Hello, Hollywood!

For any Pace student who loves acting, actors, or anything Hollywood related- they’re in luck.

Many are unaware of one interesting thing that Pace University regular presents. Inside the Actors Studio, an Emmy Award winning series, is produced and filmed on the New York City campus and hosted by interviewer James Lipton.

Seeing as the program is put on at Pace’s Schimmel Theater, students from both campuses have a firsthand opportunity to see the shows tapings. This Sunday, the show will be hosting and interviewing actress Jessica Chastain, who is famous for movies like The Help and Zero Dark Thirty.

While it’s easier for Pace NYC residents to attend, Pace Pleasantville students are just as much encouraged to attend. The show will film at 8 p.m. on December 4th, but students looking to attend will have to wait in line for their tickets. Luckily, students have a leg up on other people looking to attend the show.

The series, Inside the Actors Studio has been put on since 1994, and has been hosted by James Lipton since it debuted. Over the years, the show has hosted a wide range of guests, all the way from Robin Williams to Amy Adams to Steve Carrell.

Keeping Up With Your Healthcare

By now, (hopefully) every student knows about the health care options available to them on the Pace campus. On Tuesday, some students got to know more about the different things that are available to them.

At Pace POWER’s weekly meeting on Tuesday, students were able to talk with Karen Martin, the Associate Director of University Healthcare at Pace. Starting off the meeting, Mrs. Martin talked about her experience in the medical field, with training ranging from working in cardiology to geriatrics, which she still does on weekends.

For a majority of her visit, Mrs. Martin, a Pace graduate herself, spent most of her time explaining the different things provided for students at the health care center, located in the lower level of Goldstein Fitness Center. She explained to students how they can come in for anything ranging from blood pressure and strep throat tests, to getting blood-work drawn. Many of these services are covered under the health insurance, with students only having to pay for things like getting blood drawn (depending on your insurance) and purchasing the Plan B pill.

To further help students, Mrs. Martin also spent some time debunking certain health care myths that some believed were true. She let students know about different things like at what age they should start visiting certain doctors and getting specific checkups.

To go with POWER’s theme of discussing women’s issues, Mrs. Martin also spent a fair amount of time talking about gender bias in the health care field. Some of these, she said, have changed over time. One of these gender bias that she has seen a lot of is that women were often misdiagnosed with heart issues up until the early 2000’s, because people didn’t believe women could have the same heart issues that men have.

Pace’s POWER group meets Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Kessel 213-214.

Kicking Back With More Courses

With winter break right around the corner, students are both dreading their finals while also anticipating a chance to finally go home and relax. What many don’t realize is that they actually have the opportunity to further their education while they are relaxing.

Many schools across the country are jumping on board with the growing trend and offering students courses over the long winter break. Luckily, Pace University is one of them. Starting on January 3rd, Pace’s “January Intersession” will run until January 22nd or 31st (the end date depends on the course being taken) . As a part of this Intersession, Pace will offer online, off-campus, in-class, and hybrid online/in-class courses for people who want to add another 3 or 4 credits to their transcript.

Fortunately, there is a wide range of classes being offered for the Intersession. With classes ranging from “Animals and Society”, “Visual Literacy”, “Crime and Public Policy”, and “Financial Management”, there is something for almost everyone.

With this opportunity, students can work towards graduating earlier, if interested. Students can also just use this to take advantage of what's available to them and take courses that they couldn't fit into their Spring schedule.

Registration for these courses is still open, and is actually open to non-Pace students as well. The tuition for one of these courses is $1,180 per credit, and is due by January 3rd. If you’re interested in signing up, you can both talk to your advisor and do it the traditional way on your Portal account.

To Apply or To Not Apply...

With the fall semester wrapping up soon, it’s already time to start thinking about plans for next year. For some students, this will mean deciding whether or not to apply to become a Resident Assistant (RA).

Choosing whether or not to apply will be easy for some, but others may still be on the fence about it. These students will have to decide quickly, seeing as applications to become an RA for the 2017-2018 school year are due by 11:59 p.m. on December 4th.

Of course there is a process that goes into holding this important position. After submitting the necessary pieces, if selected, applicants will receive an invitation to RAAP Weekend, which will include an interview. If selected, applicants will then receive an offer to become an RA, which they must accept or decline by mid-March. Following this, the new RA’s will have to go through an orientation and training process.

Here at Pace, RA’s must meet certain requirements. For example, they must be a full time student, maintain at least a 2.5 GPA, and must not be on probation when they are hired, to name a few.

Many say there are pros and cons in being an RA, but people essentially have to figure that out on their own. Some say there are negatives in that you have to deal with your residents issues and have to be the “bad cop”, while others say there are positives in that it looks good on your resume, and you get to help other people.

Interested in becoming an RA here at Pace for the 2017-2018 school year? You can find the application here- https://orgsync.com/75783/forms/207218.

It's Break Time!

Whether a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, every student can agree on one thing- they’re ready for a break.

Starting this Wednesday, Pace University is officially on it’s annual Thanksgiving Break, with no classes being held from then until Monday. While many students go home or take vacations during this break, some stay on campus. Luckily, for Pace students there is no charge to do this, and the residence halls are open during this time.

“I’m going home for break, but I’m glad I have the option to stay on campus if I had to. Some of my friends at other schools have to pay $80 a night if they want to stay over break, which is crazy, so I’m glad we don’t have to.” said one freshman.

While the residence halls are open over break, many normal services are unavailable during this time. After its normal closing time of 4 p.m. on Tuesday, the campus Starbucks will be closed for the break. Similarly, the Pace Perk Cafe will be closed starting on Wednesday, and will reopen on Sunday.

For those looking to stay over break, they will also not be able to use the library during some parts of the break. Mortola Library will be closed from Wednesday to Friday, reopening at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Students staying on campus will also have to use their own form of transportation (if they don’t already have any), because the shuttle services will not run from Wednesday through Saturday.

Pumped Up With P4K

Attendees learning the story of one patient. 

This Saturday, Pace students, faculty, alumni, and community members all came together for a similar cause- raising money for Maria Fareri’s Children’s Hospital.

Taking place throughout Gottesman Room, Kessel Well, and the Kessel Multipurpose Room, people participated in the fourth annual Pace 4 Kids (P4K) Dance Marathon. The event was put on to help raise money for the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

From 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., participants reached out to friends and family to call in and help them raise money and reach the event's $30,000 goal. Some even called their parents on stage, putting them on the spot to donate. Luckily, this ended well, with some even donating $700 to the cause.

Aside from over-the-phone and online donations, participants could also take part in raffles and auctions to raise money. Some of the auctioned items ranged from gift cards to the local tanning salon to t-shirts and drawings made by the patients.

Participants Briana Stapleton and Sam Bennett at the photo station.

Throughout the night, P4K morale dancers also spent time teaching everyone a choreographed dance that was performed and recorded at the end of the night.

To keep everyone's energy up, attendees also saw several performances throughout the night, including some by the Pace Dance Team, the Dance World Academy, Joe C., and several others.

Reminding participants of what all of their efforts were going towards, families of patients told their stories throughout the night. Learning about some of the children, like Trevor, Tyrus, Ava Jean, Rainne, and some of the other children, people saw how their donations could actually help people. Throughout the night, they could also hang out and dance with some of the kids like Trevor and Tyrus.

Organizers proudly showing off the fundraising result. 

While they didn’t reach the $30,000 goal, attendees were still extremely proud of the $18,785.42 that was raised by the end of the night.

Watching History Happen- Election Night with Pace

Last week, whether pleased with the outcome or not, America watched a historic election take place. For some Pace University students, this unfolded right in front of their eyes.

On November 7th, some of the different schools within Pace and The Pulse sent out emails letting students know about an incredible opportunity. Through an alliance with ABC News, students had the opportunity to spend election night in the middle of Times Square at their headquarters and set outside. When they arrived at around 6 p.m., Pace students had to show their school ID and go through a security check before they were brought to the front of the blocked off area, right in the middle of the action.

Starting their election coverage at 6:30 p.m., attendees saw news anchors like Tom Llamas briefly report outside, and then watched reporters Michael Strahan and T.J. Holmes take over for the rest of the night. The Pace crowd, consisting of a few Pleasantville students and many New York City students, even had the chance to talk to these reporters, and one student was even interviewed by Michael Strahan at one point. Throughout the night, the producers spoke with students about who they had voted for, and why they had voted as well.

Throughout this, students were also able to enter the ‘Facebook Live’ mini Oval Office set up on their set to take memorable pictures that they could later share.

Pace students hanging out in the mini Oval Office.

When they weren’t being interviewed or taking photos, attendees, as well as the thousands of other people in Times Square, got to see the results be reported in real time. As soon as one state's electoral votes would come in, they would be broadcast on the big screens, and reported on television.

Taking Advantage of the Times

Nowadays, college aged students aren’t very likely to be seen taking the time to sit down and read a printed newspaper. Luckily for those who want to know the news but don’t want to sit down and read a paper, and even for those who do, Pace University provides a few different outlets for them to do so.

Many have probably seen the tall black stands located near the entrance in places like Mortola Library, Kessel Student Center, the residence halls, Miller Hall, and others. All of these stands contain daily copies of not only The Pace Chronicle, but also The New York Times (only on weekdays).

For those who don’t care for print media, there are also a few resources for them provided by Pace. Pace students are also offered access to Times’ website where they can see daily news stories and opinion pieces.

For students who like to stay informed, this is a helpful resource.

“I actually really like that they do this.” said one freshman. “It’s a nice resource. I know a lot of kids don’t like the news, but I still like to be able to look it up when important things happen. I do the online thing but I did I pick up a few copies during the election because I think they’re historical.”

If you are one of the students who would like to take advantage of this online resource, you can go to https://myaccount.nytimes.com/verification/edupass for more information.

Discovering Your Discounts

By now, everyone already knows about their Flex Dollars and where they can use them. What a lot of people don’t know about is the crazy amount of places that they can also use student discounts at.

Some student discounts are provided to all college students, and some are specific for Pace University. For many of these stores and facilities, discounts can be activated by just giving them your Pace student ID.

For example, all college students with an ID can receive 10% off of certain purchases at Alex & Ani, a notable jewelry store. Similarly, all students can receive 15% off of full-priced in-store purchases at Banana Republic as well. Luckily, these discounts aren’t limited to stores. Entertainment places like Regal Cinemas also provide discounts at certain movie theaters. Food places like the famous Au Bon Pain, a cafe and bakery, also offer things like a free bag of chips with certain orders with the use of a coupon for students.

Specifically for Pace students, there are many places that offer this in the New York City and Westchester area. In NYC, students looking to get out and about for the day can visit the Museum of Chinese in America for only $5 with a student ID.

Taking advantage of student discounts is ideal for college students seeing as most need to budget their money.

Sources:

http://www.studentrate.com/School/Deals/DealSummary.aspx?school=Pace&title=Local_Deals&CategoryFilter=&rowIndex=1&sort=newest&pageSize=all

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/60-awesome-student-discounts-on-clothes-tech-travel-and-more/

Pace Heating- Solving the Problem

Some Pace University students can finally feel comfortable in their dorm rooms as the temperature outside goes down, and the one in their room does as well.

Since the beginning of the school year, some residents in Pace’s newer buildings, Alumni and Elm Halls, have had a problem with their heating (see earlier blog post “Pace Heating- A “Hot Topic” for more details). This has contributed to many feeling like their heat is being blasted in their rooms, and not being able to control or turn it down.

Luckily, a solution is finally being offered to these residents.

This weekend, all residents were notified with a small flyer posted on their doors that maintenance crews would be coming by to check the thermostats and temperatures anytime between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. from November 7th to November 11th.

When the maintenance crews arrived, two workers went into each room and asked residents what different problems they have had with their heating, and what temperature they would like their thermostat set to. The workers then inspected and fixed the heating systems attached to the ceiling of the rooms and set the thermostat to the preferred temperature.

While time will be the only factor to tell whether this worked or not, it is a step towards a solution in this widespread problem.

Fabulosity Fun

Students who decided not to attend Pace’s annual drag show called “Fabulosity” missed out on one exciting evening.

Put on by Pride at Pace, the LGBTQA+ organization on campus, Fabulosity took place in the Willcox Multipurpose Room last Wednesday night. From 9:00 p.m. until almost 11:00 p.m., the audience watched their fellow students doing their best performing onstage to impress the judges. Hosting the event was one of Westchester’s most famous drag queens, Dotty Spartans, who kept the audience laughing throughout the night and also took a few turns of her own performing onstage.

Participant Ian Whitman performing

Pride at Pace provided many different snacks and candy at the event, and also put on a raffle throughout the night. Purchasing tickets for $1, ticket buyers hoped to win the coveted prizes of either an Xbox with a 2 year warranty and the NBA 2k17 game, or a Beats Pill Plus stereo.

Participants performed and lip synced to different hits like “All I Want for Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey and dressed up like comic book character Harley Quinn. At the end of the night, the second place winner, who was Edwin, was awarded $100, while the winner, Ian Whitman, was awarded $500.

While the event provided an opportunity for everyone to get out and have some fun, the host also made sure it brought attention to and raised awareness for issues like transgender treatment in the workplace, and transgender homelessness.

Making a Difference With D4D

Participants learning at the conference.

Although many students want to spend their Friday’s doing basically nothing, some hard working students chose to spend this past Friday learning how to raise their voices.

Put on with the help of CCAR, Pace brought Debating for Democracy (D4D) On the Road, a part of Project Pericles’ non-profit organization, to the Gottesman Room on November 4th. The event, called the “Make Your Voice Heard Conference”, was put on to teach students how to advocate and raise their voice about issues that they care about. Students from the Pace New York City campus mingled with Pleasantville students from around 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. that day with two small breaks in between, with breakfast, lunch, and snacks provided for everyone.

Starting off the day, participants wrote down issues they cared about on little cards, and went around to people they didn’t know to explain and learn about each other's issues. For example, many wrote down things like “women’s rights”, “disability services”, “environmental reform”, along with many other things. Later on they learned how to tell “thematic” rather than “episodic” stories to make them more effective. Next, they learned how to frame their message so that the public wouldn’t misinterpret it, and get people to understand why it matters. Concluding the day, participants partnered up and learned how to explain problems in a sequential order and shared how they thought they could use that going forward.

“There was a lot that I learned about making your voice heard. I learned that it's better to put yourself out there rather than hold everything in because it can actually make a difference.” said one freshman participant.

The days workshops were put on by Anna Marie Trester, the Trainer and Learning Unit Manager for the Framework Institute. The services she and the program provided are also put on all across the country at schools like Elon University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Swarthmore College, and many others.

Internship Insanity

For many students, internship opportunities is an important factor to keep in mind when deciding on where to go to school. Here at Pace, it is clear that they use their many different internship connections and opportunities to appeal to students.

Many experts suggest that students complete at least one during their time at school, often during their junior or senior years. Whether paid or unpaid, they give students experience and a look into the working world. With there being many internships in the area and abroad, most students can be connected to one if they just look for it.

Currently, Pace has many different ways for students to find out about internships. On almost a daily basis, the different schools (Dyson, Lubin, Lienhard, etc.) send out emails to their students to let them know about opportunities Similarly, many of them are posted in “The Pulse” which sends out weekly updates. Another way students can find out is through school sponsored Internship Fairs put on throughout the year, with one coming up on the New York City campus on November 3rd.

Luckily, Pace is connected with a number of different places, connecting students with a number of different internship opportunities. For example, recently Pace has spread the word about a number of businesses and corporations seeking interns, ranging from CVS to Warner Music Group to CNN.

Hopefully students will take advantage of these opportunities!

Family Weekend and Fun Times

If you’re on campus this weekend, odds are you’ll be seeing a lot more parents here than normal. But don’t let it freak you out, because it’s family weekend.

Family weekend, being held on November 5th and 6th, is an opportunity for families to get to visit students while they are at school, and see what they are experiencing while they are away at school. It is often held annually at colleges across the country, often in the Fall semester, and attended by many first-year parents.

For students and families alike, there will be many Pace sponsored events to keep their schedules full this weekend. For example, there will be a Family Breakfast this Saturday at 10:00 a.m., where President Friedman will speak to attendees. Following the breakfast, families will be able to visit the open house for the school that their student is a part of, like Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, or Lubin School of Business. This will give relatives an opportunity to learn about the different courses their student is taking and take part in interactive sessions. Similarly, there will also be informational sessions held later in the day. Students and their families who are sports fan will also have the ability to attend the football and volleyball games at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., respectively.

Wrapping up the day, following a dinner, there will be a Casino Night for students and families to play poker, blackjack, and other games. After a day of informational sessions, Sunday’s celebrations will include trips to Broadway to see the shows “Aladdin” and “Matilda”.

Some of the events for the weekend require registration, so make sure your family registers if they are attending!

The Race to Registration

While to many it seems like the 2016 Fall Semester just started, it’s almost time for the always anticipated registration process to begin.

Just around the corner on November 14th, Pace University undergraduate students will officially be able to register for their classes in the Spring 2017 Semester. While this process can seem complicated and confusing to some students, there are luckily many different resources to help them out.

Leading up to registration, it is important for students to take different steps like checking their accounts and meeting with advisors. Starting this week and leading up to when it opens, students are encouraged to schedule a meeting with their specific advisor, and look at their worksheet to see different requirements they have to fulfill. It’s important for students to also remember that they can find a lot of this information on their Pace Portal account.

Luckily for Pace students, they are also able to look at different classes and plan schedules that they would like to have ahead of time. For example, students can use the “Schedule Explorer” and “Schedule Planner” tools on their Portal account to look up classes and generate their ideal schedule. This also allows students to provide different information like certain times they don’t want to have classes, or times that they can’t have classes because of things like work or sports practices.

It is also important to check in advance that there aren’t any holds on your account, because your registration process may be interrupted because of this.

Confused on where you are in the registration process? Schedule a meeting with your advisor or look on your Pace Portal account to check!