Just outside of our “comfort zone” lies the “growth zone.” To get the most out of our lives we must frequently step out of our comfort zone and into the growth zone. The growth zone is an area where intellectual capacity can be enhanced and where ability can be honed. The college experience should be about growth (i.e. growth in knowledge and under-standing, growth in interpersonal skills and con-nections, and growth in responsibility and empa-thy). One of the great things about the college experience is that the growth opportunities are numerous. This is true for students as well as faculty and staff.

Everyday in the MacVittie College Union and across campus, individuals are stepping into the growth zone. In my role as the Director of the College Union and Activities, I am regularly out-side of my comfort zone. One memorable ex-perience for me this semester is when Geneseo Late Knight hosted Animal Adventures during Parents’ Weekend. What makes it stand out to me is the fact that Animal Adventures exhibited a variety of ani-mals, including a large yellow ball python. For me, the mere presence of a snake quickly moves me out of my comfort zone toward the “panic zone.” The

goal of the exhibit was to inform the audi-ence about the habitats, life cycles and needs of the animals displayed. I never knew that the name “ball” python refers to the snake's tendency to coil into a ball when stressed or scared.

Once you experience growth, your comfort zone expands and that is what the college experience is all about.

In this “State of the Union,” we will high-light some of the growth that has occurred in the MacVittie College Union both in ser-vices and people.

I trust you will have a safe and rejuvenat-ing winter break and that you will enjoy this issue of the “State of the Union.”

The State of the Union Charles “Chip” Matthews

Fall 2010

Volume 4, Issue 1

State of the Union Robert W. MacVittie College Union Newsletter

Inside this issue:

The State of the Union 1

Catching Up-Tessa Cassidy 2

Starbucks Opens 3

The Holiday Jubilee 4

Positively Geneseo 4

College Union & Activities

College Union 321

585-245-5851

Internet: union.geneseo.edu

Facebook: MacVittie College Union

College Union Building Hours For 2010-2011

Monday-Thursday: 8am-11pm

Friday: 8am-2am

Saturday: 10am-2am

Sunday: noon-11pm

The Department of College

Union and Activities is a part

of the Division of

Student and Campus Life.

Page 2

State of the Union

Describe a typical day in the life of Tessa Cassidy On a typical weekday, I get up bright and early around 5:30am or so. Much to my dismay, I've never gotten used to waking up early, and wish I could sleep in every day. At work, my day includes lots of coffee, handing out hugs to my little ones when they fall down (5 million times a day), and looking for ways to mix up our regular schedule of activities. My favorite part of the work day is putting together creative art projects using whatever materials I can happen to find. After work I usually go for a run, maybe work on a craft or art project of my own, and then spend the evening either hosting friends or family for dinner, going on an adventure somewhere in the Syracuse area, or just relaxing at home with a good book, movie or episode of The Office on DVD :) What is your favorite memory of The MacVittie College Union? Meeting friends for lunch between classes, and all of the crazy projects I used to end up with on my CU Manager office hours - from spackling walls to counting the number of pieces in the giant Connect 4 set to cleaning pebbles of the old zen garden foun-tain - I was certainly never bored. What skills, learned in The MacVittie College Union, still apply to your life? I credit my experience as a manager as challenging me to really work on my problem-solving and people skills. I believe that much of my ability to work with a mix of personalities and to come up with creative solutions to problems stems from the day-to-day situations I found myself in while working at the Union. What part of the Geneseo experience prepared you the most for the real world? The independence I was given as a student and individual. I'm happy to say that all of the answers and resources weren't just handed to me. Not to say that I didn't feel supported by the faculty and staff of the college, but I appreciated at the time, and can still appreciate in retrospect, the space I was given as a student at Geneseo to figure out solutions to my own problems, and to reach out for help if I ever needed it. What do you miss the most about Geneseo? The proximity of friends, the conversation and the sense of community are what I miss the most. Of everyone I keep in touch with today, I consider my college friends to be my closest. I realize now how great it was to live in the same small community with all of those friends just a walk away, instead of in different parts of the state or country. I also miss the salads at Mama Mias. I was obsessed with their salads. What is the coolest thing you've done since graduating from Geneseo? My first job after graduating from college was in Washington, DC. I worked at a leadership conference for middle school stu-dents - kids who came from all parts of the country to spend a week in DC learning about and experiencing leadership through a historical lens. I worked for the conference first as a faculty advisor (working directly with the students) and then as curriculum writer for about one year and I loved it. It was amazing to be with the students as they saw the Capitol Building and Lincoln Me-morial for the first time, and to watch first-hand how much they opened up and learned from other kids who were strangers just 6 days before. It wasn't a job you could maintain forever (it was 90+ hours a week, and pretty emotionally draining), but I hope that in the future I'll find a position that allows me to help high school or college students study leadership in a hands-on way, from other students, teachers and the communities around them. What is the best advice you've ever received? Take a chance from time to time, and go with those big ideas or opportunities, no matter how frightening they might seem.

Catching Up with Tessa Cassidy Gina Giordani , Financial Assistant, MacVittie College Union

Tessa Cassidy started working for the MacVittie College Union in the fall of her Freshmen year at Geneseo. She was then promoted to the position of College Union Manager and worked as such until her graduation in 2006. Tessa has since worked as Assistant Director of Student Activities at Bard College and is currently working as a preschool teacher in the Syracuse, NY area. We caught up with Tessa to find out how her experience in the MacVittie College Union has contributed to her success.

Day is February 4th

Page 3

State of the Union

Starbucks Open with Full Steam and Caffeine Sara Wigderson, Student Manager, MacVittie College Union

York college campus. This addition to the MacVittie College Union has been positive in many different ways. Besides the various foods and beverages that Starbucks has to offer, a unique feature that our

Geneseo Starbucks has to offer is its stage. The Starbucks stage provides an opportunity for local bands to perform, and these live performances help to en-hance the coffee shop atmosphere that everyone loves. The addition of Star-bucks to the Union has also brought about some other changes. Since Star-bucks requires more space than the Campus Grind did, it was necessary to relocate the Corner Pocket equipment sign-out, but nothing had to be removed from the Corner Pocket and it still stands

strong. Starbucks is a great addition to our Union, so be sure to check it out if you haven’t yet, keep coming back to the MacVittie Union to enjoy all it has to offer.

College is an intense time in a person’s life when there is always an approaching deadline for pa-pers, projects, presentations, tests, quizzes, etc, and luckily we have caffeine to help us get through our whirlwind of a semester. Not only does caffeine give us the energy we need to get to our 8:30 class, but it also helps us stay up until 3AM for the paper that is due that day. So the looming question in most peoples’ minds when we came back to Geneseo in August was, “When is Starbucks going to be open?” Starbucks is much more to the Geneseo campus than just a means to get that caffeine fix, though. The large interest for Star-bucks was shown by the success of their grand opening. On November 12th, the SUNY Geneseo Starbucks grand opening turned out to be the larg-est opening in any licensed Starbucks on a New

Day is February 4th

“I’m here every day, I love it!” “It’s the perfect escape, it’s nice and cozy and comfortable…especially at night!” Alex and Jordan

“I like it because it reminds me of home, it’s a very hip envi-ronment.” Nicole

“I like the Starbucks here. It offers a lot of vari-ety.” Mekal

“I think it’s great. It’s a nice way to get coffee I guess. It’s a great way to spend extra meal plan money too I guess.” Russel

Page 4

State of the Union

The Holiday Jubilee 2010 Lauren Taraska , Coordinator of Student Organizations & Campus Activities

Day is February 4th

Amnesty International has a vision of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Hu-man Rights and other interna-tional human rights standards. The group seeks to raise

awareness about human rights violations as well as take action to stop them. This semester Am-nesty International held a successful fundraiser called ‘Jamnesty Benefit Concert’ in which they raised an awareness of their cause on campus. This event helped educate the campus about the importance of human rights and provided ways for the students to get involved. This group of stu-dents is dedicated and motivated to make a differ-ence.

People For Animal Welfare (PAW), previously known as Club for Animal Rights Educa-tion, is an organization dedi-cated to promoting the well-being of animals. This organi-zation has a multitude of their members volunteer their time

and efforts at local animal shelters. In addition, the group helps raise funds to donate to the animal-related cause in the community. This semester PAW sponsored an activity to decorate 50 animal dishes which they donated to local shelters in the Geneseo Community who were in need. The mem-bers are excited about their cause and are always looking for new ways to engage the campus com-munity and raise awareness about the well-being of animals.

“The Holiday Jubilee is so exciting it’s not even funny! All the different cultures being represented in the same place and sharing ideas together, it makes this feel like the biggest and best family holiday party in the whole world.”

This years Holiday Jubilee was Friday December 10th from 10pm-1am in the Mac-Vittie College Union Ballroom. This event celebrated the different cultural tradi-tions and holidays of our student population through games, crafts, food, prizes, and performances. The Holiday Jubilee was co-sponsored through Geneseo Late Knight with a total of twenty-four student organizations. Some of the festive activi-ties included stocking decorating, macramé bracelets, dreidel games, Inuit snow

globes, gingerbread houses, star-topper & ornament decorat-ing and creating a nativity scene. Among the several stu-dent performances, we had musical arrangements by the Flute Choir, improv by Currently Known As, perform-ances by Between the Lines, Guitar Club, Geneseo’s Step team, and Piano Songs by Phillip Romano. In addi-tion to the wonderful programs the student organizations planned, Geneseo Late Knight brought ‘Sleigh Rides’ to campus and gave free rides to students from 8pm-midnight. Overall, the Holiday Jubilee was a huge suc-cess and the students enjoyed all the festivities & free activities.

Role of the College Union The union is the community center of the college, serving students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests. By whatever form or name, a college union is an organization offering a variety of programs, activities, services, and facilities that, when taken together, represent a well-considered plan for the community life of the college. The union is an integral part of the educational mission of the college.

• As the center of the college community life, the union complements the academic experience through an exten-sive variety of cultural, educational, social, and recreational programs. These programs provide the opportunity to balance course work and free time as cooperative factors in education.

• The union is a student-centered organization that values participatory decision-making. Through volunteerism, its boards, committees, and student employment, the union offers first-hand experience in citizenship and edu-cates students in leadership, social responsibility, and values.

• In all its processes, the union encourages self-directed activity, giving maximum opportunity for self-realization and for growth in individual social competency and group effectiveness.

The union's goal is the development of persons as well as intellects. Adopted by the Association's general membership in 1996, this statement is based on the Role of the College Union statement, 1956.

College Union & Activities Vision Statement The Department of College Union and Activities aspires to continually improve its facilities, resources, and programs to meet the needs of the College community and to advance student learning.

Help us GO GREEN by sending your email address to CUACT@geneseo.edu. The State of the Union newsletter will be sent to you electronically.