Fall 2013 Plan

The end the spring semester is only a few weeks away and soon almost 3,500 residents will be moving out.  Some will move on to new opportunities, such as internships, co-ops, or even trips abroad.  However, most of them will be returning home, returning to you:

There are several things you can do to make the move out process easier for you and your student.  The main thing is to be knowledgeable about the end of semester calendar. 

• The last day of classes is Tuesday, May 14
• Final exams run from Thursday May 16 through Tuesday May 21st. 
• The residence halls and apartments will be closing on Tuesday, May 21 at 8:00pm. 

If you live locally, you can help your student get prepared for the move out process by having them take bring the majority of their items home during the weekend before finals (or sooner!).  This will make the move out process run more smoothly and put less pressure on them since they won’t have to try to squeeze everything into one car load.  Please know that they will also need to leave their room in a clean condition.  Cleaning supplies will be available at the desk of each community to aid in this process.

It is important to recognize that students have different feelings about returning home.  While the majority will be excited about going home, others may approach it with more apprehension.  This hesitation is caused by any number of reasons, but some of the more common ones are sadness that they will be leaving their friends behind, while others may be afraid of disappointing you.  Maybe their spring courses didn’t go as well as planned, or maybe they want to change their major but are not sure of how to tell you.

Your students will be going through a change when they come home, just like when they transitioned to college in August.  “Change requires people to make transitions and it is these necessary transitions rather then the changes themselves that are difficult.” (ACUHO-I, 1996, p. 82) This change will also exist for you as parents, as well.  For some this will be positive, others negative, and for some of you, you many not even notice a difference, other than possibly an increase in dishes and laundry.

You students will experience this transition in four primary aspects of their lives: their roles, their relationship, their routines, and their assumptions about themselves and the world.  (ACUHO-I, 1996)

Their roles:  They may have been very studious in high school, an outgoing individual, they may have left home with blonde hair but come home a brunette.  During college your student has begun to find their own identities.  How they dress, how they look, how they interact with others, and how they see themselves may have changed.  Some changes may be drastic, but most will be subtle as they learn who they want to be. 

Their routines:  This is often the hardest adjustment when students come home.  They have been used to setting their own schedules for the past 9 months.  They eat, sleep, and study when they want.  They have no curfews.  The only person holding them accountable was themselves.  They now need to adjust to the routines that you have established in your household and this can cause some friction with your newly independent student.  Be open and flexible and trust that they did alright for the past 9 months making their own decisions. 

Their relationships:  In addition, your student has spent the past 9 months having a shared experience with some new friends.  They may have gone through homesickness, relationship changes, finals, and many special times that had an impact on who they are becoming as adults.  The people who have come and gone in their lives are often different then the one’s that were influential in their lives prior to college.  Romantic relationships may have ended or blossomed, students may find when they come home from college that they do not have as much in common with their best friend anymore.  These changes can be hard for students and for you as the players who are influential. 

Their assumptions:  Students may find the summer break a time to reflect on many different things:  are they in the right major, what do they want to do with their life, did they pick the right classes, when are they going to get to see their now long distance partner? 

The summer provides students the chance to think about what their past has been like, what they want their future to hold and how they go about getting it.  For many parents, the summer is a time to look at your student and see the adult that they are becoming.

Source: BASIC-an ACUHO-I Publication, 1996

So you think politics are rough in Washington DC? Check out Venesuela.

This week when tempers flared, a bare knuckle bar room brawl broke out among politicians on the assembly floor…watch the carnage here. 

For those of you who haven’t been following the recent trajectory of Venezuelan politics here’s a quick recap:

After the recent death of the controversial strongman Hugo Chavez, a snap election was held to fill his seat.

The April 14 contest pitted his chosen successor and former bus driver, Nicolas Maduro,  against opposition leader (and US favorite) Henrique Capriles. The first count tally gave the victory Maduro by 300,000 votes, or 1.8%.

Most nations including the members of several key countries in South America were quick to recognize the new president, however the US did not (of course). It appeared some parts of the electoral process were regarded as, how do we put this, a tad shady.

Capriles demanded a recount. Initially he was denied but eventually the National Electoral Council (CNE) gave in and did a quick recount of about 46% of the votes. Earlier this week the results came in and narrowed Maduro’s victory to less than 225,00 votes, or 1.49%. 

Capriles’ backers were still not satisfied. After his supporters unfurled a banner in the National Assembly protesting a proposed law demanding them to officially recognize the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, the Statehouse brawl broke out.

Yesterday, International Workers Day,  thousands have taken to the streets in Caracas. Pro- Capriles and pro-Maduro supporters marched and battled. There were deaths and injuries, and a US film maker arrested for treason.  Capriles plans to appeal the election results to Venezuela’s High Court before taking the case to the international community. 

Who knows how much longer this election debacle could carry on for? The case is already subject to large amounts of international attention and Capriles shows no sign of slowing down. But if we’ve learned anything from these events it’s that democracy can be a little crazy. 

Spring Closing (Summer Break)

Residence Halls and Apartments close on Wednesday,  May 22nd @ 8 pm.

Checkout
In order to support an environment conducive to study and to stagger check out times across the week, we ask students to move-out of their rooms within 24 hours after their last final or no later than 8 p.m. on May 22nd. All buildings close and residents must be completely moved out of their rooms or apartments by 8 PM on Wednesday, May 22nd.

Staff will provide students with a closing check list. Most students do a great job of preparing their rooms for check out. Since students won't be able to enter their old residence hall or apartment after closing, please check drawers, closets, cabinets, and wardrobes carefully before leaving. Cleaning crews enter buildings immediately following closing and items left behind are discarded by housekeeping staff.

Remember students should schedule an appointment with the RA at least 48 hours before move out. At this appointment, the RA inspects room damages, takes room key and resident ID. Failure to make and keep a scheduled check out appointment is one of the more expensive check out charges ($50.00). Key and ID charges add up, too. Luckily, these are easy charges to avoid as long as students follow the check out instructions.

Summer Mail Service
Don't forget about your mail! You must have a proper mailing address with the Registrars Office (5-3158)in order to have mail forwarded during the summer. Please be aware of the following Residential Life procedures as you plan to receive your mail during the summer.

1. Spring semester mail service will stop on May 21. All mail will be held at the University's Post Office (ground floor of the University Commons) until June 1.
2. First Class mail received after June 1 will be forwarded through June 30, 2013. Beginning July 1, 2013 all First Class mail will be marked returned to sender. Make sure your summer address is correct at the Registrar's Office so mail is forwarded correctly.
3. Magazines and Newspapers (also known as Second Class mail) will not be forwarded. Please contact those companies directly to forward subscriptions to your summer address.
4. Bulk rate and "junk mail" (also known as Third Class mail) will not be forwarded. Please notify anyone sending you bulk rate mail of your summer address.

Mobile network speeds in urban areas could dramatically increase if consumers connected small, public base stations to their home broadband.

Mobile chipmaker Qualcomm and some U.S. wireless carriers are investigating an idea that would see small cellular base stations installed in homes to serve passing smartphone users. That approach is believed to be a more efficient way of meeting the rising demand for data and fixing patchy coverage than building more traditional cell-phone towers.

It’s rare that you find a typeface with both legibility and character; the latter often obscures the former.

So you’d be wise to take advantage of our sister site MightyDeal.com’s current offer on the beautiful Solomon font family.

The family includes 2 different styles in 6 weights, 12 fonts in total. The first style is a utilitarian san-serif, easy to use for body text and is somewhat reminiscent of Akzidenz Grotesk. The second style, based on the first, has a subtle deco-style twist: terminals spiral to completion, adding an organic feel to the otherwise minimalist design.

Particular highlights are the uppercase ‘S’ and ‘Q’. Lowercase characters extend the theme with pleasing scrolling completion of lowercase bowls.

The flexibility of the family is tremendous and it’s practical too, with both print and web-ready @font-face options. For a very limited time, it’s available at a huge 97% discount; that’s just $9 for this great font family.

Have you used Solomon for commercial work? What uses can you think of for it? Let us know in the comments.

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It’s rare that you find a typeface with both legibility and character; the latter often obscures the former.

So you’d be wise to take advantage of our sister site MightyDeal.com’s current offer on the beautiful Solomon font family.

The family includes 2 different styles in 6 weights, 12 fonts in total. The first style is a utilitarian san-serif, easy to use for body text and is somewhat reminiscent of Akzidenz Grotesk. The second style, based on the first, has a subtle deco-style twist: terminals spiral to completion, adding an organic feel to the otherwise minimalist design.

Particular highlights are the uppercase ‘S’ and ‘Q’. Lowercase characters extend the theme with pleasing scrolling completion of lowercase bowls.

The flexibility of the family is tremendous and it’s practical too, with both print and web-ready @font-face options. For a very limited time, it’s available at a huge 97% discount; that’s just $9 for this great font family.

Have you used Solomon for commercial work? What uses can you think of for it? Let us know in the comments.

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