Time Out with Tiger - Safe Spring Break Tips

Wampus Cat Greetings!

This time of year, many RAs and residents are excitedly preparing for their upcoming spring breaks!  One of your Wampus Cat mascots, Tiger, wants everyone to be safe in their spring break travels.

Here are some spring break safety tips to keep in mind and share with residents:

Property Safety
Be aware that there are lots of people out there who see students on Spring Break as easy targets for theft. Don't prove them correct. When traveling, here are some precautions you should always take with your valuables:

•Take as few valuables with your on your trip as possible.

•Book hotels that give you access to a safe. Lock up anything of value. Do not leave money or valuables around your room.

•Always lock your hotel room door.

•If you are traveling abroad, keep your passport in a secure location at all times.

•Watch out for scam artists who try to rip off students. Avoid high pressure sales pitches, and never go off to a secluded location with someone who wants to sell you something.

•If your cell phone or credit cards are stolen, report this immediately to the companies so they can cancel your service.

•When booking your trip, watch out for Spring Break travel package scams.

Physical Safety
High profile cases such as Natalee Holloway-- a high school student who disappeared during her Spring Break trip to Aruba-- are uncommon. However, sexual violence and other violent acts during Spring Break are not. Neither are accidents. Use common sense and follow these simple safety tips:

•Always stay in the proximity of at least one friend, and preferably two or three. Adhere strictly to this "buddy system" and do not leave with someone other than your buddies. Be sure to choose buddies you can trust.

•Do not leave with strangers, even if it seems like a good idea at the time. Always err on the side of caution and trust your instincts.

•Watch your drink very carefully! Be aware of "date rape" drugs that people may try to sneak into your drink. Never accept a drink from a stranger or let someone else hold your drink.

•Never go to an isolated place with a stranger or someone you do not fully trust.

•Carry a cell phone with you in case of an emergency.

•Carry your identification and important medical information on your person in case of an emergency.

Alcohol Safety
If you're going to drink alcohol during Spring Break, it's very important that you take precautions. Drunk college students can be seen as a target for both theft and sexual assault, so do not underestimate the way to take these reasonable precautions:

•Binge drinking is a big part of the Spring Break experience for many students-- and it's what gets students into trouble the most. The safest approach is to not binge drink and to know your limit with alcohol. If you do drink excessively, always use the buddy system and lots of common sense.

•Make sure you know the signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning.

•Do not drink and drive, ever. You know better.

•Be aware of all local laws and regulations involving alcohol, especially if you are travelling abroad. A night in a foreign jail was probably not on your itinerary.

•If you drink, always rely on the buddy system and be very careful. As stated above, always keep an eye on your drink.

Additional Precautions

•Use common sense when it comes to sun exposure. Always use sunscreen with at least an SPF of 15 (higher if you have fair skin), and be sure to wear sunscreen even if it's cloudy. Wear hats and good sunglasses.

•Use common sense when it comes to swimming and water safety. Never swim alone, and avoid swimming when no lifeguard is present. Do not drink alcohol when swimming or operating a boat.

•Drink lots of water! Don't rely on alcoholic or carbonated beverages to quench your thirst, as these drinks can actually make you more dehydrated. If the local drinking water is questionable, make sure you have an abundant supply of bottled water.

Information adapted from:  http://www.suite101.com/content/spring-break-safety-tips-a38130

West Area Programming Office Printer

Wampus Cat Greetings!

There is now a color printer available for use in the West Area GA office adjacent to the West Area Programming Office. 

Printer

To use our fabulous printer, here are a few guidelines:

The WAPO key that is checked out from the South Carrick front desk can now open the WAGA office.

WAGA Office

There is an RA log-in posted on the WAGA computer.  You can use this log-in to access the computer and print.

Make sure the printer is turned on and that you have selected HP Officejet Pro 8500 A909a Series as your printer.

The printer is for printing UT Housing related documents only.  This includes bulletin boards, program publicity, etc.

Do NOT download any sketchy files or materials on the WAGA office computer.  We've already had one virus on the WAGA computer.  This resulted in the computer being unavailable for several days.  If the computer gets any more viruses it will again be unavailable and no one will be able to print anything while it is being fixed.

If you need to print something during my office hours, please call first (974-9511).  If I am in the middle of working on reimbursements, you will have to come back later to use the computer and print.  This is so I do not make errors with the money by being interrupted.  If I am at a stopping point, you can quickly print what you need to print.  This means you must have whatever you want to print saved on a flash drive or in your e-mail and it must be ready to print at that moment. 

Please treat the computer and printer kindly!

Blood Drive!

Hey Wampus Cats!  There is a blood drive on campus this week and it's not too late to donate!  You can donate tonight until 8pm in the lobbies of South Carrick or Hess.  Tomorrow you can donate in the University Center rooms 223-224 from 9am-5pm.  Donors get a free t-shirt, snacks, beverages, and a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich!

Yum!  Yum!

Donate today and help save a life!

North Carrick "Find Your Study Buddy" Program

On Sunday, January 30th, North Carrick RA, Tyler Graves, hosted a "Find Your Study Buddy" program for his residents. 

Tyler's goals for this program included: 
- Help residents find classmates who are in/have taken the classes they are in now.
- Help residents understand time management skills.
- Help residents develop better study skills.

Tyler had a sign to publicize this program:

This sign was placed in the elevator lobby, which was a high traffic area on his floor. 

Tyler had his residents come to the Study Lounge with their class schedules.  Tyler had his residents group up with people who have similar class schedules.

Tyler also talked with his residents about how to manage time and always have a planner active, along with giving them some general study tips.

Helping your residents form study groups and find study buddies is a great way to help them succeed academically! 

Good job, Tyler!

West Side RA of the Month for January - Lindsey Marlin!

Congratulations to the West Side RA of the Month, Lindsey Marlin!

Let's hear what Lindsey's nominator, South Carrick Hall Director Amanda Koch, had to say about her:

I would like to nominate Lindsey Marlin for West Area RA of the Month for the month of January. For the month of January, Lindsey has gone above and beyond in many of her job duties. Seeing as we have 4 new RAs on the South Carrick Staff, Lindsey has done an exceptional job helping those new RAs transition into the new position, new staff, and new responsibilities. She puts in extra time behind the desk showing them procedures, going on hallwalks with them, and helping them when they have questions.

She has also gone above requirements in door decorations and bulletin boards. For January, she cut snowmen and individually hand colored each snowman for each resident, giving each resident their own unique snowman. She also hand-cut several components of her bulletin board.

Finally, Lindsey has been available to her residents, especially in one particular case of solving a semester-long roommate conflict. She met with each resident countless times, trying several solutions, and once a solution was determined, she went beyond her duties to make sure the residents were okay with the solution, even when one resident was no longer a resident of her floor.

Here are some photos of Lindsey's creative efforts on her floor:

Super cute snowmen door decs.

Very creative Tennessee snowflakes made out of coffee filters!

Great welcome back bulletin board!

Cute new year bulletin board.

Other awesome RAs nominated in January include:

Sara Knoll, Morrill
Jonathan Leach, North Carrick
Chris Porter, Reese

Congratulations to Lindsey, Sara, Jonathan, and Chris!

Famous Wampus Cat in our Midst!

Hess Hall RA, Aeron Glover, is embarking on an exciting entrepreneurial adventure!

mtvU and NYSE teamed up to launch Season 2 of Movers & Changers, a nationwide challenge to uncover the country’s next young entrepreneurs who want to make it big with their innovative ideas for a new business. From D.C. to Tennessee to Cornell, three finalists each believe their business idea will change the world.

University of Tennessee junior’s Aeron Glover and Kaliv Parker are finalists in this competition and have a strategic plan to ease the search for college housing in the states and abroad with their website http://www.Howstheliving.com. The site allows students to give quantitative and open ended feedback about their host family, residence hall, and apartment. They hope their site will be a student's one-stop spot for everything student housing.

The last two episodes of mtvU's "Movers & Changers" program, including the announcement of which team wins the grand prize, will be available online Dec. 15.  http://www.moversandchangers.com/

Aeron's international experiences in Europe and China and his nearly two years as a resident assistant helped him realize the need for reliable, student produced housing information for studying at universities in the United States and around the world.

Howstheliving.com is very impressive!  You should definitely check it out!

Way to go, Aeron!   

Reimbursement/Advanced Funds Deadline - 5pm on Tuesday, November 30th

Reminder:

Reimbursement and Advanced Funds Requests must be submitted by 5pm on Tuesday, November 30th, for you to receive the check(s) before the end of the fall semester.

Be a timely Wampus Cat and turn in your Reimbursement/Advanced Funds Requests in by this deadline, so you can get your money before you leave for Winter Break!

Image from Google Images