news of special interest to Union families
September marked two big occasions at Union this year. First and foremost, our daughter, Kate, entered her junior year and is continuing to have a terrific experience at the College. She has met wonderful professors and friends who have helped her to learn, challenge herself, and have fun. Union continues to make its mark on her and she most certainly is returning the favor!
The second big occasion was the kickoff of the new Minerva House System, otherwise known as “the Minervas.” For many years, the College has wrestled with the issues relating to the residential side of student life, and finally, after input from students, faculty, and staff, the Minervas were opened this fall. The seven new Minerva Houses were completely renovated over the past months, and students were positively amazed at what they saw when they arrived. Every student will be affiliated with one of the Minervas, though not all will live in the houses. To get things started, the students in each house hosted a series of events on the Sunday of Freshman Orientation-“First Night” of the Minerva System. These events included:
Golub House-Sumo wrestling and a Velcro wall
Wold House-a Jackson Pollock party
Blue House-a festival of percussion featuring “Blue House Group” (yes, they were painted blue)
Beuth House-a bungee run
Green House-a festival of films by Union students
Orange House-a tie-dye Union t-shirts party
Yellow House-the Mellow Yellow Café with live music of the “Unknown Element”
…and dessert for all capped off the evening!
The official kickoff was Tuesday, September 7, when all students were back on campus. There was an out- door celebration with food, music, a beautiful sunset, and two ice cream trucks! The entire college community attended while sitting under seven tents arranged by house. Our dining services team fed 1,600 people at one dinner! Union is well on its way to creating a new residential and social system that will serve its students well.
The next big event this fall was an early Homecoming and Family Weekend. Held on the first weekend of October, this event was bigger than ever with both parents and alumni turning out to see the campus in all its fall glory. The weekend's events included the President's welcome reception, fireworks celebrating the beginning of Union's campaign “You Are Union,” panels of students and faculty, Parents Association meeting, receptions of all kinds, athletic events including the football game, Minerva open houses, and so much more. As always, it was a great treat for us to meet so many of you and hear such positive things about your students' Union experiences! We're already looking forward to next year.
Bill Gottdenker, Parents Fund Chair, has already started recruiting for this year's team of parent volunteers. He was pleased to announce that we had thirty-four percent of our Union parents participate in last year's Parents Fund! What a strong vote of confidence this represents for Union College.
We look forward to meeting more of you in the coming months. Don't forget to check out the parents web page at http://www.union.edu/Parents/.
Lori and Peter Nicholson Co-chairs, Parents Association
From Dean of Students Steve Leavitt
Ensuring safety
With the opening of College Park Hall and the seven Minerva Houses, a number of students (and parents) have raised questions about campus safety.
We understand the concerns, but I want to assure you that we have done everything we can to create a campus safety program that inspires confidence.
When we moved our Campus Safety Office into College Park Hall this fall, we did so, to a great extent, because nearly 400 of the 1,800 students housed by the College live in the College Park neighborhood and College Park Hall. We knew there would be some inconvenience for students and employees who need to get ID cards or vehicle registrations. On the other hand, that will be offset by more convenient parking than visitors had at the office's cramped quarters on campus.
Let me give you a quick rundown on our safety and security efforts:
Union's Campus Safety Department provides a 24-hour-a-day, year-round security and safety program. A total of twenty-six patrol officers work on campus and College Park in overlapping shifts that ensure a smooth transition. Members of the department have portable radios and are centrally dispatched by control operators in the Campus Safety Office who monitor emergency and normal telephone lines as well as fire and security alarm panels. Every College building is linked to the Control Center for fire alarm monitoring, and a number of buildings have security alarm systems.
Officers staff the lobby desk at College Park Hall weekdays between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., and twenty-four hours on the weekend. There is also an officer in the Nott Memorial who can respond to emergencies. The patrols are augmented by twenty-one cameras that cover campus parking lots and public walkways. Those cameras are monitored and controlled from two consoles in College Park Hall, one in the building lobby, the other in the Campus Safety offices in the east end of the building. A student can call Campus Safety when he or she leaves campus and the office can follow the student right to the door.
There are also some fifty “hotlines” to Campus Safety including the exterior blue emergency phones, interior phones, and “panic buttons.” All are connected directly to campus safety. Students can also use room and hall courtesy phones to reach Campus Safety.
The Union College trolley runs in a continuous route “clockwise” around the campus. The driver has a cellular telephone, and, to ensure that the driver is aware that a student needs to be picked up, students can call the cellular number to request location information and estimated arrival time.
Our student walking escort service provides escorts for other students on campus. The service is designed and intended for personal safety-primarily for the hours of darkness when a student must travel the campus or get to their residence when they are otherwise unaccompanied.
Our bike patrols are especially suited to respond quickly to emergencies. Their versatility and their quietness helps greatly in the prevention of crime. There are two bike patrols in addition to the usual walking guards and security car. The officers have the same authority and training as motorized officers, including first aid and two-way radios connected to the central dispatcher.
UCEMS (Union College Emergency Medical Service) is a student-run and student-staffed organization that provides first aid and EMS coverage to the campus. UCEMS is in service on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 9:45 p.m. to 8 a.m. and for special events. Commercial EMS services are available at other times.
Residence halls are open only to residents and their invited guests and are so posted. During evening and early morning hours, those seeking admittance are required to be escorted by a resident. Entrances to all campus residence halls are equipped with card reader identification systems, which provide access only to residents.