News Briefs

"Things for Thursday" Presents Bingo Game for Grocery Prizes

The latest "Things for Thursday" activity offered by the SAIL office last week was a student favorite: "Grocery Bingo." Students looking for a free stash of food were invited to stop by Slavin Lawn and compete for a bag stuffed with assorted groceries.

"Every half an hour we played a round of bingo," said Janine Cincotta, graduate student and member of the SAIL Office. "Contestants got to pick a themed grocery bag such as 100 calories, organic, movie lover, junk food and breakfast bag. Students get to pick whatever they like."

The game followed all the typical rules of bingo but the prizes were more geared to the needs of a college student.

"Typically a couple of weeks after school starts, kids are running out of groceries," said Cincotta. "They're on a budget and because of this students really respond well [to Grocery Bingo]. It's been a really successful event over the years."

The event is held twice a year in the spring and fall semesters.

This year proves to be another busy one for the office which plans on having a Henna tattoo activity for its next event.

Students Discover Academic Habits and Learning Styles

This past Thursday, the Office of Student Services welcomed Providence College students looking for a few academic tips. The workshop, called "What Type of Student Are You?" invited students to take an in-depth look at ways to improve their performance in schools.

"Students when they reach college just need improvements as far as academics go," said Natalie Crawford, graduate intern and instructor of the clinic. "Things they might need…might be time management, speaking skills, or motivation."

The workshop, which was held on the second floor of Phillips Memorial Library, was taught to a predominantly male audience. The students were first asked to list five academic strengths and three goals they had for their academic career. Weaknesses included bad study habits and procrastination. A common goal was increasing GPA.

The crux of the workshop was an 80 question, nine category test that helped indicate the strengths of the student test taker. The answers were ultimately compared to the responses of everyone else who had ever taken the test.

The second half of the clinic dealt with determining each student's learning style. The online quiz suggested whether the student was an auditory, visual, or tactile learning.

"[Students] can be helped in their study habits and learning in class," said Crawford. "Then I make [a] recommendation on [how] they can become their best."

-Conor Ferguson '10

Urban Action Encourages Letter-Writing Campaign

On Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008, the leaders of Urban Action (UA) notified its members via ANGEL that the program might be in store for some drastic changes next year.

It was stated in the e-mail that an executive committee decided to combine all summer orientation programs into a single program to take place the week before the first day of school. Consequently, the UA leaders encouraged their members to send letters to the administration to show support for the program.

Sharon Hay, director of the S.A.I.L. Office, said that no final decisions have been made regarding next year's UA.

"A decision was approved by the College's cabinet a couple of weeks ago to move to a fall orientation model, but we are still in the infancy of planning and have no details to share at this time," Hay said. "Absolutely nothing has been decided in any way, shape, or form concerning Urban Action."

John Michael Butterfield '09, one of this year's UA student coordinators, said that he was disappointed that no UA student representatives are involved in the decision-making process. Hay, however, said that the UA coordinators are not being kept out of the loop entirely.

"I am keeping the student coordinators apprised of the situation and will continue to do so," she said.

Butterfield said that this year's Urban Action, which took place from Wednesday, Aug. 27, to Saturday, Aug. 30, was a great success. With 160 freshman participants, 25 upperclassman leaders, and two work sites, Butterfield said that student participants in UA become like a close-knit family.

"Urban Action has a similar feel to orientation, but it is much more personal," he said.

Butterfield said he thinks it would be ideal if UA took place before the freshman orientation. However, no decisions have been made yet regarding the issue.

An update on the situation will be covered in next week's issue of The Cowl.

-Rick Kurker '09