The Center for Academic Enrichment is hosting mandatory freshmen to sophomore workshops designed to help students transition into their second year. These workshops will take place twice a day for two weeks beginning  Feb. 15 until Feb. 26.

The workshops were designed and will be presented by first-year advisors.

Photo courtesy of http://www.csupueblo.edu/CAE/Pages/Academic-Improvement-Program.aspx

“We will cover numerous topics during these workshops, again the focus is to help them become more independent students,” said academic advisor John Sandoval.

In the fall, Sandoval shares that the Center for Academic Enrichment also hosted workshops focused on teaching students how to build their schedule, navigate PAWS and start the fall semester in a positive manner. He added that the spring workshop will be tailored to teach them basics as well as help them grow even further in their educational career.

“Some of the main points will include contacting faculty, DARS, navigating department websites, important spring dates, FAFSA and scholarships and early registration,” he said.

Though there is a wide range of topics being covered at these workshops during a 30 to 40-minute time period, Sandoval said these workshops will also encompass a Q&A component that will take about 20 minutes. He said it would allow for more topics.

Freshman business major Alicia Rhone has yet to attend but said, “I hope to gain the understanding of how to use my PAWS accounts and learn more about how to access scholarships as well as gain a better and more in depth knowledge of the FAFSA process.”

Because they are offered two times a day for two weeks, students are encouraged to find a time to fit their schedules and attend.

Freshmen students who will be sophomores in fall 2016 can stop by the Center for Academic Enrichment located in LARC 151 to sign up for a workshop time. Walk-ins are also welcome.

Advising contact information can be found at http://www.csupueblo.edu/CAE/AcademicAdvising/Pages/AdvisingRegistration.aspx.

Image courtesy of csupueblo.edu

This semester, Quatisha Franklin, coordinator of Health Education and Prevention at Colorado State University-Pueblo has created a program known as “Protect the Pack” to educate and encourage students to not drink and drive. This program will allow students to pledge to not drink and drive, earn incentives from local places and be a public testimony to this awareness.

“Students have the option to sign up and be the designated driver for their group of friends. The goal is to educate students to be aware of the consequences with drinking and driving,” Jonothan Stephenson, co-president of SOUL and senior business management major, said.

When the pledge is signed for that day, the designated student will receive a t-shirt that has a list of the participating sponsors on the back of it. Sponsors working hand in hand with Protect the Pack include Buffalo Wild Wings, Andy Macs, Chili’s, Side Pocket, Classic Q’s, Bowler Lanes and Applebee’s.

As the designated driver, wearing the t-shirt for the night, that student will be able to visit any one of the locations and receive incentives for protecting the pack.

“They will be able to receive a non-alcoholic beverage with an appetizer as a participant,” Stephenson said.

The sponsors will be able to identify the designated driver from the assigned shirts and he or she will be held accountable to not receive any alcoholic beverages and instead receive the free incentives. After the night is over, the student signed up must return the shirt but is not restricted to re-sign up for the following weekend.

Not only is this program a benefit for our campus and students but it also “helps show the community that college students do care about the issues of drinking and driving,” Stephenson said.

“Protecting the Pack allows students to be educated in hopes of making the right judgment,” he added.

Students who are ready to take the pledge and sign up to be a designated driver are encouraged to stop by the Student Life office located in room 103 downstairs in the Occhiato University Center.

Any further questions can also be found at Student Life or directed to Franklin at quatisha.franklin@csupueblo.edu.

Photo courtesy of csupueblo.edu

Colorado State University-Pueblo closed its campus Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 for snow days due to contributing factors that include the safety of students, faculty and staff members in mind.

“First and foremost, they (students, faculty and staff), are priority in any decision to close the university,” said Craig Cason, physical plant director at CSU-Pueblo.

Cason said that the determination in closing the university generally occurs after discussions between university members and the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office are made.

The discussions are based upon weather conditions that include the amount of snowfall, the impact of the amount of snowfall on the road, the timing of the storm and other factors that could potentially impact the safety of individuals.

Once factors are taken into consideration, Cason said, “the decision for the university to cancel class is made by the president and a team of CSU-Pueblo campus administrators, in cooperation with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office sub-station on campus.”

From there, the Office of External Affairs will communicate through a number of resources to inform the community of a university closure.

Resources include flash news media that cover Pueblo and Colorado Springs markets, the CSU-Pueblo website, CSU-Pueblo’s text messaging alert system and social media sites of CSU-Pueblo.

On the CSU-Pueblo Facebook page, campus closures were announced for CSU-Pueblo’s Tower and Fort Carson locations before news about the main campus in Pueblo. This led to responses from students and parents in the comment section.

According to Cora Zaletel, executive director of external affairs, each location is handled differently.

“The distances between the different locations is 30+ miles, which can produce drastically different weather conditions. Because the tower location has primarily evening classes, we aim to make a decision about closure for them by 3 p.m.,” Zaletel added.

Decisions are made based on location. Zaletel said it is not unusual for Colorado Springs to get significant snowfall and for Pueblo to receive little to none.

“This is why decisions are made separately,” Zaletel said.

“The university may have to make adjustments to the semester schedule if too many closures occur, but safety will come first,” Cason said.

To stay informed with CSU-Pueblo, individuals can register with the ALERT emergency text messaging system. More information on how to register can be found at http://www.csupueblo.edu/CampusSafety/CSU-PuebloALERT/Pages/default.aspx.

Photo courtesy of csupueblo.edu

Current freshmen who live on campus at Colorado State University-Pueblo will be required to abide by a new university housing policy for their sophomore year. The new rule, which will require the students to live on campus for two years, will also apply to freshmen under 21 years of age enrolled for fall 2016.

Starting with CSU-Pueblo’s current group of freshmen, students will be required to stay on campus for four consecutive semesters.

Right now, the only exception to the rule, according to the CSU-Pueblo Housing website, applies when the student’s home address is within 50 miles of the university. Beginning in the fall, the only exception will be for Pueblo County residents. They will be the only ones not affected by the rule.

Residence Life and Housing Director and Student Conduct and Deputy Title IX Coordinator Jami Hinshaw said these new requirements are set in place to ensure the academic success of students.

“Residence Life and Housing is committed to student success both inside and outside of the classroom. Studies have shown that students who live on campus have a higher GPA and connect with the community (professors, student engagement and leadership),” Hinshaw said.

The new policy may also produce more demand for housing on campus.

Belmont Residence Hall was closed at the beginning of the fall 2015 semester because not enough students signed up to live there. Last week, first-year residence life coordinator Monica Gallegos told the Today the new housing policy will produce more demand for housing on campus.

Regardless, living on campus may provide academic benefits for some students.

Jeanette Prado, a sophomore social work major who has lived on campus for two years, said living on campus has benefitted her success academically.

“I’m close to the library, professors’ offices and tutoring centers,” Prado said. “I can easily get the help I need when I need and it is less than five minutes of travel from my residence hall to the resources on campus.”

“I can also easily go to my professors for help and I don’t have to travel far to do so,” she said.

With the new live-on requirement in action, Hinshaw and her team are also working to create social and financial benefits for students.

“We are working on an interest based community to focus on the needs of our sophomore students often considered to be the sophomore slump,” she said.

These interest based communities will allow sophomore students to live with other people of the same interests, including sports, music, art and others.

“We are hoping to lock in a student rate so the rate they paid when they came in as a first-year student will be the rate they pay as a sophomore student,” Hinshaw said.

Another benefit, Hinshaw added, is that students will have the ability to room with the same person for the entire academic year or contract period.

Further details regarding the new live-on requirements can be found here.

Colorado State University-Pueblo’s choir will be studying abroad and performing in Spain and Portugal this summer. The group is inviting any interested students, faculty or staff to join them in this all inclusive trip.

CSU-Pueblo choir | Photo courtesy of chass.csupueblo.edu

Led by choir, vocal ensemble, aural skills, applied voice and music appreciation professor, Dana Ihm, the trip will also include touring of different museums, sight seeing and performances at three different concerts and churches.

Any interested attendees do not have to be a part of the choir to join. The choir tour will be traveling from May 9 through May 19. In previous years, former students have performed in countries like Germany and France. This year they will be visiting the cities of Barcelona, Madrid, Segovia, Toledo and Lisbon while in Spain and Portugal.

“I’m most looking forward to the adventure of traveling to a different country,” said Keragan Ettleman, a junior English major and choir member.

“I’ve never been anywhere but Colorado, so I’m excited to have the opportunity to see something new,” Ettleman added.

A big component to the trip is performing and Ettleman said that they have been practicing the songs since the beginning of the school year.

“We’ll add in a few this semester as well. Many of them are in different languages, such as German or Latin,” Ettleman said.

According to Ettleman, along with the opportunity to perform in three different concerts during the trip, students going will be able to earn credit by doing course work and putting together a portfolio at the end of their trip.

Travelers going for credit will be able to use the experiences on the trip and share how it applies to their lives. They are also able to share any academic benefits they discovered through the papers and portfolio.

“The paper is a report of everything that we did (in Spain and Portugal) and what we learned while performing there,” Ettleman said.

Students, faculty or staff interested in joining the choir tour is encouraged to contact Dr. Ihm at dana.ihm@csupueblo.edu or at 719-549-2125.