Posted on Jun 7, 2007

Thursday, June 7, 5 p.m. / Reamer Campus Center Auditorium / Lecture with hate crime victim Erin Davies; sponsored by Spectrum

Friday, June 8, noon / Old Chapel / Café Ozone

Friday, June 8, 5 p.m. / Mandeville Gallery and various downtown venues / Art Night Schenectady, featuring art, music, food and more

Friday, June 8, 5:30 p.m. / Kosher Kitchen / Weekly Hillel Services followed by Shabbat dinner

Thursday, June 14, 3:30 / Humanities Building, 2nd Floor Lounge / Informal discussion of Richard Sorabji’s most recent book, “Self: Ancient and Modern Insights about Individuality, Life, and Death (Oxford University Press and the University of Chicago Press, 2006).

Thursday, June 14 – Friday, June 15 / Old Chapel, Hale House / Engineering symposium exploring new curricula in engineering ethics, bioengineering, environmental engineering and liberal education, with special guest Stephanie Bird, co-editor of “Engineering Ethics.” 

Saturday, June 16, 4:30 p.m. / Memorial Chapel / Baccalaureate Commemorations 

Saturday, June 16, 6 p.m. / Old Chapel / Baccalaureate Mass

Saturday, June 16, 8 p.m. / Rugby Field / Garnet Gala

Sunday, June 17, 10 a.m. / Hull Plaza / Commencement 2007

Posted on Jun 7, 2007

Dear Union College Community,

 We believe that it is important to keep you updated on the actions of Greeks on campus and in the community. The main goal of these newsletters is to inform the college community of what Greeks are doing in an attempt to change the current mindset that Greek life is simply a weekend social structure. It is our intention to underscore the Greek commitment to both community service in Schenectady and promoting an intellectual environment here at Union. From this, we hope to build a stronger relationship with the college. I hope that you read this letter and take it seriously; it is our sincere desire to be an integral and helpful part of the Union community… more so than we may have been in the past. This is a real commitment on our part, and we appreciate your support. If you have any questions, comments or concerns for us, or would like to be involved in an event sponsored by a Greek organization, please contact me, William Fitzsimons, at fitzsimw@union.edu. 

 On To the Fraternities:

The brothers of Delta Kappa Epsilon had a huge term for philanthropy. They co-hosted a charity volleyball tournament with Sigma Phi, which was very popular with the whole campus. DKE set up a booth at U-Care for a fun day of playing sports with local children. DKE’s most successful event was the first annual DKE/Union College Cycling Club Charity Bike Ride. This event got a lot of participation from Union students, faculty and staff, as well as people from the whole Capital District area, and raised a lot of money for United Way. On the environmental side, every term, DKE cleans up their adopted highway (look for the sign on I-890), and the brothers continued their recycling program from the fall. DKE invited Professor Olberg from Biology to give a fascinating talk on his current research, and their house hosted a successful Big Brothers/Big Sisters BBQ and games day. 

 The brothers of Phi Delta Theta came up with a novel philanthropy idea of charging people to participate in a “car bash,” where one can destroy an old car for only a nominal fee. The proceeds all went to the ALS association to combat Lou Gehrig’s disease.   They also travelled to a local church to clean it up and do some necessary interior decorating. Phi Delta Theta hosted Professor Kenney from the Economics Department to speak on a large variety of academic subjects, and they provided much needed help for Relay for Life.

 Our newest fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, continued to show their concern for the local environment by participating in re-Tree Schenectady, a semi-annual event where groups from throughout the community get together to plant and care for local trees. AEPi was very helpful with Relay for Life, and they also made a substantial monetary contribution to the Rolling for Autism charity event.

 The brothers of Sigma Chi had a lot of success with their philanthropy events this term. They participated in a nation-wide Sigma Chi event, “Derby Days,” and raised over two thousand dollars for the very important Schenectady Free Health Clinic. Derby Days included a fun campus-wide bowling event, a karaoke night and a campus BBQ. Also, during Greek Week, they had a very successful blood drive (something the brothers of Sigma Chi try to do every term), and the Red Cross officials were, as always, highly impressed generosity of the student body, as demonstrated by very high turnout. 

 The brothers of Theta Delta Chi were busy this term. They joined with the caretakers of historic Vale Cemetery to do a much needed clean-up. They worked with sorority Sigma Delta Tau during a mock-casino night to raise money for combating child abuse. A number of brothers went into the community to speak at Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) events and warn children about the dangers of drug use. Those who attended U-Care day, which is the largest community event the school hosts throughout the year, can thank TDChi for feeding them, as they provided and cooked food for the whole event. Some TDChi member showed their dedication to helping the elderly when they spent an afternoon playing cards and board games with residents of a nursing home. TDChi hosted a presentation on the dangers of performance enhancing drugs (steroids), and some brothers also volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, a charity with whom they have developed an excellent relationship.

The brothers of Alpha Delta Phi, played a big part in helping to run the Relay for Life grill. Additionally, they had two interesting academic events this term. Their annual AD literary competition is coming up next week, and they hosted a medieval dinner, where they presented scenes from a play.

The brothers of Sigma Phi were heavily involved in the letter campaign for the “Step it Up” rally, which targeted carbon emissions. A few weeks ago, the whole campus had the opportunity to “Pie-a-Phi,” where they could donate money to charity to throw a pie at some of the braver volunteer brothers. This hilarious event raised a lot of money and was fun for (almost!) everyone involved. Sigma Phi co-hosted a very successful charity volleyball tournament with Delta Kappa Epsilon. Brothers also helped run the Relay for Life event, and they joined with faculty from the History Department to help clean up the historic locks of Schenectady.

 The brothers of Psi Upsilon participated in a number of philanthropy events over this past term. On April 14^th, a number of the brothers joined in the "Step it Up 2007" rally, a walk from West College to the Schenectady Town Hall that was part of a nationwide fundraiser to combat carbon emissions.  Psi U collaborated with the Junior Achievement group, in the Schenectady elementary schools where five brothers spent one morning each week tutoring second graders on the fundamentals of personal economics, including the difference between wants and needs and the contributions of each individual to their community. Recently they held their annual Black Light Party, where, throughout the night, they collected donations for the Shaun Grady Foundation.  The Grady foundation was set up by the family of one of Psi U’s more recent alumni, Kevin Grady, whose mother died of cancer. The foundation was set up to help families with children sick with terminal illnesses. On May 19th, ten brothers joined in with Habitat for Humanity volunteers to clean up a recycling plant that will soon become Schenectady's main Habitat headquarters. 

 We hope you have enjoyed learning about all the things we are doing in the Greek community. Spring term is always big for us, and we feel like, as a community, we’ve done a lot of really good things. Our focus this term was developing the local Schenectady community. This fall, we want to turn our attention inward, and we plan on helping more to maintain the physical appearance of our campus, and on doing more academic/intellectual events. Again, please contact me with any questions, comments or concerns, or if you are interested in having a fraternity organize an event, provide a forum for discussion, or if there is anything else we can help you with.

 Thanks for reading!

 Will Fitzsimons, ‘08

Posted on Jun 7, 2007

Dear Union College Community,

 We believe that it is important to keep you updated on the actions of Greeks on campus and in the community. The main goal of these newsletters is to inform the college community of what Greeks are doing in an attempt to change the current mindset that Greek life is simply a weekend social structure. It is our intention to underscore the Greek commitment to both community service in Schenectady and promoting an intellectual environment here at Union. From this, we hope to build a stronger relationship with the college. I hope that you read this letter and take it seriously; it is our sincere desire to be an integral and helpful part of the Union community… more so than we may have been in the past. This is a real commitment on our part, and we appreciate your support. If you have any questions, comments or concerns for us, or would like to be involved in an event sponsored by a Greek organization, please contact me, William Fitzsimons, at fitzsimw@union.edu. 

 On To the Fraternities:

The brothers of Delta Kappa Epsilon had a huge term for philanthropy. They co-hosted a charity volleyball tournament with Sigma Phi, which was very popular with the whole campus. DKE set up a booth at U-Care for a fun day of playing sports with local children. DKE’s most successful event was the first annual DKE/Union College Cycling Club Charity Bike Ride. This event got a lot of participation from Union students, faculty and staff, as well as people from the whole Capital District area, and raised a lot of money for United Way. On the environmental side, every term, DKE cleans up their adopted highway (look for the sign on I-890), and the brothers continued their recycling program from the fall. DKE invited Professor Olberg from Biology to give a fascinating talk on his current research, and their house hosted a successful Big Brothers/Big Sisters BBQ and games day. 

 The brothers of Phi Delta Theta came up with a novel philanthropy idea of charging people to participate in a “car bash,” where one can destroy an old car for only a nominal fee. The proceeds all went to the ALS association to combat Lou Gehrig’s disease.   They also travelled to a local church to clean it up and do some necessary interior decorating. Phi Delta Theta hosted Professor Kenney from the Economics Department to speak on a large variety of academic subjects, and they provided much needed help for Relay for Life.

 Our newest fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, continued to show their concern for the local environment by participating in re-Tree Schenectady, a semi-annual event where groups from throughout the community get together to plant and care for local trees. AEPi was very helpful with Relay for Life, and they also made a substantial monetary contribution to the Rolling for Autism charity event.

 The brothers of Sigma Chi had a lot of success with their philanthropy events this term. They participated in a nation-wide Sigma Chi event, “Derby Days,” and raised over two thousand dollars for the very important Schenectady Free Health Clinic. Derby Days included a fun campus-wide bowling event, a karaoke night and a campus BBQ. Also, during Greek Week, they had a very successful blood drive (something the brothers of Sigma Chi try to do every term), and the Red Cross officials were, as always, highly impressed generosity of the student body, as demonstrated by very high turnout. 

 The brothers of Theta Delta Chi were busy this term. They joined with the caretakers of historic Vale Cemetery to do a much needed clean-up. They worked with sorority Sigma Delta Tau during a mock-casino night to raise money for combating child abuse. A number of brothers went into the community to speak at Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) events and warn children about the dangers of drug use. Those who attended U-Care day, which is the largest community event the school hosts throughout the year, can thank TDChi for feeding them, as they provided and cooked food for the whole event. Some TDChi member showed their dedication to helping the elderly when they spent an afternoon playing cards and board games with residents of a nursing home. TDChi hosted a presentation on the dangers of performance enhancing drugs (steroids), and some brothers also volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, a charity with whom they have developed an excellent relationship.

The brothers of Alpha Delta Phi, played a big part in helping to run the Relay for Life grill. Additionally, they had two interesting academic events this term. Their annual AD literary competition is coming up next week, and they hosted a medieval dinner, where they presented scenes from a play.

The brothers of Sigma Phi were heavily involved in the letter campaign for the “Step it Up” rally, which targeted carbon emissions. A few weeks ago, the whole campus had the opportunity to “Pie-a-Phi,” where they could donate money to charity to throw a pie at some of the braver volunteer brothers. This hilarious event raised a lot of money and was fun for (almost!) everyone involved. Sigma Phi co-hosted a very successful charity volleyball tournament with Delta Kappa Epsilon. Brothers also helped run the Relay for Life event, and they joined with faculty from the History Department to help clean up the historic locks of Schenectady.

 The brothers of Psi Upsilon participated in a number of philanthropy events over this past term. On April 14^th, a number of the brothers joined in the "Step it Up 2007" rally, a walk from West College to the Schenectady Town Hall that was part of a nationwide fundraiser to combat carbon emissions.  Psi U collaborated with the Junior Achievement group, in the Schenectady elementary schools where five brothers spent one morning each week tutoring second graders on the fundamentals of personal economics, including the difference between wants and needs and the contributions of each individual to their community. Recently they held their annual Black Light Party, where, throughout the night, they collected donations for the Shaun Grady Foundation.  The Grady foundation was set up by the family of one of Psi U’s more recent alumni, Kevin Grady, whose mother died of cancer. The foundation was set up to help families with children sick with terminal illnesses. On May 19th, ten brothers joined in with Habitat for Humanity volunteers to clean up a recycling plant that will soon become Schenectady's main Habitat headquarters. 

 We hope you have enjoyed learning about all the things we are doing in the Greek community. Spring term is always big for us, and we feel like, as a community, we’ve done a lot of really good things. Our focus this term was developing the local Schenectady community. This fall, we want to turn our attention inward, and we plan on helping more to maintain the physical appearance of our campus, and on doing more academic/intellectual events. Again, please contact me with any questions, comments or concerns, or if you are interested in having a fraternity organize an event, provide a forum for discussion, or if there is anything else we can help you with.

 Thanks for reading!

 Will Fitzsimons, ‘08

Posted on Jun 7, 2007

Dear Union College Community,

 We believe that it is important to keep you updated on the actions of Greeks on campus and in the community. The main goal of these newsletters is to inform the college community of what Greeks are doing in an attempt to change the current mindset that Greek life is simply a weekend social structure. It is our intention to underscore the Greek commitment to both community service in Schenectady and promoting an intellectual environment here at Union. From this, we hope to build a stronger relationship with the college. I hope that you read this letter and take it seriously; it is our sincere desire to be an integral and helpful part of the Union community… more so than we may have been in the past. This is a real commitment on our part, and we appreciate your support. If you have any questions, comments or concerns for us, or would like to be involved in an event sponsored by a Greek organization, please contact me, William Fitzsimons, at fitzsimw@union.edu. 

 On To the Fraternities:

The brothers of Delta Kappa Epsilon had a huge term for philanthropy. They co-hosted a charity volleyball tournament with Sigma Phi, which was very popular with the whole campus. DKE set up a booth at U-Care for a fun day of playing sports with local children. DKE’s most successful event was the first annual DKE/Union College Cycling Club Charity Bike Ride. This event got a lot of participation from Union students, faculty and staff, as well as people from the whole Capital District area, and raised a lot of money for United Way. On the environmental side, every term, DKE cleans up their adopted highway (look for the sign on I-890), and the brothers continued their recycling program from the fall. DKE invited Professor Olberg from Biology to give a fascinating talk on his current research, and their house hosted a successful Big Brothers/Big Sisters BBQ and games day. 

 The brothers of Phi Delta Theta came up with a novel philanthropy idea of charging people to participate in a “car bash,” where one can destroy an old car for only a nominal fee. The proceeds all went to the ALS association to combat Lou Gehrig’s disease.   They also travelled to a local church to clean it up and do some necessary interior decorating. Phi Delta Theta hosted Professor Kenney from the Economics Department to speak on a large variety of academic subjects, and they provided much needed help for Relay for Life.

 Our newest fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, continued to show their concern for the local environment by participating in re-Tree Schenectady, a semi-annual event where groups from throughout the community get together to plant and care for local trees. AEPi was very helpful with Relay for Life, and they also made a substantial monetary contribution to the Rolling for Autism charity event.

 The brothers of Sigma Chi had a lot of success with their philanthropy events this term. They participated in a nation-wide Sigma Chi event, “Derby Days,” and raised over two thousand dollars for the very important Schenectady Free Health Clinic. Derby Days included a fun campus-wide bowling event, a karaoke night and a campus BBQ. Also, during Greek Week, they had a very successful blood drive (something the brothers of Sigma Chi try to do every term), and the Red Cross officials were, as always, highly impressed generosity of the student body, as demonstrated by very high turnout. 

 The brothers of Theta Delta Chi were busy this term. They joined with the caretakers of historic Vale Cemetery to do a much needed clean-up. They worked with sorority Sigma Delta Tau during a mock-casino night to raise money for combating child abuse. A number of brothers went into the community to speak at Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) events and warn children about the dangers of drug use. Those who attended U-Care day, which is the largest community event the school hosts throughout the year, can thank TDChi for feeding them, as they provided and cooked food for the whole event. Some TDChi member showed their dedication to helping the elderly when they spent an afternoon playing cards and board games with residents of a nursing home. TDChi hosted a presentation on the dangers of performance enhancing drugs (steroids), and some brothers also volunteered for Habitat for Humanity, a charity with whom they have developed an excellent relationship.

The brothers of Alpha Delta Phi, played a big part in helping to run the Relay for Life grill. Additionally, they had two interesting academic events this term. Their annual AD literary competition is coming up next week, and they hosted a medieval dinner, where they presented scenes from a play.

The brothers of Sigma Phi were heavily involved in the letter campaign for the “Step it Up” rally, which targeted carbon emissions. A few weeks ago, the whole campus had the opportunity to “Pie-a-Phi,” where they could donate money to charity to throw a pie at some of the braver volunteer brothers. This hilarious event raised a lot of money and was fun for (almost!) everyone involved. Sigma Phi co-hosted a very successful charity volleyball tournament with Delta Kappa Epsilon. Brothers also helped run the Relay for Life event, and they joined with faculty from the History Department to help clean up the historic locks of Schenectady.

 The brothers of Psi Upsilon participated in a number of philanthropy events over this past term. On April 14^th, a number of the brothers joined in the "Step it Up 2007" rally, a walk from West College to the Schenectady Town Hall that was part of a nationwide fundraiser to combat carbon emissions.  Psi U collaborated with the Junior Achievement group, in the Schenectady elementary schools where five brothers spent one morning each week tutoring second graders on the fundamentals of personal economics, including the difference between wants and needs and the contributions of each individual to their community. Recently they held their annual Black Light Party, where, throughout the night, they collected donations for the Shaun Grady Foundation.  The Grady foundation was set up by the family of one of Psi U’s more recent alumni, Kevin Grady, whose mother died of cancer. The foundation was set up to help families with children sick with terminal illnesses. On May 19th, ten brothers joined in with Habitat for Humanity volunteers to clean up a recycling plant that will soon become Schenectady's main Habitat headquarters. 

 We hope you have enjoyed learning about all the things we are doing in the Greek community. Spring term is always big for us, and we feel like, as a community, we’ve done a lot of really good things. Our focus this term was developing the local Schenectady community. This fall, we want to turn our attention inward, and we plan on helping more to maintain the physical appearance of our campus, and on doing more academic/intellectual events. Again, please contact me with any questions, comments or concerns, or if you are interested in having a fraternity organize an event, provide a forum for discussion, or if there is anything else we can help you with.

 Thanks for reading!

 Will Fitzsimons, ‘08

Posted on Jun 7, 2007

Kelsey Allen-Dicker ’07 brought understanding and patience.

Amanda Riitano ’08 came armed with stories, games and a heap of encouragement.

Both young women used creativity and imagination with their charges: 25 nursing home residents and 4- and 5-year-olds.

The two Union students went into the community for their spring dance project course with Dance Director Miryam Moutillet.

The elderly residents at the Kingsway Arms Community Center in Schenectady rely on an extensive list of daily activities to keep them mentally and physically active. In addition to being wheelchair-bound, some have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

But that didn’t affect their ability to tap dance.

"They can still make the percussive sounds with their feet, and they also are able to use their arms," said Allen-Dicker, who worked with therapeutic recreation leader Renee J. Wersted. "Tap allows them to feel confident in their dancing, work their muscles and enjoy themselves."

Allen-Dicker said her dance project allowed her to combine her major in Psychology and minor in Dance with her desire to help people in a significant way that enriched her time at Union.

"It made me learn about a new population and their ever-changing lives. Having them smile and enjoy the activity, even with their bad short-term memory, helps them get through this difficult life time. It is the moment that matters," she said.

At the other end of the life spectrum, Riitano, also a Psychology major, brought dance to 10 preschoolers at the Twinkling Stars nursery school in Schenectady. Teaching the half-hour weekly movement class gave her "the opportunity to blend my dance experience with my ultimate goal of teaching, a challenge I embraced."

The youngsters’ high energy and short attention spans kept Riitano on her toes.

"Children this young respond better to an imaginative and creative style than something structured and rigid," said Riitano, who used follow-the-leader and mirroring exercises to teach. "Being flexible with my lesson plan and changing activities helped keep them interested."