Due to rain, the Child Care Center's car wash and hot dog sale to raise funds for summer camp field trips scheduled for today, Tuesday, August 9, 10:00 a.m. to noon and 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. has been postponed.

Computing and Technology Services will be performing maintenance on campus network equipment today, Tuesday, August 2, as part of the wireless expansion project. Brief interruptions of wireless connectivity may occur between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and noon in the following buildings: Bacon Hall, Bulger Communication Center, Campbell Student Union, Caudell Hall, Cleveland Hall, Donald Savage Theater and Communication Building, E. H. Butler Library, Houston Gym, Ketchum Hall, Moot Hall, Rockwell Hall, Sports Arena, and Upton Hall.

Please contact the Computing Help Desk at ext. 4357 or CHD@buffalostate.edu if you have any questions.

The premiere of Nowa Cumig: The Drum Will Never Stop will be held Tuesday, August 9, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Burchfield Penney Art Center. The event, open to the public, is sponsored by several Buffalo State, native, and Western New York organizations.

The film was written and directed by Marie-Michele Jasmin-Belisle and centers on Dennis Banks, a Leech Lake (Minnesota) Ojibwa and co-founder of the American Indian Movement (AIM). Banks is a world-renowned political and spiritual figure, best known for his involvement during the occupation of Wounded Knee at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, in 1973.

The film is a story of Banks and his movement. Beginning with the Longest Walk of 1978, the film explores various aspects of the man known as Nowa Cumig (meaning "in the center"). It shows him as spiritual teacher, humanitarian, singer, grandfather, environmentalist, and peace activist. The film tells the story of his friendship with Buddhist leaders, actors, and militants.

Nowa Cumig: The Drum Will Never Stop is produced by Banks' longtime friend Takeo Koshikawa of the Nowa Cumig Institute. Koshikawa was on the original Longest Walk and has worked for peace and cultural revitalization with Banks since 1978. Emcee for the screening and post-film discussion will be Agnes Williams, Seneca, of the Indigenous Women’s Initiatives. Guest speakers include Banks, Jasmin-Belisle, and Koshikawa. Singing on sacred drums will be included. 

For more information, contact Agnes Williams at (716) 949-8345 or Takeo Koshikawa at (415) 819-8980. 

This event is sponsored by the Indigenous Women’s Initiative and the Nowa Cumig Institute in partnership with Buffalo State through its American Indian Policy and Media Initiative and the Native American Students Organization. Other sponsors include the WNY Peace Center and the Interfaith Peace Network of WNY. 

From the Dean of Students
I am pleased to inform the campus community that Buffalo State has purchased AlcoholEdu® for College, a web-based alcohol and sexual assault prevention program being used at more than 500 colleges and universities around the country. The program uses the latest prevention techniques and science-based research to educate students about the impact of alcohol on the mind and body. AlcoholEdu will empower students to make well-informed decisions about alcohol and will help them better cope with the drinking behavior of their peers. 

Sexual AssaultEdu, a module within AlcoholEdu, addresses many of the assumptions and stereotypes associated with sexual assault, rape, stalking, and harassment. It also will help students understand the meaning of consent, how to help a friend, and how to intervene in a situation that might escalate to a sexual assault. Furthermore, Alcohol/Sexual AssaultEdu will inform students about campus programs and resources where they can get more information, find support, or get involved in our other prevention efforts.

Every incoming first-year and transfer student will be required to take Alcohol/Sexual AssaultEdu for College and pass the course exam. We will be communicating directly with students regarding the information and instructions they need to complete this course. To help ensure that students meet this requirement, faculty and staff are asked to remind new first-year and transfer students that all new students must complete Part 1 of the Alcohol/Sexual AssaultEdu course by Tuesday, August 23.

While we are committed to making a difference with our students when they arrive, we understand that parents are the first line of defense against alcohol misuse and abuse. That’s why we are also making the Alcohol/Sexual AssaultEdu for College course available for parents to review to encourage dialogue between parents and students about alcohol and its effects.

Our students will be taking three surveys throughout the course, which will allow us to collect critical data on their attitudes and behaviors toward alcohol–including students’ readiness to change their behavior, which protective factors or high-risk factors they exhibit, and what expectations they have toward alcohol. All of this data will help us better understand and meet the needs of our students and to compare our data to other data sets, including national aggregate data and data from peer institutions also using the course.

If you have any additional questions about Alcohol/Sexual AssaultEdu for College, please feel free to contact Hal D. Payne, vice president for student affairs, or Charles B. Kenyon, associate vice president and dean of students.
 

The Professional Staff Caucus Corn Fest Committee thanks the Buffalo State community for coming out and supporting this year’s event. We hope you enjoyed yourselves and hope to see you next year!

The Professional Staff Caucus Corn Fest Committee

The College Senate is seeking members to serve on one or more of its eight standing committees. If you are interested, or know a colleague who is, go to the College Senate website home page and click on Committee Interest Form. You may fill out the form online, but you must print and mail it to the Senate Office, Cleveland Hall 211. If you have questions, please call the Senate Office at ext. 5139. Please note that the chairs of the standing committees make all decisions regarding membership. The Senate Office does not fill these positions. All forms must be completed and sent to the Senate Office by Friday, September 2, 2011. The term of membership is for the 2011–2012 academic year.

The Research Foundation of SUNY/Center for Development of Human Services, College Partnership Development Office, is now accepting graduate and undergraduate student applications for their Public School Mentoring Program for the fall 2011 semester. Applicants must be enrolled full time at Buffalo State College, have excellent written and verbal skills, and have previous experience tutoring or working with groups of children in an educational setting. Undergraduate students must have earned a minimum of 30 to 45 credit hours. Interested students should pick up an application as soon as possible from Bacon Hall 114, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

The Physics Department will offer a free half-day introductory workshop led by Dan MacIsaac of Physics and Kathleen Falconer of Elementary Education and Reading on using the NSF-funded Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) for STEM classroom assessment and research on Monday, July 25, from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. in Science Building 272. RTOP is the gold standard observation instrument for K-20 STEM classroom observation for research publication, and this workshop is co-sponsored by the NSF Noyce partnership for new STEM teachers at Buffalo State College.  Participants will practice scoring vignettes of physics teaching and will extensively discuss RTOP use.  Participants will also receive electronic copies of the video vignettes, RTOP forms, the RTOP statistical and training manuals.

Attendance is free, though an R.S.V.P. to macisadl@buffalostate.edu is appreciated.

The campus services work request link will be unavailable from 6:00 to 9:00 a.m., tomorrow, Thursday, July 21, due to a server upgrade. Please phone work requests to Customer Service at ext. 6111 during that time frame.  Thank you for your patience.

Having a survivor-informed response is critical for campus-based first responders and law enforcement personnel who are working to provide response and prevention practices that attend to supporting the survivor, offender accountability, and changing community norms. This webinar will help campuses to: (1) prepare campus safety teams and first responders to handle sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking incidents; (2) challenge individuals in confronting their own perception(s) regarding sexual violence issues and how that establishes/reinforces standard of care and treatment of survivors; and (3) provide an opportunity to reinforce campus safety policies and practices.

This webinar will be facilitated by Teresa White, director of education for Women Organized Against Rape. Teresa conducts training programs for the U.S. Federal Protective Services, law enforcement agencies, the School District of Philadelphia, medical professionals, community/civic organizations, and houses of worship.

This webinar is sponsored by Violence Intervention and Victim Advocacy and will be held on Tuesday, July 26, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center 120. Contact Liz McGough at ext. 4029 for more information.