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To complete the programming
model for the year, houses must complete programs in each of the
following areas:
 Bulletin
Board/Newsletter (Passive) Program (1 per semester)
Community
Service/Social Consciousness Program (1 per semester)
Health
and Wellness Program (1 per semester)
Diversity
& Cultural Awareness Program (1 per semester)
Faculty
Fireside Chat (1 per semester)
House
Fellow Program (1 per semester)
Life
& Career Planning Program (1 per semester)
Social
Program (1 per semester)
Freshman
Year Experience Workshop (1 per year- fall semester)
Freshman
Leadership Program (1 per year- spring semester)
Create-a-Program
(1 per year)
House
Improvement Program (1 per year)
Life
in the Hudson Valley Program (1 per year)
Up All
Night Party (1 per year)
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PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS:
Bulletin Board/Newsletter ("Passive") Program
(1 per semester)
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Passive
programming does not involve active and direct participation
from residents. Basically, passive programming offers educational
information for residents which they can utilize at their
leisure. Often, passive programming will take the form of
a bulletin board display or a newsletter, but feel free
to creative with this area! Assess the needs of your residents,
and consider unique ways to help meet their needs!
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Examples of Social Consciousness Programs:
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Social Classism
Women's
Issues
Abortion
Debate
Foreign
Relations
Political
Lectures
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Health
& Wellness Program (1 per semester)
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Educating residents
about good health, nutrition, and exercise is the goal of
programs in this category. Health & wellness programs
will encourage residents to make wise choices that will
lead to a healthy lifestyle, even during peak stress periods.
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Examples:
Eating Disorders
Stress Management
Exercising
Nutrition Workshops
Massage Therapy
Substance Abuse
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Diversity & Cultural Awareness Program (1 per
semester)
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These programs
provide residents with the opportunity to explore, understand,
and appreciate the differences and similarities between
people. Differences and similarities exist in cultures,
ethnic groups, lifestyles, and value systems. Discussions
in this area will help residents to openly discuss individual
differences and to gain a new appreciation for the diversity
that exists in their community.
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African-American History
International Fair
Ethnic Festival
Homophobia
Vegetarian/Vegan Dinner
Sign Language
Spirituality
Studying Abroad
Women's Issues
Exploring your Heritage |
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Faculty
Fireside Chat (1 per semester)
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Faculty Fireside Chat program was started
by Mark Somerville and Babette Wils in Josselyn
House, and was well received by residents.
For this program, a non-House Fellow faculty
member should be invited in to speak informally
with residents on a topic of personal or professional
interest. These types of programs offer an
opportunity for residents to interact with
faculty members outside of the classroom and
to learn about some of the fascinating areas
in which Vassar's faculty are involved. |
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House Fellow Program (1 per semester)
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The House Fellow Discussion Series, a project that was developed
by former House Fellow Edith Starr, is an opportunity for
House Fellows to share an area of expertise with house residents.
House Fellows can speak on research projects in which they
are working (such as Marshall Pregnall's research on coral
reefs) or on areas of personal interest (such as Flora Grabowska's
knowledge of Scottish culture). These programs will be coordinated
by the House Fellow committee along with each house's student
leadership team
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Life
& Career Planning Program (1 per semester)
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Life and career planning
programs help residents consider how to gain personal satisfaction
and find enrichment in one's life after their Vassar experience.
Residents are encouraged to assess their interests and abilities,
as well as their strengths and weaknesses, and to make choices
based on these assessments. Job searching, resume writing, and
interview techniques are also included in this category. Programs
can also address other life issues, such as investing, planning
a wedding, and raising a family.
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Examples:
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First Year Experience Workshop (1 per year- fall semester)
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| The First Year
Experience program is a series of workshops coordinated
by the Office of Residential Life to address the unique
issues of first-year students. While freshmen are the target
audience, other house residents are also welcome to attend
and may benefit from the information shared. These workshops
will occur in each of the 9 residence halls and will be
organized by a representative from Residential Life.
In order to
get credit for these programs (since no additional work
is necessary), house leaders are asked to attend these
workshops and to help with publicity efforts. Additionally
assistance may be requested from Residential Life. Therefore,
as long as house leaders are supportive of our efforts,
this programming requirement will be met with little effort.
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Create-a-Program
(1 per year)
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This
is your opportunity to get creative as a team! To fulfill
a credit in this area, your house team must come up with
a unique, educational program for the house. You must
get this program approved in advance by your House Advisor
to get credit for this program. Again, this program must
have an educational component… it can't be purely
social in nature. This is another opportunity for you
to customize your programming schedule to meet the needs
of your community!
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House
Improvement Program (1 per year)
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Suggested
by the 2000-2001 Board of House Vice-Presidents, this program
should attempt to improve the quality of living within your
residential community. While physical building improvements
were the intent of this area, creative ideas will be considered.
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Examples: |
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Basement Painting
Mural Painting
Planting of Flowers
Fund Raising for House Items (i.e.: TV)
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Life
in the Hudson Valley Program (1 per year)
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This program
will allow residents an opportunity to learn more about
the area in which we reside. There are many fun activities
for groups in the area, and this will give your house
an opportunity to get off campus and start exploring!
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| Examples:
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Tour of Vanderbilt Mansion
Visit to Local Farmers' Market
Picnic at Innisfree Gardens
Hiking at Mohonk or Lake Minnewaska
Visit FDR's Home
Trip to Hudson Valley Renegades Game
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Up All Night Party (1 per year)
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The "Up
All Night" program was initiated by the 1999-2000 Board
of House Presidents. This program accomplishes two primary
goals. First, it offers an alcohol-free setting in which
students can socialize and have fun. Second, it offers an
opportunity for non-cluster houses to work together to plan
a campus-wide program. Use your creativity in planning this
program! This program MUST be substance-free to earn credit.
The Board of House Vice-Presidents will determine house
pairings early in the fall semester, and these pairings
will change every year.
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| Examples: |
April Fool's Day (Davison & Jewett)
I Was an '80's Kid (Raymond & Noyes)
The World of Today & Tomorrow ( Lathrop & Main)
Friday the 13th (Josselyn, Strong & Cushing)
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SO WE'VE SEEN
THE MODEL… WHY SHOULD WE CARE??
IT'S ALL
ABOUT THE BOTTOM LINE…
 For
each program that a house completes within the program model,
the house will receive a $25 bonus that they can apply to future
programming efforts. These bonuses will be given to each house
monthly.
- The
amount of programming that a house completes within the model
will determine the amount of residential life programming funds
that the house will receive for programming the subsequent year.
This is similar to the VSA approach… the amount of money
we give you will be determined by how well you use the funds.
If a house completes all expectations within the model during
the year, they will earn a higher amount of programming funds
than a house that only completes two programs.
- Houses
who complete all program requirements will be eligible for a
special award at the annual Student Leader Recognition Dinner.
AND ALSO…
- Finally,
by following this model, you will be addressing what students
are asking for… a greater diversity of programming in the
houses. You will still have time to plan great social events
for your residents (and you'll have more money to do so!), but
you'll also be meeting the needs of a great cross-section of
students.
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GUIDELINES
FOR EARNING CREDIT FOR PROGRAMS
- A
program can only be credited in one area. For instance, a freshmen
workshop on stress management could be counted either as a Freshman
Year Experience Workshop or Health & Wellness Program…
but not both.
- Houses
will only earn credit for a program if a program evaluation
form* is submitted to the Office of Residential Life within
one week after the program is completed.
- Creativity
is encouraged! If there are any questions as to whether a program
fits a particular program category, check with your House Advisor.
Also, if your house has an idea for a program that does not
fit into one of our categories, feel free to propose the idea
to your House Advisor. You may be able to earn credit for the
program… and your program idea may become a part of future
models!
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*
NOTE: Each semester, the vice-presidents will receive
a list of all programs for which program evaluations are submitted.
This a great chance to see how other houses are programming, and
may give you some creative ideas.
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