Dr. Howard Ward

I am elated to have Dani Guitelman as my SG Challenge partner. Dani is a SoFA major who will graduate in May 2012. She is a very dynamic young lady who is the Editor of  Sportszone  and VP of Alumnae and Heritage for Alpha Sigma Alpha to name a few. We have had a fantastic time and I look forward to a long term friendship especially after she does a film on my amazing life. By the way, I was Jewish for a day which I will share along with all of the other fun stuff that we did at the SG Shadow Day meeting tomorrow.

The Bookworm Rocks!

Daniela Guitelman

The Very Finest Tour Guide.

On my very day of meeting Howard Ward, he took me on a tour of Global Village. We had planned to meet in his office but when I got there I was informed by his wonderfully helpful secretary Karen (seriously, this woman is a gem) that Howard was down in Global Village and would meet me in the plaza. Thankfully, this was that beautiful Tuesday we had last week so I wasn’t worried about wandering the plaza looking for Howard in the rain or snow. I walk on down to Global Village and start to look around. I had seen a picture of Howard online but I had never actually meet Howard in person so I was a little nervous I wouldn’t be able to find him. But, Karen had given me a tip. “Look for the big teddy bear. “ Which is actually kind of funny, because that is exactly how Phil described him to me too.

So I look around and I spot him talking to a family in. I didn’t know it yet, but this was my second lesson about Howard. He talks to everyone. He is the nicest, friendliest, sweetest guy ever and he will say hi to everyone he sees and introduce himself to anyone he can.

After managing to tear Howard away from the family he was giving a tour to, he took me on a tour of Global Village. I have obviously been in Global Village before, I love the chips and queso at Salsaritas, but I had never really been given a real tour of it. First, Howard took me through Shop 1². I had never really gone in but I knew the stuff inside was pretty and expensive. Here is what I learnt though. All he art in it, from the gift cards to the paintings on the wall, to the beautiful sculptures on the shelves are made by students! Shop 1² functions as a gallery for students, past and present to display and showcase their work. And even better, students’ get 70% of the profit when their pieces are sold! Howard and I examined some beautiful watches he is thinking of getting for his wife, and some really gorgeous glass blown pens.

Next on the tour was Sheer Global. Did I mention how friendly Howard is? Not only did he know the very nice lady behind the counter at Shop 1², he is also very good friends with the people who work at Sheer Global. I got to talk to them for a few minuets and they showed me their list of services (which were very extensive and way cheaper then I originally thought) and was put completely at ease with them. Hmm, maybe I will go in for that haircut next week…

We then walked through the lobby of one of the dorm buildings and Howard gave me the run down on the apartments vs. suites, who has a kitchen, how big the rooms are, a quick peek in the common area, and a pop into the main floor kitchen area. When I admired the beautiful picture son the wall I learnt something else that I didn’t know. Students made all the art in Global Village! All the pictures are from students and RIT bought the photos from them. They also have their names in the corner of their pictures so everyone can admire their work. Very cool.

Our last stop on the tour was the market, another place I had only been in once or twice. Boy, do I regret it. I wash I wasn’t graduating in 4 weeks because that market is amazing. The different variety of foods that are there, stuff you can’t find anywhere else on campus! We looked over the selection for a while and were looking at the ingredients on a package when another family walked by and of course Howard made a new friend. We talked about special dietary needs for a while and then they had to go.  Howard and I walked outside into the beautiful plaza and took a seat where we talked for over an hour.

You see, Howard and I were paired up because he is in charge of food and I’m kosher. For those of you who don’t know what that means, here is the basic definition I gave Howard. No milk and meat together, no pig (aka no pork or bacon, etc), no shrimp, lobster, shellfish, etc. and nothing I eat can have touched something not kosher. These are hard dietary restrictions to follow on a campus like ours. As Howard was about to find out.

Eating “Jewish”

The next day Howard and I had lunch at Gracie’s. I haven’t eaten at Gracie’s since my freshmen year but I remember the drill. But, the catch for today was that Howard had to eat kosher food, or as he kept saying “I’m being Jewish today”. We walk in and Howard headed right for Mongos. Now the ravioli itself was kosher. But the grill they cook it on isn’t. You see, even though they had a vegetable only section of the grill to cook the ravioli for vegetarians, I didn’t know what else had been cooked on the grill previously that was meat so we couldn’t eat anything off the grill. We walked around a little and I had to tell Howard that he couldn’t eat the pepperoni pizza or the burgers or the chicken wings, etc. But he could have some of the vegetable soup. At first, he made a face. “Too many vegetables” he said. Then he tried it. He liked it (thank god, I was getting nervous he was going to be mad at me for the lack of food) and we meandered over to the Just Veggies section where he added a little plain rice to it. While we were there, Kory Samuels, the general manager for Gracie’s wandered over and Howard explained to him what we were today. Guess what? Gracie’s had Hebrew National hotdogs, which they cook on a grill used only for kosher meat! I had no idea. Howard decided he was going to have 2 kosher hotdogs and his cup of soup, I got a grilled cheese (made on a grill that they only make grilled cheese on), and we sat at a table to wait for his hotdogs. 2 things. One, Howard likes the kosher hotdogs more then regular hotdogs now. Score one for Dani! Two, Kory is the best. Really, if you ever run into him at Gracie’s or need something special, or have any sort of question, go to Kory. He was the nicest person ever and answered all y questions that I had always been too nervous to ask when I was a freshman. I also learnt some pretty cool things that Howard and Kory are thinking of doing. Gracie’s/RIT might have a kosher vendor next year! They aren’t sure how big or where or even what kind of food yet, but it’s in the works. Which is really cool if, like me, you are craving a burger and have nowhere to get a kosher burger on campus. Howard, Kory, and I talked for about 20 more minutes; Howard had a waffle for dessert (with margarine, not butter) and then I had to go to class. Just so you know, I was very proud of Howard. He only complained a little.

What A Good Student

Howard had agreed to come to one of my classes with me as our third scenario. I picked American Film Since the Sixties taught by Professor Tina Lent (who is one of the best teachers I’ve had here). On the day Howard came to my class we were talking about the Spike Lee film Do the Right Thing, I film I teased Howard about probably seeing when he was younger “all those many years ago”. Now, I was worried Howard would just sit there and not talk, just observe. I wanted him to participate so I told him what the class was going to be talking about before hand and he did his homework, reading up on the film to refresh his memory. However I didn’t tell him we had a quiz on it and I almost made him believe I was going to make him take the test too. However, he just looked over my shoulder as I wrote out my answers and afterwards told me he was proud that I did well. I then introduced him to the class and he smiled and said hi and then sat back down. As our discussion on the film and the topics in the film got more animated and heated, Howard couldn’t contain himself anymore. He jumped right in to the discussion, sharing his views and arguing his points. Here was my turn to be proud. He also was able to answer a question Professor Lent didn’t know about before and shared a personal story with the class as it compared to the film. I definitely enjoyed class with Howard there. Professor Lent said he’s welcome anytime. Also, Howard befriended the two kids I sit next to in class. Of course he did.

Vroom-Vroom

After class we hopped on the bus to Province so that Howard could see what a bus ride was like. I will say that Howard grumbled a little about having to get on the bus when his car was right there, but the bus wasn’t so bad. The night shuttle round trip was only 22 minutes for Howard and after I had complained myself about the bus taking so long, Howard was relieved it wasn’t as long as my grumbling had made it seem. Howard also saw the route and now knows that it’s easier to get of the bus at Perkins and walk to Province when it’s nice out. Just in case, for next time. And it wasn’t a wasted trip. Howard made a new friend on the bus.

So, lessons I learned. RIT does a lot for its art students whenever it can. Global Village is a beautiful place to hang out and had a lot of cool things to see, eat, and buy there. And the people who work there are super friendly. Kosher food is available on campus if you know where to look and aren’t afraid to ask. Plans for the future include more kosher and special needs options with Kory working on a really great plan to help students know what they are eating. Howard is a super person to invite to your class and makes friends with everyone. And the bus is faster then we all think it is. Good things to know. I’m really glad I participated in the RIT Challenge and am very jealous of who ever gets paired up with Howard next year.

Randy Vercauteren

The week came and went very quickly as I spent my week with Ian Dominick, a fourth year Mechanical Engineering Major in the College of Engineering.  Ian and I had the opportunity to connect on the minimum of four occasions.  When we first met on Monday I was immediately impressed with Ian, he demonstrated an openness in discussing things with me – an administrator at RIT whom he has had minimal contact with in the past – and was willing to offer his time and effort with the hope of making things better for future generations at RIT.  So what did I learn from Ian and my experiences during the week, well… students lead really busy lives, at least Ian does, that’s for sure.  He not only has a full class load, but being on the RIT Lacrosse team he has practice obligations daily, including additional time for strength training and time in the Trainer’s room if necessary.  Ian showed up to a SAAC executive board meeting on Thursday night with ice packs on both knees, Dr. Cooper, who happened to be shadowing a student who was also on the SAAC executive committee was sitting next to me and asked Ian about the ice packs, he went into a medium lengthy explanation about knee surgeries on one of the knees and the other one was cracking more than usual – Dr. Cooper said  “ohh”, I leaned over and said “it’s just routine icing as a precaution”.  She got a bit of laugh out of my interpretation of what Ian had just said.  The SAAC executive board met in the lower level of the Campus Center in the lobby area near the fountain.  Not the best location to have a meeting and this was one of our required tasks for the week, see how students from a major student org. function without an office assigned to them.  Function they did, Chelsea (not sure if this is the correct spelling of her name?) was clearly the facilitator of the meeting and she was on cue all the way, never detracting from topic regardless of the repeated and frequent distractions from passer-bys and fun-filled rooms near us with laughter and loud talking coming from them.  The meeting was accomplished, but frankly if all of their meetings are subject to this kind of distraction, I would support some kind of way for them to have a better location to meet as regularly as they do.  We next headed to the full meeting of the SAAC, held in the Ritter Arena conference room.  Filled to capacity with other student athletes,  the air circulation equipment on the ceiling of the room was the loudest contributor to the sound in the room, but undeterred, the students accomplished their goals and moved forward as if there were no distractions present.  I was impressed by the attentiveness of all the students present at the meeting, they offer their time freely to promote athletics on campus and trying to get other students involved in coming to games and supporting our teams.  My tip my hat to their efforts and was humbled in their presence.

As the Parking Director at RIT, one of our tasks was to come to campus and park then arrive at a desired destination/building on campus in a timely manner.  We were able to do that on Tuesday morning, when Ian was “tabling for Tiger Den” in the SAU.  Ian picked me up at Grace Watson Hall and we drove to U Lot looking for a general space on the south end of the parking lot at about 9:35 AM.  I was very unsure we would find one but we got lucky, and yes, I do mean lucky because I never thought we would have found a general or “bagged” space at that time in the morning.  Ian explained that he would usually try U Lot and that’s why he arrives early, hoping to find a space but knowing he might have to look in alternative areas if nothing is available.  Arriving this early and finding a space in U Lot, nothing eventful happened to us at that time.

The purpose of this challenge was to see what it was like for students at RIT to do their routine daily things and what barriers, challenges, or obstacles might be present that could be modified or changed to help with anything that might be a problem.  Ian is doing what is necessary to be successful at RIT, however, the campus is not always as welcoming as he might like although he never complained.  I heard in his voice that he would like better access to his car during the day, but he does understand that RIT during business/schools days is pretty much a park and walk the rest of the day kind of place and that is a reality – the parking lots fill early in the day and unless you have a reserve pass a rather lengthy walk to your destination is the routine and don’t try driving somewhere else on campus until after 5 PM, when it gets much easier to park around here.  With his classes mid day, then practice from 4 PM – 6 PM and then strength training from 6 PM to 8 PM at times, then from the locker rooms, a walk to J Lot at the end of the night in the dark is tiring, I get it.

The week was enjoyable, I spent far too little time with Ian to really understand the depths of the student experience, but it was a reminder that these students are young adults working hard to get their education and live life.  I am always grateful for the opportunities I have to connect with students and to be reminded of who I am here to support and encourage as they mature and gain valuable experience and education on their journey to a career after RIT.

Ian Dominick

Blog 1:

Today I met with Randy for the first time.  I had actually met him before, but this was my first time talking with him 1-on-1.  Since he is the administrator in charge of parking services here, he is very aware with the parking issues that many of us face on a daily basis.  Just a few moment after talking to Randy, he told me where I should park every day of the week depending on the building and what time of day.  That was information that I had never heard before, and Randy was surprised by that.  So we thought it might be a good idea if there was some kind of pamphlet that you would receive when you register your car in addition to just the rules.

Another thing that Randy wanted to stress was the fact that they are just carrying out the rules approved by the school.  Also, that they really would like to put parking garages on campus, but they haven’t been approved by the school yet.  Basically because donors would rather have their name on a building than a parking garage.  If the money wasn’t donated, the cost would be reflected in our tuition.

Randy has a lot of good information on this keen subject on campus, and hopefully I can find some more to share about this week that can help the administration and the students better understand the entirety of this issue.

Blog 2:

I met with Randy today so he could watch me look for a parking spot to get to a meeting at 10.  I picked him up a little after 9:30 outside of Gracie’s.  Since I was going to the Campus Center and SAU I headed towards U lot.  When we got there, there were actually 4 open general parking spots.  Randy admitted that I got lucky, and had it been any later, I probably would have been wasting my time.  He also explained how the parking office decides how many reserved spots to hold open, because I know we have all tried to park and couldn’t while most of the lot looked empty.  The reserved spots are held open based on the amount of people that purchased them and arrive on campus during the peak hours of 10-4.  This changes every quarter because the amount of reserved passes changes every quarter.

Blog 3:

Randy came to our E-board meeting yesterday, and then came to the SAAC Large group meeting afterwards.  He thought that it was interesting that we meet in an open lounge on campus as an E-board.  Also, just as a person sitting in he mentioned how distracting it was, which is something that i never really thought of, but the fact is that it actually is really distracting.  With people walking around you and yelling to others it gets us off topic a lot.  After our E-board meeting, Randy came with us to the large group meeting.  That meeting ran smoothly and went quickly thanks to Chelsea, our president.  We discussed the upcoming Men’s Lacrosse and Baseball Tiger Den events as well as National Student Athlete Day.  Randy and I are planning to meet today at the Women’s Hockey Celebration at the Fireside lounge at 2 PM.

Blog 4:

Met with Randy yesterday at the women’s hockey celebration. Nothing to do with either of us really, but it was a nice to end the week. I had a good time participating in the challenge.

Paul Darragh

Hi everyone my name is Paul Darragh, or Tall Paul if it helps. I am the freshman senator and for this last week I have been working with Bill St. Jean for the Real RIT Challenge.  There are a few challenges that I helped set up to demonstrate issues that students face. The two challenges that Bill had to face every day was the issues of a meal plan and the use of technology. Bill received 5.50 in food debit, 1 meal option and 1 Gracie’s meal every day of the last week.  The other continuous challenge was one of only being able to use a computer. No smart phone, ipod, ipad, etc. These two first challenges are meant to show what kind of food students can buy with the 10 meal plan. I was on the 10 meal plan the last quarter and understand how hard it is to eat healthy and/or not spend more than what you have quickly. The no technology challenge is to show that even though this is a tech school and a lot of students and administration have smart phones and get emails instantly, there are others who only see email, facebook, etc alerts several hours after they have occurred. This challenge is not to make anyone’s life harder but to instead show how it is harder to keep up to date or to just look up information or to remember your schedule.

The first active challenge was a laundry room. Although I did not make Bill do my laundry I thought it would be interesting to go down and look at all of the laundry rooms. While we were down in the laundry one of the first interesting things that we noticed was there were a bunch of broken machines. To everyone who uses the sol and ellingston laundry rooms find this as no surprise, but it was very surprising how many laundry machines were broken. While noticing this me and bill had a conversation about finding a way to alert FMS or Housing that this particular laundry machine was broken. Well I learned that there are these huge posters down stairs in every laundry room that ask students to call about problems they have. To be honest I never really paid attention to them, then to make it better there was a sticker on most of the dryers with the same message of “if you find a broken machine call this number”. I think it’s a great idea but at the same time I think it could be simplified and improved. If it had a text option it would not only be easier to type out, sol laundry washer 2 is broken, but it would also help out the deaf community who does not call but instead texts. One of the other interesting things that was noticed during this was a correlation between how many students lived in one area with how many were broken. There was no broken machines in Residental Halls A,B and C, however in every other laundry room there was at least one broken machine. I think that this really speaks to the need for more laundry machines in those areas. Afterwards I met with housing to ask a few questions about this and they already have a system they are developing for next year to help with alerting them to a problem with any of the machines. As well as when discussing this we talked about new laundry machines and more laundry machines. Housing knows that this is a problem and currently they are working on trying to find money to look into replacing these machines. The problem that everyone has to remember is that housing has to save a lot of their money and budget it to future projects, such as carpeting rooms, replacing furniture, etc. So in the end of this first experience I would say that it was interesting walking out after talking to Bill who pointed out all of the signs trying to get students to call them and report the problems as well as having him direct me to housing to talk to them about several other questions that popped up during our conversations.

The second challenge was a bit easier and may or may not be an issue for all students. Personally there are some days where I never leave academic side from 8am until 5 or 6 pm if not later. You might be asking Paul what is the problem here. Well when a package arrives you have different times that you can go pick it up. Most notifications about the package do not come until 11 or 12 and by that time if you were not budgeting for that in your schedule you might not be able to pick up the package that day. So Bill and I met over at ctrl alt deli and decided to take a nice stroll over to nrh to pick up a package I had received. Ok it was a speed walk, and Bill can walk fast. That speed walk took about 30 minutes to get there and back. 30 minutes is a lot of time to spend just going to pick up a package and then going back to academic side to continue studying or go back to class. Although during the conversations we had there was a few ideas that sprang up that I saw as a possible solution or fix to this problem. The first was the idea of possibly being able to have the package delivered over to the mail room over in global village, this would allow you to pick it up and only spend 5 or 10 minutes going to get it and the getting back to what you were doing. The other idea that we discussed was the idea of possibly moving some hours around. It is really nice that the post office offers later evening pickups on Tuesdays and Thursdays but one idea that we being tossed around was that of having the hours shifted forward so that they would open at 7 allowing students to pick up packages before class. So in the end of this experience I would say it was interesting in discussing ideas on how to help students get their packages and showing Bill how long it takes to get from one side to the other side of campus and how it can be done but also takes up a lot of valuable time.

The last situation that Bill was presented with was one that RA’s may have to deal with. This was a situation where there would be to deaf residents having some disagreement and having it become heated. This was supposed to be similar to the behind closed doors. However Bill surprised us with how well he followed their conversation and this changed the rules of the game. He was able to resolve the issue by signing and settling everything down; however not all RA’s know enough sign to have a conversation never mind follow a quickly signed conversation. So first and foremost I have to applaud Bill and give credit where credit is due. Afterwards we asked Bill how he would have handled this situation if he was a hearing individual with no signing knowledge. This came back with a response that we thought of and one we had not. The first was to call public safety. I don’t know about you but most people I know are wary of public safety, not because they think they are out to get them but more of because they see that authority figure and are not sure how they should act around them. So we mentioned this and Bill came up with another interesting and possible solution. This was to call an RC. There is always an RC on duty and each RC has either learned ASL or is learning. The point that was trying to be made was that there should be another interpreter on call for people who need to help settle a dispute, yet I believe that the RC is a possible middle ground due to how knowledgeable they are with signing and how expensive it is to pay an interpreter to sit there all night waiting for a call. So in the end of this I believe that Bill understands why this situation was brought up but instead of just saying lets hire another interpreter he thought of another possible solution that some of the RAs did not even think about.

Dawn Soufleris

Allison Rodder and I had a GREAT lunch and conversation together in the SAU Café on Friday.  We spend a few hours together talking about everything from dining on campus with Celiac disease, res hall living, Greeks, majors…I don’t think we paused more that 30 seconds in the 2 hour we met.  I was amazed at how she managed her dietary issues with ease and maturity (and wish I could provide her with a larger selection of Gluten-free food on campus).

She was a joy to spend time with!  I am also working on how to assist her chapter in keeping their paddles/memorabilia from her sorority on campus since they do not have their own campus residence.

What a great experience!  I wish our schedules had been conducive to meeting more!

Allison Roder

Colette Shaw

In the new version of the RIT Challenge, time is a luxury I don’t have. Instead of blogging, I’ve tweeted (http://twitter.com/ – !/ColetteRIT) when I had spare minutes – often after traditional hours.

Today, though, I have a few minutes to attack one of the challenges issued by SG. “Make an appointment at the health center that fits with your student’s schedule.” Sounds simple enough, right? I went straight to RIT’s online director of departments and started to look. http://www.rit.edu/webtools/scripts/siteindex/

   First try: I scrolled to H for “Health Center.”

   Nope! Try again.

   2nd: Maybe its in the Cs, as in “Center for…”

   Not a chance.

   And so on: “August”…”medical”…”physician”…”Infirmary”…Hey! I found Health Information Services! Too bad it’s an academic department. (Do you know we have a department called “Special Services”? I’d like to tell you what it does but I was getting sicker and more frustrated with each scrolling failure.)

I finally resorted to scrolling from the top of the alphabetical list until -success!- I found the *Student* Health Center.

I realize it would have been quicker for me to just put my search terms into RIT Google, but should I have to? I don’t want RIT to spend money for new department names, letterhead, business cards, etc. but could we all just agree to be findable in the directory with obvious search terms? The health center is actually less guilty than many of our departments.

Why am I so cranky about something seemingly undeserving of concern? Maybe I’m fatigued from an early start to my work day yesterday capped off by a 6:00-10:00 p.m. class last night where I shadowed my student partner, Marissa LaTouche. Lesson? Marissa has to do this A LOT of days – and she’s not cranky! She’s balancing 20 credits, applying to grad schools, applying to co-ops and apologizing to me because she thinks she should be more involved in extracurriculars. She’s amazing.

I love the RIT Challenge and I love RIT. Institutions willing to look at themselves are better for the honesty. An extra jolt of caffeine this morning is a small price for the heaping dose of education I’m receiving.

Eat Hell/Live Swell

The 2012 Real RIT Challenge is over and I think I’m two pounds heavier. Last week was a good education about the challenges an active college student faces when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

My shadowed student, Marissa LaTouche, told me that she was making a concerted effort to eat more healthily this year but often found it challenging when food vendors’ hours didn’t match her eating hours. The night I followed her to class we sneaked mini pepperoni pizzas and M&Ms from Crossroads during the 10-minute 7:30 p.m. class break.

Yum! This is college life!

Three hours later, I had the mother of all stomach aches. Instant gratification wasn’t a good idea, but in retrospect I can see that there aren’t a lot of options that are convenient and healthy.

The following evening, I met Marissa at her apartment. I’ve heard from my first-year students every spring that they desperately want to live in University Commons and I finally had a chance to see why. They’re nice! Private rooms, dishwashers, laundry machines… It’s a sweet set-up. Marissa uses her kitchen to bake healthy meals that she can freeze and store until necessary. I admired her pre-planning but wondered where she could find the time between her many competing commitments. During a week when there wasn’t time to pre-cook, the vending machines seem like the most realistic choice.

RIT’s menu of majors can sometimes feel as rigid as the food options. Marissa changed academic programs after her first year so she now manages 20+ credits per quarter in an effort to graduate on time. She probably could have transferred to another university and lived with a more relaxed schedule, but she committed to RIT. RIT isn’t perfect, particularly in its social life and diversity, but Marissa has nothing but positive things to say about her academic experience – and she’s even applying to RIT as her #1 choice of graduate schools.

I’m thrilled to have been a part of each of the Real RIT Challenges. I’ve loved getting to know my roommates and shadowees and I feel like I’ve been educated in profound ways during each experience. Thank you, RIT, for challenging us to be honest and better. I have a number of colleagues from other universities who have expressed curiosity about our program, but none brave enough to follow through with their own version.

Carol Reed

I met Sam Cohen for lunch on Tuesday, April 17^th and we had a chance to get to know each other.  He is from Farmington, Ct. and I am from a city called, Waterbury, in  center  of the state of Ct.  I have been to Farmington with my  nephew when his son  plays soccer.  Sam is a sled hockey player.

Sam wanted me to see some of the challenges he faces in the SAU and Campus Center on Tuesday.  He doesn’t chose to use the lifts in these buildings if he can help it as he finds them very slow.  He also remarked about the hidden SAU elevator and we went to use it to wind through food carts etc. working our way into the elevator. He was not aware of the elevator from the first floor of the SAU by the ATM machine.  I told him where the elevator ended up if it went to the A level which is why people only use it from the first level opt the mezzanine in the Academic Support area. So we left the SAU and came out the front door and into the Campus Center.  I am very impressed by how quickly he moves in his wheel chair.  He ate very little of his lunch and got a bag to hang off his wheel chair to take it back to his room to eat later.

Our extended time together on Thursday started with us  meeting at the lower level of ice rink. Same had been practicing in his sled on the ice.  He had hoped to simulate how tough it was to use his manual wheel chair over snow but his friend got sick and I arrived after the rink had closed.  We looked at some of the questions on the roommate selection form he received from Housing. He made some suggestions for improvement that I will send over to Carl DiLella.  We then left the ice rink and walked over near his residence hall, Peterson. Sam also carried his sled around his neck back to his residence hall room.  While he went into his room I indicated I would meet him at Ellie’s Place.  It had been dedicated the week before and I couldn’t make the dedication.  We met in the Commons Building and went over to LBJ.  Sam has a class in the LBJ building and has to get over to the Golisano Bldg for a class that immediately follows the class he has in the LBJ building.  As there is 10 minutes between classes the goal was to see if we could get from one class to the other in ten minutes.  It took us 5 minutes just to get out of the LBJ building.  Sam can really move across campus.  He would get ahead of me going down inclines and I would catch up with him as he was pushing to get up inclines.  I told him not to let me hold him back in his journey as I was smarting a sore foot and was limping a bit.

We got to the Golisano Bldg. in  about 15 minutes. We didn’t even try to go up to his class in Golisano.   I was out of breath and needed to sit on one of the outside benches.  Sam was doing just fine.  We rested and enjoyed the sunshine.  We then went over to Crossroads to see what I could purchase for about $34.50 in debit for a week.  I misunderstood the challenge at first. I thought I only got $34.50 to use for food for the whole week. However, when  I learned I got 5 meals and $34.50 it certainly put things in a new light.  Items in Crossroads were pretty expensive.  In fact, a few items I put back due to cost.  I knew for me it would be easy to get on a bus and go to Wegman’s and get food at a much more reasonable price. It would be challenging for him to get off campus and even more challenging to also have to worry about getting a bag of groceries  back to campus with you.

We had a great meeting and it was good to learn of his positive attitude and insights.  He was not an angry student and is very indepedent in how he goes about moving around campus.  He has never used the disability bus service.

Sam Cohen

Event #1:

The first event I picked was to show how the handicapped acceptability around campus was. It isn’t as bad as many school, however there are still large improvements that could be made. The first thing I showed was how hard it is to get to Ritz. There isn’t a direct elevator and the easiest one to access you need a key for (something that she showed me). The second thing I showed her was the sky-bridge. In the winter it is nice to use, however almost impossible to get to. The choices are going out into the cold, or doubling the distance just to find the elevator. The final one I showed was the elevator in Gosnell. Since the entire building only has one elevator (largely used to move lab equipment) it is always in use. Also it brakes often. I have been late for class more than once due to it, and even trapped on the 3^rd floor.

Event #2:

The plans for the second event fell through so I was unable to do what I wanted (show how the snow is hard to push in) so I had to make something up at the last minute. What I picked was the question asked by RIT to pick a roommate. I get alone with my roommate very well, but most people I know don’t. The questions asked on the website are mostly about music and basic lifestyle things, but nothing about hobbies or personality. I believe that by improving it and learning more about the hobbies and how the person asks, I think the roommate choices could be better.

Event #3:

For one of the staged one I did getting for LBJ to the other side of the campus in 10 minutes. This isn’t possible. Especially when using elevators and ramp there isn’t any ways to get there. I don’t think that if someone sprinted they could do it. I am current taking ASL I right after a class I have in Gosnell. If it wasn’t for the fact that I leave early there would be no way I could get to the other side on time.

Event #4

For the last event was planning food on a budget. This one was the one that I think needed the least improvements. I am on the 10 meal plan and I get enough food to last. I do think that it’s not always enough to have full meals, but if you budget correctly there is always food.

Karey Pine

….Challenge 1:  a VP call to the Health Center‬

‪So, my new friend Maryam and I met to make an appointment using the videophone.  Many great things happened during the call!  The person on the other end seemed very familiar with a VP call!  The conversation was very natural in terms of a welcoming interaction.  There was no sense of discomfort with interacting via the VP relay system.  When there is discomfort in circumstances like these, I think it can easily lead to a feeling for some students that their needs have not been anticipated.  So, great job on that, and lesson to all, please make sure you are comfortable interacting with these technologies, as it sends a message about a department’s level of inclusiveness.‬

‪In general, the student was treated respectfully, and it was clear that the SHC employee was definitely working hard to be helpful.  Another job well done moment!‬

‪The one challenge both Maryam and I discussed was the length of time the entire call took - about 10 minutes just to make an appointment.  This was more a  factor for me about the approach to information exchanging, and really had nothing to do with whether the individual was deaf or hearing.  I think making some minor changes would have reduced the length of time of the call significantly – a win for the both the very busy Student Health Center and for its student clients. ‬

‪Call went like this:‬

‪Student: I would like to make an appointment.‬

‪SHC:  Okay, please hold…‬

‪(Hold was for about 3 mins at that point)‬

‪SHC:  Okay, we have an appointment time today at 2:45 pm.‬

‪Student:  Sorry I am not available at that time.‬

‪SHC:  Okay, can you let me know when you are available.‬

‪Student:  Tomorrow at noon?‬

‪SHC:  Please hold…I need to check when we have an interpreter scheduled.‬

‪(Hold was for about 4 more mins at that point)‬

‪SHC:  Okay, how about 1:45 pm tomorrow.‬

‪Student:  I was looking for closer to noon-ish.‬

‪(no “hold” at this point.  The employee stayed on the phone, but needed to look further in the appointment book)‬

‪SHC:  How about 11:45 am?‬

‪Student:  Yes, that’s fine.‬

‪Appointment was scheduled.‬

‪Total time:  approximately 10 minutes‪ ‬

‪I just wondered if it would have been a more efficient call if the SHC employee had simply shared with the student first thing the times an interpreter was scheduled and where available appointment times still remained.  Then, the student could have selected a time.  No holding, no re-checking, no back and forth.  I thought it might have been a quicker/more efficient way to approach the interaction.  I don’t know if that is possible, of course, as I don’t know all the reasons that the call went back and forth as it did.  If there was a way to reduce the time and number of holds, I would think, again, that it would be useful to the SHC employees – who I am sure are constantly multitasking at the front desk, and are busy – and also to the students. ‬

‪…Challenge 2:  Blisters by choice!!!‬‬

‪Maryam and I are now going to get from Tri Sigma’s floor to the Corner Store without going outside.  This was not just an “activity” for Maryam, as she uses a motorized wheelchair and if it is raining or snowing, it is difficult to navigate the walk outside.  So, off we went.  By the time we got to the Corner Store, I realized I could have assisted my friends in the Better Me Challenge, as the steps count I could have added would have certainly put them over the top!!  Now, don’t get me wrong, Maryam BOOKS in that wheelchair.  I had to jog at certain points to keep up with her.  And, yet, the “journey” we took down and up three elevators, through FMS offices, and into the residential tunnels which finally felt familiar to me took us 15 minutes. ‬

‪Those who know me  know I love heels, right?  I wore them on Wednesday with a different intentionality.  Because I was not taking this journey in a wheelchair like Maryam, I wanted to be sure I would remember every step of this walk.  So, I selected some of my highest (and most uncomfortable) shoes, and off I went!  Well, let me share – I had blisters at the end of the journey!  It was crazy.  However, as I was walking (and jogging) and chatting with Maryam, I found myself thinking that there was little I could do here…the tunnel system is the tunnel system, and cave excavation was not a specialty.  I wasn’t sure how to make more “tunnels” so I was not only blistered, but “sweating” because I was not a cave excavator, nor did I know one. ‬

‪Until…‬

‪It was time to go back to Tri Sigma, and Maryam went to head outside to go across the quad to Tri Sigma’s floor.  I thought maybe she was trying to take pity on me, though I thought I had hid the pain of the blisters quite admirably.  I explained to her that I was certainly able to finish this challenge properly, and would go back the LLLOOONNNGG way to do so.  (I had thought to bring some cash, and thankfully figured I could get some nutritional supplements at the Corner Store before making the journey back!!!)  However, Maryam indicated that there was no way to complete the challenge by going back the “indoor” way…I thought I misunderstood…  What? ‬

‪Maryam clarified, one of the elevators she had just used to bring her up the level she needs to transition from the tunnels under Grace Watson to then access the tunnels under the residence halls was not accessible to her for the way home.  To get back, that elevator would have to take her down one level…and to do that, the elevator requires her to have a code.   She explained that after multiple requests, she has been informed that she cannot have the code.  She does not know why. ‬ ‬

‪I thought she might be mistaken.  But, as we accessed the Sol Heuman elevator from the tunnels to the first floor, Maryam explained she had just gotten cardswipe access to Sol and NRH to at least allow her more convenient access to the tunnels from the Tri Sigma entrance.  What did “just” mean?  Maryam moved to the Tri Sigma floor for winter quarter.  According to Maryam, it required the entire winter quarter and the involvement of the Disabilities Services office for Maryam to be granted access to the two halls, providing her just a bit of extra convenience and ease to get to the two convenience stores and her post office box. ‬

‪I realize that every student would LOVE this extra convenience, but given that in two meetings with Maryam, I had identifed three accessibility doors that were supposed to be automated for which the buttons/doors had not worked (two in my own facility), she had shared with me news of a lift that was not working (also in one of my facilities), and indicated that one of the elevators which she depends on for navigating the tunnels had been broken 5 different times that she could remember this quarter.  My point is there are plenty of inconveniences and challenges Maryam – and other students with mobility challenges – are managing everyday.  I would like to believe we here at RIT are not doing anything extra to make their lives more inconvenient or challenging. ‬

‪So, in a snowstorm, Maryam could get to the Corner Store, but to get back would be dependent on whether the paths were plowed, and navigating outside was reasonably safe – because she can not have one code?  I really believe that by bringing this to light, all of us at RIT will be able to figure out a way to provide Maryam – and all students who are experiencing mobility challenges, and living in the “Greek” residence hall areas – a way to make sure they can get to and from the Corner Store without worry of the weather. ‬

‪My blisters have healed…and, it seems that none of us need to become cave excavators to make things better on this one.  I will be checking into the code for Maryam and others.  I also have asked for the doors and lift I discovered to be repaired.  I am also wondering if maybe we could provide a QR code and reporting information at each of the automated doors/buttons, and at each accessibilty lift.  Recognizing that keeping these in good repair requires a partnership between RIT and those regularly using these accessibility supports, I think we could learn of areas needing repairs more quickly by linking each location to a website reporting address, which could be activated by using a smartphone scan of a QR code or by using an email or text address if reporting from other devices.‬

‪I hope these kinds of changes help to eliminate the avoidable inconveniences for our students who are depending on us to do so every day!  Looking forward to my lunch with Maryam on Monday, so we can discuss other ideas she has about making things better around here!  Will see you all at the forum on Tuesday!‬

Maryam Hussein

April 17th- Karey Pine and I went to the Campus Center using the videophone to call the Health Center. The reason why we did that is because we both want to see how long or how hard it is to make appointment if I am sick. I call the the health center and been on hold for a few times because they are trying to find the time for me to be able to come for an appointment. but, they did not ask me for my available time in the first place so that would easier instead of having me on hold and too many conflict time to make appointment. It the first time I tried to call for an appointment and it was a little frustrating for me already.

April 19th- The next thing is how it is for me to go in the tunnel from my dorm to the corner if it rain with Karey. I was really excited to show Karey in the tunnel because I wanted her to see how it is for me. It was a little long from my tunnel to the elevator that is in Graces Waston then I show her another elevator to another tunnel that goes to the corner store. When we got the elevator, I explained to Karey how I cannot go back to my dorm because there is a need of code to go down to my tunnel. So, I always had to go outside no matter how bad it is outside. It took awhile to go the corner store but we did finally got there and we went in Sol dorm to use the elevator to get out and go straight to my dorm outside.

Dr. Jaqeueline Mozrall

Tues:

I met Sandy at the Province bus stop this morning and we rode over to campus together.  Luckily, it was a fairly pleasant day – I’m not sure it would be fun standing at the bus stop waiting for the bus in January…..The bus was on time and we had a nice ride over to campus – I think Sandy and I were the only ones talking on the bus – but given it was 7:30am…..I think it was too early for most to socialize.  I was surprised by how full the bus was – I was impressed by all the students riding the bus that early!

We got to work at the Campus Welcome Center.  Sandy likes to get there early and get all her opening tasks done before she is “open for business” at 8am!  She seems to be a very conscientious worker!  She walked we through everything – although I think I would need some additional training to be able to master the job as Sandy has obviously been able to do!

At 5pm, I rode back over to the Province to get my car – and the bus was much livelier.  I managed to take the wrong bus – but walked over from the closest drop-off at Park Point….need to work on following the bus schedule better!

Looking forward to Psychology class tomorrow!

Wed: 

I went to class with Sandy on Wed – it was an upper-level psychology class.  I had trouble finding the room, since it was in a building that I do not know my way around very well.  I got there late, but luckily class was just starting.  It was a very interesting class.  There were less than 10 students in the class and was a free-form, discussion-based class focused on readings the students had done.  It was very different than the types of classes I am typically involved in, so it was interesting to see the different types of student-faculty interactions.

Friday:

I went to work with Sandy on Friday morning in the VP of Student Affairs office.  The working conditions there were difficult.  We hand-delivered “The Reporter” to each them – they wanted to make sure they were all well informed regarding the stories in this publication!  Ellen was very conscientious and had prepared alot of work for Sandy and I to complete.  I think Ellen thought that given there would be two “student workers”, we would be able to accomplish twice as much work - but in reality, given the training demands Sandy faced with me, I think we accomplished about half as much as what Sandy normally accomplishes!    In addition, the staff in the office is so  welcoming and friendly that I was easily distracted from doing my work!

As part of our paperwork tasks, we also needed to do some computer work and we used the “student worker computer” at the front desk……I have finally discovered the last place computers are cascaded down to on the RIT campus!  This computer was a “real clunker” – I think it may have had an old floopy drive slot!  Sandy had warned me that the computer was a little slow – but I had never imagined, or experienced, this slow.  This really impacted our work efficiency!  However, it is great to see that the Student Affairs Division is making full use of all of their resources…..to the bitter end.  We then had to go and make deliveries – it was a beautiful day!  I’m thinking it wouldn’t have been as fun walking from CIMS to NTID during a snow storm in January……

Friday afternoon Sandy and I met at the celebration/pep rally in recognition of the Women’s Hockey team winning the National Championship.  It was great to be part of the celebration – there was alot school spirit and pride in that room!  I got to meet some of Sandy’s friends and other students that are involved in different clubs and groups on campus.  We have so many great students at RIT!!

It enjoyed participating in the RIT Challenge.   I work closely with engineering students, but I do not get to meet many students from different majors or see them outside of their “academic life”.   It was great to get to know Sandy and be able to experience a small part of her week.  I was very impressed with her work ethic and everything that she juggles throughout a given day – classes, work, and all her extracurricular activities! We faced several challenges throughout our week, as I have described, but Sandy always faced them with grace and a smile.  Nothing seems to bother her!   She has taken advantage of so much at RIT – I have no doubt she will go to accomplish great things in her new life beyond RIT!  Thanks for the experience!

Sandy Francois

Challenge 1:

We took the bus together and it’s awesome that Jackie will catch the bus after work… Hopefully she remembers her bus schedule and that her car is at province

Challenge 2:

I always wanted an assistant, I mean partner when it came to putting up room cards at the welcome center, I think I’ve taught her well

Challenge 3:

Just bumped into Jackie on the way to class “and I thought I was late to class…” Jackie tells me on our way to the third floor of 7B gannet

Challenge 4:

Everyone at work is excited for Jackie to deliver packets!!! (-_-)

Stuffing packets took longer than expected #gotta love slow computers :/

Jackie lucked out in assisting me with delivering packets

Challenge 5:

Go Women’s Hockey! The ceremony was great way to end the SG Real Challenge with my shadower Jaqueline Mozrall. She’s awesome!

Ravien Moorehead

Blog Entry 1: 4/18/2012

I had the privilege of meeting Shawna Lusk. We decided to meet up at the CBET so she could accompany me to a meeting with my professor. We initially sat and exchanged information. She shared that she worked for orientation and was taking classes at the University of Rochester. I shared with her that I was a fourth year Biomedical Science student and had applied to Nursing programs. In fact I told her the meeting she was accompanying me was for a mock interview, to prepare me for a nursing interview at the University of Rochester. During the mock interview Shawna sat there and watched attentively as my teacher grilled me with interview questions. Even though, it seemed to be an awkward situation it wasn’t, I felt comfortable and relaxed. I was very surprised because Shawna even chimed in and gave me very valuable advice.  I really appreciated that because it’s always beneficial to get different perspectives from people.  After the mock interview we walked out together and went our separate ways. I was very impressed by our first meeting. Shawna allowed me to be myself and feel comfortable in my own skin. I didn’t feel judged and her true sense of compassion and caring shined through that brief interaction. We agreed our next meeting would consist of me giving her a tour of my Riverknoll apartment.

Rebecca Johnson

IT’S APRIL AT RIT!!  With all the end of year activities on top of the normal rigorous schedule, it’s “If-this-is-Tuesday-it-must-be-Paris” time on campus. This is true not only for me, but for my student partner as well. One of the biggest challenges of Real RIT 2012 was just finding time to meet. It looks like we’ll be meeting only 3 times instead of the suggested 4 – and the 3^rd time is actually officially post-Challenge (tomorrow, Monday the 23^rd).

But being Tigers, we knew how to make the most of our time together. Thanks to my partner, I learned tons about the challenges of transgender life at RIT.

I recently perused The Transgender Student’s Guide to RIT, http://campuslife.rit.edu/GLBT/brochures/trans-brochure.pdf, and I am very proud of RIT’s commitment to creating a campus culture that expects “civility, respect, decency and sensitivity” towards all, that values diversity, and that strives to learn from individual differences (from http://www.rit.edu/studentaffairs/studentconduct/rr_expectations.php).

At the same time, I am grateful to my student partner for teaching me about a number of ways in which campus life continues to challenge transgender people, as well as receiving some very helpful examples of how other institutions are successfully welcoming transgender members of their community.

I don’t have time to write details now, but will be exploring possibilities with others at RIT. Many thanks to my student partner for showing me how I can be a better advocate for transgender people, and thanks to SG for taking the time to better inform me and others about the student experience. And – like all good learning experiences – SG knows how to make it all fun. Congratulations on another successful Real RIT Challenge.

Molly Johnson

I was paired up with Taylor Deer a COB major form Buffalo, NY.  I was psyched as I had just been to the Board of Trustees Meeting the week before and saw the ETC Video about Taylor’s RIT experience. So cool! Taylor is a 4th year who has lived all 4 years on campus primarily in the Greek housing.  He started out as an Engineering Major but he switched to Business after he took his first business class and decided that was the path he wanted to continue on. He currently is on Co-op this quarter however it is just about 5 minutes from campus so all of our meetings were pretty easy to set up.

Tue     4/17    5PM-6PM  Meet @ the SG Office – He is Scheduled to work

Taylor showed me around the SG office and we talked about his role as the SG Greek Senator – I asked him about how the Greek organizations determine which charity organizations they will fund raise for each year- as I know that is a big part of their mission. I asked about if there were any Greek organizations on campus that were looking for a particular organization to fund raise for – because as the Chair of the RIT Tiger Team for the Annual Rochester Community Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk to Cure Diabetes- I was wondering if any of the Greek organizations would be interested in supporting JDRF and the RIT Tiger Team. This year’s walk will be on May 20th at the Gordon Field House. Although the annual walk has been held on the RIT Campus for the last 6 years and is one of the biggest walks in the country,- trying to get RIT students involved is like pulling teeth.  Taylor said he’d would let me know what he finds out.  It would be really great if at least one of the Greek organizations would adopt JDRF as their community fundraiser.

We talked for a about an hour and he told me about his Co-op at Del Smith Associates and what a great experience it was. He also filled me in on the SG election campaigning  he and Sarah Thomas have been doing.  (Taylor & Sarah are running for Pres. & VP for SG->>>>> VOTE TAYLOR & SARAH!!!!!) and his future aspirations using what he has learned here at RIT in relation to his new passion rganizational design. Taylor was also gracious listening to me talk about my past career moves and the lessons I have learned along the way.

Tue     4/17    7PM-8PM Meet @ the NSA Meeting in The NTID Student Development Center

NTID Student Assembly is a group of elected NTID students that run the NTID Student Organizations/clubs.

Sarah Thomas also attended the NSA meeting with Taylor and I which came in handy since I do not yet know sign language and Taylor is still in the newbie category when it comes to signing, but is very interested in learning sign. Sarah on the other hand is very proficient and was there to help us not feel quite so out of place. The challenge is that for hearing students if you do not know sign language and you do not have a friend like Sarah to translate – you really can not actively figure out what is happening at the NSA meetings.

Taylor mentioned that Access Services does not offer hearing students the access to interpreters. The suggestion I thought of was that if one of the NSA members could make it their job during meetings to caption the major conversation at meetings and have it displayed on the projection screen -then any hearing person could attend and participate.  It could be something they try and see how it works and perhaps they could make that position a regular position within the organization bylaws. Of course there would need to be a way that the hearing students could also contribute to the conversation- so there would need to be some technology to allow them to also caption their own speech to also add to the conversation so it would be a two way conversation.  I am guessing it could act like a chat room although everyone would actually be in the room.

Wed     4/18    11:30AM Lunch in SAU: Try to have a low calorie meal for lunch:

We met in the SAU and the challenge was to eat a low calorie meal- I thought wow this will be easy- soup and salad no big deal but then Taylor pointed out how do you know what the calorie count is?  I said well I guess your right – I really don’t know what the calories are on the creamy poppyseed dressing that I love, or if the cottage cheese I was eating was low fat or not.  So I get the point that he was trying to convey.  I did point out that although most people could look up most of the calorie info on line about what they are eating it would be nice like in respect to the cottage cheese what kind it actually is.

Wed     4/18    12:00PM Attend the Student Leadership Awards Ceremony in Ingle Auditorium

We squeezed in an additional meeting on this day in order to honor Sarah Thomas who was one of the deserving leadership award winners

As soon as I knew Sarah was one of the award winners I knew I had to attend. Since I became the Staff Council Chair I have gotten to know Sarah from the SG meetings and now she is sitting in on the Staff Council meetings this quarter.   It turned out to be a really great ceremony because Dr.Howard Ward-  was the keynote speaker- I was so inspired by Howard and his speech to the students. I immediately emailed him to ask if I could get a copy of his speech for the Staff Council blog.  One of the things Howard said to the students was- there are two very important days in your life- the day you were born and the day you find your purpose.  So true.  You will all have to tune into the Staff Council Blog – as I hope to post his speech- there next week.

Fri     4/20    12:00PM Meet for lunch @ The Commons

So I met Taylor for lunch and at this meeting Taylor called the health center to schedule a sick appt. @ the Health Center – they did have an appt at 3PM  but the point was to see about getting one over the weekend and the problem we discovered is that they are closed on the weekends and there is no transportation available to student to get to any of the local convenience care centers.  - I found that hard to believe I would hope that should a student have say strep throat on a Weekend that there would be someway for them to seek care and start on medication as soon as possible.  I must admit I did not do any further exploration myself to validate what we thought we had heard.  Just had a thought…would it be possible  for SG to use the SG van’s  and have SG members on call to be able to take students in need ?

While we were having lunch Taylor also mentioned to me about how there are 200+ clubs and that there is a challenge for the clubs in that they have no where to store their club belongings and that there really needs to be some dedicated space on campus where clubs could store them.  Sounds like  a good idea -now where??? I know space on campus is extremely limited.  I asked Taylor if he had given any idea where that might be – sounds like a conversation with my Friend Jim Yarrington in FMS.

All week- use only unisex bathrooms on campus:

The first thing I did was go the GLBT website to find the list of the unisex bathrooms on campus only to find it was not listed on their website as indicated in their pdf document that stated so.  So I walked over to the GLBT officein the SAU and they printed off a copy for me – Thank you-:)

For the most part this was not too bad a challenge for me as there are 3 in Eastman where I work and 1 in the SAU Campus Center Basement- Although some of these are EXTREMELY smelly and something should really be done about the smell if possible.  I had to really 1 be aware of where these bathrooms were and also give a lot of thought to making a point to stop there BEFORE I really needed to- it wasn’t like I could just stop last minute. And one day I walked (fast) to the one on the second floor of Eastman only to find FMS working on that one. So I must admit I did cheat- just this one time

All week- stay within the allotted meal budget assigned.

This was not hard for me as I usually just eat my RIT muffin every morning and usually just soup for lunch  - but I can see where this can be a problem. especially the meal debit only being $5:50 when a Panini or Sub alone is more than $5:00

My only disappointment was that I didn’t get to stay in the dorms!

Taylor Deer

1st meeting: SG office hours

In our first meeting I met up with Molly to show her around our office and so that she could see exactly what resources we have to work with in Student Government. After giving her a quick tour we sat down and began to talk and get to know each other. I learned a lot about her passion for being a hard worker has allowed her to get into the position that she has within Academic Senate.

2nd Meeting : NSA meeting 

Our next meeting we met up at the NTID Student Assembly. I wanted to show Molly what it was like to be in a meeting where the primary language is ASL. In these meetings there is no interpreter so it is a very overwhelming environment for anyone who is a beginner at signing. Luckily we had Sarah Thomas to voice for us so we could follow along with what was going on in the meeting. I think that NSC and NSA are such huge influencers to the NTID community that it would be nice for students that just want to come see some of the major issues within the NTID community are to have an interpreter provided at these meetings. This would encourage students who are not in the NTID community to stop in and get involved as much as possible.

3rd Meeting: Dietary Restrictions

For our third meeting we had lunch in the Brick City Cafe, we wanted to see how easy it was to eat a meal while maintaining under a certain caloric intake. While the Brick City Cafe has some healthy food options such as the salad bar or the sub shop, it was hard to find out exactly how many calories each item was. An interesting idea that we came up with was making the nutrition information for every item more noticeable. This could encourage students to become educated on exactly what they are eating, so that if they are on a diet it would be easy for them to make the right choices to stay on track. Also this could encourage students to start on diets that haven’t considered it before.

4th Meeting: Call to the Health Center

For our fourth meeting we had lunch at Commons, our mission was to call the health center and schedule an appointment that fits my schedule. I am currently on co-op but I still live on campus so the first thing that I found out was that since I was not a full time student I was required to pay a $35 fee just for coming in. Another conflict that arose was that we called on a Friday, their schedule is that they are open from 8:15 until 7pm Monday-Thursday but on Fridays they are only open until 4pm and they are not open Saturday or Sunday. The closest alternative for a clinic is on Brighton Henrietta Town Line, which is pretty close but without a car its not close enough to walk, especially if your sick. We thought that it would be nice if the office was open (even for limited hours) during the weekend. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly, and I felt as though we could work out a time for me to come in, even with my busy schedule.

Wendy Hagele-Stapf

Monday, Day 1 of the RIT Challenge

From the email I received I know what two of my challenges are.

Using only gender neutral/ handicap accessible bathrooms and eating on a 10 meal dining plan. I am looking forward to meeting up with Kelley. I am guessing that since my student is Deaf I will have some challenges relating to access issues.

So this morning we met- I had a good idea who she was as she was an RA on another staff  the year before.  We had a great conversation…. But are struggling with our calendars. Both of us are very busy and trying to find times to meet and go through with the challenges is a challenge in itself! One of her classes- a grad IT class doesn’t have a notetaker…. She had been notified that one would start after week 3- so she never recruited someone from the class. It is now week 6 and no one has shown up. I would love to attend this class with her but unfortunately it is during two meeting times that I am unable to change. So I arranged to meet her tonight to go to a team meeting for a different IT class… I think it is a bridge class for her…. So it is undergrads.

We meet before the 8:00 time …. She keeps checking to see if an interpreter has been scheduled. For regular team meetings she scheduled interpreters but this was an additional meeting and while she requested an interpreter as soon as the team discussed needing time for their presentation- she realizes that a request without a weeks lead time will probably not get an interpreter.

One thing I find odd is that here at RIT – with all our technology there is no program set to shoot an email to the “requestor” when an interpreter does take an assignment. It wouldn’t aid anyone in getting an interpreter but it would have saved her from checking over and over again.

Watching the student group try to navigate the lack of interpreter is interesting…. It seems like a cross between them being embarrassed that they can not communicate easily and a  lack of knowledge of basics of working with someone that is deaf. I guess there really is no point in a students RIT career that teaches them these basics… and I am guessing that none of these students thought that they would be on a team with someone deaf… with mo interpreter. No one taps my student to let her know they are talking about critical parts of the project. They talk with their faces hidden by the computer and sometimes with pencils in their mouths. Making it impossible for Kelley to read their lips.

After being so involved with Deaf and HH students in EPD .. I have completely forgotten that some of these things need to be taught and encouraged.

Day 2

So I know where the bathrooms I can use are…and I have tried to use several different ones…. I work in the halls so know there are places on each floor. But it is only when I look for the list….. because last night after the team meeting I had no idea of where to find the gender  neutral bathroom in Golisano- that I get frustrated- where the heck is the list that the RIT site refers to?

Ata meeting one of my peers shares this frustrations.. as she started calling places and was told she could pick up a map… and that it is no longer on line.    Why would that be taken off?

Day 3

Couldn’t meet with Kelley for an 8:00 am class as there were unavoidable things at home. I emailed her the night before… I was to experience the busy life of a student running from one end of campus to the other.  This really is an area where a number of different RIT professionals can relate to a student’s daily schedule….. I am running from one side to another without following her. Neither of us will have a break today.   This is a good time to talk about the meal plan part of the challenge.

Day 4

For me the idea of being able to eat at Gracies is far more exciting than for the students. Food that is already cooked, a salad bar that is stocked with things that no one in my house likes….. so I never buy. NO dishes to do! This sounds a bit heavenly, but I am to think of my dinner at home as my Gracies dinner… it is explained that because I can eat all I want. I understand the comparison…. But as I cook, eat and clean up a simple dinner with my family…. I dream of just walking in with a tray and selecting from the Gracies variety.

Using the meal option to buy a meal else where on campus is more difficult- The $6.90 sounds very reasonable for a lunch…. But I struggle to get something. Normally I would have a large salad and a drink or fruit…. Not happening, the special at DC is too much on some days but I can do grilled cheese, or 2 pieces of pizza or some other of the greasier options…. I resort to using part of “the debit”  I would have with the plan so I can get milk or a veggie side. It is as if the amount for this plan hasn’t kept up with the cost of the food.  I do eat cereal and milk every morning … exactly as I did as a student so many years ago… easy to buy on campus and easy to keep in a small room.

Who is allowed to use this plan…. I certainly would think students on Co op who are gone all day… my guess is students saving money… but it certainly limits the nutritional choices. One thing I didn’t  check out is if Gracies still will offers a bag lunch option…. And if so would the students who have the 10 meal plan would even use it..

So Friday is the end…. Kelley and I squeeze in one more meeting… her presentation went well…. Funny thing…. One of the things that needed to be completed for it was discussed at the team meeting I went to…. The others couldn’t figure it out….but Kelley knew how to do it…. They did ask her before they presented and she got it done… but how much easier it could have been for them.

I am glad I did this but am happy it is done…. It has been a crazy week  and I spent time wishing I could give this even more attention… that I had a responsibility to the RIT community.

Thanks for offering ,e the opportunity. Now I have to find where the heck to send all of this too….I am leaving work and it is well into the evening. Where is that email?

Kelley Duran

I had three challenges for my administrator to think about.  As a graduate student here at RIT, I’m always busy, running around. I planned three separate actives.  While the person shadowing me could not attend all of them, I feel they are important to discuss here on this blog

1.     A Deaf student goes to a class and has not been assigned a note-taker

Yep, that’s right. I’ve requested a note taker for this class and have not received one. Many people might think, I could just follow the power point slides that the professors use, and study from that. This could not be further from the truth.

Often, there is more information than just slides, professors use Power Points to guide their classroom discussions, and to give an additional resource to review later.

Why do I as a Deaf person require an interpreter. Unless I had four eyes, this is not physically possible. Its is not possible for me to watch the interpreter AND at the same time write down stuff.  I’ve tried that, and what usually results is un-readable hand writing, and sentences that get written out in an angle rather than a straight line.

Just to give you a little bit of background, I’m taking a highly technical class that involves using an application, think – Adobe, Photo editing, movie editing, programming software(X-code, Eclipse) or any type of software you must use to get a good grade.

Here are the things that I could have if I had a note taker:

-     I could get detailed directions on how to do one thing.  For example, my professor in this class uses a program and has to explain the steps that have to be done to complete a task. The professor would say: “Go to the upper middle of the task bar on the top, click on “Format”, scroll down, Click on “Photo”, then Click on the button “new layer” and then click on this and that, and volia, there is what we wanted to do.  Usually half way though this, I’m lost.  Then I get a homework assigned that requires me to do this exact thing. Now I don’t have notes explaining on how to do this.  Usually, I Google it, find directors and figure this out as an educated student would.  I can find anything.  But doing all this probably takes me twice as long because I don’t have notes.

-     I could have had a note for homework due date change.

-     Hints for the test.  Wow this is a big one.  Sometimes there are nice professors out there who will say “HINT HINT” this will probably be on the test.   If there is no note taker, that will be missed, or I’ll try to quickly write it down in my own notebook. There is a 50% chance that I’ll write the hint down, and another 50% where I don’t have time to write it down while trying to watch the interpreter at the same time.

2.  A Deaf student has a team meeting for a quarter long project, and Access Services cannot find available interpreters.

Now, before you go running off, blaming access services for not giving me an interpreter for a team meeting, it cannot be entirely blamed on them.  They simply do not have the resources to cover the 200+ UNASSIGNED requests . They get thousands of request per week, and simply with not enough (wo)man-power they cannot cover them all.

For most of my meetings, thankfully, they’re covered, but there are several per quarter that go uncovered.   I miss so much information during those meetings.  This is hard for me, and my team.  It is hard for me to sit there and miss information. It is hard for me to interrupt the flow of conversation every 3 minutes to ask them to repeat what they just said.  Sometimes I just let it go, and move on.  Sometimes I pretend to understand.  Sometimes I embarrass my self my saying something off-topic because I didn’t lip-read them quite right.

At this meeting, the team spent about 45 minutes trying to do one part of the project, which required exporting the program files into an executable jar file.  Me unaware of what they were attempting to do, knew how to do this.  But because I was not following what was going on, the team wasted that time trying to figure out how to do that before realizing that I knew how.  They felt, “why didn’t we ask her before”, and I felt “why didn’t you ask me.”  Not having an interpreter not only puts the Deaf person at a disadvantage, but also the people who are working with the Deaf individual.

What can you do as a hearing person do to alleviate the situation if it occurs? These are things my team has tried to do.

-     Use a projector, hook up your computer and type what you are talking about.  Type the general topic.  Word for word would be too time consuming. This may end up being good meeting notes anyway.

-     If you have a question, make sure to ask the Deaf individual the question.

-     Plan meetings in advance. If requests are put in over a week before, they have a higher chance of being assigned.

-     Have a remote meeting instead where people meet up and have a group chat.

One other thing, that’s not related to this, but something my team has done, is use a group texting system to keep everyone in the loop.

3. Student has class in GCCIS(70) but has to work in LBJ

Unless anyone is a wizard and has the ability to apparate, It is really hard to get to opposite sides of campus in 10 minutes. There are times when I have to go back and forth several times a day. I could just drive, but if I need to go to the other side of campus in the middle of the day, there is no parking.

What are the possible solutions to this?

-     Oh come on RIT, full of intelligent people, lets invent a way to apparate

-     A free bike taxi here on campus

-     Does RIT have bike rentals?

-     Move LBJ over to the academic side?

That’s all I have to say about that…

Phil Amsler

1.     No Housing Assignment!?

Dr. Doolittle and I agreed that the best way to approach not having housing would be to call in on behalf of a friend.  So I called up the housing office and told them my friend didn’t have any housing assignment for next year.  While inquiring about what they should do, they informed me that students will always have housing if they sign up for it.  It may just not be high on their list of options selected, or even what they selected at all.  The good news was that there will always be housing, even if they do need to live in the Inn while as a transitional home for the beginning of the year.

As a student, I still think this system could be a lot more transparent and open for students.  I say this because it shocked me that I could sign up for only Riverknoll housing ($971 per quarter) and be placed in the Inn and be paying upwards of $2,103 per quarter.   That’s $3,400 per year if it lasts like that.  I still maintain that a housing registration system would be ideal for this issue.  If we just laid all of the housing on the table and students could get it on a first come first serve basis rather than requesting it and hoping for the best.  Additionally, when the deposits are due on June 15^th, and most of the drops take place from co-ops and other housing arrangements, other students could swoop in and take those spots quickly rather than needing to reapply.

I have to admit, housing does a great job with what it has on campus.  I have never heard of any student living out a box while at RIT, and for that we should all be grateful.  Even still, I think as our Student Government, and Presidents office strive to become more transparent, so should our housing.

2.     No enough financial aid to afford housing

How many times has this happened to you or a friend of yours?  Usually this happens for the same reasons outlined in my previous blog post.  Housing can be more expensive than you expected and cost thousands more annually.  As a result you may go begging to Financial Aid for a little more money.  After calling Financial Aid and asking how they would handle this situation, I was informed about their appeals process.  Apparently, they have the student sit down with their Financial Aid advisor, and form the basis for an appeal in a document.  That is passed along to a 9 member board of appeals (members are confidential) and they make a decision to approve or deny they requested change.  Unfortunately there is no data available to students about how many times this appeals process takes place, or how successful students are when they do apply.

While I do wish I had some data to draw conclusions from, I was satisfied with Financial Aid’s response.  Anecdotally, I know many students who ask for more support, and have legitimate reasons for it, usually receive what they need.  While tuition is constantly increasing at RIT, we can at least be happy that aid for students who can’t afford to go here are at least getting more support as well.  Kudos to you Financial Aid for being helpful and supportive of so many RIT students!

3.     Uni-Sex Bathrooms

Dr. Doolittle and I thought it might be fun being in the shoes of our GLBT community for a few hours today.  To test it out, we tried to find gender neutral bathrooms in as many buildings as we could cover.  We ended up going through Eastman, the SAU, the Library, building 6, and building 7A/7B, and I was very surprised to not find many unisex bathrooms.  There were gender neutral bathrooms on the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th floor of Eastman, but the 5^th floor is  locked behind HR after 4:30 and on weekends.  The 6^th floor was strange is a completely different way because it advertised being handicap accessible.  I don’t know how big wheel chairs were when that bathroom was built, but the standard today is 36 inches.  I couldn’t fit through the door straight on.  I know I’m a big 6’4” guy, but still that’s only around 24 inches.  How is that accessible?  I digress… we also found unisex bathrooms in the campus center A-level, but that was it.

Since running around searching for the bathrooms, I have learned that there are also gender neutral bathrooms in building 9 and 17 (between the two really) and in the innovation center.  A full list is also available in the GLBT center in the basement of the SAU.  Even still I can’t imagine needing to walk for ten minutes just to find a bathroom.  Maybe it’s time we change over some of the staff and faculty bathrooms that are lockable anyway, over to gender neutral bathrooms.  In the end, adding unisex bathrooms is definitely something RIT should strive for in order to remain a welcoming and open environment for all students.

Kristy Cragg

Blog 1:

Tomorrow I am starting the Real RIT Challenge, and I couldn’t be more excited.  The student I was assigned to work with, Andrew, seems like an awesome student to get to know, and we have been chatting on email for the last few days making plans for how the week is going to go.  The tasks that I have been assigned are things that I find really interesting… and they seem like things that will take a little effort and perhaps put me slightly out of my comfort zone, but they are definitely doable.  Which, I suppose, is exactly the point!

The tasks were explained to me thusly:

1) Not all RIT students are as technologically advanced as we think they are.  I am supposed to refrain from accessing the internet unless I am sitting at a desktop computer or a laptop computer… so for this week, no more facebook and email on my phone.  I am going back and forth about whether I think this one will be challenging.  Truth be told, I am tragically behind the times when it comes to technology.  I got my first cell phone just 6 or 7 years ago.  I have only had a smart phone (a Droid) since October. I have an iPad, provided by my department, but I haven’t yet gotten into the habit of using it regularly.  So the concept of accessing the internet on a mobile device isn’t really as engrained into my daily routine as it is for others, I suppose.  I do it, but I haven’t been doing it for THAT long.  However, because I think it will be really tough to try to remember NOT to check my email or access the internet on my phone for the week, I will probably just turn off the internet access… if I can figure out how to do that. 

2) Sometimes, transgender students only feel safe using gender neutral bathrooms, so for the week, I am supposed to find and use gender neutral bathrooms on campus.  This is something I have thought about pretty frequently, actually.  I have worked with several transgender students over the past few years, and questions often do arise regarding room assignments, bathroom usage, etc.  I know that on most floors in the residence halls there are handicap access bathrooms that are not assigned to a specific gender, so sometimes transgender students choose to use these.  Though I am sure no one wants to hear about my bathroom usage as the week progresses, I will share that near my office there are two restrooms, one male, one female — but no gender neutral option.   Thankfully, across the quad, there is one gender neutral bathroom that I can use, but I will really do my best this week to challenge myself to find other options around campus to see just how difficult it is to locate them. 

3) I am going to have lunch with Andrew in the GLBT Center on Thursday, and I am really looking forward to that!

So here I go, embarking on what promises to be an eye-opening and fun experience!  Can’t wait to get started! 

Blog 2:

Thoughts on my first gender neutral bathroom experience of the week:

Thankfully, I happened to remember that there is a gender neutral/handicap access bathroom in the SDC, right across the quad from Ellingson, where my office is.  Moments ago, I headed over there for the first time today… As I approached the door, I realized that the sign on the outside of the door had a picture of a person in a wheelchair, a picture of a man, and an empty space where there used to be a picture of a woman, which has been removed by persons unknown — FMS?  Vandals?  No idea.  I stood there, briefly contemplating my next move.  Had the designation of this bathroom been changed, so that now it was no longer open to both genders, unless of course they were confined to a wheelchair?  Had a student just pried the female figure off of the sign, perhaps to add to the décor of their own room?  I wasn’t entirely sure whether I was really allowed in there, and I realized that if I was a little confused about this, students must be, too.  Nonetheless, I braved the confusion and went inside.  It was a private bathroom; no stalls, just a toilet, a sink, a mirror, a hand drier, and a garbage can.  Other than that, the first thing that caught my eye was the newspaper scattered across the floor, sprinkled with droplets of what I can only hope was water, and a toilet that had not been flushed.

Let me explain that, although I am not a germaphobe, per se, one thing that really, really grosses me out

is a messy public restroom.  However, I braved this situation, all in the name of the Challenge, and as soon as I am done typing this, I will give my friends in FMS a quick call.  While I was in there, and on the walk back, I really tried to immerse myself in the whole idea of WHY this is part of the challenge for the week.  While my fear of germy restrooms is a far cry from the fear that some students must feel when they only feel safe in a gender neutral bathroom, I tried to draw at least the most tenuous of connections between what I was experiencing and what a student would experience in that situation.  After all, if the choices were between using a restroom in which I would have to wonder whether I would be subjected to nasty stares, comments, or even worse, or using a restroom that was definitely safe (though somewhat germy), I would of course choose the latter.

So my first gender neutral restroom quest was reasonably successful.

In terms of my other assignment, which involves not accessing the internet from any mobile devices this week, I turned off the internet on my Droid last night.  The first thing that I did this morning upon waking up was to reach for my phone to check my email and the Yankees score.  I moved the icons for those apps off of my phone’s “front page” so that every time I look at it, the gaping holes of where they used to sit are reminders of that part of the challenge.  On my way out of the house today, I looked at my phone and announced, “The high temperature today is going to be 84!”  My partner, who doesn’t yet have a smart phone, just shook his head and said, “Looking at the weather on your phone is cheating.”  I said, “It is??” Fail. Now to figure out how to turn off the weather app…

Blog 3:

Some more thoughts on the Real RIT Challenge…

Yesterday, after using the gender neutral bathroom in the SDC , I decided to branch out and try to learn where there were others.  I googled “RIT gender neutral bathrooms,” and lo and behold, the first link to pop up was for the RIT GLBT Center.  D’oh!  I should have known to start there!  The GLBT Center staff is awesome… I have worked with them many times in the past, including this past summer when I had a great discussion with Mike D’Arcangelo about gender neutral housing.  (Side note, thanks to his hard work, in collaboration with Housing Operations and others, there will be a gender neutral housing option in the residence halls for the upcoming academic year — woohoo!)

The GLBT website is extremely detailed and thorough, with a wide variety of resources for students to use.  They even have a PDF with helpful information for transgender students, and it says that a list of unisex bathroom options can be found on their website.  After much searching, I was unable to find it, though, so I gave them a call.  The super-helpful Henry Hinesley wasn’t sure where to locate the list, either, so he passed me along to Grant Prasher for further assistance.  Over time it seems that the list has disappeared from the site, but I am confident they will have it back up there in no time!  Grant also let me know that I can stop by their office any time and pick up a hard copy of the list, so I will definitely be making my way over there as soon as possible to get one!

Another challenge was given to me yesterday, regarding dining on campus.  Students on the 10 meal plan option have 10 meals per week at Gracies, plus 5 meal options that they may use at any dining hall, plus $400 in debit to use throughout the quarter.  I happen to like Gracies, and thinking back to my own college days, nearly all of my meals were eaten at the “all you care to eat” facility, as that was pretty much the only dining facility on campus.   So if I were a student I would probably opt for the 12 meal plan option –  more Gracies, less debit, but I would prefer that.  In my 6 years here I have eaten at one of the dining facilities more often than not for lunch, and as a picky eater, I have always found more things that I enjoy at Gracies (not to mention that it’s a better value.)  I know students often disagree, but I digress… Today, I went to the Dining Commons and looked around at the choices, and found plenty that I could eat there for the $6.90 meal option (or really close to it!).  I won’t even try to pretend that my lunch today was healthy, as I always get lured in by those delightfully tasty and slightly evil mozzarella sticks… but I could have had a number of other (more healthy) things for about the same, or even less money.  As it was, my lunch was less than $6.90 with mozzarella sticks, yogurt, and a drink.  Enough to satisfy a hungry and active college student?  Maybe not.  Tomorrow I will go to Gracies instead… the fruit and salad bar is calling my name after today’s deep fried treat! 

I am loving this challenge…   So far, it has been an absolutely incredible experience and I am learning so much.

Blog 4 

Yesterday morning, I was in a meeting on the other side of campus from 8:30am until 11am.  Simultaneously, I knew that there was some stuff happening back in my office that I should be keeping tabs on.  I had brought my netbook from home that day (remember those??) and when the facilitator called a break during the session, I tried to fire it up to check my email… and couldn’t get on the RIT wireless network.  I watched with envy as everyone else in the room eagerly pecked away at their smartphones, whilst I sat there fighting with my ancient, slightly embarrassing netbook… and I thought, “well, this must be what it’s like to be a student who doesn’t have a smartphone.”  Despite the inconvenience, though, I was able to make it through another day of being “deprived” of technology reasonably unscathed.

In keeping with the meal plan requirement, some other Challenge participants and I went to Gracies for lunch yesterday.  It was fabulous… I had a Boca burger, freshly prepared to my specifications, and a great big salad.  Much healthier than the day before when I succumbed to the mozzarella sticks at the Commons!  One thing I noticed in Gracies that I had not paid attention to before was the signage they had posted with Wellness-related tips, and even information regarding local growers that had supplied some of the produce.  I was impressed!

Today, as I hurried over for my lunch with Andrew in the GLBT Center, I stopped at Nathan’s in the SAU to grab a sandwich, and noticed that Nathan’s doesn’t accept meal options.  The amount I spent on my lunch was more than my daily allotment of debit, so I guess that this tasty option isn’t something that dollar-conscious students can afford every day on their meal plan.

I brought my lunch to the GLBT Center, which, I must say, has been the highlight of my week so far!  What a great group of students!  Some of them, I knew from previous interactions, and some I met for the first time today.  They were warm and welcoming and it was a friendly, inviting group to spend an hour and a half with.  I can’t wait to go back and eat with them again sometime.  We talked about gender neutral bathrooms (and I finally picked up my list — there are a lot more than I thought there were!), we talked about the current GLBT groups on campus, we talked about the history of GLBT groups on campus, and so much more.  I had recently learned that when RITGA first started at RIT in 1983, their membership roster was literally kept under lock and key to protect the privacy of those individuals.  I mentioned that today, and Andrew informed me that also in 1983, there was a group on campus called “SAFE” that stood for “Students Against F****** Everywhere” that would essentially terrorize the members of RITGA.  I was appalled, and I made a comment about how far this campus has come in 30 years.  One of the students commented that they think that this campus has come a long way in just the last 2 years, with more GLBT groups popping up and a more accepting student body overall, though things still aren’t perfect.  They asked questions of me, I asked questions of them, and we had a wonderful time.  I learned that there is a HUGE GLBT Conference coming to RIT next year in April; I got to see (and touch!) the absolutely fabulous crowns for the annual Drag Show on April 27; we talked about the gender neutral housing option that is available for next year’s residence hall students; and I told them I will definitely be back!

One thing I will say for this group is that they could really use a bigger space!  The office was PACKED while I was there, with an ever-growing number of students coming down to eat lunch, hang out, and just talk, and over and over again, I heard, “Oh, this is nothing!  You should see it when it’s REALLY crowded in here!”  Space on campus is always at a premium, but if the opportunity ever presents itself for this office to be given a more sizable space, it should definitely happen, because they would make great use of it. 

One more day!

My final thoughts on the Real RIT Challenge:

1)      Using gender neutral bathrooms – this was easy to do, as there are plenty of them at RIT, but a challenge in that they are not always conveniently located and you really have to know where to look to find some of them.  The one I used most was in the SDC, which isn’t far from my office, and the one in the Residence Life Center Office, which I felt was cheating because students wouldn’t necessarily have access to it.  However, in doing this piece of the challenge, I was able to put myself in the shoes of our students who use these bathrooms daily to feel and remain safe.  While I was just barely inconvenienced by this portion of the challenge, there are students, faculty, and staff who use them out of necessity – and for them, convenience really doesn’t factor into their decision regarding which bathroom to use; they just want to know that they are safe.  While I learned that there are plenty of gender neutral bathrooms out there,  I think that it would be great to have even more.  J

2)      Dining on the RIT 10 Meal Plan – honestly, this was pretty easy for me.  As I said before, I like Gracies, and I actually prefer to eat there over the Dining Commons.  (Those are the two I eat at most often, as they are closest to my office.)  I did make a really unhealthy decision for lunch one day, but I did it knowing full well that there were healthier options I could be making for the same amount of money (or less!)  I also learned that Nathan’s doesn’t accept meal options, so the day I ate there for lunch, I went over the amount of debit I should have used for the day… but all in all, I think that I could make do on the 10 Meal Plan, though I would probably opt for the 12 or 14 plan if I were a residence hall student.  J

3)       Life without a smart phone – this was SO HARD.  The first few days, I was thinking, no big deal; I lived without a smart phone for many, many years (even when everyone else started getting them, I was a hold out for a long time) – and I am sort of technologically behind the times, anyway, so I thought I would be able to handle this without a problem.  However, I found myself in meetings where I wished I could access my email because I knew that there were things going on in my office that I should be on top of, and I woke up every morning reaching for my phone to check my email, too.  Probably not the healthiest of habits, to be tied to my phone like that, but honestly, I think that this is the world we live in now!  I talked to Andrew, the student I was paired with, about this… there are several reasons why he does not have a smart phone right now, which are quite similar to the reasons why I chose to go without a cell phone at all while I was in grad school.  One of the biggest things that students talked about missing out on when they don’t have a smart phone are QR codes.  They are popping up everywhere, and while I personally have never scanned one and remain sort of ambivalently baffled by them, students sometimes feel that they are missing information if they cannot scan them.   All in all, this was probably the most difficult part of the Real RIT Challenge.  Ohhhh technology…

4)      Hanging out with Andrew in the GLBT Center – Best part of the week, hands down!  I really liked getting to know Andrew and I wish that I had been able to spend more face to face time with him during the week.  I will absolutely join him and his friends again for lunch at the GLBT Center – if I can find a seat!

I am glad I participated in the Challenge and I really can’t wait to do it again next year.  Thanks, Andrew, and thanks to SG!

Jeffery Cox

I was paired up with Joseph Lugo, an American, 5^th year Electrical Engineering Technology student from New Jersey.  Scheduling issues limited our time together, but we were able to meet for a while on Tuesday and get to share our backgrounds with each other and found a lot of common overlaps with time spent living in or near NYC.  We also talked about the parking scenario.

We then met on Friday morning for breakfast in the SAU Café and then I joined Joseph in his “Electronics II” course.  As I had been an English major, I was just amazed by how fluently Joseph and his fellow students processed complex math equations and conversed effortlessly over circuit building.  While it was hard for me to fully grasp all the content, I nevertheless found the professor’s approach easy to follow and was impressed by the wonderful rapport that he had clearly developed with each student.  I felt as if the class had built a sense of community and with the good natured teasing and joking that intermingled with the subject matter, it was clear that faculty and students were very supportive of each other and maintained a sense of ‘team’ as they worked through material that struck me as technically very challenging.

I spend a great deal of my time helping international students navigate the field of immigration – one that is very familiar to me.  I really appreciated getting out of my ‘comfort zone’ and just talking with Joseph about current issues (for example, we discussed the Travon Martin shooting) and then sitting in on a class that was definitely outside of my own comfort zone, but intriguing as well.  I certainly appreciated Joseph giving up some of his time to walk me through a bit of his life here as an RIT student.

Thanks for the opportunity to participate!

Dr. Mary Beth Cooper

Day 3

4:28am Really?   Devan picked me up at 5:30am to get to the boat house by 5:45am.  So I needed to get up and get to school.  On the way over I chatted with other crew members on what they ate in the morning before a two hour practice.  They were all over the board on that question.  We may want to think more about nutrition and our student athletes.  Are we providing enough for them?

I am in awe of these student athletes they get up early, do two hour work outs, then head back to campus for class, hold part-time jobs and participate in club and organization meetings.  How do they do it and maintain such high GPA’s?  Amazing!   I’ve been to hundreds of contents/games, but never to watch a practice.  In some ways this was more intense and contributes to what I know about the student athlete experience.  Many thanks to the women’s crew team and Coach Bodenstedt, for allowing me into their world for one day.  As they say…”Ready ALL Row”.

Early evening found me at SAAC executive board.   Excellent example of leadership by this team preparing themselves for the larger meeting later in the night.   It reminded me of a captain’s meeting or a huddle.  It didn’t surprise me that this group of student athletes used skills acquired in sports elsewhere on campus.

Heading to teach my class…I’m a tired pup.  Early, early mornings make for a long night.

Devan Musa

Tuesday (Day 1)-

Blog 1: Class

            I picked up Dr. Cooper from her office and we headed for my first class of the day. Tuesdays and Thursdays tend to be my slow days because the classes aren’t exactly the most interesting or upbeat of my classes. We got to class and I could already tell it was going to be a rough one. My professor started class and Dr. Cooper’s and my secret of the day became: look like you are paying attention. At one point we were both watching multiple people sleeping in the class, but luckily we were not going to follow suit, because that’s when we whipped out the gum! When we were given a 10 minute break, I almost lost Dr. Cooper is Golisano. You cannot even imagine the pure relief that filled us when the professor said that we were getting out 20 minutes early for the day. I think it’s important to realize that sometimes it’s work just to pay attention, not even just learning the material. 

 Blog 2: 2k

            For crew, we have 2k tests to help see where we are and to help our coach determine what the lineup should be in the boat. These tests are usually done at practice with the whole team. This week, to save time and have more time on the water, Coach decided that we would do them outside of practice with at least one other rower. Since our boathouse is off campus, we practice in the hallway above the field house. I invited Dr. Cooper ,and she decided that she was going to come watch Emily, Morgan, and I do our tests. She arrived shortly after Emily and Morgan had begun their pieces. When the girls finished pulling their 2k’s, they stood up from the ergs, and before they could say anything her first comment was “Was that hard?” By the time she had finished asking her question, the girls were sprawled out on the floor panting. I was getting ready to hop on the erg when Dr. Cooper started talking about doing one herself. We taught her the basics and she was off. During part of it she was like I can see the whole part of forgetting to breathe. As she was going her projected time for finishing was around 10 minutes, so she was striving to get under 10! She accomplished her goal with a time of 9:51.5!! Afterwards she was tired and excited. During hers she had kept telling me to wait and that she would tell me when to go. In the end, I decided that I wanted to wait until she was done so that I could watch her 2k in it’s entirety.  

Wednesday (Day 2)-

 Blog 3: Class

            This session of attending of class definitely went better than the one on Tuesday. My professor for this class is very spunky and energetic and gets very excited when teaching. For some of the students it may almost seem whacky (in a positive way!!), but I think that helps keep us students involved and awake. The secret of the day for this was to whip it out when the teacher is writing on the board. This doesn’t necessarily mean to actually get in touch with people, but just to see if there is anything important going on that you may have missed (I think this stresses that there are lots of other things going on in people’s daily lives, whether it relates to work, school, organizations, interests, etc.). I know that there is a level of respect and appropriateness for paying attention in class, but it was nice to know that sometimes it’s hard because so many other things can be happening all in that time. It can be very difficult to pull yourself away from things that may need attending to.

Blog 4: Work

            My work shift on Monday’s and Wednesday’s are from 7-10:30 p.m.. I know that this may not necessarily be super late for most college students, but when you wake up at 5 in the morning most days; it can be a little tiring. It makes for a very long day when I have to be on campus all day, or doing work, or getting in the extra workouts. I met Dr. Cooper at the Club Bash around 6:30 p.m., with a homemade raspberry lemonade smoothie for each of us to enjoy during work. At 6:45 we headed in to clock in at the pool and get ready for the shift. When she got there, we got her rocking the appropriate attire to be guarding a pool. As the night went on, we had so few people coming to swim, the lap pool was completely empty for a bit as well as the other pools (the least amount of people I have ever had on a shift!). She decided she wasn’t a huge fan of the “GAR” pool, for understandable reasons. At around 10 p.m. Dr. Cooper left for the evening, but I’d be seeing her in a few hours ready to come to practice!

Thursday (Day 3)-

 Blog 5: Practice

            5:20 a.m.: leave my apt

            5:24 a.m.: get girls from the dorms

            5:27 a.m: grab Dr. Cooper

            5:33 a.m.: Get to boathouse

            Once we arrive at the boathouse, we bring oars down to the docks, warm up on the ergs, stretch, have a quick meeting, and then start walking the boats down to the dock to start rowing on the water. The secret of the day was that “I hate crew, because this is too early.” When we got the boat down to the dock and were loading up, Coach had given Dr. Cooper a space suit to wear (a full-body snow pant jumper (possibly like one worn as a little kid)). Our coach and Dr. Cooper got into the launch and we headed south on the Genesee. We did a few pieces of seat racing and headed in to the docks at 7:15 so girls with 8 a.m.’s could leave on time. When we went back out, Dr. Cooper was talking about how she liked the “Attention, row.” That the coxswains or starters say before we start rowing every time. At the end of practice, we all loaded back into my Sube and headed to the dorms to drop girls off. When she asked us about waking up early, we basically said it’s still hard, but you get used to it. It’s also a good way to get it done for the day, and it feels rather productive. I then took Dr. Cooper back to her car and then went on to prepare for the rest of my day. I think she had an amazing time watching and seeing how crew really works, however, I don’t expect her to come back anytime soon due to how early we get up to practice.

Blog 6: SAAC meeting

            I am the V.P. of SAAC, and we meet as an e-board in the downstairs lobby of the campus center, because we don’t have an office. This week our current and new e-board members met  to discuss the Tiger Den Events for the Men’s Lacrosse and Baseball teams, with Jessie Marullo, our G.A. in CCL who coordinates a lot of Tiger Den. When we had finished discussing that, we moved on to finalizing all of the last plans for National Student Athlete Day. This event brings out all of our athletes, each sports team is paired up with another, to compete in some type of game (this year was kickball), and we eat and play together. There is a competition for first and second place as well as best dressed. When all of this was done, Dr. Cooper had to leave for the class she teaches, and we had to go meet with our group of all the SAAAC representatives. Both of our evenings weren’t, even close to being over. I had picked up a shift at the pool from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., and Dr. Cooper was going to be teaching until 10:15 p.m..

Friday (Day 4)-

Blog 7: SG meeting

            This was mine and Dr. Cooper’s last official shadowing experience for the RIT Challenge. I felt really bad, because I arrived to the Student Government meeting 20 minutes late due to trying to get last minute things prepared for SAAC’s celebration of National Student Athlete Day. In the last few announcements we both stood up as SAAC reps and I announced the upcoming Tiger Den Events and Women’s Hockey Appreciation Celebration and Dr. Cooper announced about National Student Athlete Day.

Dr. Heath Boice-Pardee

I used to associate Cheyanne Davis with money, given her role as Finance Director for SG and financial assistant in the Club Center, however I now associate her with hunger.  If I were Cheyanne Davis, I would constantly be a grumpy ball of hunger pains.  Cheyanne’s schedule is chaotic, and I didn’t even get an opportunity to attend one of her classes!  She goes from meetings to work, back to meetings, then back to work without a break.  One morning during work I asked, “When do we get lunch?”  “We don’t,” she replied.  “We don’t have time.”  Luckily for me, Cheyanne works in the Club Center, very close to the SG popcorn.  I was able to snack on SG popcorn, and pastel Junior Mints while I learned the ropes of club finance.  I called a local hotel requesting a copy of a receipt (who knew that the Best Western can email a receipt?)  I also entered payment net… well, Cheyanne did, I watched and reconciled paperwork.  The Club Center is truly a hoppin’ place!

After work in the Club Center, I then attended my first SG Finance Committee meeting, chaired by Cheyanne.  Her calm, cool, and collected demeanor really makes all of the difference in that group who doles out money on behalf of SG.  During this meeting, I was tasked again with more paperwork- stamping “approved” or “denied” on finance requests.  We ended our day together attending an ice cream social for McNair Scholars (finally, a meal!)

This experience reminded me of how hectic life as a student can be, and students like Cheyanne do it with ease.  I enjoyed being Cheyanne Davis and learning more about her and her work.  I just wish I wasn’t so hungry

PS- as part of this year’s Real RIT challenge, I also got to sit in on a business meeting for Alpha Sigma Alpha.  I got to experience what happens to a club meeting when there isn’t an interpreter (no worries, this was orchestrated and the interpreters arrived a little late.)  The women of ASA jumped in and interpreted the meeting- true sisterhood!

Cheyanne Davis

April 18, 2012

This afternoon I found out that me and Dr.Heath would be at the Club Bash later that evening.  When I walked into Ingle Auditorium there he was waving me over.  I was asked to help out for this event.  But at the reception I found Dr. Heath to interact with the students and for some reason give me advice about hair lol.  I was kind of all over the place at the Club Bash, so it was kind of hard for Dr. H to keep up.

April 19, 2012

Today Dr. Heath and I spent all day together.  He cleared his schedule that day and we spent from 8:30 am to about 5:00 pm together.  For me Thursdays is a lot of back and forth.  I go from meeting to work back to a meeting and then back to work.  Dr. Heath was there with me for most of the day accept a meeting in which he could not reschedule.  I was really excited about this day because finally someone would be able to experience Finance Committee from my perspective and see how it works.  Dr. H provided some valuable insight for Finance Committee.  Things that he though could be better written so that a lot of the groups are more prepared for what to expect.  Dr. H also got to see where I work and even helped me complete some of my tasks.  While I’m sure it was kind of boring to him we got a chance to talk about work, class, and outside activities.  Also having things to do back to back I often find myself barely eating on Thursdays or snacking throughout the day with whatever I can get my hands on.  Dr. H wasn’t too fond of this and said he didn’t know how he was going to make it through the day.  But no worries since today Student Government happened to have food in the office leftover from the Club Bash last night.

In my typical schedule I go for a run on Thursdays at 4:00 pm, but this Thursday was a little different because the McNair Scholars program was throwing a ice cream social.  While the ice cream social only had a few scholars there we still had fun.  Dr. H shared about not knowing the resources available to him when he was in college and that he was glad to see us taking advantage of the things here on campus.

After this day I looked forward to hanging out with Dr. H tomorrow at Senate.

April 20, 2012

My last day hanging with Dr. H and today for only one hour.  We went to Student Government Senate.  I went up to Senate early just so I could make sure that we had two seats right next to each other.  I grabbed both of our name tags and set them where I typically sit. I also grabbed seats for Devan, SAAC representative, and Dr.Cooper, who was shadowing her.  With such serious things to discuss today at Senate we didn’t get much time to chat.

Stephanie Bauschard

Tuesday 4/16

Meeting Chelsea yesterday got me very excited for this challenge!  I was an athlete in high school but didn’t participate at the college level.  I have a huge competitive side and love to root for my “home team” or any team for that matter!   Today I got to see a typical afternoon for Chelsea as the president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.  We visited the administrative offices in the SLC as she tied up some loose ends for the Student Athlete Appreciation Day festivities that will occur on Friday.  She was also trying to hunt down some of the administrators and coaches to form a coach’s team.

The best part of our time together today was watching Chelsea put together a quote for a news release about her recent election as the Liberty League SAAC president.  This strong, confident woman was humble and gracious as she worked with Joe Venniro from the sports information staff to develop her quote.  She clearly cared about her work with SAAC and was excited about the opportunity she has with them over the next year.

Then I got to meet the women’s soccer coach, Liz Masterson.  She was hanging out in her office with the assistant coach and a few players discussing the recruits that will be visiting campus this Friday and the practice schedule for the week.  I have to admit, meeting her and seeing these other amazing women had me a little nervous about practice the next morning.

Wednesday 4/17

Practice was moved to 6am so I met Chelsea at 5:30am for rehab (she had some major surgery on her arm this fall as well as ACL surgery).  Ben Emke, the head athletic trainer, was there and ready to assist all of the soccer and volleyball women as they each came in for their individual treatments and prep for their morning practices.  I liked Ben’s approach with the women, he clearly had expectations for them and how they should manage their injury, but was personable and knew each woman’s needs.  Rehab lasted longer than I thought, but the conversation and company were good.  I heard all about last year’s Student Athlete Appreciation Day dodgeball game which got me even more excited for this years event.  Meanwhile, the reality of joining the rest of the team outside started to settle in and I got really nervous.  These women are capital A, Athletes; what was I thinking when I put my sneakers on instead of wearing my clothes for work as an excuse not to actually participate in practice???!!!  Luck was on my side though, it was pretty cold out and Chelsea and one of her ACL compadre’s thought it would be too cold to run too much, in fear of their muscles tightening up in the cold.  (Phew!) So we shagged balls and Chelsea cheered on the women while coach had them running drills.

Watching these women really reminded me of how dedicated they are, not only to their sport but to being at RIT and being successful students.  When I asked Chelsea if coach was tough on them when they got in trouble outside of soccer, she explained that coach has high expectations so it typically isn’t a problem and that the soccer team is full of academically successful women so their team GPA is very good.  Way to go ladies!!

Later I met Chelsea for her 6-10pm class.  They had a test and got out early so that gave us some more time to chat.  She had a long day, with no sleep the night before because she was working on a group project, but yet she managed to be charming and upbeat, and showed me what she was working on both for her project and for SAAC event on Friday.  Overall, a long but inspiring day!

Thursday 4/18

Today I got to see Chelsea’s apartment in UC, where the living room was buried in boxes of t-shirts for Friday.  She was prepping for her SAAC eboard and general meetings which were both focused on the Student Athlete Appreciation event on Friday.  She spoke so highly of the SAAC reps and eboard and talked about how she feels they all are highly committed and it makes events so much easier because everyone helps out.  One thing I found out about Chelsea today is this girl is ORGANIZED.  She has a spreadsheet and a prezi presentation for everything!  I guess when you are as busy as she is, you NEED to be that organized.  We talked about SAAC’s lack of office space or “home” with the other MSO’s.  Chelsea manages by carrying around the SAAC laptop.  But without a common space, the eboard lacks access to the information on the laptop, or a place to keep their event supplies (such as the t-shirts in her living room).

Chelsea’s roommates joined us and I was able to talk to them about their day as well.  They talked about soccer but they also talked about the struggles of contemplating a change of major, the great panel they saw that included professionals from their field, and general roommate stuff.  These women definitely lead full lives, but to them it seems to come natural.  One of the players that I talked to that is in a very challenging major and doesn’t feel supported as an athlete in that major, talked about how her college schedule is actually lighter than her high school schedule because she played on two teams as well as school, and homework in high school.

As a mom of two young girls, I constantly think about how much to sign them up for and what is too much.  I think this experience has made me realize, it all depends on the individual.  Some people thrive in a fast-paced environment, like these athletes who are balancing school, practice, work, and extra-curriculars.  I hope that I can keep that in mind as my daughters grow and I hope their professors will also keep it in mind if they choose to participate in athletics, student government, greek life, or any extra-curricular activity in college.  Yes, our students are here for a college education, but some of them seek additional experiences to feel fulfilled.  As long as they are managing, shouldn’t we support them?

Friday 4/20/12

Today is Student Athlete Appreciation Day and I have a new found appreciation for college athletes thanks to this SG Real RIT Challenge.  I attended the Women’s Hockey celebration which was a great way to honor our champs and show off our TIGER SpiRIT! The Center for Campus Life put together another amazing event.

Then I got to see the SAAC members in action as they set up and executed another wonderful event in honor of all the student athletes.  Poor Chelsea had gotten out of an interview late so ran the entire event in her suit and shoes.  It didn’t slow her down a bit!  I love that tenacity!

I really enjoyed the week and only wish I could have spent more time with Chelsea and her peers.  A glimpse into RIT’s athletic world was eye opening and only makes me prouder of our students.  GO TIGERS!!

Do you have any suggestions or comments about RIT and student life? Feel free to leave us feedback here. The participants are taking part in this challenge to experience RIT through the eyes of a student and want to know how the campus can be improved to be more accommodating for us!

You are also encouraged to leave feedback on participant blog posts that will be uploaded after the completion of the different scenarios throughout the week of April 16-20.