Information technology assistant Ginger Philips '05 and resident assistants Ryan Bell '05 and Kari Huntsinger '05 welcome a new resident to Hassinger Hall during fall 2002 orientation.

Like people and want to learn to think on your feet? Maybe there's a resident assistant or head resident job in your future college career.

When it comes to dormitory living, Susquehanna's student residence life staff keep things running smoothly. And that includes duties that run the spectrum from "teaching students how to do laundry or access their computer to dealing with life-threatening situations, suicide discussions or other personal crises," says Ward Caldwell, Susquehanna's assistant dean for student life.

Eighty percent of Susquehanna students live in on-campus housing and a staff of 51 trained upperclass students supervise residence halls. Residences range from six coed halls (two of which are for first-year students), to a women's hall, a Scholars' house, an upperclass apartment and townhouse complex; and many small University-owned houses located adjacent to the campus.

The head residents and resident assistants, plus an avenue coordinator and house coordinators for the smaller units, take responsibility for educational, social, and cultural programming as well as handling administration, and promoting safety and welfare.

They also assist in overall SU residence life programs ranging from assisting first-year students in their transition to college to S.O.S. -- Survival of Seniors. There is also special programming each year on topics such as community service and diversity appreciation.

For students on the residence life staff, the majority of the job is answering questions, offering advice, and nurturing community on an ongoing basis. But it can also include challenges ranging from trying to get students to understand their rights and responsibilities on campus to confronting peers who violate the student code.

Dealing with such issues provides experience and benefits, says Caldwell. "It trains them to think on their feet, it challenges and develops greatly their interpersonal skills," he explains. "And the side benefit the students always talk about is time management."

Jesse Lausch '03 feels his work as a resident assistant in the Sassafras Housing complex will benefit his future career in human resource management. "It's nice to see the interaction and be a big part of people's college experience," he says. "And I've also learned a lot about myself."

Head residents and resident assistants take turns on night duty. About 15 staff members are on call each night, covering their buildings from 8 p.m. until 8 a.m. or whenever they leave for class.

"You might think you're going to spend the evening studying, but that's the night that you'll have a student with a problem, a fire alarm going off," says Caldwell. "They do a very good job at balancing what are very busy lives."

Susan Page '04 coaches high school students participating in a team-based computer simulation exercise at the Sigmund Weis School of Business "Business Challenge" summer workshop. The six-day workshop, funded by scholarships from Toyota U.S.A., focuses on finance, banking, stock and bond markets, sales and advertising, and global trade issues.

Fall 2002 marks the opening of Stretansky Hall, the final component of Susquehanna's new Center for Music and Art. Designed to encourage collaborations between performing and visual artists, the center will be formally dedicated in February 2003.

It will house:

• music practice wing - 32 soundproof rooms, including six with Steinway grand pianos
• Stretansky Hall - 320-seat performance venue designed specifically to optimize the sounds produced by the singing voice and musical instruments. The modular acoustic system to be adjusted for optimum sound for individual performances
• rehearsal hall
• faculty studios
• music technology classroom
• art history classroom
• slide library
• studios for drawing, graphic design and photography*
• display space for student artwork

A college professor's typical day can be a hectic one. Grading assignments. Meeting with students. Meeting with other faculty. Preparing a lecture. Thinking about extreme sports.
Extreme sports?

Associate Professor of Biology David Richard is a veteran of 14 marathons as well as other extreme sports from scuba diving to sky diving.

All in a matter of course for Associate Professor of Biology David Richard whose teaching repertoire includes a course in exercise and extreme physiology, examining the effects of exposure of the human body to extreme environments, such as those experienced by scuba divers, climbers and high-altitude pilots.

A zoologist whose specialties include insect endocrinology and the West Nile virus, Richard developed an interest in exercise physiology based on personal experience. When he is not teaching, Richard likes to spend as much of his time as possible outdoors in activities that include cycling, running marathons - he's a veteran of 14 so far -- and scuba diving.

He's even found a way to incorporate a little diving into his teaching. Every other summer he leads a group of students in Susquehanna's interdisciplinary Focus: Australia program on a study trip to Australia, where he takes interested students diving on the Great Barrier Reef.

Richard's personal favorite place to dive remains the Coral Sea, about 200 miles from Australia. "The visibility there is incredible, and I found myself swimming among 60 or 70 sharks," he said. And when not diving, he shares his passion for the sport with products of his underwater photography displayed on nearly every wall of his office.

He was an avid skydiver for 20 years until he gave up that sport after his daughter was born. He's made 2000 jumps in the United States, the United Kingdom and France, and even jumped into the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the opening ceremonies of a NASCAR race.

Richard was born in London and received his doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. He moved to the United States in 1987 and taught at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before coming to Susquehanna in 1993.

He received the University's John C. Horn Award for distinguished scholarship and service to Susquehanna University in 2000, one year after he became a United States citizen.

"I really became a citizen so I could vote," he said. "If you live in a country, you should vote."

By Kelly Bugden '02

1. Check out The Fly Strip, one of the best used CD stores in Pennsylvania.
2. Enjoy a bagel and coffee or some delicious premium ice cream at The Campus Candlelight Cafe.
3. Walk or roller blade from campus to the Isle of Que and take in the beauty of the Susquehanna River.
4. Feel the excitement of the weekend stock car races at the Selinsgrove Speedway.
5. Twelve new big screens give you a choice of first-run movies at the Cinema Center.

From Borscht to Bagels: The History and Culture of Jewish Cuisineexplores how food and cultural identity are intertwined and features a culinary tour of New York's Lower East Side. The course attracts students from a wide variety of academic majors interested in broadening their perspectives about spirituality and ethnicity.

What is music? How is it produced? How do we hear it? These are all questions considered in Physics of Music, a course that studies the acoustics of music and delves into the scientific principles behind the physical aspects of music.

In Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion, students engage in the cross-cultural exploration of the nature of magic, witchcraft, and religion - both how they relate to each other, and the ways in which each one interacts with other social constructs such as gender, politics, and economics.

Offered in Spanish, French and English, The Future of the Text explores the human fascination with stories and storytelling using narrative media (books, cinema, television, computer software and the Internet) to better imagine the future of literature and how it will be studied in years to come.

Rock Music and Society takes a critical look at the origins and evolution of rock music, placing great emphasis upon stylistic developments and their relationship to the changes in the social atmosphere in which rock songs were created.

And Cherysse Makes Three: Marhja '03, Gerohn '04, and Cherysse '06 Lanns hail from Pickering, Ontario, Canada. Biology major Marhja led the way, followed by brother Gerohn, an accounting major, and now sister Cherysse, who also plans to major in biology.

You bet they do, each and every one. Counselors take note of many aspects of your essay - the topic, your style, your humor, your attention to detail and the presentation of your work. Below you'll find a few hints about what admissions counselors are observing when they read your essay. You probably won't find them to be much different from the things your English teachers have been telling you for years about the basic elements of good writing…

Fundamentals - Begin early, giving yourself time to revise. Show your drafts to more than one other person; multiple opinions and suggestions can be used to strengthen your writing. Don't rely on the spell-check function; your essay might then be littered with homophones - words that sound alike, but have different spellings and meanings (i.e. course/coarse). Grammar and punctuation bring clarity to your expression, so don't neglect them, and be sure to TYPE your essay.

Topic - You're going to need to feel pretty strongly about a topic to write a well-developed essay that's one to three pages in length, so choose an idea or subject with which you are familiar and about which you are passionate.

Style - Vary your sentence structure, be specific and descriptive, and always remember to involve yourself in the topic - you are the star of your essay. Don't be afraid to discuss both your strengths and your weaknesses; they make you the unique individual you are. And don't hesitate to bare your funny bone - if your humor brings a smile to a counselor's face or makes them laugh, it will help your essay to stand out.

Let yourself shineYou see, your application is supposed to supply an admissions counselor with a portrait of you, so to speak. Objective information such as grades, lists of activities, and awards and honors won make a few broad, definitive brushstrokes on the picture that is your application. But the essay is what adds color to the image - you can compile an impressive file of grades and awards, outside interests and talents, but what can you tell us about the person who has earned those grades and who is involved in so many clubs and sports? The essay serves many different purposes - it demonstrates your readiness for college-level writing, and is a supplement to grades from an academic perspective - and, outside of an interview, it's the only opportunity you have to tell us what sets you apart from other prospective students. Let yourself shine!

By Meghan Cadwallader, assistant director of admissions

Women's golf will become the 23rd varsity sport at Susquehanna beginning with the 2002-03 academic year. It follows the addition of men's lacrosse in 2000. The addition of women's golf gives Susquehanna 12 women's and 11 men's sports, all of which compete in Division III of the NCAA.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for Susquehanna to attract talented students and athletes to our campus," said Director of Athletics Don Harnum. "Susquehanna is the type of school which attracts outstanding female golfers and right now we have no opportunity for them to compete. Our women's sports programs have grown in response to the desire on the part of our female students to have a competitive varsity experience. We are optimistic that women's golf will be another winner in many ways."

According to the March 18 edition of the NCAA News, a total of 37 Division III schools have added women's golf over the past two years, bringing the number of Division III schools currently offering women's golf as a varsity sport to 135.

2002 also marked the third year of the NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship, which has been won all three years by Methodist (N.C.) College. A total of 20 schools were represented at the NCAA Championships, as 10 individuals in the four-day event joined 10 teams of five players.

"We are always seeking ways to improve our students' educational experiences, in and out of the classroom. Just as we are eager to maintain currency in our academic offerings, so too are we eager to enrich co- and extra-curricular offerings at a high level," said Susquehanna president L. Jay Lemons. "We believe that the addition of the women's golf team bolsters our commitment to providing a comprehensive broad-based athletics program."

Susquehanna has already enjoyed significant success with its men's golf program, which has won eight consecutive Middle Atlantic Conference championships and recently made its fifth appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship in the last seven years.

This is a great opportunity for you and your family to explore the beautiful Susquehanna campus. Attend a student activities fair and academic open houses, speak with faculty, students, admissions staff, and more.

Bring a completed admissions application, and we'll waive the application fee!

For more information, call 570-372-4260 or 1-800-326-9672

And/Or, for a more in-depth look at some of Susquehanna's special programs, check out our fall in-action days.
Science in Action - October 4
Liberal Arts in Action - October 7
Business in Action - October 18
Writing in Action - October 25