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Graduation from the Global Perspective

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Visas, Graduation, and Green Cards

by Nicole Howley

When figuring out what to do after graduation, fourth year Marketing major Trisha Khanna was a bit stressed: “Major freak out: That was my thought process.” Many students seem to go through this as they get closer to graduation, but Khanna had more factors to consider than some of her fellow classmates.

Khanna is from New Delhi, India and, as an international student, she has to take visas and citizenship into consideration. Although international students are able to stay in the United States during their degree program with little hassle due to their student visas, the paperwork becomes a bit more complicated after graduation. Not all students plan to stay in the United States after graduating but those who do have to make sure that it is truly a possibility.

This is a concern to many students on campus considering that over 10 percent are international students. As of fall 2012, 1,949 students from 101 countries were enrolled for either their graduate or undergraduate degree here.


Ethan Thornton

UNDERGRADUATE VS. GRADUATE DEGREES

Jeffery Cox, the director of International Student Services, estimates that about two thirds of international students at RIT are here for their graduate degree, some of them pursuing their PhD. Fewer students come to RIT for their undergraduate degrees, partially due to the cost of obtaining an undergraduate degree.

Mechanical Engineering graduate student Arnab Chanda is from India and from his experience, he understands why not as many students are willing to come to the United States for their undergraduate degree: “Undergraduate is very expensive. There’s a huge difference in the currency because a dollar is like 50 Indian rupees ... Graduate tends to be about five times cheaper than that.”

Even with a cheaper tuition and a scholarship that covers about half of his schooling costs, Chanda is paying much more for his education here than he had to pay for the undergraduate degree he got in India. “I spend like 2,000 for a course,” says Chanda, “With 2,000, I was done with my undergrad back in India.”

However, Khanna still came to the United States for her undergraduate degree and so did fourth year International Business and Marketing Major Andre Joly from Brazil. Joly knew from a very young age that he wanted to come to the United States for his college education.

“If you compare a University in Brazil, they aren’t as good as the colleges here in the United States. That’s why I decided I wanted to come here for my education,” says Joly. “I wanted to get the best education that I could.

STAYING IN THE US AFTER GRADUATION

Joly hopes that he can find a job here after graduation and stay in the United States for the duration of his career. So far, he’s on the right track, having completed a six-month marketing internship with Disney, focused on their Latin American audience. Joly believes that he has a lot to contribute due to his experience at RIT as well as his knowledge of the region and he hopes that he can get similar job opportunities in the future. “After I graduate, that’s kind of what I want to do; I want to work for an American company but focusing on the Latin American market,” says Joly.

But for many international students, it can be difficult to get a long-term job in the United States. After a student graduates and their student visa is no longer in effect, they can obtain an Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization, which extends their visa for up to 12 months. Students generally use this time to take advantage of internship opportunities, to find a job that might be willing to sponsor their citizenship in the future or to apply for additional schooling.

If a student does not decide to move on to another degree within the United States or they don’t find a company to sponsor them, staying here more than a year after graduation is near impossible. However, science, technology, engineering and mathematics students can get a 17 month extension on their OPT period.

“They have to be working for a company that’s enrolled in this system called E-Verify but more and more companies these days are and, certainly at RIT, there are a lot of students who studied in those particular majors that are authorized,” says Cox, the director of International Student Services. “If they file on time, they pretty much get it.”

Although getting an OPT and even an extended OPT is not too difficult Cox admits, “Beyond that it is hard. It depends on the economy.” If the economy is in a slump, jobs for international students are difficult to come across because of the paperwork and costs that can be involved.

“The work visa is very difficult to get, unless of course you are an engineer or a doctor or like a crazy financier guru or something,” explains Khanna. “In that case, it becomes a lot easier.”

For students who wish to stay, there are still other options. After their OPT expires, if a student is working for a company that is willing to sponsor the cost and fill out the paperwork, the company can help them change the status of their visa to an H-1B meaning that, as long as they work for that employer, they can stay in the United States for three more years. They can then renew this status for another three years. If they want to change employers, they must re-file and there are additional fees involved.

After getting the H-1B and staying in the country for five or six years, it is much easier to apply for a green card which employers sometimes are willing to sponsor as well.

Chanda hopes to stay in the United States and pursue a career as a professor at a university, following his passion for research: “I always wanted to come to the United States and do a lot of research.” However, he doubts that he can get a University to sponsor his citizenship due to the high costs. Instead, he plans on extending his time in the United States by taking advantage of his OPT and then obtaining another student visa for his PhD. By the end of his degree, he believes that he will have spent enough time in the United States to apply for citizenship on his own.

For other international students, there is hope of remaining in the United States as well if they are interested. “What we are seeing in our office this year is a turn and an increase in the number of job opportunities that students get,” says Cox. “We don’t have hard statistics on those but we have definitely processed more co-ops and practical training work papers over the last year. So that’s good. It’s a good sign that the economy is picking back up in a lot of sectors.”

Overall, it appears that the slowly improving economy and employers increasing open-mindedness is leading to growing opportunities for international students as well. For the students graduating in the near future, it still might be a bit of a struggle, but the possibility and the resources to help are still here. “I think it’s going to be hard,” says Joly. “But at the same time, I think I’m ready; I think I’m prepared.”

Giving Back After Graduation

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

by Danielle Delp, Alyssa Jackson

“I had a lot of great opportunities throughout my life,” said RIT alumnus David Kraines over the phone. “I got to go to RIT, get a great education, and receive a lot of opportunities that not everyone gets. I grew to love Rochester and the people and I wanted to help and serve the community.”

Many RIT alumni, like Kraines, have chosen to give back to the community after graduation whether it was a community nearby or in another country. There are many organizations that help people find these short term or long term opportunities to give back including AmeriCorps, Teach for America and Peace Corps, each of which provides opportunities to help the community grow while growing, yourself.

AMERICORPS

According to the AmeriCorps website, the program is “a network of national service programs that engage Americans in intensive service to meet the nation’s critical needs in education, public safety, health and the environment.” The program’s main goal is to promote community service projects, and according Kraines, it does so in a way that is very appealing to students who are exiting college.

After graduating from RIT with a degree in New Media Publishing in 2010, Kraines worked for AmeriCorps from August 2010 until 2011 in the Rochester Youth Year program, a mission run out of the University of Rochester. This program specifically looks at capacity building in organizations so that the group can expand its ability and sustain itself after the volunteers have gone. The program appealed to him because of his Christian faith and the other benefits that come along with participating in the program. For example, AmeriCorps will freeze student loans for a year, including the interest on the loans, and at the end of the year that you spend with them they will pay 5,000 toward the loans. The downside: AmeriCorps pays you 10,000 for the year that you spend with them. Kraines explained that this wasn’t a difficult monetary situation for him because he was allowed to apply for foodstamps and other government aid.

“When you really think about what you need to buy in a year, in comparison to what we spend money on, that amount is more than enough,” Kraines said. “They encourage it because it brings you closer to people you’re serving.”

Kraines explained that there are a multitude of opportunities within AmeriCorps, and that not all of them are a full year long, like the program he participated in. He said that there are summer programs as well and that some of the volunteer opportunities include cleaning National Parks. Another program he talked about, RiseGo, looks for individuals to teach kids about business and other important subjects so that they can better their communities. AmeriCorps programs are offered nationwide.

Because many of the programs are summer- or year-long, Kraines stated that AmeriCorps doesn’t require a career commitment. Basically, you can test it out for a few months and decide if it is something you want to continue to be a part of. He also said that the experience allows you to meet a plethora of people to add to your connections and network. And after living a year with such little funds, one really knows how to manage a budget.

“You don’t get many opportunities to take your life and invest it into something positive like this,” Kraines said.

Kraines encouraged other students to consider becoming involved in the program in some way, citing his own positive experiences as reason. Students that are interested can find more information on their website, http://americorps.gov.

TEACH FOR AMERICA

Christian Kowalski-Re is a third year Civil Engineering Technology student and the head of service for the fraternity Phi Sigma Pi, a position that has allowed him to become closely involved with the program Teach for America. This program is the national philanthropy of the fraternity, which helps with supply drives, tutoring and local webinars with information for other interested Greek Life.

“People who have participated in the program or are in charge of the program speak to other chapters to let them know what it’s all about and talk about their experiences,” said Kowalski-Re.

He became involved with the program at the beginning of this academic year when he became the head of service for Phi Sigma Pi. Although his involvement is currently limited to what he does through his fraternity, he hopes to continue his involvement with the Teach for America after he graduates by tutoring students from underprivileged communities in Rochester. He explained that these schools could suffer from a lack of funding or ineffective teachers who are there based on tenure.

“I’ve spoken with people who are directly in the program and it’s not like math based, English based or history based,” explained Kowalski-Re. “They take people such as engineering majors, like me, to teach technology classes and to help students get the perspective of hands on critical thinking skills. They have people with all types of majors participating in these programs.”

According to Kowalski-Re, Teach for America’s number one goal is educational equality. To achieve this goal the program provides school supplies for underprivileged families and attempts to get students excited about learning through tutoring and mentoring programs. Kowalski-Re stated that his fraternity has also written letters to students about higher education and its importance in an attempt to increase students’ desire to continue their education after high school.

“It’s really unfair, especially in these underprivileged schools, for the children as well as the communities,” said Kowalski-Re. “They try to target schools with really high dropout rates and schools that don’t have the highest grades; they’re not necessarily the best schools.”

Kowalski-Re explained that his experience with Teach for America has been very positive and fulfilling thus far and that others he has spoken with agree: “Everyone who has been a participant of it has said that it has been a life changing experience. It feels amazing for them to make an impact and change children’s lives.”

The fraternity member said that Phi Sigma Pi will be hosting a school supply drive from April 30 to May 1 in the infinity quad, and the school items that are donated will go to Teach for America to be distributed in the schools that are a part of the program. Another program the fraternity takes part in is backpack drives, where back packs are stuffed with items that may help students in school and are given to students in need.

Students who are interested in becoming more involved with Teach for America, whether it be through tutoring, writing letters or donating supplies, are encouraged to go to the website at http://teachforamerica.org.


“I was visiting another volunteer on island and I taught a brief photography class to the 6th graders at their school. I let the students use my NIKON D300s professional camera to practice taking pictures.”
Alicia Stern

PEACE CORPS

During her final years at RIT, Alicia Stern, a long-time and enthusiastic participant in community service programs, was considering committing herself to the Peace Corps immediately after graduation. After extensive research and reaching out to the organization, she was able to sign up for a 27-month assignment that began immediately after her graduation in 2008. Stern’s choice is another example of alternative paths open to students after graduation.

Stern found herself drawn to the program not just for its value as a community service, but also for the opportunity it presented to her personally: “I knew what AmeriCorps was, and then I heard about Peace Corps and I was kind of fixated on joining the Peace Corps after college because I transferred I didn’t have the opportunity to travel abroad for study abroad.” It’s impossible to know which country you will go to before you apply since you cannot select which country you will be sent to. Once you are there, however, you can be assigned to any task from educational work to assisting with agricultural development and public health improvement.

Stern’s assignment led her to Jamaica, where she worked for nearly three years. Volunteers like Stern are assigned to multiple tasks while abroad, but each task is designed to ultimately support the three goals of the Peace Corps. These boil down to providing trained men and women to assist with development efforts, promote understanding of American culture, and promote the understanding of foreign cultures by the volunteers. This can be extremely difficult at times, especially in countries that hold Americans in low regard. Stern herself encountered some extremely negative views of Americans during her tour. In order to promote understanding, however, volunteers are expected to help provide insight into positive aspects of American culture that locals might not otherwise encounter. As Stern explained over the phone, “Peace Corps is, you know, a development organization, but it’s also ... a cultural exchange.”


“Me using a hoe to plant fruit trees in the mountains. This was a school field trip I arranged.”
Alicia Stern

At the time Stern applied for the Peace Corps, RIT did not associate with the organization very much and recruiters rarely visited the campus. But now it’s much easier to get involved with the Peace Corps through RIT, with information sessions occasionally hosted on campus for interested students. If you can’t make a session, you can also get in touch with your regional recruiting office directly or online and ask for more information. Stern cautions that the Peace Corps is a serious commitment that not everyone should take on. “I think people have high expectations and I think a lot of people, they join the Peace Corps to find who they are as a person, and you have to actually already know who you are as a person,” she explained. “You’ll grow as a person, as a volunteer, you’ll definitely grow. And you’ll face things you might never have faced before, like you might face death, disease, poverty.” She went on reveal that, in the face of these challenges, many people don’t manage to last the entire 27 months of their assignment.

After she returned from Jamaica, Stern continued working for the Peace Corps as a recruiter for some time. Since then, she has stepped back from the Peace Corps to focus on her career as a photographer. She still visits Jamaica regularly - roughly once every six months - to take photos of the people and to visit the friends she made there. Even now, five years after she first left on her assignment, she continues to recommend the service to graduates and everyday citizens alike: “It’s not for everybody, but if you’re a person who wants to experience something completely different, there’s no other organization that’s like the Peace Corps.”

According to an article published in University News in 2011, 78 RIT students have volunteered for the Peace Corps alone. With the growing presence of the organization on campus and the growing number of students attending RIT, that number will surely increase in the years to come.

Whether it is through AmeriCorps, Teach for America or the Peace Corps, there are many opportunities for students to give back to their local communities or the world community after graduation. While these programs may not be for everyone, they are options for students to consider if they have a passion for service and helping others. Information for any of these programs can be found on their websites. Students can also get more information by talking with their academic advisors, who can point them in the right direction, or by attending informational sessions held throughout the year.

Lost Classes

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:53:02 -0400

Space Tourism and More!

by Kayla Emerson

Unfortunately, true gems of classes sometimes get lost to time. Some of these classes are sensible, others whimsical. But schedules and departments change, or student interest wanes, causing classes to no longer be offered. Space Tourism and The Psychology of Altered States of Consciousness have been gone a few years, while Hunting has been gone a few decades. Whole majors get lost, like the Textiles major, while others, like Psychology, get created. Perhaps some of these course changes are for the best. But one must wonder why these lost classes were offered to begin with, and why they went away.

SPACE TOURISM

Dr. Clinton “Clint” Wallington is a professor in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management. He taught Space Tourism for two years, back around 2000. The course originated with Dr. Francis Domoy, chair emeritus of the former School of Hospitality and Service Management (SHSM), who was inspired to create the class after meeting Buzz Aldrin. The class was discontinued as SHSM went through leadership changes.

According to the University News website, “The course explored the history of space exploration and habitation, economic and technical factors related to commercial development of space (particularly low earth orbit habitats such as the International Space Station), and business development, dietetics, environmental management including HVAC, orbital mechanics, packaging science and tourism management as they relate to future space tourism needs.”Wallington recalled that the course focused on what it would take to live in space, including practical considerations of eating and using the bathroom in microgravity.

At the time Space Tourism was offered at RIT, companies like Virgin Galactic were promising space tourism flights as early as 2010. However, due to the lack of Federal Aviation Administration regulation of spaceflight and the high expense, commercial flights into space are not yet available.

“It’s going to take a few more years, but I think it’s going to happen,” said Wallington. When that day comes, there will be a demand for space tourism experts. For now, private citizens wishing to travel to space must settle for a ‘vacation’ at the International Space Station for upwards of 20 million.

HUNTING

Over 30 years ago, RIT offered a Hunting wellness course. Many other wellness courses from that time period, such as Igloo Building and Skeet and Trap Shooting, have also disappeared. “Our program was very different at the time,” said Dugan Davies, the current wellness coordinator for RIT’s Wellness Instructional Program.

At the time hunting was still a course option, RIT required six wellness classes to graduate, instead of just the current two. Naturally, the school tried to offer a wide variety of options, many of which utilized off-campus facilities.

Davies cited many possible reasons why classes like hunting are no longer offered. For one, the Wellness Instructional Program is striving to offer more on-campus classes. Also, over the years, the focus of the program has moved towards fitness.

The Hunting class, though, presents a unique challenge: weapons use. Recently, said Davies, RIT has avoided offering classes that involve weapons use, including a proposed Paintball course. Some wellness classes such as Kali use stick weapons, but with New York State’s toughening gun laws, hunting and shooting courses are more difficult to put in place.

While it is also possible that classes like Hunting are no longer offered because of a decline in student interest, Davies recognizes that students do enjoy the outdoors, as evidenced by the thriving Interactive Adventures wellness courses. She said it would be interesting to poll students and gauge their interest in bringing the Hunting course back. Students interested in proposing a new wellness class can fill out a New Course Proposal available online.

MAJOR CHANGES

Changes in course offerings are a reality in an ever-evolving academic institution like RIT. Now, we are going through the big semester conversion causing some courses and their content to be rearranged. But in other periods of change at the university, entire majors have been deleted or formed leading to changes in courses as well.

When the Textiles major was removed, it took most of the related courses with it. And when the Psychology B.S. program was added in 1996, some courses were removed as well. This included The Psychology of Altered States of Consciousness which, according to an email from the Psychology Department Chair Andrew Herbert, was “very popular with long waiting lists.” However, the course did not fit with the B.S. program and was taken off the course list as a result.

Course offerings wax and wane with student and teacher interests. Space tourism was an exciting topic during its time, just like Humans vs. Zombies Bootcamp wellness courses addresses a popular topic now. Losing an interesting class is disappointing but it can open a space for something new.

Having Class

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:50:20 -0400

Determining what's available.

by Nicole Howley


Seth Abel

“Generally registration has gone pretty smoothly. I mean obviously I don’t always get all the classes that I want or that I need. But just the biggest thing was that they didn’t offer the class I needed this quarter and since it’s a prerequisite to the other ones, that just caused issues,” explained second year Packaging Science major Morgan Moak.

In a random survey of students asked about their registration in the past, some students expressed similar feelings about registration: they don’t always get the class section they wanted and sometimes it can be more difficult to get into classes outside of their major. But all of the students surveyed said that they could get into a course section that worked for them eventually.

Moak transferred into the Packaging Science program in the fall after a year as a Photography major. Even with a switch in program and the transition to the semester system, she was supposed to be able to graduate on time. However, due to a prerequisite course she needed to take this quarter being canceled, she was told that she would need to stay at RIT for an additional semester.

In order to avoid situations like this, RIT works at the general and individual level to make sure that students have access to the classes they need. Recently, time and effort spent on this work has intensified with the looming transition into semesters. With new plans in place to measure what changes need to be, all are hoping that the process will be as smooth as possible.

General Structure

“It’s a balancing act,” says Jacqueline Reynolds Mozrall, associate dean and professor in the Kate Gleason College of Engineering. Registering for classes can be a balancing act for students who have to mix and match the courses in their schedules until they have a good combination of the classes they need with the classes they want at the times that fit. However, Mozrall was referring to the people who come up with the available courses and sessions who have to weigh several factors in their scheduling decisions as well.

“It would be irresponsible of the university to have multitudes of sections of courses with two or three students in them. It would be irresponsible of us to use your tuition dollars to not fill these classes but at the same time you want to make sure that you have enough classes to fill the needs of the student,” says Mozrall. “So there’s that balancing act of making sure you have enough sections but not too many sections. It’s balancing that supply and demand and trying to do it in the most optimum way.”

Mozrall’s college has a scheduling officer in charge of finding this balance while setting up what courses the college will offer. The people within the departments of the college send the scheduling officer information such as which courses need to be offered, how long each session needs to be, if the class requires a lab or a certain type of classroom and the number of students within their department who need to take the class. Then, from this information, the department can determine how many sessions they need to offer for each course.

When scheduling courses, figuring out class sizes and determining the number of sessions, “One of our restraints is our classrooms,” explains Joe Loffredo, RIT’s registrar. “There are only so many classrooms that can hold large numbers of students.”

Mozrall also commented that the course determination process differs by college due to their different audiences. “In liberal arts, they are serving all the students in the university where as, in engineering, we are primarily serving engineering students,” says Mozrall. “We don’t offer a bunch of classes that students from other programs or degrees from across the university are going to want to take like liberal arts or the College of Science. So the process is a little bit different.” For instance, the departments within the College of Engineering only have to take into consideration the students within their majors when determining how many seats to offer. The College of Liberal Arts, on the other hand, has to determine how many seats to offer based on the number of people throughout all the majors at RIT that might need to take their courses.

The process for determining course schedules has also shifted due to the semester conversion. But luckily, the university as a whole has planned far in advance. Courses were proposed for New York State Approval about three years ago and then a committee with representatives from all of the colleges began meeting over a year and a half ago to begin discussing course and scheduling specifics. Scheduling for semesters was quite different from scheduling for the quarter system. “With semesters, everything was brand new: new courses, new requirements,” says Loffredo.

However, the advance planning is not something new to the colleges. “The planning process for scheduling is done way before students register,” says Mozrall. “But still, you try to predict how many students will be in the class.”

Once registration hits, if more students need the class than the colleges predicted, the college may look for a bigger room to keep the class in to create more seats. If that isn’t the most effective decision or not an available option, then the college might open another section of the course instead. As Mozrall explains, “If we know that there are more students that need the class, we do whatever we can to create more to teach another class instead. When students have slightly different course plans due to factors such as changing majors, it can be more difficult for the colleges and departments to include all the necessary classes for them in the general course plans which, for the semester transition, were arranged by year level. But that’s why the colleges have arranged for individualized planning to take place as well.


Seth Abel

Individualizing

“There was an overall, generic plan but you know as a student here that everyone follows a slightly different plan,” said Mozrall. “Not everyone follows the same thing so that’s where the Individualizing plan came in.”

This registration period, every student was required to meet with their advisor for an Individual Advising Plan (IAP). The advising practices implemented during these meetings have also been in development over the course of the semester transition planning in order to make this registration period as smooth as possible. But there are many factors that advisors now have to take into account, some of which were not as prominent before.

For instance, Loffredo explains that, “Another big change that we are implementing is, in the past we have never had the Student Information System enforce prerequisites, and that’s new for this fall too.” This change is meant to help make sure that the students taking the class are qualified and to leave seats open in the class for students who are.

However, for Moak, this reinforcement of prerequisites posed a problem since the class she couldn’t take this quarter is one that she needs as a prerequisite for other required classes.

This is an important factor for others to consider as well. Lawrence R. Contero, an academic advisor in the College of Liberal Arts, advises students from all majors about their liberal arts requirements and concentrations. He explained that in quarters, before the reinforcement of semesters, some of the concentrations would allow or require the students to take upper level courses. Now concentrations are made up of three courses but some of the upper level courses may require the student to take a foundation course too. This means that some concentrations might end up including four or five courses instead. “Not every single concentration is only going to be a minimum of three courses. Because it is a specific concentration, it might add up to one or two extra courses involved in it,” says Contero.

Contero also mentioned his advising of third or fourth year students who need to take their liberal arts courses still might not find room in their schedules. “On occasions, depending on their circumstances, we do make exceptions for them, and we might occasionally substitute a course but it depends on the student’s circumstance and where they are falling in here at RIT at that time,” explains Contero.

But first Contero assesses all the options. When a student can’t find the course they need, Contero first asks if they have looked at all of the other options. Then if there is a course that interests them and still fills the requirement, it could serve as a substitute.

Moak later met with her advisor in order to discus additional options and possible substitutes for her class too. She thought about taking a summer course at a community college but due to the specific material covered in the class offered at RIT, her advisor told her that it would be a difficult class to replace. Her advisor did try to comfort her with the information that she would not have to pay tuition while on co-op. She also gave her an additional option: “She said what I can do is I can just overload on credits for one semester that I have left and then that way, I will still be able to graduate when I was supposed to and still do co-op. The meeting went kind of well. It was better than I expected.”

And Mozrall explains that if an advisor has a student with a unique situation, “They can ask the department head or another faculty member ... so then as a team, we figure out what to do.”

Adapting

Although there might be some hiccups in registration this quarter, especially with the semester transition, there are people at every level of RIT trying to make sure that everyone gets into the classes they need.

As far as Moak’s situation, she feels “like it’s not something that’s going to continue to happen. I think, just because of the switch of going from quarters to semesters, that it’s a problem now. But I think once we’ve adapted to semesters, everything is going to flow a lot smoother.”

Loffredo believes that the system will only get better too especially since they have from now until the end of summer to make even more corrections and changes to the system: “The good thing is we have some time to react.”

But for this week and next, “Students will enroll for fall, our first semester,” says Loffredo. “And... it’s going to be interesting.”

“The next two years here - two and a half - will be able to let me know if things will get better or not,” says Moak. With time, we will be able to figure out if the classes for semesters fit together as well as, or better than, the quarter system.

LGBT Club Comparison

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 01:17:00 -0400

by Krista Bellardo

At RIT, there are many clubs dedicated to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities and their allies. The four main LGBT student organizations are OUTSpoken, Tangent, Spectrum and ritGA. According to Tristan Wright, president of OUTSpoken there is also a new club that is in the process of being recognized that will be the “queer women’s group,” although the name hasn’t officially been decided.

While all of these clubs essentially work towards the same goal, each club has its own qualities that differentiate it from the other LGBT clubs on campus.

OUTSPOKEN

OUTSpoken is the Major Student Organization that is responsible for REPRESENTING THE LGBT COMMUNITY in Student Government (SG). Although OUTSpoken has the closest connection to SG, the administration and resources, they work closely with the other three clubs on many initiatives.

According to Wright, OUTSpoken does not have members, but rather a constituency. Wright estimates that their email list currently has around 80 PEOPLE on it. “We represent the LGBT students, so we estimate that we REPRESENT ABOUT 10 PERCENT OF THE CAMPUS community,” said Wright.

Aside from having a constituency rather than a membership, second year Political Science and Journalism major and programming director of OUTSpoken Billy Gerken said that the MSO is more of an “UMBRELLA ASSOCIATION” in that it represents all of the LGBT clubs. He said that they help the other clubs with whatever they need, whether it is funding, advice for their organization or anything else.

SPECTRUM

Spectrum is a club for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and allies (GLBTQQA), primarily within the DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING community at RIT. Although this club works mostly with NTID, it is open to all students, hearing included.

According to Robb Dooling, fourth year Computer Science major and the current president, the club has existed at RIT on and off FOR DECADES under various names. The last time the club was active was in 2005 but it declined soon after. In 2010 Spectrum became active again and has stayed active since.

Dooling says that there are anywhere from 15 TO 30 MEMBERS in Spectrum. He estimates that there is approximately a 70 to 30 ratio of Deaf and hard of hearing members to hearing members in the club this year. Members attend general meetings, support any club fundraising and attend the major events.

Spectrum differs from the other LGBT clubs at RIT because of their focus on the Deaf community. According to Dooling, Spectrum is part of the NTID Student Congress and works with other Deaf community clubs for events on campus.

“The difference between Spectrum and other organizations might be that we have an ASL meeting and the events are all in ASL,” said Dooling. “The other clubs have interpreters and are open to Deaf people. We have voice interpreters and focus on the Deaf community but are open to hearing people.”

RITGA

The RIT Gay Alliance (ritGA) recently changed their name to the RIT GLBTQA Alliance to include gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and allied in their full title, but they still goes by ritGA for short. The club works to EDUCATE, ADVOCATE AND CELEBRATE the LGBT community at RIT. One of the major events that ritGA hosts during the year is a drag show in the fall and spring.

ritGA became an official club on October 11, 1983 and has been active since then. According to second year Industrial and Systems Engineering major Paul Sira, the club’s current president, ritGA EXISTED UNOFFICIALLY BEFORE 1983 as well.

Sira said that the club currently has between 40 and 50 active members. He added that some of their meetings have an attendance of around 100 DIFFERENT STUDENTS. Members help suggest ideas for events, take part in discussions and go to club events.

ritGA is a more social club according to Sira. He added that this club is WHERE MOST OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY AND THEIR ALLIES GO. “Most of what we do is social programming and community building and offering a space for students to talk and form a community,” said Sira.

TANGENT

Tangent is the LBGT club that focuses on the TRANSGENDER, GENDERQUEER AND NON BINARY POPULATION on campus. Tangent is a space for this community to hang out, interact and share information.

OUTSpoken president Tristan Wright was one of the co-founders of Tangent. He said the club was created when a young transgender woman, the other co-founder, WAS FEELING ISOLATED ON CAMPUS. When she realized that she probably wasn’t the only transgender person at RIT feeling this way, she decided to create the organization.

All of the LGBT clubs at RIT share common goals according to Gerken of OUTSpoken. They are all seeking to INFORM THE COMMUNITY, RECRUIT MORE ALLIES, SPREAD AWARENESS and CREATE A MORE OPEN COMMUNITY

Allies and Accessability

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:56:01 -0400

The North East LGBT Conference Comes to RIT.

by Nicole Howley

RIT’S Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) organizations have worked hard to unite a campus and raise awareness of the issues facing the community today. To further these goals, members of the LGBT groups on campus are hosting the North East LGBT Conference (NELGBTC), an annual convention which is coming to RIT for the first time. From April 12 to 14, the conference will host numerous workshops and speakers lecturing on topics ranging from healthcare to international issues to activism.

The theme for this year’s conference is “The Ally in YOU,” in an effort to encourage alliance and support both from outside and within the LGBT community. According to the conference’s website, “The term ‘Ally’ refers not only to supportive people outside the LGBT community, but also to those within who make an effort to include and support identities and cultures other than their own.”

This idea is the motivation behind the many accommodations that the Conference Host Committee (CHC), a group comprised of a variety of campus representatives, has made for the conference. “One of the values that we have as a committee is that we are inclusive to the greatest extent possible,” says Henry Hinesley, member of the CHC and coordinator of the RIT GLBT Center. They have made sure to include wheelchair accessibility to all facilities, both gender specific and gender neutral bathrooms and interpreters proficient in ASL and LGBT terminology, all in the effort of uniting the campus.

Coming to RIT

After over a year of planning and preparation, NELGBTC is coming to RIT. Since its founding in 1995 at the University at Albany, NELGBTC has gained increasing attention and support and, in 2010, made its first move to University at Buffalo.

Since then, it has taken place in different locations across New York State and next year, they plan to take the conference to New Jersey. In order to maintain consistency at each conference, a Board of Directors works to provide some of the funding and assistance to the campus running the event. “It’s sort of advisory,” explains third year Interpreting major and president of OUTspoken Tristan Wright. “They help in terms of advice and walking us through the process.”

A lot of the organizational work has been done by the CHC, which includes representatives from Access Services, the Student Interpreting Association, Student Affairs, Center for Women and Gender, NTID, Multicultural Student Life, Wellness Education, the GLBT Center and the various LGBTQ clubs around campus (see page 16). “We started out by including everyone who wanted to be involved,” says Hinesley.

About a year and a half ago, Hinesley took up the responsibility for developing the proposal to host the event here on campus. Once their bid was accepted, he encouraged the LGBT leaders from around campus to get involved in the effort. Clubs responded by offering workshops, presentations and volunteers.

“I hadn’t anticipated that we would be quite as involved but it has actually worked out really, really well,” Wright explains. OUTspoken has helped with the conference through their involvement with the welcome reception and some of the other presentations during the event, in addition to helping fund some aspects of the conference.

Other organizations and local companies have been contributing funding as well including RIT’s President’s Office, RIT alumni Frank Selvaggi and Bill Shea, the RIT GLBT Center, the Center for Campus Life/Office of Diversity and Inclusion, ACA: AALANA Collegiate Association, Global Union, the History Department, Residence Life, Student Government, Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Bruegger’s Bagels, the RIT Gay Alliance, Image Out, Spectrum and Wegmans. Gracie’s and Brick City will also be contributing their efforts by providing some of the catering and additional vegetarian and vegan options.

The NELGBTC draws in hundreds of students and advisors from all around the Northeast annually; this year’s conference is expected to reach 500 participants. Last Friday, Hinesley said that they had about 450 people registered and were planning on either ending registration by Wednesday, April 10 or once they had registered 500 people, capping the number in an effort to accommodate everyone in the space they have.

In addition to provided adequate, the committee has made an effort to increase ease of access for everyone wishing to attend.

Access for Everyone

In order to accommodate all attendees, increasing wheelchair access was crucial, yet was one of the simpler tasks that the committee hoped to complete. “It helps with structural accessibility — ramps and elevators — that we are holding it in spaces that are accessible,” Wright explains, “which was part of the thought process. RIT already has to be accessible which is useful.”

However, the rest of the accommodations have required a little more preparation on behalf of the CHC.

Gender Neutrality

Gender neutral bathrooms are not something new to the conference. NELGBTC has made a conscious effort to include both gender neutral and gender specific bathrooms at this conference and the past ones as well.

However, there is still a lack of gender neutral bathrooms in most public spaces. Even at RIT, Hinesley predicts that they will need to convert some of the gender specific bathrooms on campus to be all-inclusive.

Hinesley realizes that the lack of gender neutral public restrooms poses a problem to the transgender community who may not feel safe or comfortable going into either bathroom. This has been a problem and a source of controversy across the nation.

A public school in Colorado stopped allowing a six year old student, who was born a male but who is female identifying, to use the girls’ bathroom; instead, she was allowed to choose between the boys’ bathroom, the neutral faculty bathroom, and the nurse’s bathroom. However, her parents have since withdrawn her from the school after filing a discrimination complaint.

In Arizona, State Representative John Kavanagh proposed a bill to make it illegal to use the restroom designated for the biological sex that differs from the one the individual was born with. However, after receiving a great deal of criticism, the bill has been changed to allow the owners of private facilities to make the final call on whether or not to allow this in their facilities.

Despite this proposal, efforts are being made to increase understanding and awareness of the issues that members of the transgender community face. At conferences in the past, Hinesley has participated in this effort through his presentations to advisors on how to make their campuses more transgender friendly.

During these presentations, Hinesley stresses how this can be accomplished: increasing the ease by which a person can change their name and the creation of gender neutral housing and facilities, such as gender neutral bathrooms in dorms and public spaces on campus. Hinesley explains that at RIT, students can change the name on their ID card quite easily; however, changing a person’s name within the different RIT information systems can be quite complicated, time consuming and - in the financial aid arena - impossible unless the change is made legally.

According to Hinsley, gender neutral housing still needs to be addressed at RIT so that transgender individuals can choose which housing to live in based off of their preferred gender.

At this year’s conference, there will be workshops provided on the topic of transgender concerns including Trans 101 and a Gender Neutral Housing Panel.

The Deaf Queer Experience

The Conference Host Committee has also worked to hire and train interpreters for the event. Hinesley says that the goal of the training was to make sure that they are fluent in up-to-date signs for LGBT terminology. Wright explains that “If an interpreter hasn’t been exposed to that either through their academic preparation or through their life experiences, then they aren’t likely to know that terminology.”

Luckily, some of the interpreters with experience on campus know the terminology well already. “The LGBT clubs at RIT have been working with interpreting services ... and the conference is a natural extension of that work,” says Wright. Once the committee started meeting up, interpreting services also got involved to interpret those meetings for the Deaf members.

In addition to providing interpreting for the workshops, the conference will have white boards available to enable conversation between the deaf and hearing attendees. But incorporating Deaf culture into the conference has involved more elements than this alone.

“We’ve really worked hard to incorporate a lot of the Deaf queer experience which is just something that the average individual does not encounter,” explains Wright. “I’m an interpreting student. They always remind us in the department that we exist in a community where it seems like Deaf people are everywhere and Deaf queer issues, including “It’s a Deaf, Deaf World,” “No voice Zone,” “Mentoring Deaf Queer Students” and “Deaf Queer Culture”.

Wright mentions that the Deaf culture here is “something that’s very unique about RIT and something that is very unique about the queer culture at RIT.” According to Hinesly, this uniqueness is part of what contributes to what he believes to be the main issue that Deaf members of the LGBT community face: social isolation.

The Deaf community is relatively small already but when an individual is also part of a specific sector of the queer community, it can be difficult to find people to relate to the individual’s situation and the issues that they face. Spectrum, one of the LGBT-focused clubs on campus, is primarily focused on the deaf and hard of hearing queer communities and although Hinesley admits that the club is small, it can help students to feel less isolated. “That’s the whole point,” says Hinesly. “Trying to get past feeling different.”

Belonging to any type or any number of cultural subgroups can lead to this type of isolation. But with the growing prominence and popularity of conferences and gatherings like the NELGBTC, it may become easier to find the support and inclusion that so many seek. With the theme of “The Ally in YOU” for the upcoming conference, this goal may be within reach.

Increasing Access Through Technology

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Bridging the gap in deaf-hearing communication.

by Nicole Howley, Jeff McKinzie

In the Deaf community, there’s a commonly used expression: “bridging the gap” - trying to make communication more accessible between deaf and hearing people. In the Deaf community, recent technology has been creating opportunities that make it easier to communicate with others. At RIT/NTID these technologies are being developed to improve communication and access for Deaf students.


Jon Lavalley

PRESENT TECHNOLOGIES

The Department of Access Services (DAS) is one major portion of this movement that utilizes technology specifically to help students receive the information they need to succeed in their classes. One of the major technologies is C-Print, a captioning service that is offered to deaf and hard-of-hearing students on the RIT campus.

Mike Stinson is a current professor at NTID’s Research Program who developed the technology. According to him, C-Print had been built upon a shorthand writing method called Gregg Shorthand. You can recognize Gregg Shorthand in C-Print when a captionist spells out a word phonetically that the program converts to the fully spelled out word. A simple example that Stinson provided was the phonetic spelling of the word “welcome”, which is “WLKM”.

Steve Nelson, director of operations at Access Services, has seen other technologies proposed but doesn’t feel that they fit the needs of the classroom or are worth the costs. “We’re looking for the best way to provide services and the most cost-efficient way,” he says.“For all 33 years I’ve worked here, there’s been a continuing need for services. So it’s important for us to control costs while we provide the best services possible.”

Nelson also explained that introducing something like automatic speech recognition has been slow. “When first I started in interpreting some thirty years ago, people were predicting that automatic speech recognition would arrive in about five years. Now they’re saying two years, so we must be getting closer.”

However, Stinson says that a software application for C-Print on mobile phones and other portable devices will be available soon. This type of transition will help in classroom settings where students might need to move around.

Nelson described how notetaking, another service provided by DAS, has also changed as technology has improved. Notetaking used to be done by hand with paper and pencil, copied, and then distributed to students in hard copy format. But this method of distribution and note taking has changed with time and the increased use of technology. “Computer networks enabled us to move to a more cost-efficient strategy of scanning and distributing notes electronically. These scanned images were simply pictures of the note pages,” Nelson explains. “Now in many cases, students receive files they can search, edit and highlight in Microsoft Word. Many of our student notetakers type the class notes they take and directly upload those files for distribution.”

In addition to C-Print and digital notetaking, another technology - created by technology company Cisco Systems - is helping to bridge the communication gap both inside and outside of the classroom. Cisco Systems is hoping to work with RIT/NTID to improve some of their technologies for Deaf users. According to a 2011 NTID media relations article, a Cisco videoconferencing room was donated to RIT/NTID for their use and for their feedback. In this article, Cisco engineer Shraddha Chaplot stated, “We hope RIT/NTID will be able to find different solutions or recommendations to better assist people who are deaf or hard of hearing.”

The technologies employed at DAS are making strides towards improving access but there is still a way to go. This is why another group called the NTID Center for Access Technology Innovation Lab (CAT lab), is working to improve and create new technologies to bridge the gap even more.

TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE FUTURE

There are currently a wide variety of projects being worked on by students and faculty at the CAT lab to improve access both inside and outside of the classroom setting.

Associate Professor at Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences Tom Oh and his research team recently received seed funding from the Effective Access Technology Program for their project: “Smart Cane Prototype for the Blind.” This project differs from other access technology because it focuses on increasing access for people who are both deaf and blind. Those who are blind can use walking sticks and their sense of hearing to navigate their way through the streets and other public areas. Some walking sticks even have sound feedback to increase the person’s awareness of their surroundings.

However, a person who is both deaf and blind may have a walking stick alone, making awareness of their surroundings harder to achieve and posing dangers to the individual’s safety. The smart cane would help this population to navigate more easily and more safely through the use of vibrations. For instance, if a person started to walk towards a wall or other obstacle on their right, the left side of the handle on the cane would vibrate, indicating that the person should shift directions and guiding them away from a potential collision.

“We do have a couple Deaf-Blind students here on campus,” says Gary Behm, director of the CAT Lab and an instructional/support member of the NTID Engineering Studies department. “We want to make sure that they are involved with our project because they are the ones that are going to use it.”

Another project for increased access within the classroom is the See-Thru, Life-Size Interactive Monitors (SLIM) Software Program. This project is aimed at bringing more information from a classroom setting to one central location; in this case, a screen. SLIM utilizes video conferencing technology to make a “transparent” screen from two monitors placed back to back that allow the person standing in front of one screen to see what or who is in front of the other.

In a classroom setting, students and professors could see each other through the use of these monitors while simultaneously sharing power points, pictures, documents, and/or websites on the same display. At the same time, the professor can write notes or draw diagrams directly on the screen that will be displayed for students to see on their screen. The SLIM screen also has the capacity to include captioning or any other software program, including video games.

The software is intended to addresses the problems that a traditional classroom setting might pose to a deaf or hard of hearing individual by providing one central focus point where the student and instructor can view all of the information needed.

This technology can be used within a classroom positioned between the professor and the students or for remote learning between a professor and student. The technology can also be utilized outside of the classroom and in the office for meetings, conferences and long distance communication.

A much simpler, but still necessary, technology being developed in the CAT lab is the C3 facemask: a clear facemask for use by doctors and other medical professionals. These professionals have to wear face masks to stop the spread of germs but these masks can make communication between the Deaf and hearing communities even more difficult. By covering half of the person’s face, these masks make it difficult to for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to read the lips and facial expressions of their doctors.

From the perspective of a deaf person, “When you go to the dentist and are having your teeth cleaned and they have a mask and they talk to you, then you can’t really understand what they are saying. Are they mad at you? Are they happy? Are they joking? You have no idea,” explains Behm. The medical professionals still have to wear facemasks for professional and sanitary reasons “but with the C3 facemask, you feel more comfortable working with them.”

Although the C3 facemask won’t fix all of the barriers in communication in a medical office, it makes it easier for deaf clients to see some visual clues about when their healthcare providers are talking to them and what tone the conversation is headed in.

Progress is being made here at RIT to help improve communication and access for all members of campus but the effort doesn’t stop there; plenty of companies are starting to take the needs of Deaf individuals into account when producing their technologies as well. For instance, Sony recently released their STW-C140GI Entertainment Access Glasses with Audio to movie theaters which project movie captioning right in front of the eyes of the person wearing them. Google has also made an effort to encourage communication between Deaf and hearing communities through the addition of their new interpreter app to Google hangouts. This app allows for a person’s view of their interpreter to be more prominent on the window, increasing ease of communication.

All of these new technological developments are making progress towards equal access and ease of communication but there is still a way to go. One of the main achievements of technology in recent years has been the increase in connectivity around the world. Now the CAT lab and others are working to increase connectivity between the Deaf and hearing communities in the same regions and campuses as well.

Starting the Conversation

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

Addressing domestic violence amongst the Deaf community.

by Nicole Howley

“In this past week alone, I’ve had three new clients, Deaf students, who have experienced rape,” said Erin Esposito, the executive director of Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Victims (ASADV) and lecturer at NTID. She sees cases like this on a regular basis.

A survey of RIT students conducted over the course of eight years by two associate professors of criminal justice at RIT, Laverne McQuiller Williams and Judy Porter, found that hard of hearing and deaf students had a 50 percent higher chance of being victims of relationship violence. However, many experts - including Esposito - suggest that the number of cases occurring is much higher than those being reported.

Organizations across campus have been reaching out to students in the Deaf community to try to reduce this statistic and to provide the help they need.

Three students coming to her in one week, is a relatively new rate of reporting for Esposito and ASADV. “We have not seen these numbers before but they are coming to us; they are flooding to us,” said Esposito. “Why? I can only guess because of the community awareness and education intensified and heightened on this campus.”

The Difference in Culture

There are common reasons seen in any culture for why dating violence may occur and why it is not always reported. However, there are some factors that affect the members of the Deaf community specifically.

“When someone has been abused or raped there is a huge barrier to reach out and get help. It’s a struggle because a lot of people feel ashamed; they feel it’s their fault. Their self-esteem is just shot. So taking that first step to reach for help is so instrumental,” explains Esposito. “Deaf people have an even bigger hurdle.”

In addition to facing the challenge of reaching out for help, members of the Deaf community must also overcome barriers in communication and cultural understanding.

The legal system is primarily geared towards hearing individuals so Finding a means of communication as a deaf student can be difficult. Interpreters can help but even when their services are available, it can take hours for members of the Deaf community to complete certain legal processes that take hearing people a matter of mere minutes. For instance, when filling out an order of protection, a hearing individual Can get an interview within five to 15 minutes. A deaf person, however, has to request an interpreter, and then wait an hour or more to get into the interview. “That’s an obstacle in itself,” explains Eposito. “Sometimes that process deters people from wanting to continue.”

In addition to language obstacles, there are differences in culture between the Deaf and hearing communities. “The Deaf community is so small that everyone knows each other,” said Esposito. “Think of a small town mentality. Something happens, five minutes later everyone knows.”

This makes confidentiality extremely important when reporting dating Violence but also extremely difficult to achieve. Many deaf victims worry that they cannot maintain the confidentiality they need to keep them safe and sadly, “The close-knit nature of the Deaf community just intensifies the fear of reporting” according to Esposito.

The idea that the physical nature of Sign Languages, like ASL, contributes to the difference between rates of domestic violence in the deaf and hearing communities is a common, but false, rumor. However, despite this inaccuracy, it is often used by abusers within the Deaf community as an excuse for their behavior. “There are people who try to use Deaf culture. They try to justify their facial expressions and gestures as Deaf culture. It is not Deaf culture. It is abuse. There is a difference. There is a big difference.”

The Proposed Solution

Multiple groups on campus are working to address the issue of domestic violence specifically within the Deaf community. Their main efforts include increasing access to services and cultivating awareness of the issue so it can be curbed.

ASADV helps to provide access to necessary resources to victims of dating violence within the Deaf community. This includes providing interpreters, legal and/or medical advocacy and support. At RIT, ASADV has also worked closely with Campus Advocacy Response and Support and RIT’s Center for Women and Gender. ASADV offers a necessary perspective when helping members of the Deaf community.

“We are a Deaf-run agency with a Deaf staff that serves the Deaf community and so we have a connection, an unspoken connection with Deaf people that really can’t be provided any other way,” said Esposito.

Esposito has gone beyond her work in Rochester to try to resolve some of the issues that Deaf victims face on a national level. She recently spoke on a panel in front of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. She shared her own story as a deaf victim of abuse during her childhood and in relationships as a young adult in order to address the issues that this community faces and how to change them.

ASADV continues to improve access to services and to information on the RIT campus as well. This year, they partnered with the RIT branch of the Red Flag Campaign (RFC). Originally started by the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance with the help of members of college campuses and community advocates, the RFC is a national campaign aimed to help raise awareness about dating violence and how to prevent it using bystander intervention.

This approach differs from those of the past; instead of focusing on how not to be a victim, the RFC emphasizes how friends and members of the community can speak up and help prevent these situations. They hope that by providing more information to the community, everyone will become more involved by looking out for the “red flags” of an unhealthy relationship.

Esposito believes that this type of campaigning may be extremely effective for the close-knit deaf community. “If we create an atmosphere where people are genuinely engaged in the bystander approach then people will feel safer and more confident to make these reports.”

Eventually, bystander intervention coupled with increased education about “red flags” could help to discourage rape culture by asking about what action everyone can take to stop dating violence from occurring.

For Esposito, the opportunity to inform college students about these issues in today’s society is an encouraging first step in correcting the problem.

“I’m so glad that we are able to provide people with the tools and resources so that, once they graduate, move, get a job, whatever, they have this information,” said Esposito. “They go out into the working world armed with this knowledge.”

Distorter Lives on in Margie's Basement

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:12:00 -0400

Revolutionizing the Print Industry

by Suoiciled Yllagigam


Walter Melon

The staff of Distorter has had a buzz in recent times and the office is awash in spirits, which is a vast improvement from the sullen melancholy that followed our Editor in Chief’s decision to sell the printing press to pay off her bar tab last year. We’ve all readily forgiven and forgotten her transgressions now that she’s started buying us drinks again. Oh, and the new printing thing, she orchestrated that too.

Just feel this magazine in your fingertips right now - feel the craftsmanship and care that went into its creation. With the entire magazine on the verge of collapse a mere year ago, how did this magazine come about? It was a solution so simple, a child could have come up with it... so that was what we did; we made the children do it. Literally. Children painstakingly made this magazine you are holding right now. Isn’t that exciting?

Margie’s Cottage, an on-campus daycare, has generously partnered with Distorter to keep our journalistic endeavors afloat. Through a few simple modifications of the children’s daily routine, we have our magazine’s future secured. Coloring time has been carefully restructured to allow for copies of each week’s issue to be made by the kids. Set up in the basement of the cottage with blank pages and oodles of crayons and markers, the children are able to work to their hearts content and often even a little bit further.

The route to success in this new printing venue wasn’t without its hiccups. Little Joey Young agreed to talk to me about his experiences in the new printing basement of Margie’s Cottage, but unfortunately his mother has unexpectedly withdrawn him from daycare. I spoke with a child named Carly Rose instead and could really tell how spirited she was about the new arrangement. She was quick to point out, “All we do is color now... I guess I like the coloring.” She went on to explain that her favorite part to work on was the middle section of the magazine: “No one minds if you mess up the articles.” Of course, then I had to ask what her least favorite was: “The Rings. We get yelled at when those aren’t done perfectly.”

Words to really warm your heart. Clearly all the children are enjoying the activity a lot, just as much as we are enjoying the fruits of their labor. It comes as no surprise, given a reaction like Rose’s, that Margie’s Cottage plans to take on even more children. In their efforts to expand, they plan to place a bid in with the school this spring to be the sole production source for all print media, and hope to win the contract by next fall.

There is a lot to say for the efficacy of this production method. We asked economics professor Nikolai Kondratiev about the benefits of bringing jobs to this unemployed market in the work force. He had a lot to say in relation to the economic benefits on both a national and community level. He began by making the comment, “You’re using children to copy your magazine now?! How could you possibly...” - and then went on to praise the decision. He even said that we might go a long way towards correcting the national deficit. Oh, but he also mentioned you shouldn’t ask him about this, because he has short term memory loss and might not remember. It’s a real thing, I wikipedia’ed it.

While the vast majority of individuals have shown support for the new printing program, there are a few career dissidents who have felt the need to express their concern about the children’s wellbeing. Deborah Stendardi, vice president of Community Relations at RIT, was quoted as saying, “This is unacceptable. I ... see many ways this could be considered a good idea. You are all being reported to the ... peers ... but ... not ... at this time. We will ... not ... have to discuss further.” Anyway, she wasn’t too happy with us but we are going to go forward with the initiative any-who because really, like, 90 percent of the people I talked to thought it was a pretty cool idea.

Margie’s Cottage even has investors interested in helping this new venture expand. Several businessmen from China have apparently expressed interest in the production, hoping to start up similar operations of their own. The Chinese market may be an avenue for Margie to explore as she continues to build and market the new printing facility.

The future of both our beloved Distorter and these young little workers looks very bright indeed. We can only hope that some of them will walk away with a deep love of Distorter that will inspire them to join us on the staff when they grow up and to help feed new designs to a future generation of Margie’s Cottage children. It’s a beautiful and touching cycle that is enriching for all parties involved.

Wrestler Named Sexiest Man of the Year

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400

You knew it was coming.

by Ema Nymton


Captain Barba

RIT’s own dreamy President Wrestler has been presented with the title of Sexiest Man of the year. Wrestler is a sensual, banjo-playing cat enthusiast from a small town in Oregon. He enjoys finding alternative uses for parking lots at RIT and spending time with his wife, who was just as delighted as Wrestler to hear the news. “We were out to dinner at Gracie’s dining hall when I got the call,” Wrestler remembered with a seductive smile. “I was so in shock I could hardly finish the fantastic food I was eating. My wife couldn’t stop talking about it. We’ve known it’s been coming for a while now.” For the rest of America, Wrestler is no surprise candidate. Who could turn down the man’s bad boy charm, yummy washboard abs and smoldering smile? As if those qualities weren’t enough, Wrestler’s musical background makes him a well-rounded heartthrob and the subject of posters hanging from thousands of school girls’ lockers. When asked what he plans to do next, Wrestler talked of learning the triangle to further his musical genius. He also mentioned taking a few art classes at RIT to help him design aesthetically pleasing fountains original to the school. “I’m thinking of going with a burnt umber theme. Something that represents RIT, who we are and what this school is about,” Wrestler exclaimed with a tempting twinkle in his eye.

Innovating Forward

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0400

RIT combines innovation efforts.

by Angela Freeman


Jon Lavalley

“Is the Innovation Center the ‘Toilet Bowl’?”

“What does it do? I have no idea.”

“I know it’s something science-y.”

“It innovates.”

These are just a few of the responses given by an anonymous random sampling of RIT students when asked about the Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (SCSIE) role on the RIT campus. Unfortunately, “Ummm...” was the most common reaction to the question. But even with this lack of awareness from students, the SCSIE has been ranked the number one college business incubator by bestcollegesonline.com. From the people aware of RIT’s SCSIE. The center has garnered both criticism and praise for their efforts on campus.

WHERE IT STARTED

Formerly known as the Center for Student Innovation, the 10,000-square foot facility, now titled Student Innovation Hall, serves as a home base for the Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This transition was initiated by linking the Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SCIE) with the newly renamed Student Innovation Hall.

The SCIE was established in 2007 as a business-oriented incubator for innovation. Named for Albert J. Simone, the eighth RIT president, who retired in 2007, its foundations commemorated his advocacy of interdisciplinary coursework curriculums and entrepreneurship experiences.

The original Center for Student Innovation, as it was designated at the time, celebrated its grand opening about two years later in September of 2009. A futuristic glass and steel cylinder amidst a sea of near-identical brick buildings, Building 87 has been nicknamed ‘the Toilet Bowl’ by the students of RIT. “Just a cool-looking building,” one student quipped. “You know, glass walls. People need a break from the bricks.”

In addition to its unusual aesthetic design, the building gained recognition for meeting sustainability benchmark requirements after becoming the first building within Monroe County to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s Platinum Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.

The facility was designed by Rochester-based architectural firm Chaintreuil, Jensen and Stark. It was originally intended for staff and student use as a hub for invention, multidisciplinary cooperatives and the development of student ideation into real-world products and services.

Former RIT Dean of the College of Science and nationally acclaimed scientist Ian Gatley served as its original director. Before his appointment to the post, Gatley had gained acclaim adapting technology to new uses over time and for his multidisciplinary research and problem-solving methods.

THE CHANGES

Less than ten years later, both institutions have undergone changes in name and mission statement - although these alterations went largely unnoticed by students. The official merger and name change took place in the current 2012-2013 academic year, at which time the Center for Student Innovation and the SCIE were consolidated into a single venture as the SCSIE.

According to a statement released by SCSIE Chair and Director Richard DeMartino in the Simone Center News, the newly consolidated institution “will continue to provide students with extraordinary multidisciplinary innovation and entrepreneurial training and assistance.”

Former Interim Director of the Center for Student Innovation Jon Schull cited the similarity in names and functions as a major factor for the merger of the SCIE and the Center for Student Innovation: “It’s confusing for them all to be separate ... it made more sense to put them all under the same tent.” Yet, in spite of these recent changes, Schull noted that the center’s core has essentially remained the same - “Student innovators, student innovations, new ventures, new partnerships”. He also spoke of “collaborative ecology”, and the extensive “ecosystems” that can be built by students making contacts across campus, with local businesses and around the world.

Despite the recent consolidation of innovation-related initiatives on campus, RIT shows no signs of stopping its use of the word in future endeavors. The Innovative Learning Institute, for example, was announced this past fall as a means for experimental teaching techniques and new models for the education process. Its progress is currently facilitated by Interim Executive Director Neil Hair, a professor within the Saunders College of Business.

AWARENESS

Unfortunately, levels of student awareness regarding RIT’s multiple efforts toward promoting innovation are inconsistent, and those in the know represent a definite minority among the student population. Eliza Hammer, a 2012 RIT graduate in the fields of Marketing and Music, is knowledgeable about the former Center for Student Innovation.

During her time at RIT, Hammer got involved with the center through a friend’s collaboration with Schull, and increased her participation over the years. She took part in the summer fellowship program, traveled to Washington, D.C. and earned co-op credit by working as the center’s Lead Student Fellow. Hammer helped maintain equipment and set the policies and priorities of the Center for Student Innovation. Hammer and eleven other students -“the Fellows” - also worked on various multidisciplinary projects during their time at RIT.

Hammer’s current post is as the sole marketing manager at Innovative Solutions, a 25-year-old IT company located in Rochester that she connected with through the RIT Career Fair. “I’m the youngest person in my management team by nine years,” she admitted with a laugh, “the only person in my field at the company and the only woman!” Yet, even with these potentially discouraging factors, Hammer said that her time at the former Center for Student Innovation taught her to look at them and say that “it really doesn’t matter.”

Despite her positive experiences with the then-Center for Student Innovation, Hammer also had criticism of its efforts to facilitate innovation. “The innovation center concept is a tricky animal,” she said. In her opinion, RIT’s multiple avenues for innovation have not encountered success in communicating their purpose to the students of RIT, and therefore have not wholly captured their support. “Innovation needs to be enabled, encouraged, motivated... And the website is trying to solve these problems,” Hammer said. However, Schull, when questioned about the site, admitted that it is “a bit of a haystack.” Overall, Hammer neatly summarized the issue, saying that “invention is the creation of something new. Innovation is its adoption; getting people to use something to solve a problem. And the innovation center isn’t being innovative in its efforts to have students adopt it.”

When questioned about low student awareness of RIT’s multiple innovation efforts, Schull pantomimed tearing his hair out in frustration. “Our goal has never been to be secretive.” Laughing, he continued, “Part of the problem is getting them to walk in the door. Some feel so intimidated, they’re afraid to even come inside.” However, both Schull and Hammer’s testimonies indicate that walking through the door is the single most challenging step for students.

Hammer also offered her opinion as a marketing manager, saying that if she were to promote the SCSIE at RIT, her first step would be to educate the student population about specific opportunities there, and define viable areas of exploration. Instead of throwing around the term “innovation” as a message to a general audience, Hammer highlighted the need to attract people as individuals, and to meet them where they are in their RIT journey. No matter the student or the idea, everyone needs to be convinced that their contributions are valid- and even essential-to true innovation: “It has to be a constant push. People have to be willing to take the leap.”

In her analysis, Hammer also emphasized the fact that innovation involves not only finding problems to solve, but also finding other people to help solve them. Although she acknowledged that multidisciplinary collaboration can happen in the classroom, it can feel awkward, unfamiliar and forced. “The true magic of the SCSIE is that it is one of the few places on campus that really tears down walls. Everywhere else, everyone has their own specific college and program. How often do you get to sit down and talk with people who don’t live in your world? Not very often ... not often enough.” Both Schull and Hammer agreed that at RIT, where students frequently choose their majors and settle into a specific universe, it is difficult for a seemingly all-encompassing innovation initiative to convince students that it belongs in their lives.

As a final effort, Schull urged all RIT students to visit the SCSIE website, http://nova.innovation.rit.edu, create a personal profile page and start making connections. He also encourages students of all majors and interests to come work or hang out at Student Innovation Hall - “and don’t just talk to the adults.”

MAGIC

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0400

A new center for excellence emerges.

by Nolan Harris Jr.

“The idea is there, that there are all kinds of smart people doing really interesting stuff across this campus, and we want to find ways that they can connect with the outside world,” explains Andrew Phelps, the director of the new MAGIC Center- the Laboratory for Media, Arts, Games, Interaction and Creativity.

According to the new center’s website, MAGIC is seeking to “blur the lines between the arts and the sciences, between technology and expression,” in an effort to spur multidisciplinary creativity, innovation in research, project development and entrepreneurship. MAGIC’s visionaries view it as a space where the fusion of arts and humanities, technology and entrepreneurship will boost academic and commercial potential.

THE BEGINNING

Phelps notes that in some ways, MAGIC has been in the works since his early days at RIT: “It’s grown out of, I think, some very, very long-standing roots.” These roots began taking hold around the time Phelps first arrived at RIT about eleven years ago, with the Center for Digital Media.

That center has since dissolved, but Phelps highlights the Center for Digital Media for setting the blueprints for MAGIC. With the development of the New Media program, “that’s been a longstanding program of combining technology and the arts” and the emergence of the Interactive Games and Media (IGM) program at Golisano, Phelps comments that in many ways MAGIC, “builds on synergies and stuff we’ve been doing for a while.”

Phelps credits President Destler’s leadership for the MAGIC’s formation as well: “Part of it is ... the president had an idea, and things happen when presidents have an idea.” For Phelps, when listening to, “Dr. Destler talk about ‘left brain-right brain,’ and the balance of those things at RIT ... you start to understand that you really can’t have one without the other-that we’re living in a world that’s starting to compress and conflate what’s happening with technology, and what’s happening with expression.”

THE VISION

“MAGIC is a new center of excellence at RIT,” says Jennifer Hinton, Assistant Director of Student Experience at the School for Interactive Games and Media. “I think that MAGIC is a first-of-its-kind, certainly at RIT, and nationwide, as well. And I think one of the things that makes MAGIC truly unique is that it’s interdisciplinary; It’s multidisciplinary.” The center hopes to draw on RIT’s academic and intuitional strengths, which, for Hinton and Phelps, renders MAGIC’s academic research model something of a vanguard for the university of the future.

Although still in its beginning stages, MAGIC is geared toward maximizing student and faculty creativity and collaboration. The founders believe that MAGIC is set apart from other initiatives because of its ability to give students a fuller experience when working on projects at the center.

For instance, “There are students at colleges all over the country who are developing apps, but that’s sort of the end of the experience for them,” explains Hinton. Conversely, MAGIC will focus on bringing student and faculty-led projects to commercial polish.

In addition to assisting students and faculty with creating high quality products, MAGIC will afford students the opportunity to gain “real-world experience ... above and beyond simply the development of the app,” explains Hinton. Through the process of developing a product at the center, Hinton believes that students will gain more business and entrepreneurial skills and hone the technical and design skills involved in developing their product.


Jake Di Pietro

THE FUTURE

In order to pull off this ambitious project, MAGIC is established as a dual-pronged initiative: part of the center will operate as a traditional institute research lab and another part will operate as a non-traditional design and development studio.

MAGIC will combine the long-established academic research model with the newer capabilities of a technologically-savvy design studio. This will offer students and faculty an opportunity to reach the best of both scholastic worlds at RIT: its recognized programs in the arts and humanities, and its celebrated technological prowess.

In order to better illustrate the future collaboration between colleges, Phelps provides an example of a project that a group of students could work on at the center: “Say you’ve got a museum that has an art collection they want to better engage the public,” Phelps asks us to imagine. “Through the creation of an application, somebody walks around the museum, interacting with the exhibit via their phone. What would it take to build that?”

Phelps explains that this kind of project demands the expertise of many different fields; it would require an art expert, developer and designer. This example provides a preview for the synergistic and community-based work MAGIC’s creators envision.

And for Phelps, this is just one type of project that MAGIC could facilitate.

“Any project that you start picking apart, you start to look at the expertise that you need on these things. The more detailed or intricate the project, the more it tends to draw from different pockets across the university. So I think we’re going to see a lot of that kind of work.”

To learn more about MAGIC, visit it on the web at magic.rit.edu.

The More the Merrier

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0400

RIT's efforts to keep students here.

by Nicole Howley

“It’s almost inevitable that a point will come in your four or five years where you say, ‘Gosh, maybe I should transfer,’” says Vice President for Strategic Planning and Special Initiatives Kit Mayberry. “And some students do. But I would say the majority don’t.” RIT’s freshmen retention rate provides some evidence; 89 percent of the students who entered RIT in 2011 stayed for a second year - something of a record for RIT. RIT’s freshmen retention rate has been steadily climbing for at least five years. Since 2007, it has increased by 4.5 percent.

This climb in retention rate is no accident. It is the result of a major effort to improve the graduation and freshmen retention rates by the Student Success Steering Committee (SSSC).


Click to enlarge.
Jon Lavalley

Student Success Steering Committee

Soon after President Destler and Provost Jeremy Haefner arrived at RIT in 2007 and 2008 respectively, they decided that something needed to be done about student retention. “They had identified student success as one of the key priorities for the University,” explains Senior Associate Provost Christine Licota, “They wanted to be sure that we had a student success agenda that would support the goals we had for student retention and graduation.” The goals were a 92 percent first year retention rate and a 73 percent six-year graduation rate by 2012.

In the fall of 2008, Haefner formed two Student Success Tiger Teams; both teams focused on coming up with a plan to improve student retention. One of these teams focused exclusively on African American, Latin American, and Native American (AALANA) students. “The Tiger Team was looking at the literature and research around student success, looking at what we were doing at that time and looking at our strengths and gaps in an attempt to better understand why students leave and to ultimately improve our graduation rate,” explained Assistant Vice President of Institutional Research and Policy Studies Joan Graham, former Tiger Team member.

Now Graham is a member of the SSSC; a committee that resulted from the combination of the two Tiger teams in the fall of 2011. “The Student Success Steering Committee ... is less focused on the research and literature view because that has been done,” explains Graham. Instead, the new team focuses more on implementing plans to help improve the freshman retention and graduation rates.

Licota is now the chair of this committee which is made up of representatives from divisions at RIT that are most involved with students: Academic Affairs, Finance and Administration, Diversity, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.

Despite having a student representative in the 2009 Tiger Team, the committee does not currently have any student representatives. Instead, they try to take student input into account through surveys of the student population. These surveys include the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), which is filled out by freshman and seniors in the spring of every other year, and the Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI), which goes out to all students every year.

In addition to gathering information on student opinion and engagement in the school, the committee gathers information on which students are most likely to leave RIT. They hope that they can use this information to help keep these students engaged and address their needs. “When you look at a freshman cohort of over 2,000 students, trying to find just that 10 percent or so that don’t come back can be kind of challenging,” says Graham, who also plays a major role in the data gathering and processing done by the SSSC. Once certain factors can be linked to students who choose not to re-enroll, the SSSC starts making plans for how to change these patterns.


Click to enlarge.
Jon Lavalley

Why Students Leave

In 2009, Mayberry and Associate of the University Rebecca Johnson started conducting phone interviews with students that had chosen to leave RIT. Since then, Mayberry has continued the interviews annually, reaching between 73 and 79 students each year. Only students with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.2 are included.

In the interviews, students are asked two questions: why they did not return to RIT and if there was anything that RIT could have done to keep the student at the school. “There hasn’t been a huge change over time in the three years we’ve done this,” explained Mayberry.

Dissatisfaction with the majors at RIT is a consistently high contributor to students leaving. However, the number of students who left RIT for financial reasons is one of the few categories that has noticeably decreased. “We did the first study in the fall of 2009 which was right after the recession hit and I think that students were feeling the pain ... financial aid wasn’t able to turn on the dime and offer additional aid to these students,” Mayberry elaborated.

Justin Mulvaney, former RIT Biochemistry major, transferred to Binghamton University (BU) for similar reasons to the students surveyed. After attending RIT, he realized that he was more interested in liberal arts than biochemistry and did not want to continue paying RIT’s tuition for a degree that the school is not well known for. He also wanted more opportunities to engage in the music scene, which he believes to be nonexistent at RIT.

Mulvaney stated that at the beginning of the year it was easy to make the decision to transfer but his final few weeks at RIT involved some second-guessing. “I miss that great group of friends that I made,” he said. Upon arriving at BU, it was more difficult to make new friends then it had been the year before because most upperclassmen lack “that same excitement to meet new people.” But within two weeks he had started a band that led to greater musical opportunities and friendships.

“I definitely made the right decision,” said Mulvaney. In addition to finding music, “I’m starting to figure out a direction here.” Now a third year Economic Analysis and Mathematics major, Mulvaney is still graduating on time, with a lot less debt.

There is not always something that RIT can do to influence a student’s decision, especially a student leaving for personal or health reasons. Of the students who took the survey, between 30.1 and 34 percent say there was nothing RIT could have done to convince them to stay. However, these students only make up a little more than one percent of students from their year. Still, over 30 percent of students do not graduate from each class and the SSSC is actively making an effort to decrease this number.

Efforts to Improve

The SSSC has suggested and implemented numerous changes across RIT and its many divisions based on the data collected. The Tiger Teams made a list of recommendations in 2009 and since then, “Almost all of them have been implemented,” states Licota.

One such recommendation was a modification of the orientation program. The program was shortened to five days and the orientation groups changed to include students from many different colleges instead of the college-specific groups assigned in past years. Another implemented recommendation was the addition of Pathways and Discovery classes required of every first year student.

Other Tiger Team recommendations included changes to the advising model such as requiring first year students to speak with their advisor before winter quarter registration. Although many students complain about this hold on their accounts, the rule was put in place to provide students with increased academic support.

To coincide with the Tiger Team recommendations, the SSSC has attempted to improve implementation of the Early Alert System and increase student access to opportunities for academic improvement. This involves providing programs at the Academic Support Center within Student Affairs including tutoring, supplemental instruction and the Writing Center.

The SSSC is also encouraging individual colleges to get involved by providing a more in-depth analysis of student survey data from the NSSE and SSI. “The Institutional Research Office takes the results from these surveys and breaks them down by college ... If a college sees that their score is lower than the bench mark in a particular area, they can do something about it,” says Licota. “The idea behind this recommendation was to find a way to make sure that the people who can do something about what the students are saying have the information at their fingertips.”

Most of the SSSC’s efforts have been aimed at first year students, since one main focus is the freshmen retention rate. The data seems to support that their efforts are having some effect: the first year students in 2011 had an 89 percent retention rate - only three percent below their goal for 2012.

However, little effort has been made to retain students after their first year which is problematic due to differences in the freshman retention and graduation rates. Although 84.5 percent of freshman who entered RIT in 2007 stayed for the next quarter, only 52.1 percent graduated within five years. On average, about ten percent more students will graduate within six years but even so, the graduation rate is much lower than the freshmen retention rate.

“That’s not unlike universities; we are just seeing it here as well,” reassures Graham. Actually, RIT had a slightly higher graduation rate within six years than the national average in 2004. However, RIT still has lower rates than University of Rochester, one of the top-ranking colleges for freshmen retention rate with 96 percent first year retention in 2013.

Even with the efforts of the SSSC, some students continue to struggle academically, putting them at risk of suspension and of leaving the university. This is where the College Restoration Program (CRP) comes in. Program coordinator Dawn Herman describes the CRP as “a one term opportunity for students to get back on track.” The program accepts students referred by their academic department who’s GPAs are generally around a 2.0 or below. The students must apply to the program and upon acceptance, spend a quarter taking courses on topics such as time management and academic strategies.

“Our success rate is between 70 and 75 percent in terms of our students going back to an academic department after the CRP,” says Herman. However, even if a student does well in the CRP, they may still decide to leave RIT. “That’s a success story for me too because it makes sense for the student at that time,” Herman says. “It’s all about the student and what’s going to be best for the student.”


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Jon Lavalley

What the Team Plans to Tackle Next

Even though most of the SSSC goals have been met, the team continues to look into improving RIT’s freshman retention and graduation rates. In addition to improving retention rates after the second year, the team hopes to help close the gender gap in graduation rate. In 2005, 60 percent of male RIT students graduated within six years compared to 73 percent of female students.

“Among peer institutions, there’s a similar phenomenon going on. That, in our mind, doesn’t make it acceptable,” said Edward A. Lincoln, Assistant to the Senior Vice President and representative of the Admission and Financial Aid Division on the SSS. “We still want to drill down a little further. Maybe try some different things that might improve those gaps, close those gaps. But at least we’re learning that it’s not just something within RIT.”

Graham has also found data that suggests a strong correlation between students taking a leave of absence (LOA) and their eventual graduation; less than one in five freshmen on an LOA return and graduate. “That was a trigger for the committee to see what kind of students are taking these leaves of absence. Are there other factors that we can or cannot influence?” says Graham. “And what should we be looking at in terms of our LOA policy and procedures in an effort to make these students as successful as we can?”

“Now we’ve got a proposed new student leave of absence policy that’s going to be going before the governance groups this year,” explains Licota. “We really need to sit down and have a conversation with the student to really have an exit strategy if they are going to leave.” By helping students plan their LOA, the team hopes to also help the student plan their return to the university.

Progress in freshman retention rate has been made each year since the Tiger Team was founded and, as the freshmen from 2009 and beyond start to graduate, the committee will be able to see the effect it has had on graduation.

“Now there are some former students that are not as positive about their RIT experience,” Mayberry admits. But she has found that that is not how most students respond: “I have been surprised every year by how positive so many students are about RIT even thought they left ... I had not expected to hear that: ‘If there’s any way I could be back, I’d be back.’” With the SSSC’s help, RIT continues to search for ways to help students like these stay.

Developing a Sense of Direction

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The quarter-life crisis, explained.

by Ali Coladonato


James LeCarpentier

What makes you an adult? Being 18? Going away to college? Looking towards a future? It is unlikely that there is any one marker for adulthood. But for many, there are several common aspects of adulthood for measuring one’s progress in life such as: leaving home, graduating school, achieving financial independence, getting married and having children. While a life with all of these elements may not be for everyone, there are many who seek out these aspects or some equivalent standards as measures of their success. But at present, we as 20-somethings must face some harsh realities about the success we hope to find.

To obtain a decent standard of living, a college degree can be a necessity in many fields, and to reach the level of employment and financial success our parents have achieved often requires a professional degree. Not only has going to college become necessary, it has also become increasingly expensive. So as students are staying in college longer, they are spending more and more on an education that may or may not lead them to the career they desire. There are dozens of figures illustrating the economic implications of a college education, enough to make many anxious about the choices they’ve made and uncertain about what they should do next. This is such a widespread phenomena that this period of time has been labeled the quarter-life crisis.

Quarter-Life Crisis

Simply speaking, a quarter-life crisis refers to a transition into adulthood that often occurs in one’s twenties that can be stressful and even traumatic. The phrase is attributed to psychiatrist Abby Wilner, co-author of “Quarter-life Crisis” and “Quarter-lifer’s Companion.” She coined the phrase in 1997 after she graduated from George Washington University in St. Louis, moved back home and, in her words, “couldn’t figure out what to do with her life.” On her companion website, http://QuarterlifeCrisis.com, Wilner briefly describes a quarter-life crisis as “a period of anxiety, uncertainty, and inner turmoil that often accompanies the transition to adulthood.”

Experts have begun recognizing this transition period as a legitimate stage of development during which feelings of doubt and fear often arise. A study led by psychologist Oliver Robinson of the University of Greenwich at London found five distinct phases for those experiencing a quarter-life crisis.

Phase one is a feeling of being stuck or confined to a path dictated by life choices. It includes the sense that one isn’t in control of one’s own life.

Phase two is the realization that changes at this stage in life are possible, and a sense of needing to reevaluate.

Phase three is making the change and retreating to a period in which one attempts to discover or re-discover passions and values.

Phase four is rebuilding a new life based on the realized ideals.

Phase five is the development of this life being more aware and invested in individual interests and values.

Robinson also found that those who were most likely to experience a quarter-life crisis are those that desire conventional success (high-paying career, family, house, etc.) and have a strong sense of idealism as to what their life should be like. One area in which this idealism runs rampant is romance. In a national public opinion Marist poll, 80 percent of those under age 30 believe in soul mates and, in a poll conducted by the Gallup Organization, 94 percent of never-married singles stated that their future spouse must be their soul mate; 87 percent believe they’ll find that person. However, marital statistics have changed greatly in the past years, with the average marrying age increasing ; the average age to get married is currently about 28 for men and 26 for women. The percentage of adults who are married is also continuing to decline.

All of these numbers show our generation reaching ‘adulthood’ later and later. Perhaps the most telling, the number of 20-somethings still living at home: 56.8 percent of men and 43.2 percent of women ages 22-31 still live with their parents. These numbers have been steadily rising since 1981, with the total number of young adults living at home doubling since the 1970s.

Causes of Quarter-Life Crises

So what is causing these quarter-life crises? For many, it might be that college will leave them with mountains of debt. For others, the uncertainty of what their field of study holds outside the classroom and where it might lead can be stressful. The statistics only further elevate this insecurity.

Over 40 percent of college students graduating this year will owe more than 20,000 in student loans.

39 percent of all students graduate with what is deemed “unmanageable debt,” referring to loan payments greater than eight percent of one’s monthly income.

Half of all students graduate with college debt, with the average at roughly 12,000.

In terms of job prospects, the fact that more and more well-educated students are looking to enter the workforce means much higher competition. Furthermore, the belief among most students is that careers will begin soon after college.

In a poll of university seniors, the majority believes they will have their first significant job within months of leaving school and two-thirds believe they will remain at their first job between one and five years. However, the average American aged 18 - 30 has held eight different jobs, which illustrates the struggle many face finding a long-term occupation.

For many however, this is just a part of the transition, with no crisis involved. In Robinson’s study, 80 percent of the interviewees looked back on their ‘crises’ positively.


James LeCarpentier

Keeping It Cool

Several offices and programs are in place at RIT to ensure that students are able to handle this move toward maturity and independence with as little anxiety as possible. For those with an already uncertain view of their future, several undeclared and exploration options exist in RIT’s colleges, including undeclared art/design and computing, liberal arts, general science and engineering exploration. For those whose interests lie across several different colleges, there is the University Studies Program (USP).

USP is an exploratory program designed to give undecided or questioning students a chance to explore the various options available at RIT. The program largely caters to new RIT students in helping guide them toward a major while allowing students of any year level to meet with an advisor to talk about options regarding majors and minors at RIT.

Marty Burris is the director of the University Studies Program and the USP Honors Program advocate. For her, what makes USP stand out is the advising. Those who are in the program meet with their advisors an average of three to four times a quarter for at least an hour. “We talk to them about their interests, their goals, likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses,” says Burris, “and then help figure out a pathway for them throughout their time with us.”

Students are encouraged to move out of USP after a year, though there isn’t a strict deadline and time spent in USP can vary with the individual. Still, it isn’t a possibility to graduate with an ‘undecided’ major.

USP seeks to provide students with as much information as possible about potential majors and career options. Through very active advising, a required career exploration seminar and personality assessments, the program helps students discover what they value. Says Burris, “What we are hoping is that by starting undecided, the students are not jumping around from place to place and loosing time, loosing track of their course sequences and losing money.”

that students are able to handle this move toward maturity and independence with as little anxiety as possible. For those with an already uncertain view of their future, several undeclared and exploration options exist in RIT’s colleges, including undeclared art/design and computing, liberal arts, general science and engineering exploration. For those whose interests lie across several different colleges, there is the University Studies Program (USP).

For students looking towards the next phase of adulthood, graduating and finding a career, there is the Office of Cooperative Education (OCE) and Career Services. Carolyn DeHority is the assistant director of career counseling. Her primary responsibility is truly that of a counselor; speaking to students and learning about their likes, dislikes and any concerns they have with their major and how it will translate into an eventual career. The office itself has many factions to it: working to set up interviews with potential employers, hosting career fairs and providing students as well as employers with information.

Also in the OCE and Career Services office are numerous program coordinators. Each program at RIT has a program coordinator, housed somewhere in the Bausch and Lomb Building (77) where DeHority works closely with them. They meet with students to go over interviewing strategies and help prepare rsums, establish relationships with employers and involve students in career-planning workshops. Program coordinators often work with students who are secure in their major and have been out on co-op but are having trouble imagining a life in their chosen industry.

DeHority works with students in much the same way an advisor of USP does, the major difference being that she is not an academic advisor, and therefore not apt to recommend specific courses. Still, she gathers information about career and life values, personality, academic ability and, if deemed appropriate, may even administer an assessment such as the MBTI. “We’re here for idea generation, to be a springboard, then we help students find resources,” says DeHority. “They go off on their own and come back with more questions, better informed. We work with them on how they go about making decisions, and what might be making them feel stuck.”

Many of the people DeHority sees are struggling academically which causes them to rethink their choice of major. Others are concerned about what they will do after college, having taken a co-op and not experiencing the kind of work they thought they were getting into. While some will take these as opportunities or signs to try something new, many instead swallow their uncertainty and go on despite feeling anxious about the next phase of their life. For many this is the only option, often due to financial reasons. Some of these people may continue to feel uncertain as they grow and change, leading to the idea that a quarter-life crisis is something that can affect the whole process of transition. For DeHority, it’s all about perspective: “People have transitions at many different times at their lives. There’s nothing necessarily magic about the quarter life. I see people in transition points at all times here...Those times can be seen as crises or adventures, it’s how you approach it in your mind.”

Despite all the statistics and despite all the fear, we as a generation are growing up. Challenges will be faced through every stage of life, and a healthy dose of inquiry and reflection is good for anyone. DeHority explains, “It’s a brave thing to say ‘I’m not sure’...to say ‘I’m going to give myself the space and opportunity to explore.’”

Filling the Gap

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Taking some time to "figure it out"

by Nolan Harris Jr.


Emily Gage

Commencement season is upon us, and students everywhere - both high school and university upperclassmen - are finalizing their plans for the coming year. Some will matriculate to their dream colleges this fall. Others will enter the workforce, stepping into their new career fields, eager to begin this next, exciting stage of their lives. And for those who just can’t get enough of school, graduate programs wait with open arms.

However, there is an alternative group of students who will not go straight to work or college after receiving their high school or college diplomas. The students of this cohort break away from the commonly accepted timeline for work and education by taking a gap year.

THE CONCEPT

Many students follow the same path: there’s pre-school, elementary school, middle, then high school, right on through to college and optionally, graduate school. Peter Van Buskirk, founder of academic consulting firm The Admission Game writes, “It’s as though kids are placed on a conveyor belt that moves them through a series of prescribed exercises ... fills them up with the things they ‘need to know,’ tests them and ... stamps them as fit for promotion.”

However, Buskirk appreciates that the “one-size-fits-all” approach is seldom sufficient to meet students’ diverging needs, goals and intentions. Thus, for the transition from high school to college, or college to grad school, there’s a more nuanced assessment that must be engaged. This appraisal of a student’s goals - personal, academic and professional - might conclude in the intentional delay of the student’s undergraduate or graduate career for one or more years.

The gap year serves as a window of time wherein, ideally, a student seeks some personal enrichment and development through volunteer work or other service projects, travel, or various other work-related opportunities. RIT Career Counselor Janine Rowe says “wanting to take a break from the academic treadmill ... in terms of fatigue, and a want for rest and relaxation,” can be a motivating factor. Finding something else to focus one’s attention, to help a student decompress and reorient his or herself, is sometimes best served by a gap year scenario.

Ultimately, there is a myriad of reasons that might prompt a student to consider and take one time off. The most important things to keep in mind are the student’s return to school (if such a return is the student’s final intent) and making sure that the time away is well-spent.

THE PERKS

“The times when I think that it works the best, is when a student has an idea of what it is that they want to pursue,” Rowe says. Once a student has resolved to take some time before beginning their undergrad or graduate experience, that time can be used as effectively or ineffectively as the student likes.

“Volunteering and travel are probably the most common reasons,” reports Rowe. These exciting opportunities enable the student to experience different countries and cultures. Students are also able to serve in different communities as an exclusive commitment, sans the pressing academic and social demands of the graduate or undergraduate experience. The freedom from these demands can be useful in many pursuits that a student taking a gap year may choose to undertake.

THE DRAWBACKS

While the openness of a gap year experience can be liberating, it can also be fraught with uncertainty. While traveling is great for the gap year student, without some pre-considerations, Rowe admonishes, the thrills and enrichment of such an experience can be adversely affected.

“I think some students may neglect the need for their social network during their gap year,” says Rowe. The desire to independently and freely explore what’s out there can tilt toward a more solitudinarian posture that minimizes the need of robust social support from family and friends.

Gap years can be expensive as well; Depending on how one intends to spend the time away from the academy, the costs can add up. “If you’re going to a do a service project in New York City, D.C. or Boston, that could end up costing you a lot of money versus if you went to a rural community,” explains Lynne Mazadoorian, Director of RIT’s Institute Advising Office. Financial considerations should figure prominently in the planning process.

There is also the chance that a student does not return to the classroom. There is serious apprehension about this eventuality because the goal of attaining a formal education is often the supposed end. However, “while research is scant, anecdotal evidence suggests that students return to school more focused and mature and ready to start their college career,” writes higher-education journalist and consultant Lynn O’Shaugnessy. Those who don’t return, do so for various financial, personal and professional considerations.

IT’S ALL ABOUT PLANNING

In the final analysis, planning the gap year - though never perfect - is critical. Insofar as a student has a vision, they are on the right track. From an advising perspective, Mazadoorian agrees: “At the end of the conversation, what I want a student to know is, we want their best interests, and if they’ve made a decision ... that’s going to propel them towards their goals, we support them in that.”

In the end, a gap year experience is a viable and productive alternative to the chronological advancement to the next level of education. However, as with many significant decisions, the gap year option is not for everyone, and does require the counsel of academic professionals, family and friends.

For Buskirk, if a student feels that a gap year may help them, the choice is very clear: “Take the time off! Invest in yourself. Do what you need to do so when you enter college or graduate school you are ready to embrace the experience with focus and determination.”

Can We Just Be Friends?

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:31:36 -0500

The ins and outs of unrequited love.

by Nate Arrowsmith


James LeCarpentier

At the beginning of the year, RIT first year Jenny Schramm was really excited to be making so many new friends. It was Schramm’s first time living away from home and, having grown up in a small town, meeting so many new people was a pretty exhilarating experience. Schramm was open about not really wanting a relationship, so she didn’t think

twice when she noticed that most of her new friends were guys.

Of those Schramm befriended, eight in particular began to form a core clique around her. This new group of friends began to spend a lot of time together, and the fact that

Schramm was the only girl didn’t unsettle her. Slowly, however, things began to unravel as one by one each of her close guy friends revealed that they had feelings for her - feelings that she didn’t reciprocate.

Being Friends

Prior to women entering the workforce, cross-gender friendships were often considered scandalous and inappropriate. Fortunately we live in an era where such friendships are no longer considered an affront to civil society and cross-gender friendships are becoming quite normal. At the same time however, the things that attract us to potential friends are also often the same things that attract us to potential mates. Shared interests and personality traits can lead to confused feelings when physical attraction enters the picture.

Fear of rejection or of ruining a friendship may be the root cause of this confusion getting out of hand. Communications graduate student Bryan Christiansen often finds himself attracted to his female friends after getting to know them.

“I will tend to create a friendship with a girl who I am initially disinterested in pursuing, then after creating a deep personal bond I’ll find myself more attracted to her.” Christiansen says via email, “... and when we are legitimate close friends, not just some crush, it becomes difficult to bring up.”

As common as Christiansen’s experience may be, hesitation and miscommunication may not be the only things to blame. Researchers are beginning to understand that men and women view and treat cross-sex friendships differently. In an article recently published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, according to Scientific American, a team of researchers interviewed 88 pairs of opposite sex, collegeaged friends. The data from this study soundly demonstrated that men report significantly more attraction to their female friends than their counterparts do.

Additionally, when asked to predict how attractive their female friends consider them to be, males consistently overestimated their own attractiveness in the eyes of their female friend. In other words, young men are much more likely to sexualize their cross-sex friendships than women, and they’re also more likely to miscalculate their female friend’s degree of attraction towards them.

How to Deal

Considering the differences between how men and women approach cross-sex friendships and RIT’s gender gap, knowing how to deal with feelings of attraction for a friend can help make things a lot easier. Whether you’re attracted to your friend or they’re attracted to you, there are some things that you can do to help mitigate the risk of your or your friend’s feelings being deeply hurt. Cha Ron Sattler, associate director of RIT’s Center for Women and Gender and a relationship counselor with the center’s relationship counseling service, helps students learn to cope with adult relationship issues every day. These issues range from getting into and out of relationships to coping with sexual assaults.

Sattler says that people most often end up infatuated with a friend who doesn’t reciprocate their feelings as a consequence of bad communication and bad boundary setting. For people who think that one of their friends may have romantic feelings, Sattler recommends that they “trust their instincts” about whether or not their friend has feelings and “clarify the relationship: where it’s going to go and where it’s not going to go.” Sometimes people misread situations, and by clearly spelling out how you feel, the likelihood of someone mistaking your friendship for reciprocated attraction decreases.

If you find yourself infatuated with a friend, it is important to be open and honest. Asking your friend if they feel the same way can seem daunting but Sattler reminds us that “The worst they can do is say no.” And while the disappointment of being rejected can hurt, the agony of not knowing how someone feels can grow excruciating. It’s almost always better to be upfront and honest.

Sattler says that being attracted to a friend is okay and part of life but, like most things, it’s time to walk away if it begins to limit your opportunities. If you find yourself overly focused on a friend who you are attracted to you may want to back off for a while and get some space, focus on yourself, cultivate your other friendships and work on your own selffabulousness. By working on yourself not only will you be happier, you’ll be more attractive to both the friend you desire and to other eligible people around you who you haven’t considered yet. After all, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

And Then There Were Three

Schramm had failed to realize that each of her eight new guy friends was interested in her romantically until it was too late. One by one, she had to reject each of them until only three remained. In the interim, sadly, many of the rejected suitors had faded into the background; their friendships motivated, in part perhaps, by their romantic interest.

By now it was apparent to Schramm that each of her remaining close guy friends had romantic feelings for her in one way or another. She went out of her way to clarify her feelings with each of them. She had some difficult conversations; it would be a lie to say that the whole process was drama-free. But to the happy surprise of one of the three remaining suitors, Schramm had developed romantic feelings for him too, and they’re now together. While the other two remaining guys may have drawn the short straws on Schramm’s romantic affections, they’re all still friends.

In the scheme of things, friendship is what matters. There was never any chance of all eight suitors winning Schramm’s heart. But at least some of them were sincere enough to stay Schramm’s friends regardless of the outcome.

Cuddling

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 01:02:00 -0500

The benefits of human touch.

by Amanda Imperial


Jonathan Foster

The blistering cold wind hits your hands like daggers; you forgot your gloves, and are left without cover. Your partner reaches out to grab your hand, noticing how cold you must be. You see how your hands fit perfectly together. Later, the cold has you two cuddling together in the embrace of a blanket. You lay there, their back forming perfectly to your front, fitting together comfortably, and all you feel is pure bliss.

Various emotions can be painted on a canvas through the type of touch that sends shockwaves through our bodies. The sensation of touch has granted us benefits since birth both in our development and psychologically. The most personal and intimate form of touch is cuddling, and yet today, cuddling is generally reserved for romantic pairs of people.

The Benefits of Cuddling

Cuddling is more than just an act of physical emotion. According to Dr. Robert Bowen, a lecturer who specializes in the psychology of infant and child development at RIT, the act of touch is absolutely vital to the development of an infant. He even goes as far as to say that it would be detrimental to an infant to not feel the touch of a mother.

“There’s been quite a bit of research on the importance of infants having the right kind and the right amount of stimulation,” Bowen says. There has been an extensive amount of experimentation, especially with animals, on the effects and benefits of maternal touch. Psychologist Harry Harlow performed an experiment with young Rhesus monkeys that showed the need for “contact comfort,” as he calls it, as a basic biological need. The experiment involved a baby Rhesus monkey that was taken away from its actual mother and given two options for motherly replacements: on was simply made of wire while the other was covered in cloth. Every monkey chose the “mother” covered in cloth due to the contact comfort she provided.

Humans are not too far from the lineage of primates, science shows, so Bowen presumes that this is also applicable to human infants. This tactile stimulation releases healthy amounts of the growth hormone ornithine decarboxylase, and reduces the release of the stress hormone, cortisol. Touching also stimulates the growth and development of the limbic system in the brain in infants which has to do with learning and memory.

The act of cuddling also has its emotional and psychological benefits. Bowen says, “It promotes the development of secure attachment,” which lowers the chance for behavior problems, grows the capacity for empathy, raises self-esteem, and makes it easier for children to form close relationships when they are older. “If children can develop this secure attachment, the relationship they develop with the parents is a model for how to relate to other people later in life,” Bowen says.

Jacqueline Samuels, a recent University of Rochester graduate with a degree in Brain and Cognitive Science, says that touch, as a relaxing gesture such as with cuddling, involves a number of neurological responses. Touch can raise serotonin levels, encourage the release of oxytocin and dopamine, and reduce cortisol. “Pretty much all of the chemicals that make us feel happy, connected, relaxed, are being elevated and the stress ones are being decreased,” Samuels says, adding also that intimate touching reduces blood pressure.

“People need human contact,” she says. “Everybody’s different; not everyone can connect verbally ... Touch provides us with something that just verbal interaction can’t. People need to feel connected.” The greatest health benefit that come from touch involves relieving the body of stress and tension, very much like massage does.


Jonathan Foster

Finding the Cuddles

Since graduating from the University of Rochester, Samuels has spent much of her time running a business she started called the Snuggery. At the Snuggery Park Avenue location, Samuels and her business partner offer cuddling services to paying clients. That’s right: Samuels is a professional cuddler.

When asked what inspired her to start such a rare kind of business, she responded with, “It’s just something I like to do.” Samuels has gotten much newsworthy publicity throughout the nation and from a few countries over this business. She has even been called a prostitute by some. However, her clients seem to have no problems with the experience.

The atmosphere of the room where the cuddling is done is incredibly calm, dim and relaxing. The floors in this small, slightly apartment-looking abode are a dark wood, complemented by a dim-colored green curtain on the windows. All the colors in the cuddling room are earthy and warm. There are unlit candles sitting by the windows, and there is softly playing piano coming from a radio close to what looked to be a double-sized bed.

Samuels spends up to five hours in one day cuddling with people whose ages range between what she estimates to be 20 and 85, and sometimes does no cuddling at all. Either way, she is paid 60 an hour for her service. And while an extremely large percentage of her clientele is men - some of which are brave enough to pay for the “double cuddle” option of cuddling with both Samuels and her business partner simultaneously - there are women that do it too. She even has regular clients who see her on a weekly basis for up to 90 minutes per session.

“I’m very clear with clients about the boundaries. We go over them - they’re in writing - verbally before we ever cuddle, so it’s very straightforward,” she says. Clients must also fill out a sheet that gives their consent and shows in writing that they agree with the terms on which cuddling is allowed.

There are other ways besides cuddling, however, that will relax and stimulate brain chemicals much like human touch does. Weighted vests and blankets have been used by people with autism and sensory processing disorders to help calm their nervous systems and to help them maintain focus. But the comforting pressure of these coverings can have these effects on anyone who uses them; it’s almost like carrying a person to hold you everywhere you go. For domestic pets like cats and dogs, a similar product known as the Thundershirt can alleviate their anxiety or distress when their owners leave the house. It also works through the pressure that is applied by the vest.

To put the two together, humans can acquire the benefits of touch by having pets or interacting closely with an animal. Even if those of us who live on campus cannot own pets, there are plenty of ways to get access to a loving animal. Some friends who live off-campus may have pets, or if you live close by, try going home when you get really stressed for some unadulterated love. Animal shelters also appreciate volunteers and the animals there would appreciate the extra attention.

Animal companionship has been proven to be especially beneficial with sufferers of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). People with PTSD can suffer from extreme anxiety and panic attacks, and can find it difficult to calm down. Animals, however, offer a comfortable presence that reduces stress and calms anxiety. There are a few reasons, according to Elements Behavioral Health, for why this seems to work. Animals have a great need for attention, and can use this need to draw the PTSD victim’s attention and focus away from traumatic re-experiencing of events. Animals are also non-judging creatures, and will love unconditionally if they’re allowed. Most importantly, some animals, like dogs and horses, are conditioned to be able to detect signs of stress or anxiety being exhibited by a human, and change their behavior to attend to them. Dogs poke gently at their humans for a hug, and horses when being ridden will change their pace to reflect the mood of the human, therefore making apparent to the human how his or her emotions are affecting others. Hugging animals is generally a more acceptable form of cuddling in society’s eyes, and will still give you all the warmth you need.

Why Hire a Professional Cuddler?

As young children, our parents normally cuddled us when we were upset or lonely. Cuddling was an acceptable form of touch and showed an amount of love intangible through other means. Today as young adults, cuddling is often strictly reserved for romance and sexual intimacy in relationships. It seems that cuddling outside of these boundaries, especially between a man and a woman, is unacceptable without romance.

“People are uncomfortable with cuddling,” according to Samuels, especially in the context in which she sells cuddling as a business. She says that people “make fun” of her business and “make light of it” in order to deal with the discomfort they have with it. “People outside of a relationship are lacking touch and meaningful connection. Not everybody is equipped for relationships ... I think it’s unfortunate that some people have limited access to intimate touch to people who are in relationships,” she says. Samuels mentions that she thinks a lot of men are pushed into looking for other ways to be intimate, such as with strip clubs that “aren’t as nurturing or beneficial.”

Cuddling, according to Samuels, is seen as a vulnerability, which scares many of us in society today. When done with someone you trust is unlike any other feeling, and grants health and emotional benefits unique to its act. It’s more than a hug, but less than a kiss, and can - despite what society says - be shared between friends without sexual intent.

Breaking Bad Habits

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:11:44 -0500

Keeping your New Years resolution while earning class credit.

by Angela Freeman


Juan Madrid

“Why is drinking too much coffee a problem?” one student wondered aloud while skimming the suggestion sheet handed out by Dr. Robert Bowen. And another realized that he had cracked his knuckles only moments after reading that particular bad habit on the list. For students in Bowen’s Behavior Modification class, coursework has taken on a real-life perspective as they form proposals to identify, analyze and ultimately modify aspects of their own behavior.

The class is comprised of approximately 30 students of all different year levels, who are working on psychology majors, minors and concentrations. “A counselor’s too expensive”, third year Software Engineer Daniel Moody joked when asked why he chose the course. As Dan Thompson, a fifth year industrial and systems engineering student put it, “Of all the courses on the list, it seemed the most applicable to the real world.” He and his classmates admit that, compared to other, more familiar psychology course titles, the class looked interesting. In addition, Bowen is something of a favorite amongst the students, several of whom have taken classes with him before.

An RIT instructor since 1985, Bowen has taught the Behavior Modification course 15 times since its first availability in the late 1980s. RIT’s course catalog describes the four-credit Behavior Modification class as an opportunity for students to learn skills for changing their behavior by controlling the environment and the consequences of behavior. “It offers practical, effective approaches for correcting and avoiding a wide variety of behavior problems,” Bowen said of his interest in behavior modification, which stemmed from his own college days, when he took a class on the subject.

The students’ task, entitled “The Self Behavior Modification Process,” is simple. Each person must choose one of his or her own behaviors that they could conceivably alter through behavior modification. Bowen addressed the class with suggestions, advising the students to choose “a simple, innocuous behavior” for their proposal - essentially, something that they will not be afraid to share with the class. The bad habit can be simple and relatively harmless - such as biting one’s fingernails or cracking one’s knuckles - or more serious, like kicking a nicotine addiction.

After students select an aspect of behavior to modify, Bowen has suggested that they strive to answer questions analyzing their chosen behaviors: “Why is it a problem? Is it a behavioral deficit or excess? How will changing the behavior alter everyday life?”

To complete the assignment, each student must research various methods for enacting change, and explain their reasoning for the application of specific behavior modification techniques, in a 2500-word report. “It’s just an exercise”, Bowen said of the assignment. “Students do not have to actually undertake the plan.” However, each student will receive a grade on their proposal paper, which accounts for four percent of his or her final grade in the course.

Students divide into groups to discuss the bad habits that they could change and which psychological behavior modification techniques might prove most effective over time. Some have a plan. Others are still struggling.

Fourth year New Media Marketing student Keila Castillo has honed in on the problem of biting her nails. “I’ve managed to stop four times!” she said with a wry smile, “But after a few months, I’m right back to it, wondering how I got there.”

Almost every group conversation dealt with reinforcement - one of the most common ways to initiate change. Positive reinforcement involves earning a reward through exhibiting constructive behaviors, while negative reinforcement is the removal of an undesirable factor by following through with good behavior. These reinforcements could be instituted through reading about lung cancer after smoking, or, conversely, earning a healthy snack after exercising.

Juliet Rocco, a fourth year Marketing major with a psychology minor, is using the project to set fitness goals for herself. “I want to get in shape for a Tough Mudder, so I don’t embarrass myself or get run over,” she said with a laugh. She went on to say, “When I think reinforcement, I think cookies.” After an animated discussion with her peers, she amended her plan to include stickers as a possible reward instead.

Substituting one habit for another - for example, juice consumption instead of coffee, or soda instead of beer - can also prove effective over time. “You have to identify the behavior chain,” Bowen instructed the class. By identifying the initial factor in a behavior chain that consistently leads to a bad habit, a person can create an entirely new sequence of events, and make substantial changes in his or her overall lifestyle.

Lauren Aggen, a fourth year student in RIT’s Multidisciplinary Studies program, has devised a behavior modification plan that will aid her in remembering to check her blood pressure. To do so, she has enlisted the aid of her boyfriend for reminder phone calls on a daily basis. Her plan operates on a seven-point system, with one point awarded for every day of the week that she remembers to check her blood pressure. If she earns seven consecutive points, Lauren will reward herself by watching a movie.

While giving examples of common behavioral issues, Dr. Bowen referenced “the problem of procrastination” and its universality. Of all the behaviors selected for the project, procrastination was by far the most frequently chosen. And, perhaps ironically, those who admitted to it as a problem were the most hard-pressed to come up with a solution through behavior modification.

Students’ suggestions ranged from the humorous to the practical: “Give yourself incentives.” “Have someone follow you around all the time.” “Start out small and work your way up, instead of aiming too high.” Lively discussions arose throughout the classroom regarding which methods might culminate in success. “Or you could just use the ‘Memento’ model and tattoo instructions on your arms,” quipped Matt Panek, a third year information technology student who is taking the course for his psychology concentration. A visual approach to conquering procrastination was met with approval by his classmates, as they chimed in with more down-to-earth ideas, such as day-to-day planners, charts and even iPhone apps meant to encourage timeliness.

For those interested in taking the Behavior Modification course in the future, it should be noted that it will be renamed Learning and Behavior, effective fall semester 2013. This change is being instituted to reflect a new emphasis on the principles of learning, which are critical to behavior modification. Additionally, course material varies from instructor to instructor.

Overall, though, the course comes highly recommended from both its students and professor. According to Bowen, “Knowledge of behavior modification can be applied in a wide variety of settings,” including areas such as parenting, education, interpersonal relationships, psychotherapy and sports psychology. “Everybody can benefit from knowledge of behavior modification principles.”

Sleep is For the Weak... Right?

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 04:05:37 -0500

How much do you need?

by Amanda Imperial


Seth Abel

For the past four years I’ve come to find myself more of a nocturnally active person. I enjoy doing activities at night, when no one is around to bother me. This means, of course, that I must sleep a lot during the day, and a little bit sometime during the night. Sleeping twice in one 24-hour period is known as biphasic sleeping. Although I personally don’t have issues with this kind of sleeping, I don’t encourage it. I have frequent and painful headaches and migraines, I lose large amounts of weight rapidly for seemingly no reason, and there are always noticeable bags under my eyes. While many of us ignore the signs of danger our bodies try to give, lack of sleep is getting the best of us.

Two students - one from RIT, and another taking online classes with Western Governors University - explored different sleeping options at least once over the course of the year. One student chose to experiment for personal enlightenment and overall boredom, while the other just wanted to find a way to get some real, healthy sleep. Two areas of interest were covered in these experiments: where we sleep, and how we sleep.

SLEEPING ELSEWHERE

In September 2011, Second-year New Media Design and Imaging student Jasmine Lockwood was inspired to attempt a sleep experiment where she would spend 50 nights in 50 different locations on campus.

“I wanted to experience what it was like to not have a place to rest my head,” she says about her reasoning behind the experiment. In addition to enjoying projects like this, Lockwood took on this experiment partially for personal exploration: “The way I rationalized it afterwards was that it was a balance between not knowing where I was going with my major, and it being really chaotic in my personal life,” explained Lockwood, adding that her sleeping experiment reflected how her life was at the time.

Lockwood slept in as many different kinds of places as she could find, and was offered advice on locations from professors and friends. She slept anywhere from a bathroom floor, the women’s varsity locker room, and in laundry rooms to places outside like the bleachers, the Greek Lawn and even a friend’s car.

Almost every night, however, was a battle. Restlessness, discomfort and interruptions from onlookers kept Lockwood up most nights, and prevented her from getting normal amounts of sleep.

She began experiencing headaches, had an ongoing cold, and constantly had large bags under her eyes. “I started prioritizing my project over academics, so I decided to stop,” Lockwood says. Out of the goal of 50 days, she only was able to complete 37.

Despite the difficulties that came with the experiment, Lockwood says she would definitely recommend doing this to others. When listing the reasons she enjoyed the experience, she mentioned the shock factor that came with it: “Just being able to shock myself and shock others ... telling my friends, and the doubt was my favorite part too. Overcoming that and surpassing a lot of people’s expectations.”

POLYPHASIC SLEEP CYCLE

Chris Foster, a Computer Science major studying online at Western Governors University, took an entirely different approach to sleep experimentation by changed his sleeping cycle. In August of last year, Foster heard about something called the Uberman Sleep Cycle, and started following the blog of Steve Pavlina, a personal growth inspirational writer, who personally experienced polyphasic sleeping. “I’ve historically had trouble falling asleep, and I heard that when people do this successfully, one of the abilities they gain is the ability to fall asleep instantly,” said Foster over phone.

Polyphasic sleeping is the process of sleeping multiple times within a 24-hour period. The Uberman Sleep Cycle calls for 20-minute periods of sleep every four hours which, if done successfully, should result in an immediate plunge into rapid eye movement (REM) - the deepest stage of sleep - upon attempting to sleep.

In trying this, Foster saw the predetermined results. He also reported waking up easier and no health concerns. However, he claims terrible periods of high and low when awake and severe sleep deprivation. “It worked sometimes, and then didn’t other times,” he says.

According to the reported results of the Uberman Sleep Cycle, some people have claimed to have more lucid dreams when attempting this sleep cycle, with Foster being no exception. He says that on his second night, he had his first dream, but that it was incredibly blank. After eventually getting used to the cycle and adjusting himself, the dreams he had were probably “the most vivid I’ve ever had in my life.”

Foster slept this way for two months before ultimately being unsatisfied with the results. “It’s basically just structured sleep deprivation,” he says. “I only did it for two months, but had zero creative breakthroughs...It became obvious at the end of the two months that this is just not how people were supposed to sleep. My brain needed more sleep.” His worst experience during his days of polyphasic sleeping when the bright world eluded him; he could not stay awake, and then when he did sleep, there were times when he could not get up. He described an experience when he was sitting on his couch in a haze, not having the will to move.

When asked if he would recommend the Uberman Cycle, Foster responded, “Absolutely not. Never do it - it’s a horrible thing.” He does say, though, that after stopping, he still falls immediately into REM sleep, and gets healthy, restful sleep, and that this change didn’t seem to harm him in any way.


Seth Abel

FREE-RUNNING SLEEP CYCLE

For a while, Foster was on what we know as a normal sleep schedule again. But then he noticed he was oversleeping frequently and for way too long when it started getting darker outside. After doing some research he found Piotr Wozniak, a Polish chronobiologist who studied everything there is to know about sleeping and its effects. “His article on sleep honestly has changed my life,” Foster says, “He suggests the proper way to sleep, which he calls ‘free-running.’”

Free-running, according to Piotr, is sleeping only when you’re actually tired, and not interrupting this sleep, especially with an alarm clock. “If you do that, your brain will get exactly the amount of sleep it needs and nothing more,” Foster says. “I’ve been sleeping amazingly.”

The free-running sleep cycle was definitely Foster’s favorite of the two he tried. “I was creative again, and I could think,” he says. But while he was finally getting healthy amounts of sleep and was rested, he says that there were times during the polyphasic sleeping when he felt “euphoric” - happy, elated, and full of energy.

“Free-running is the correct way to sleep,” says Foster, “I’d recommend that to everybody.” One drawback to the cycle he mentions is that some people have circadian rhythms-biological clocks-that run longer than the standard 24-hour day, and that free-running will gradually adjust the clock on which we sleep. He says the free-runner will start going to sleep later and inherently waking up later over time therefore shifting, for example, and going to bed at times like three or four in the morning and waking up later in the day.

REFLECTION

Although polyphasic and other alternative sleep cycles can be useful to some, there are still health risks associated with them. The Uberman Sleep cycle for instance, involves a great deal of sleep deprivation by cutting the daily recommended eight hours of sleep in half. Sleep deprivation can cause harm no matter how structured it is. Even though free running sleep schedules have less chance of harming your health, it still may be unrealistic on a college student’s schedule of class and weekend fun.

Sleep specialist and medical director of the Sleep Medicine Center in Charlottesville, Virginia, W. Christopher Winter, M.D. expressed his disapproval of the sleep deprivation caused by the Uberman Sleep Schedule in a Men’s Health article on the topic: “All kinds of things could happen to individuals who are sleep deprived... Changes in blood pressure, heart rate, hormones, glucose metabolism, temperature regulation and appetite can be seen quite quickly.”

For many people sleeping once for about eight hours every day in a monophasic sleep cycle can be effective. However, some people are still tired and deprived of energy during the day, even after a few full nights of this type of rest. Finding the right sleeping conditions for you can be extremely beneficial in many ways.

According to Sleep Insights, a center for sleep research and care, sleep helps to improve overall quality of life, improving health and appearance with each healthy night of sleep. Sleep disorders develop from missing large amounts of sleep, which also accumulates a sleep debt that, if not quickly accounted for, will cause harm over time. Without sleep, humans would shut down and live much shorter lives.

When attempting to get the best sleep possible, where you sleep and what conditions you sleep in can also be a factor. The National Sleep Foundation says that poor sleep can be caused by sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress and pillows, and can be affected by temperature. The foundation also says that a person’s bedroom should only be used for sleep and sex to create a strong association between the bedroom and sleep.

Attempting to change your sleeping pattern, like Foster, might help improve your sleep. A writer for High Existence, an online community of self-propelled researchers, takes a look at polyphasic sleep cycles of all kinds, and agrees with Foster that the free-running way of sleeping is the best for humans.

Though you should consult a physician before changing your sleep cycle, experimenting with different sleeping times and atmospheres could result in the best sleep of your life.

Editor’s Note: The efficacy of alternate sleep cycles such as biphasic and polyphasic sleep is contested, and extreme sleep models may pose a significant medical risk. Do not attempt drastic sleep schedule modification without first seeking professional medical consultation.

Hidden Ingredients

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 03:43:15 -0500

What's in your favorite snack?

by Danielle Delp


Katherine Dayton

You’re normally a health-conscious person - no canned soup or frozen meals for you. But looking for food around campus today, you’re in an unusual mood. Thoughts of tender macaroni and creamy cheese have been eating at you all day, and nothing is going to get between you and a sinfully delicious Kraft dinner. But wait! There’s another box beside it on the shelf: Annie’s Homegrown Shells & White Cheddar. The purple box boasts no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or hormones. Relieved of any previous guilt, you buy the slightly more expensive alternative without a second thought.

If you’d looked at the purple box’s nutrition facts, however, you would have noticed something interesting: levels of salt, fat, and calorie content are very similar to the Kraft version. Is Annie’s product really a healthier choice? The answer lies in the ingredients. The Kraft mac and cheese includes very similar ingredients to the Annie’s product, like whey and milk, salt. Yet the Kraft ingredients list is nearly twice as long as Annie’s, and many of the ingredients are complex compounds that an average student wouldn’t recognize without some serious help from Wikipedia.

With the complicated ingredients in processed foods these days, it’s hard to pick out things that are harmless from those that are harmful. RIT’s Registered Dietician, Mary Anne MacQuay, gives some suggestions for picking out healthy food. “Look at the list of ingredients. What’s the first ingredient?” Ingredients are listed in descending amount of the ingredient in the product, by volume; if sugar comes first, it means most of what you’re eating is comprised of mostly sugar.

The ingredients list is a powerful tool for consumers, since the manufacturer must list every single item in the product - information they are not required to reveal anywhere else on the label. Further reading of the ingredients in the beloved chocolately spread reveals palm oil as the second ingredient. This is even more alarming than sugar, since USDA research on heavily saturated fats (palm oil in particular) revealed dangers to heart health comparable to that of much-feared trans-fats.

If you can’t easily identify the individual ingredients in the product, you can simply look at the overall length of the ingredients list or the claims made by the packaging. MacQuay explains, “A long list of ingredients for a product usually means that there’s a lot of processed foods, or there’s some ingredient in that food that’s not as healthy as it should be.” To emphasize this point, she produced a bag of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice Whole Grain Brown; “The brown rice variety really just has water, rice and oil. But if you were to look at some of the other varieties in this line, the list of ingredients is much longer and there are a lot more chemicals and additives in the product.” That particular variety also boasted that the product was heart-healthy, something other products in the line can’t claim, due to their radically different contents. That’s because the FDA regulates what a company can and cannot claim on their products, so this is a reliable method of determining certain healthy qualities of the foods you eat.

Of course, some products that are allowed to make those claims might not actually contain any healthy ingredients. Take Annie’s Berry Patch Bunny Fruit Snacks, for example. The package proudly proclaims that it is organic, and displays a USDA seal of approval to prove it. As pointed out by MacQuay, however, organic production doesn’t make a product instantly healthy; “There’s not a lot of research that proves that organic is, necessarily, better.” The ingredients in the fruit snacks confirm this; the first two ingredients in the fruit snacks are organic tapioca syrup and organic cane sugar. Furthermore, infamous “natural flavors” are included on the list, which could be literally any plant or animal byproduct. Most notably of all, a product does not need to be 100 percent organic to earn that USDA seal; so long as a certain proportion of the final product is organic, the claim can legally be made. This is especially true for the fruit snacks, which also contain non-organic pectin, citric acid, ascorbic acid, sodium citrate and carnauba wax. Though all of those ingredients are harmless additives found in many processed foods, they are no different from their non-organic counterparts.

The ingredients list may be the most tedious part of the packaging, but it contains the most information about a product. Reading (and researching) the ingredients in addition to the nutrition facts and claims listed on the foods you eat will get you well on your way to making healthy food choices.