Student life
Residential Life
Gender Inclusive Housing
The Residential Life Team is particularly invested in one of President Harvey Stenger’s Road Map priorities: fostering a diverse and inclusive campus. In fall 2014, Residential Life implemented Gender Inclusive Housing (GIH) to provide a safe residential option for students who don’t identify with traditional gender binaries. This semester, our team continues to work on strategies to publicize and clarify the GIH option as well as change our marketing images and copy to reflect a gender-neutral view. Our hope is that all of our students will feel safe and empowered to express who they are, on a campus that supports diversity.
Faculty-in-Residence Program
Residential Life’s Faculty-in-Residence program is a great way for students to connect with faculty in fun and educational ways. Some examples this semester: Mountainview’s Faculty-in-Residence, Dana Stewart, hosted Mountainview Jams every Sunday evening where students from all over campus could hang out, listen to music and sit in on jam sessions with her band; and College-in-the-Woods’ Faculty-in-Residence, Stephen Ortiz, taught a course on Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt, and arranged a tour of the FDR Museum and the Roosevelt’s Val-Kill house. All of our residential halls promote the living/learning experience and look for creative ways to engage our residents.
Roundtable on Education
On March 20, educators from Binghamton University, the local Binghamton area as well as the Zhenjiang Province in China held a roundtable discussion on education. Topics included the partnerships between U.S. and Chinese schools in coursework, as well as how to provide students with opportunities to collaborate on long-distance projects.
Level 1 Hearing Board Program
The Level 1 Hearing Board Program was a collaboration between the Office of Residential Life and the Office of Student Conduct. The all-student board heard lower-level student conduct cases in order to successfully increase the student voice in the conduct process, reduce the amount of time between the incident and completion of a case, and encourage more discussions of violations and the overall community impact.
ALIVE Service Recognition Banquet
The ALIVE Service Recognition Banquet held May 3, in the Chenango Room has no doubt begun a new tradition in Hinman, and deepened the culture of service and leadership within Hinman. At the dinner, prizes were given to quite a number of Hinman students, based on their ALIVE Points (hours of community service). Special recognition in the form of the newly created ALIVE Service Certificate went to students who (1) completed more than 50 hours of community service during the year, (2) wrote a 500-word reflection piece about their service, (3) were recommended by the supervisor of their service in a local organization and (4) either took two service-learning courses or held leadership positions in Hinman this year. The banquet also honored representatives of a number of non-profit organizations in Greater Binghamton, in appreciation for their welcoming attitude and generous support of student volunteers.
Campus Recreation
Recreational Turf Complex
Campus Recreational Services broke ground on a new 130,000-square-foot, lighted Recreational Turf Complex and is on track to open the facility at the beginning of the fall 2015 semester. More than 5,000 participants battled it out as members of our club and intramural sport teams during the 2014-15 year. Nearly 1,000 of those students, faculty and staff joined outdoor soccer, softball and flag football — the teams that will see the greatest benefit from a lighted turf, with fewer games canceled due to poor weather and field conditions.
The inaugural year of the on-campus Challenge Program is under our belt. Student assistants have been trained to lead participants on both the high- and low-ropes elements; a handful of groups have completed sessions; and the open zipline and high ropes opportunities have been popular with faculty, staff and students during the spring semester. The Challenge Program is now accepting inquiry requests for the fall — a unique option for a staff retreat or employee development. All you need is a willingness to work with others, an enthusiastic attitude and a desire to take a chance!
B-Healthy: The Healthy Campus Initiative
Binghamton University has joined the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which works with the private sector and PHA honorary chair First Lady Michelle Obama to make healthier choices easier. Binghamton is one of 26 colleges and universities to sign on to PHA’s Healthier Campus Initiative, impacting our more than 16,500 students and approximately 5,000 faculty and staff on campus.
In conjunction with B-Healthy and Sodexo Dining Services, the University has agreed to implement 23 specific guidelines over the next three years in the areas of food and nutrition, physical activity and programming, including ones that provide:
• healthy food and beverage options at every meal
• a registered dietician nutritionist for personal assessments
• marked walking routes
• a bicycle share program
• diverse recreational activities
• health and wellness education and activities
• and much more
For more information on PHA’s Healthier Campus Initiative, visit www.ahealthieramerica.org/campuses. For specifics on Binghamton University’s commitment, visit binghamton.edu/bhealthy/.
In March, B-Healthy facilitated the National College Health Assessment survey (NCHA) on campus for the first time in over five years. A semi-random sample of 1,200 freshmen and sophomore undergraduates were selected to receive an invitation to participate in the survey, which is administered by the American College Health Association (ACHA). The University also added 13 questions to the survey to assess student understanding of Title IX and food insecurity topics. The results of the 30-minute anonymous questionnaire will be used to benchmark and assess programs and services, and is setting the stage for creating a campus “Health Report Card.”
B-Healthy has also initiated an on-campus walking program called “Steps to B-Healthy.” There are currently over 180 registered members who have completed over 75,673,739 steps – 37,800 miles – since April 2014. Monthly contests keep participants motivated to complete and log their progress. We also encourage participation by celebrating National Walking Day each year. “Steps to B-Healthy” is co-sponsored by Campus Recreation, the University Bookstore and Sodexo Dining Services.