The First Annual Gridiron Golf Outing at Eagle Crest has been rescheduled for Friday, October 5 at noon at Eagle Crest.

Saturday: Football at home vs. WPI, 1:00; Women's Soccer at Clarkson, 2:00; Men's Soccer vs. Clarkson, 2:00 (rescheduled from 1 p.m.); Field Hockey at Gordon College, 2:30; Women's Volleyball at Hartwick, 9 a.m.; Women's Tennis at Clarkson, 2:00 (rescheduled from 11 a.m.).

Sunday (all events rescheduled from Friday): Men's Soccer vs. St. Lawrence, 1:00; Women's Soccer at St. Lawrence, 1:00; Women's Tennis at St. Lawrence, 11:00 a.m.

The women's soccer game at Russell Sage that was cancelled on Wednesday has been rescheduled for Monday, October 22 at 4:30 at Sage.

Posted on Sep 13, 2001

INFORMATION ABOUT VICTIMS

The office of Victims of Crime has set up a hot line at 1-800-331-0075. If they have information about a specific person they will tell you, and if they do not know they will take information
from you and contact you when they do know about the person about whom you inquired. Most of the companies and departments that have offices
in the buildings that were attacked and the airlines have put information
on their web sites, but listed below are the most requested numbers:

American Airlines: 1-800-245-0999

United Airlines: 1-800-932-8555

Morgan Stanley: 1-888-883-4391

The Pentagon: 1-800-984-8523 or 1-703-428-0002

(Navy and Marine Personnel): 1-877-663-6772

STUDENTS SEEKING COUNSELING

Counselors will be available in Reamer 308 as well as in Silliman Hall Counseling Center located on the 3rd floor and Religious Programs in the basement of Silliman Hall. If you will be missing academic appointments, please contact the Dean's Office (6116 or 6061) and your instructor or advisor.

BLOOD DONORS

The Red Cross is currently overwhelmed by the number of donors that have come forward and they are encouraging us to postpone making donations. The Office of Student Activities is coordinating efforts with the Red Cross and we will organize a blood drive on campus in the
next 2-3 weeks to coincide with the needs of the Red Cross.

SUPPORTING FRIENDS

If you are aware of a person who has lost a family member or close friend please encourage him or her to seek counseling.

Resident Assistants, Theme House Managers, and Greek Presidents should inquire among their residents to make sure that everyone is all right. If you
know of a person who has lost someone near and dear, we would like to be
notified in the Dean's Office (6116 or 6061) so we can be aware of people who may need assistance.

Posted on Sep 12, 2001

Schenectady, N.Y. (Sept. 12, 2001) – Robert Holmes of the University of Rochester will open “Philosophical Fridays @ Union College” on Friday, Sept. 14, at 4:30 p.m. in Humanities 213 at Union College.

He will speak on “Terror, Violence and Non-violence.” His original topic – “Why Be Moral?” – has been changed in light of terrorist activities earlier this week.

The talks are free and open to the public.

Holmes' talk is the first in the Union College Philosophy Colloquia, four-part series of talks by noted philosophers, all of which are Fridays at 4:30 p.m. in Humanities 213.

Holmes, professor of philosophy at the University of Rochester, specializes in ethics, social philosophy and philosophy of war. He was former editor of Public
Affairs Quarterly,a scholarly journal on current issues in social and
political philosophy.

Others in the series are:

Sept. 21, Gilbert Harman, Princeton University, “Skepticism and Foundations;”

Oct. 19, Georges Dreyfus, Williams College, “The Sounds of Two Hands Clapping: Philosophical Debate in the Tibetan Scholastic Education;” and

Delia Graff, Cornell University, “Ascriptions of Desires, and Descriptions of Desires.”

For more information, call the
Union College Department of Philosophy at 388-6376.