CSI Bulletin  |  November 14, 2008  |  VOL 31 NO 36
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MEMORANDA

Public Safety Advisory

Recently, several CSI students, in separate incidents, reported that their lockers were broken into while they were at the Sports and Recreation Center (Building 1R).

Public Safety would like to remind members of the College community to be cognizant of their valuables while in the Sports and Recreation Center:

— Avoid bringing cash, wallets, watches, or other valuables to the athletic facilities.

— Avoid storing your valuables in your locker.

— Keep your locker locked whenever unattended. This includes those times when you leave briefly to shower, visit the trainer’s office or the equipment room, etc. Most of the thefts at the athletic facilities are from unlocked lockers.

— Make sure that your lock is in good working condition. Test your lock and make sure that it is functioning properly before leaving the locker room.

— Report suspicious persons and incidents of theft to Public Safety immediately.

Public Safety would also like to remind the College community that coin-operated mini security lockers are located in the corridor outside of the women’s locker room. These lockers, which require you to insert a quarter, are large enough to secure your wallet, purse, keys, and other valuables. They are also monitored by Sports and Recreation personnel and Public Safety.

If you have any questions please contact the Public Safety Office, in Building 2A, Room 108, at 718.982.2111 or 2116.

Milton Santiago

Campus-wide Essay Contest

The English Department would like to announce its third annual campus-wide essay contest. There are two separate categories: English 111/151 and upper-division writing in all disciplines.

I encourage you to help your students select one of their essays to submit and suggest that they revise their essays before doing so. The winners will receive a prize generously provided by Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Francisco Soto and they will be published in Inkwell.

This essay contest is a great opportunity for students to see their work in print. The resulting publication showcases the best of student writing across the disciplines, and it is a valuable teaching tool as well.

Please share this announcement with your students.

Essays written during the fall semester should be submitted in three clean copies to the Department of English in Building 2S, Room 218 by Friday, Dec. 19 along with the cover sheet that is available at www.csi.cuny.edu/hmailweb. It will be the last item listed at that site.

Hildegard Hoeller

International Education Week Events

International Education Week was originally a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of the value of global exchanges between the U.S. and other countries.

CSI recognizes the many benefits of international exchange with a week-long series of activities and community gatherings.

The following are some of the activities being held in celebration of International Education Week at CSI:

— “Passport Day”: Apply for a passport or student or educator ID, Monday, Nov. 17 in Building 2A, Room 206 from 10:30am to 3:30pm (for students, staff, and faculty only)

— “What Happened in the U.S. Presidential Election? An Informal Chat with International Students,” featuring Prof. Ming Xia and Assoc. Prof. Richard Flanagan, Political Science, on Tuesday, Nov. 18 in Building 2A, Room 206 from noon to 1:30pm

— “Immigration 101: Curricular Practical Training for F-1 Students” on Thursday, Nov. 20 in the Center for the Arts (Building 1P), Room 116 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm

— “Celebrate a Quarter-Century of Study Abroad Programs in Italy” on Thursday, Nov. 20 in the Campus Center (Building 1C) Park Café from 4:00pm to 6:30pm

— “U.S. Citizenship Workshop” on Friday, Nov. 21 in Building 2A, Room 206 at 2:00pm and 5:00pm

— Study Abroad Information Sessions on Monday, Nov. 17 from 11:15pm to 12:05pm and Tuesday, Nov. 18 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm in Building 2A, Room 206; and Thursday, Nov. 19 from 1:30pm to 3:30pm and Friday, Nov. 21 from 12:20pm to 1:10pm in Building 1N, Room 114.

All of these events are CLUE-certified. For more information, call 718.982.2100 or email studyab@mail.csi.cuny.edu.

Winnie Brophy

Panel Discussion and Lecture

A panel discussion, entitled “From New Orleans to New York: Race, Class, Gender, and the Struggle for Affordable Housing,” will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 18 in the Center for the Arts (Building 1P) Recital Hall from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. This event is open to the public. Another panel discussion on the same topic, open only to the CSI community, will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 19 in Building 3S, Room 118 from 12:20pm to 2:15pm.

As the economic crisis deepens across the country, millions of people are losing their jobs, compounding the housing crisis caused by banks and landlords dispossessing millions of families from their homes over the last couple of years. Yet, people have not simply been victims, but have been organizing for a socially just resolution to the jobs and housing crisis.

Come to a panel discussion of affordable housing residents and activists from Staten Island and New Orleans who will discuss their efforts to defend public housing in the midst of privatization efforts in post-Katrina New Orleans, and galloping gentrification in New York over the last decade. They will also discuss how solutions to the housing crisis can provide the basis for a popular resolution to the growing and deepening national and global economic downturn.

Speakers will include:

— Mike Howells, Writer and Community Activist with C3/Hands Off Iberville, New Orleans

— Sharon Jasper, New Orleans Public Housing Resident

— Angela Jasper, C3/Hands Off Iberville, New Orleans

— Amy Chan, Tenant Organizer, Staten Island, Tenants and Neighbors

— Sharon Valentin, Castleton Park Tenants Association (Staten Island)

These panel discussions are sponsored by CSI’s Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Department, Women’s Studies Program, American Studies, the Center for the Study of Staten Island, the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), the Peace Club, and the Pluralism and Diversity Program. For more information contact Jay Arena at 718.982.3779 or 504.520.9521 or arena@mail.csi.cuny.edu.

Jay Arena

Heritage Speakers Lecture Series: Puerto Rico

The Heritage Speakers Lecture Series will focus on Puerto Rico on Wednesday, Nov. 19 in the Center for the Arts Lecture Hall (Building 1P, Room 119) with a lecture by Ismael García-Colón, Anthropology.

Asst. Prof. García-Colón will speak about his heritage. He will also share the story of his path to CSI. The discussion serves as a means to encourage students to participate in more diverse programs and to succeed here at CSI and beyond.

This is a “PG” CLUE-certified event. Contact the Pluralism and Diversity Program in the Building 2A, Room 208 or call 718.982.2597 for more information.

Winnie Brophy

World on Wednesday Lecture Series

As part of the World on Wednesday Lecture Series, William R. Bauer, Department of Performing and Creative Arts, will be presenting “Through the Looking Glass? Traditional African Music through Western Ears.” The talk will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 19 in the Campus Center (Building 1C) Green Dolphin Lounge from 12:20pm to 1:10pm.

The diversity of music created by African ethnic groups may strike the Western listener as exotic, strange, even unsettling. The sounds of the mbira, the kora, or the gankogui can draw us out of our familiar frame of reference evoking images of tribal rituals and dances unfolding in sub-Saharan landscapes. How may we find a way into this hauntingly beautiful music?

It happens that Western listeners have a direct pathway to Africa in the various musical styles that Americans of African descent developed in North America. By drawing attention to relationships between the two continents’ musical languages and by highlighting fundamental principles that operate throughout the African diaspora, Asst. Prof. Bauer builds a bridge for Western listeners.

Join us on a short trip to Africa by way of a portal in our own back yard. We will see distant groups of people as reflections of ourselves and share in the collective humanity that is our birthright.

The World on Wednesday series is sponsored by the Center for International Service and it is approved for CLUE credit. This is also an International Education Week event.

If you wish to present, please contact Winnie Brophy at 718.982.2100.

Winnie Brophy

Bulletin Transition

The CSI Bulletin is now available electronically on the CSI Newsmakers Website at www.csinews.net by clicking on the button marked “The Bulletin” near the top banner. There you can view the Bulletin as a Webpage or print it in its familiar style from a PDF file. As part of the College’s ongoing sustainability campaign, and in support of CUNY’s paper-reduction initiative, the Bulletin will only be available via Web and PDF beginning January 2009.

Editor