End of the Semester Motivation – Another Reason to Get Involved!

Well, another semester is almost in the books, and I am feeling pretty stressed! With papers piling up and tests looming closer and closer with each passing day I have to say that I’ve begun to question why I am putting myself through all this…torture. So with motivation flagging, I find that recalling what’s meant a lot to me during this school year as a whole gives me the energy to sprint down the homestretch, and co-curricular involvement has provided the most inspiring memories I have to fall back on.

During my first year at CSU I got involved right away. Starting with Cans Around I was able to see what a group of dedicated people can do, we raised an amazing amount of money and food for the Larimer County Food Bank. Knowing that I played a small part in making a pretty sizable difference in Fort Collins feels pretty good.
I also participated in Campus Step Up. Getting the opportunity to talk to others about identity dynamics, and how I can be an ally for people identifying within subordinated identity groups totally changed my perception. I think the most poignant moment that made me reevaluate my views came during an identity circles activity. People with subordinated identities were given the chance to communicate what they needed from allies and talk about the myths and prejudices surrounding their specific identities. The most memorable example came from a person identifying as a woman, she said something to the effect of, “sexual violence against women isn’t a woman’s issue, it is a men’s issue. You need to work with your brothers to end it.” While I know victim blaming and misappropriation of guilt are horrible, I hadn’t thought about sexual assault in this light before, which raises my biggest take away from this event. The point of dominant identities and why they are so powerful lies in the fact that their members don’t have to be conscious of their difference. The privileges and power that come with dominant identities are considered normal and right, whereas the attributes associated with subordinated identities are considered against the norm and to a certain extent wrong. So by simply being more aware of the power and privilege I enjoy–power and privilege I haven’t necessarily earned–I can use it to the benefit of those in subjugated groups.

Probably the most memorable and impactful event I have participated in since I got to CSU would be the 2011 Alternative Spring Break to Tucson, Arizona. I could write a book about this experience. I experienced firsthand a small part of what immigrants have to conquer while crossing the Sonoran desert. I was well fed, had plenty of water, slept in sleeping bags with multiple pads on the ground, and had good clothing and equipment but was still exhausted after every day and barely got any sleep at night. I can’t imagine having to cross with limited supplies and marginal-at-best equipment. There are no walls along this section of the border, all that separates Mexico and the United States in places is a hip high, rusted barbed wire fence. Clearly our intention is not to keep people from crossing at places like this, but to use the harshness of the terrain as a deterrent, and if enough people die the hope is that people will stop crossing. This has not been the case in the past 20 years as people continue to cross. As I said, I could continue about this experience for a while, and I’ll post more about it in the future.

So with all this to remember, I have a hard time getting discouraged. All I can think of is what I can get involved with next semester, and how I can continue to use the knowledge I’ve gained to make this world a better place.

Why You Need to Go On an Alt Break: Volume 4 – Eustis, FL

Well, our 4th installment of this series is a pretty great one. 2011-2012 marks the first year SLiCE is sponsoring an all Greek ASB! The trip is in Eustis, FL and…well…I’ll just let Caiti, one of the trip’s co-leaders, tell you more:

“This year is the first year that there is a Greek specific trip. This trip is going to Eustis, Florida to work at Camp Boggy Creek, a camp for terminally ill kids. Beau and I are both Greek, and are extremely excited to lead the first all Greek trip. We are hoping that this trip will strengthen the Greek community. This trip will be a week of fun in the Florida sun. There will be hard work, but plenty of time to have fun as well.”

And here is a bit about Camp Boggy Creek from their site:

“Camp Boggy Creek is specifically designed for children with chronic or life threatening illnesses and allows them to safely enjoy the activities of a ‘traditional’ camp. Between early morning swims and evening campfires, children whose lives have been a series of medical procedures and hospital stays are transformed into just ‘kids.’ They have a chance to be with others coping with the same illness or condition and realize that they are not alone.”

Why You Need to Go On an Alt Break This Year: Volume 2 – Catalina, CA

Well, I must say that this latest installment of the 2011-2012 Alt Break highlight series is the best yet. Adrienne, the Student Coordinator for the Alt Break program and co-leader for this year’s Catalina, CA trip graces us with her passion and awesomeness in the paragraphs below. I’ll let her speak for herself: 

“Alternative Breaks remains the highlight of my CSU experience so far.  Since I began my involvement as a freshman, I have gained valuable perspective on multiple social issues and met some of my closest friends through the program.

As a freshman, I traveled to Independence, CA to do environmental restoration at Manzanar, one of the Japanese Internment camps instated during WWII.  We learned the in-depth history of the site and heard inspiring stories of the courageous families unfairly interned at Manzanar.  Last year, as a sophomore, I was a Co-Site Leader for the animal welfare trip to Kanab, UT to work at the Best Friend’s animal sanctuary.  We did facility restoration, trail maintenance, and socialized with all types of animals who had been abused, abandoned, or just in need of a home and loving companion.  This year, as a junior, I am the co-Site Leader for Catalina, CA where we will work on the removal of invasive species on the island and I am also the Student Coordinator for Alt. Break program.

All of the trips I was and am involved with have been very different.  The history of the Japanese internment camps might not matter to everyone, but it matters to someone so it does matter.  Not everyone cares about animal welfare but it matters.  Not everyone cares about environmental issues but they matter. This is how I approach every new year with Alt. Breaks and this is why I think it’s easy for this experience to be so impactful; We hope participants go on trips focusing on something they are passionate about or want to learn more about, but no matter what trip they go on, it matters.

The Alt. Break slogan is, ‘Let the world change you so you can change the world.’  Not only did I find a sense of purpose as a young adult but I learned the impact of direct service in the social issues I care most about.  I think of Alternative Breaks as a way to “bridge the gap”;  We bridge the gap between feeling unproductive over Spring Break and doing something fulfilling and with intention, we bridge the gap between communities that, in some ways, seem polarized, and we bridge the gap between simply caring about an issue and actively doing something about it.

Alt. Breaks are service-learning trips across the United States and around the world that immerse CSU students in issues including homelessness, animal welfare, environmental restoration, Native American reservations, at risk youth, immigration, ecotourism and sustainability, refugees, and women’s issues.  Because our trips focus on a range of social issues pertaining to many majors and personal interests, the program attracts a diverse group of participants.

 

I encourage CSU student from all backgrounds who want to bridge the gap to their next defining experience at CSU to apply for an Alternative Break!”

Ditto Adrienne, ditto!

What do Swimming, Crafts, and Bowling Have in Common?

Things are starting to heat up in the SLiCE office for the 2011-2012. As I mentioned in the last post, our annual Involvement Expo now lasts two days! This Wednesday the 31^st, and Thursday September 1^st, Registered Student Organizations all but take over the LSC plaza from 10am-3pm, so if you want to know how to get involved at CSU you gotta be there. SLiCE has a lot more coming up too, applications are due for a few awesome programs soon!

SLiCE’s longest running program, Special Needs Swim (SNS) is entering its 36^th year on campus. SNS provides special needs community members the chance to have fun in the water, something few of our participants could do by themselves. If you had fun in a pool, lake or river this summer, consider volunteering so another person has the chance to splash around with you! This program allows student volunteers to interact with community members, both adults and children, with different disabilities. Each week students and their partners spend an hour in the pool for exercise, games, and friendship. These sessions develop relationships, improve body coordination and skills, and most importantly are a lot of fun in the water! Find applications, program information and a lot more  at the SLiCE Special Needs Swim page

Applications are also available for SNS’s sibling, Thank Golly It’s Friday (TGIF). TGIF is similar to SNS, but focuses on engaging special needs teens during the difficult Junior and High School years. SLiCE plans a wide range of awesome activities like bowling, craft night and mini golf throughout the 2011-2012 school year. Find more information TGIF, including applications at the TGIF page. Apps for both TGIF and SNS are due this Friday, September 2nd. Turn them into the SLiCE office by 5pm or email them to the student contacts listed here.

Welcome Back SLiCErs!

Ah, senior year is almost officially upon me, and I’m curiously calmer than I thought I’d be. Probably because I haven’t started researching grad programs, Planning the Alt Spring Break I am co-leading…I haven’t even started classes yet. Great, now I am starting to get a bit nervous…more than a bit really. But these are all problems of luxury, I mean I am really excited to find the answers to these questions, and while taking the GRE falls just above pounding nails into my fingers on my wants list, the sheer amount of awesomeness this year promises makes everything totally worth it.

To begin, I am so stoked to co-lead an Alt Break trip to Chicago! I’ve never been to the windy city and am very interested in having a real Chi Town hot dog ala Hot Doug’s. Culinary intrigue aside, we’ll be working with subordinated populations and learning more about social justice issues. Check out the Alt Break SLiCE page for a full rundown of the agencies we’ll be working with, as well as a list of all the trips happening this spring. I can’t wait to be challenged and see my fellow leaders and participants step up, grow, and become even more amazing people.

This year’s Involvement Expolooks like it’s going to be pretty amazing as well. We had to extend it over two days, criminey! This is the place to find out everything about student organizations and find other services the greater Fort Collins and Larimer County communities.

With much more to look forward to, I’ll be posting a lot more information about this year’s programming and events. Visit the SLiCE website for more stuff happening this year, keep up to date with our Facebook page, or follow @slice_csu on Twitter . Stay tuned Rams, much more to come!

Spring ’11 Alternative Breaks

So, we just got an awesome email, the contents of which I want to shout from roof tops…alt break descriptions and applications are here! I could write pages about how excited I am for the up coming trips, but I think it’ll be better to post the descriptions and let you get there yourself. I just can’t keep this to myself any longer though, SLiCE wants to pay for part of your trip this year! We are offering up to $500 in grant money for our beloved alt breakers! Yeah we know, pretty much amazing. And f.y.i., all alt break applications are due in the slice office by October 20th, no later than 5:00pm.

And now, what you’ve all been waiting for. Here are some of the sites for next semester’s alt breaks -

Achiote, Panama Participants will work with a local community center

Panama Alt Break 2008

focusing on environmental conservation and ecotourism with the Panamanian Center for Research and Social Action (CEASPA).

Catalina, California Participants stay in Catalina Island Camps, on Catalina Island, which is located southwest of Los Angeles and participate in numerous environmental projects.

Independence, California Teaming up with Manzanar National Historic Site, volunteers will work to preserve and learn about a former Japanese internment camp.

Kanab, Utah Participants will volunteer for Best Friends Animal Society, the nation’s largest sanctuary for abused and abandoned animals.

Kissimmee, Florida Participants will volunteer for Give Kids the World, an amusement park for children that have terminal illnesses.

Maryville, Tennessee Partnering with Once Upon a Time, CSU volunteers will assist with various projects in rural Appalachia and with the Cherokee Nation.

New Orleans, Louisiana This trip features volunteer work with Common Ground to support disaster relief and rebuilding of homes as a result of the hurricane Katrina disaster.

Washington D.C.  Participants on this trip will volunteer in the nation’s

DC Alt Break 2008

capital providing services to residents of the nation’s largest transitional homeless shelter, Community for Creative Non-Violence

(CCNV).

For a complete list of all the locations, costs and other info pick up an application in the SLiCE office, or click here to download one!

And so it begins…

We are the Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement (SLiCE) office at Colorado State University. We offer a gigantic variety of community engagement and leadership opportunities to help students get involved with their local, national and global communities. With so much going on and so many great experiences to share we wanted to start talking about all the amazing things we have done and will do. Beginning today, we will bring you notifications, updates and reports on all that SLiCE is and has been up to.

But first a little more about us. SLiCE is like an umbrella, or maybe like an octopus with more arms growing every day. Some of the programs we are responsible for include Student Organizations, Alternative Breaks and Cans Around the Oval. There are so many things that SLiCE oversees a book could be written on that subject alone, but it might be faster to just go to our website and check out it all out for yourself.

Now you know a bit about who we are, come say hi at The Involvement Expo on September 1^st from 10 am to 3 pm at the Lory Student Center (LSC) Plaza. The Expo is a huge event for student organizations and community groups to recruit new members and trade notes for the coming semester. For more information, go here or stop by the SLiCE office (room 113) in the LSC behind the information desk. You can also give us a call if you so desire at (970) 491-1682. With over 300 student orgs on campus there is bound to be something that will add meaning and fun to your time at CSU. If you want to search all the official SLiCE approved organizations give RamLink a visit.

RamLink is an extremely useful tool for anyone wanting to get involved with co-curricular activities. In addition to hosting every official organization’s site, RamLink tracks your individual involvement and prompts you to reflect on your experience. It then takes all this data and tailors an involvement resume to keep track of it all in a practical and meaningful way. RamLink will also make finding organizations easier by tracking your interests & current memberships and suggesting other groups to join.