April 17, 2017 Edition

Alternative Break Experiences

East Carolina University’s Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement gave students an opportunity to spend Spring Break helping others in Greenville as well as on the North Carolina coast and in multiple other states through its Alternative Break Experiences program.

In Greenville on a “Staycation,” ECU students worked Saturday, March 4 through Wednesday, March 8 with community partners focused on youth and nutrition. Students stayed at Community Crossroads Center emergency homeless shelter for the week, where they served meals and assisted in cleanup projects. They also tutored and mentored youth at Third Street Education Center, South Greenville Elementary School and assisted with several community gardens in west Greenville. Students also facilitated a Campus Kitchen at ECU nutrition lesson at Operation Sunshine.

This is the seventh year that ECU students traveled to Carteret County and Atlantic Beach. From Sunday, March 5 to Thursday, March 9, students cleaned and painted cabins at Camp Albemarle, where they were bunked for the week. Students also worked with the N.C. Coastal Federation. Service consisted of mainly environmental work including oyster habitat restoration, rain water gardens with a local elementary school, beach and camp cleanup, and project maintenance as needed.

Other students traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to work on projects addressing poverty and homelessness; to Roanoke, Virginia for community health-related service projects; to Haysi, Virginia where students worked on masonry and landscaping projects; to Pilot Mountain and Boone, North Carolina, and Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia where students partnered with local, state and national parks on trail maintenance, camp and river cleanups; to Columbia, South Carolina where they worked with youth in the juvenile justice system; and Atlanta, Georgia, where students worked with the LGBT community and homeless youth. Also sophomore EC Scholars traveled to Washington, D.C., where they attended a presentation at the Pentagon hosted by ECU alumni and participated in a local service project.

Alternative Break Experiences are offered throughout the year to create student-learning opportunities in diverse environments that address social, economic, political, environmental, spiritual and cultural issues. ECU students learn through the exchange of

ideas, personal reflection, critical thinking and by applying academic concepts outside the classroom, said Nichelle Shuck, associate director in the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement.

This year 77 ECU students and staff participated in the Alternative Break Experiences.

Click below for additional ABE stories.
WNCT
Daily Reflector
ECU News Services

Denim Day – April 26, 2017

As a part of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month (April), the Division of Student Affairs will be supporting the Denim Day movement. This international campaign began following a court case in Italy where a young girl was told by the Supreme Court that she could not have been raped because she was wearing tight jeans. Denim Day is now recognized across the world as a way to raise awareness around sexual assault, prevention efforts, and supporting survivors.

On April 26th, 2017, all members of the ECU Division of Student Affairs are invited to participate in Denim Day and wear denim to demonstrate a unified show of support for the movement.  Offices and departments can also share photos of participation on social media. The hope is to join together and help raise awareness to this serious global issue and continue to demonstrate the power of Pirate Nation through this and other programs such as the S.H.O.E.S. Project, Pledge Purple and the #ECUnited Initiative.

If you would like more information about resources on campus or ways to support local community charities that provide services to survivors, please visit the website for our Victim Advocate for a comprehensive list of agencies and departments that provide services to survivors of sexual assault at https://deanofstudents.ecu.edu/advocacy/.

Additional information about Denim Day and its history can be found at www.denimdayinfo.org.  If you have questions about the April 26th Denim Day event at ECU, contact Kat Bursky with the ECU Center for Counseling and Student Development at 737-1466, or Lauren Thorn in the Dean of Students office at 328-9297.

Creed Awards Ceremony

On Thursday, March 30th, the Dean of Students office hosted the 9th Annual Creed Awards Ceremony at Harvey Hall. Twenty recipients were recognized for exhibiting the four pillars of the East Carolina Creed: integrity, diversity, responsibility and citizenship. Nominations were gathered from the university community and selected by members of the ECU Ambassadors, with students, faculty and staff members chosen for each category. Dr. Erik Kneubuehl, Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Involvement and Leadership, delivered the keynote address, and family and friends were in attendance to celebrate their loved ones as the ECU Ambassadors led the ceremony.  A reception following the event included opportunities for photos and socializing with colleagues and peers.

List of Recipients:

Following the Creed Awards Ceremony, Creed Week was held on campus from April 3rd-7th, with each day focusing on a different pillar of the creed. Collaborations with ECU Campus Recreation and Wellness, the Student Conduct Board and ECU Police encouraged participating students to stop by the event table in Wright Plaza and learn more about resources on campus. Activities at the table were designed to start conversations about the values and ideals of the ECU Creed, and helped to identify how we integrate these concepts into our daily interactions on campus. The Dean of Students office was also a part of Culture Fest on Wednesday, April 5th, sharing information about diversity and how students can support one another on campus.

The Dean of Students office would like to thank everyone who made Creed Week and the Creed Awards Ceremony possible, and we look forward to continuing our commitment to highlight the pillars of the ECU Creed!

LGBT Resource Office Awards First Scholarships

The LGBT Resource Office recently announced the recipients of two new scholarships—the LGBT Resource Office Pride Scholarship and the LGBT Resource Office Equality Scholarship—for the 2017/2018 academic year.  These $500 scholarships are made possible by the support of the LGBT Advancement Council with funds donated to the LGBT Priority Fund in Student Affairs Advancement.

The LGBT Resource Office Pride Scholarship is a merit-based award to recognize outstanding students who thrive academically and are committed to social justice and equality for the LGBT community at East Carolina University. The scholarship is available to current students in good academic standing, and is renewable annually.  The Pride Scholarship was created to recognize academic excellence among students actively involved in the LGBT Resource Office who promote a safe and inclusive environment for LGBT students at East Carolina University.

The recipients of the 2017/2018 Pride Scholarship are:

• Jon Cockerham, of Raleigh, NC, who is a sophomore with a double major in in communications (public relations concentration) and political science.
• Hannah Myers, of Salisbury, NC, who is a freshman with a double major in communications and political science.

The LGBT Resource Office Equality Scholarship is a need-based award to support students with a motivation to complete their degree and students with a demonstrated interest in supporting the LGBT Resource Office. The scholarship is available to current students in good academic standing, and is renewable annually.  The Equality Scholarship was created in recognition of the financial need of some LGBT students whose life circumstances may create economic hardship due to limited or no family support.  Further, the Equality Scholarship is designed to support students to achieve success by easing some of the stress of financial hardship.

The recipients of the 2017/2018 Equality Scholarship are:

• Sabrina Huapaya, of Pinehurst, NC, who is a sophomore majoring in recreational therapy.
• Evander Jennings, of Comnersville, IN, who is a sophomore with a double major in anthropology and international studies.
• Shanne McPherson, of Robbinsville, NC, who is a junior majoring in criminal justice.
• Christopher Moore, of Apex, NC, who is a senior majoring in psychology.

SROWback Throwback!

On March 10-12th, the Southern Regional Orientation Workshop (SROW) took place in Statesboro, Georgia at Georgia Southern University. Karen Smith and Corrie Schwabrow from the Office of Student Transitions and 29 of the 2017 Orientation Assistants made the trip for a very successful weekend!

150 workshops were held on Saturday and a number of ECU Orientation Assistants presented to their peers that day.

• Anne Creech and Tyler Parker – Be the Best in the Galaxy: SROW off your Positivity! In a Star Wars themed presentation, orientation leaders learned about the importance of encouraging positive dialogue and building supportive relationships through every aspect of orientation. Individuals got a chance to role-play with real life orientation situations so they did not end up on the dark side.
• Laurena Grissett and Mikayla Price – Conflict Resolution: How Can You Save the Day? Orientation Leaders tend to spend a lot of time together, and because of this, conflict is inevitable.  As conflict occurs on staffs of all shapes and sizes, therefore, the session discussed different types of conflict and effective ways to deal with any issues that could arise!
• Geoffrey Whitley and Tristan Hunter – Region 6’s Next Top OA. This session was all about how to be a flashy, yet classy orientation leader.  Focusing on the importance of taking care of yourself to look professional and creating your own style, the presentation gave tips on making the most of your orientation uniform, followed by a fashion show put on by the “fiercest” of our student staff.
• Ruby Sims and Lexi Shallcross – What it Means to be a First. This session’s focused on what it means to be a first-generation college student and orientation leader.  In this discussion-based presentation, Orientation Leaders were able to come and hear about the advantages, disadvantages and stereotypes about first-generation students and how they could help students transition to college successfully.

Each year at SROW, colleges and universities can choose to participate in the Song, Dance, Step and Skit contest and this year our ECU OAs performed in the dance portion of the competition, taking home a 2nd place win!

Assessment Corner

During the past year, what did your students learn through engagement in your programs and/or services?  How effective have you been in delivering operations?  What did you do well and what can you improve?  Did you achieve your overall goal(s)?  How do you know?

You can answer all of these and more through outcomes assessment.  Whether you used assessment methods such as reflection papers, focus groups, resource stewardship analyses, staff performance evaluations, or any other assessment method, you can analyze the results from these methods, determine what the results are saying about your program, and then develop an action plan as you strategize how to make next years’ events and/or services even better.

Here are some steps to improve your program/services through the year as you complete your program reports and you enter your good news into TracDat:

1. 1. Discuss what steps you took to improve your program.
      • Ask yourself and discuss with colleagues: What steps did I take based on last year’s assessment results? (Actions Taken)
   2. Summarize the findings from your surveys, focus groups, observations, reflection papers, or any assessment method you may have used.
      • Ask yourself and discuss with colleagues: How do I capture the results of my assessment method in a succinct way?  (Results)
   3. Review your overall goal and related outcome.  Discuss how you met this goal.
      • Ask yourself and discuss with your colleagues: Did you meet what you stated in your criteria for success?  (Results)
   4. Discuss how your changes made an impact on your current results.
      • Ask yourself and discuss with colleagues: What actions did I take this past year that helped improve the current results?  (Analysis of Results)
   5. Based on your interpretation of the results, identify any area that needs improvement or areas that can remain the same because of meeting the metrics (i.e. percentage, number, quantified description, or baseline) you set for your outcome (criteria for success).
      • Ask yourself and discuss with colleagues: What needs to be done differently in order to get better results?  (Analysis of Results)
   6. Based on your results and interpretation of your results, provide specific steps to explain how you are going to improve the program or service.  For example, you could decide that:  1) a new program or service needs to be developed, 2) a piece of a program or service needs to be improved, and/or 3) the students are meeting the learning outcomes; therefore, the program will continue as is.  After providing how the program is going to be improved, give the specific action steps that will get you to that improvement.
      • Ask yourself and discuss with colleagues: Based on the results, what steps need to be taken in order to get better results next year?  (Actions Planned)

Need help with putting your assessment information together and getting it into TracDat?  Contact your assessment liaison within Student Affairs Assessment, Research and Retention today!

Student Affairs Making Headlines

• The ECU Student Media Advertising & Marketing Agency claimed a second-place finish in the coveted Media Kit / Rate Card category.  This is the second top 2 finish in the last two years as the ECU Ad Agency won first-place in this prestigious national contest.  Congratulations to Creative Manager (student) Mackenzie Tewksbury and Adviser Julie Roman and the Ad Agency staff.
• Zack Forde-Hawkins has accepted the volunteer role as NASPA Region III Student Affairs Fundraising and External Relations KC Representative position.

RHA Siblings Weekend 2017

RHA Siblings’ Weekend, an annual event organized by the Residence Hall Association (RHA), invites students to bring their siblings to East Carolina University for an awesome experience. This event is open to all residents that live in the residence halls of ECU. It is designed to provide students an opportunity to spend the weekend with their sibling, and bond with their “Little Pirate.” The theme for the event was a Medieval theme: ECU students were considered to be “wizards” and their siblings were “apprentices.” Additionally, volunteers were called “knights.” During this weekend, siblings participated in events that were sponsored by the Residence Hall Association.  These events included: a showing of the classic movie “Princess Bride”, bowling, billiards, and arcade games, a magician, corn hole tournament, attendance to the ECU baseball game, and inflatable games.

This year was the largest event they’ve ever had! We had over 200 participants. We are proud to say that RHA Siblings Weekend has grown substantially over the past few years. We had sibling attendants from New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Ohio in addition to the vast amount from the pirate state, North Carolina, said Rachel Eker, residence hall association Vice President.

This event was a total success that helped siblings build relationships with each other throughout the weekend.  As the event came to a close, we had several students with their siblings come to us and thank us for an amazing weekend. The event was a complete success and RHA is looking forward to the 7th Annual Siblings Weekend in 2018, Eker said!

LGBT Legacy Project

Our stories are our history, each one a reflection of a live lived and journey unique to each individual. The lives of generations of people in the LGBT community have gone unrecorded due to homophobia, fear, prejudice, and sadly, shame.

The LGBT Legacy Project is an effort to capture our stories for future generations who might someday want to know about the lives of our students in the early part of the 21st century. To launch this initiative, the LGBT Resource Office announces an essay contest around the theme of coming out.

We welcome submissions of essays (1000 to 1500 words in length) that tell a story of the coming out experience. Stories might focus on coming out to parents or family members, coming out to allies/friends, coming out on campus to roommates, friends, or teachers – or any important moment in your coming out process, including coming out to and getting comfortable with yourself. Stories might also reflect the experience of an ally who was there for a friend or family member who came out to them.

Submissions must be double spaced with one inch margins and should be emailed to lgbt@ecu.edu. Deadline for submission is Friday, April 21, 2017.  Open to all currently enrolled ECU students in good academic standing.

Prizes will be awarded as follows:
First prize – $500
Second prize – $300
Third prize – $200

Winners will be announced at the Lavender Launch ceremony on May 4, 2017.

Student Health Prepares for National Accreditation

ECU Student Health Services hosted an Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, AAAHC, fair on March 7, 2017 for all SHS employees. The fair was a fun, creative way to help prepare employees for the upcoming AAAHC survey on June 5th and 6th, 2017. Additionally, the fair included interactive games on several AAAHC chapters such as patient rights, quality of care and quality improvement. All participants who successfully completed all the games had the opportunity to put their name in for a drawing to win homemade baked goods, gift card, and ECU ball cap! SHS staff gave positive feedback on the fair and noted it was a, “fun atmosphere with interactive learning.”

AAAHC is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1979. Their primary purpose is to develop standards to advance and promote patient safety, quality care, and value for ambulatory health care through peer-based accreditation process, education and research. The AAAHC Accreditation is a voluntary process which involves an onsite visit for surveyors to measure health care organizations’ quality of services and performance against nationally recognized standards.

In addition to the fair, SHS preparation for AAAHC accreditation is an ongoing process. Other preparation efforts include mock inspections, education sessions, self-assessment of AAAHC standards, and monthly chapter captain meetings. SHS was re-accredited by AAAHC in 2014 and our accreditation certification demonstrates our commitment to provide the highest level of quality of care to our students. Below are some scenes from the AAAHC Fair.

The Hook Magazine

Look for the just-released Spring 2017 edition of The Hook magazine – now on newsstands campus wide!  Featured articles include “A Day in the Life of a Pirate,” and “Fall Fashion in Full Spring”.

The Hook magazine is a complimentary, biannual publication of ECU Student Media.  The Hook includes student-interest articles covering Pirate Nation.  Give it a read, we think we’ll have you hooked!