P.I.L.O.T.S.
November 2009 PILOTS
Dear Res Lifers,
I can’t believe the semester close is approaching rapidly—only about a week and a half until Thanksgiving break begins! I hope everyone is getting their bellies ready for lots of turkey (or tofurkey for some!), stuffing, cranberry sauce, pecan pie, and all the rest of our traditional fixins’!
As for the imaginarium, Iggy and friends have been keeping busy with a bulletin board workshop, BOARD Awards, giving out movie tickets, helping VACUHO with projects, and more! We had a very successful and fun bulletin board workshop where the Imaginarium was closed and those who signed up could get help making boards. Our theme was sustainability and Jessica Preskitt came up with great ideas for recycling materials in order to make sustainable boards. Angie DeSoto, campus sustainability coordinator, even showed up with information on how to be more green! We’ve been giving out BOARD Awards, which are awards for the best bulletin board nomination (see info on BOARD Awards in this PILOTS). We are quickly running low of movie tickets for the semester, so if you are having a program in which you want a prize, be sure to request movie tickets soon! VACUHO spent many nights at the Imaginarium making Hokie-spirited props for the conference. Great job VACUHO on your hard work!
Everything has turned out great and we’re looking forward to finishing the semester with more fun activities!
Sincerely,
Iggy
AREA UPDATES
Prarie:
Summit:
As I look out my window, I see that the leaves are falling off; fall has officially arrived. It is time to go for a walk through the Summit.
Hillcrest held their traditional Nerdfest Coffeehouse in October to showcase the many amazing talents of the Honors Community. After coming together to socialize and appreciate our diverse residential population, we returned to the toil of competition with another Nerdfest tradition, Jeopardy, with questions that would stump anyone. Hillcrest, unfortunately, lost this competition. In addition, the staff won a Board Award for, "Hokieland", a board that navigates residents around campus resources with a "Candyland" theme.
Dodging traffic on West Camps Drive, I made it to Harper to talk to Tyrone about the magical land that is Cochrane.
Cochrane Hall just completed a successful event for Halloween at the Mocktail Social. One third of the residents showed up and participated in educational games about alcohol consumption and precautions regarding drinking. The staff has been involved in addressing other issues as well. Due to severe trash problems, the Cochrane staff implemented a zero-trash policy in mid-October. Trash issues are down and residents have thanked multiple staff members because it eases tension among suite mates. In the upcoming month the Hall Council for Cochrane will be having both clothing and canned food drives to benefit local charities.
Continuing my walk towards WAJ, I hear the sounds of construction and smell the deliciousness of West End. AJ has been a busy place this month. West has a great staff that recently put their best foot forward with “Sex and Candy” sponsored by HEAT. The AJ staff has been talking their residents to lots of the Fall Programming Series as well as other events around campus. The Hall Council got started by taking advantage of the sports offerings and new flat screen TVs last weekend.
Next month the Summit has great adventures planned as we enter the final stretch to the end of the semester.
Also, Harper and New Hall West RAs have had some very successful programs recently, including a Candy Casino, Mario Kart Tournament, and a Day of the Dead/Halloween Celebration. They’re working on several programs for the upcoming weeks including mocktails, Roommate Wars, and writing letters to VT graduates who are serving overseas. Hall Council is getting pumped up for their end of the semester programming which will include a recycling initiative, canned food drive, s’mores night, and volunteering at the Montgomery Christmas Store.
PUP:
Oak Lane:
Things are rockin’ and rollin’ in the Oak Lane Community. The House Supervisors are enthusiastic and are growing closer as a staff. There are plans for a community-wide diversity program in the near future!
The Oak Lane Community Council has also been hard at work! The group hosted a pumpkin carving event where 30 residents from 7 houses and Dr. McClinton came out to carve a pumpkin and enjoy some hot apple cider. Upcoming events are a movie night at the Sigma Kappa house and a holiday gathering in December!
Theme Housing:
SHOUT OUTS
To: Christine Meawad, who is getting ready to graduate in December AND planning her wedding
From: Jen Simon
To: Danielle Lindstrom, who is diligently and tirelessly working on graduate school applications. Keep up the great work ladies!
From: Jen Simon
To: Jessica, Winfield, Laura, Lauren, Maria, Heather, & Sara
Great work this semester in the Imaginarium on the Bulletin Board Workshop, Hokie F6 help, BOARD Award work, and everything else you do! Keep up the good work.
From: Theresa
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Need to fly home for Thanksgiving break?
If you will be flying out of the Roanoke Regional Airport on Nov. 20 or Nov. 21, there will be express Smart Way Bus shuttles running both days non-stop to the airport in order to accommodate those leaving campus for break. You MUST register to ride on the express shuttles at http://www.facilities.vt.edu/tcs/alternative/thanksgiving09.asp
The regularly scheduled Smart Way Bus routes will continue to run and do not require registration.
Have you seen an AWESOME Bulletin Board? Recognize GREAT RA’s who make GREAT bulletin boards!!
What are BOARD Awards?
BOARD Awards recognize RAs who have made exceptional bulletin boards.
How often do BOARD Awards occur?
Once a month. Nominations are typically due by the third Monday of every month.
What do you win?
If you win, the Imaginarium staff makes you a bulletin board and delivers it to you!
How do you nominate someone?
Directions are available here: http://www.studentprograms.vt.edu/imaginarium/boardawards.php. Also, you get more information by coming into the Imaginarium or email Imaginarium@vt.edu.
Who can nominate whom?
Hall Directors and RAs can nominate RAs with great bulletin boards.
When are nominations due this month?
NOVEMBER 16, 2009
When will your new bulletin board be delivered if you win?
BY NOVEMBER 30, 2009
DID YOU KNOW…
The Imaginarium will provide RAs with movie tickets to give out as prizes at programs. All you have to do is fill out a request form (found in the Imaginarium), and as long as it is approved, you can get up to 4 tickets per program! The tickets are for The Lyric, so it’s walking distance from campus. This semester our tickets are dwindling quickly, so put your request in now!
TAKE A STUDY BREAK
REAL RA’ING- Funny stories from RAs at other universities (from residentassistant.com):
Paul, San Jose State University-
My second semester as an RA, my staff and I were used to filling out duty logs and some of them got pretty interesting. One night I opened up the log book and read the report, which read, "saw residents on the 7th floor drinking, smoking, playing loud music, with underage students. Could not document...not enough evidence."
Stephen Farina, Teikyo Post University-
I’m an RA for women’s residence hall. . On the second night of classes, I heard a knock on my door. I was scared something went wrong. The girl standing at the door said, “My roommate is sleeping. Should I still go to my room or do I sleep in yours?”
Dani Cantrell, University of California, Santa Cruz-
Our campus is in a pretty rural area. A new resident from the city called in terror to report a giant dog outside her window. I checked it out and found a deer quietly grazing.
IGGY’S LABYRINTH
SCRAMBLING THROUGH FALL SEMESTER
Unscramble each of the clue words.
Copy the letters in the numbered cells to other cells with the same number.
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