Green and Gold Fridays: An Update

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After writing the blog, I decided to make a stand and contact the bookstore. I wrote this letter (well, emailed, but you get the point):

Charlene P Lobo Soriano
May 1 (6 days ago)
to cnkiryakakis, 0864gm, Rachel, Alece
Hi Carrie and Patrick,
My name is Charlene Lobo Soriano, and I’m a University Advisor at USF. I also run the @itweetusf account on twitter.
One of the initiatives that I would love to start on campus is Green and Gold Fridays, or in twitterspeak, #GreenandGoldFridays. Green and Gold Fridays is about wearing USF gear or something Green and Gold on Fridays. In an effort to raise school pride and spirit, I thought this would be a great way to promote that camaraderie. We’ve been promoting it on Twitter widely. I’ve written a post on my blog about it: http://blogs.usfca.edu/fyss/2012/04/26/why-spirit-matters-a-manifesto/ People are posting pictures of themselves in USF gear…and some of these folks aren’t even on campus!
Do you have any suggestions from your end how we can promote this? I realize that some decisions may be out of your control, but I’d like to work with you to help build Green and Gold Fridays into reality. My dream is that staff and faculty (even the president!) wear USF branded gear, and of course, they’d have to go through you to acquire said goods!
I would appreciate any feedback, thoughts, or ideas. I’ve cc’d some of the coalition of the like-minded above (Rachel Engrissei from Athletics and Alece, Advisor to Los Locos). Feel free, Rachel and Alece to chime in with any suggestions!
Kind regards,
Charlene
My vision would be a low-cost t-shirt or sweatshirt that people could buy to support Green and Gold Fridays. Folks who want to participate can just head to the bookstore, drop $5 bucks (this is a vision, I call ‘em like I want ‘em) and get their very own Green and Gold shirt. How cool is that?
I haven’t yet heard back from them yet, but that’s okay. People are out of the office or passing along the info to those in charge. I know how these things work. But I also find a lack of response somewhat disconcerting. I’m trying to promote a cause, AND it helps ‘em get some cash? They could partner with us on rolling this out! It has the potential to be a win-win for everyone. No new messages in my inbox from them. I’ll keep you posted.
Charlene

Why Spirit Matters: A Manifesto

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Some of you are keenly aware of my attempt to create #GreenandGoldFridays at USF. I tweet about it. I share it with other staff members. I pass it along to students. I wear Green and Gold on Fridays. And yes, I disparage people who don’t.

Why does #GreenandGoldFridays matter? It all starts with the three Cs: Community, Connectedness, and Climate.

Community I had the experience recently of applying for jobs at two large research-1 schools in the area. One of the things that struck me at both institution was the amount of school-specific swag that the interviewers wore. It wasn’t uniform. They didn’t have the same shirt on. In fact, there were different versions of the shirts with variations of the school’s’ name on them.

On campus, as I walked from venue to venue, I experienced the same thing. Students wore swag head to toe. They were not many opposing school shirts to be seen. Back on campus, and needless to say, I did not get either job, and I’m completely okay with that, I see not only a smattering of USF gear, I see our competing schools’ gear. THIS IS NOT OKAY! I know your best friend goes to that school and she hooked you up with the shirt, but still.

Community means that we share things in common – knowledge base, a sense of place, or a love of the same aspects. Pride in one’s school is a powerful thing – and seeing someone else with those same letters emblazoned on a shirt is like a secret handshake. I know what’s up with that school, you say to each other when making eye contact, and it’s nice to know you’re down with that school too.

Connectedness Similar to community – have you ever wore any USF gear somewhere and someone stopped you and asked about your relationship to USF? It happens to me all the time. No matter where I am – airport, different cities/countries, just walking down the street – someone will stop me and ask me about USF.

Showing your letters, like any greek organization, implies that you have shared knowledge. I won’t even begin to tell you about how many times people say, “You went to USF? Do you know so-and-so?” Alumni are the best – “What’s new on campus?” Parents are fun too – “My kid goes there!” I don’t mind engaging in those conversations because between the two of us, we’re connected in a way that only USF can bring people together.

Students dressed in Green and Gold during Orientation

See, how fetching these young folks are in Green and gold. Photo courtesy of @shawncalhoun

Don’t get me starting on people who say “University of Southern Florida?” No one ever does. Just sayin.

Climate Ever walk into a room and everyone is dressed in a particular manner…and you’re not? Imagine the power of being one of those folks who is dressed similarly. Now, I’m not saying we must all conform and wear the same thing every day (oh, fashion divas, wipe the sweat from your brows). What I’m saying is that it feels good to be part of the in crowd, even when the crowd isn’t even “your” crowd.

Pride matters. It makes you feel like a part of something bigger. Students athletes, at events away from home, I’m sure are, keenly aware of the Green and Gold in the stands. The seats in Memorial Gym are green, but once the seats are filled, the shirts tell the story. Why don’t we wear Green and Gold on game days? Because it’s not part of our culture. So I’m proposing to change that. Immediately.

Creating #GreenandGoldFridays So this is how I want this to roll. Every Friday. All throughout the year. Every Don – and that means Faculty, Staff, Students, and yes, even Administration. Wear something Green and Gold. You don’t need to floss that cute sweatshirt you bought downstairs in the bookstore. A green shirt? Check. A green and gold tie? Check. Something that says USF? Extra credit. Wear a department shirt. Wear your campus org shirt. Something, anything, that shows your Green and Gold.

That’s all it will take. But more importantly, know that your USF Green and Gold is more than just school spirit. It’s about creating a shared identity and a fostering a school tradition. It’s about showing support for your school, and when you’re out in the wild off campus, you’re showing off your pride in your school. Just floss that gear. Let people know you love your school, and that every day is #GreenandGoldFriday.

Charlene

UpFront by Marly and Roxie

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So I was chatting with some students who really excited about their USF experience, and I thought I’d ask them if they’d do some videos for me regarding USF…They’re graduating seniors, so they were very happy to give advice and other information to incoming students. Here’s the promo…Very excited to do this and share with the peeps!

If there’s someone you want them to interview, let me know!

Here goes!

Char

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Things Students Ask: Housing, Deposits and Jobs

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When should I apply for housing? If I make a deposit, will I be able to get a refund? So when would it be best to look into job on campus?
You should have already started to go through the housing process – your deadline for housing is May 1. Many of your colleagues are already actively searching for roommates as we speak!
Please refer to http://www.usfca.edu/housing/Apply/ to get started.

The housing pre-payment directions are also on that page. If you are concerned about not being able to get a refund, please request a pre-payment waiver as indicated in the website above.

The best time to look for job opportunities on campus, as I mentioned earlier is to start looking in early August. However, job opportunities are posted year round, with many not appearing until after school starts.

Here’s the site for on-campus jobs: http://spirit.usfca.edu/stuemp/on_campus.htm

Hope this helps,
Charlene

Things Students Ask: Double Major + Minor, Study Abroad, Core Requirements

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I would like to switch the performing arts/social justice major I declared. First, I wanted to know if it’s possible to have a double major and one minor in the following style: Majors: philosophy and comparative lit/culture and minor in cultural anthropology. I realize it will be more than a four year degree program but what would it look like? Five years? Abroad programs as a possibility for two of the years and/ or summer/winter abroad programs possible for these majors and minor? Also, how does a technical switch like this work? -Also, in the section where it says I can enroll in certain math and rhetoric courses based on my scores, are those required for graduation?
Thanks so much,
New Student!

Hello and thank you so much for your email.
Majoring in Philosophy allows one to double major and graduate in four years, provided that you are conscientious about your academics, priorities and scheduling. Adding in cultural anthropology as a minor may increase your stay at USF, but again, that can only be determined by your ability to schedule things properly.
Study Abroad is going to be an issue in terms of time to graduation – most students will go for one semester, but some students go for two semesters. I’m not aware of anyone going away for two years consecutively. Be aware that there are residency requirements for students, so you will need to be mindful of when you go abroad as well.
A technical switch requires that you contact admissions to let them know that you are going to change your major. You can emailadmissions@usfca.edu or call 415-422-6563.
All students are required to take a math course and a writing course in order to graduate (or transfer in prior coursework that will satisfy those requirements).
Please send along any further questions you have!
-Char

Things Students Ask: Meal Plans, Jobs, and Violins

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Hi, my name is New Student! and I am an incoming freshman to USF.I have questions regarding a few subjects about enrollment and I was curious about whether a meal plan was necessary for incoming Freshmen. Also, are there job opportunities on or off campus? I am a violinist and I was wondering if there was an orchestra or symphony I could play or during my future years at USF. Thank you for your time.
My response:
Thank you for your question. A meal plan is required for students who are living on campus (with the exception of Loyola Village and Pedro Arrupe Hall, which are considered campus housing but do not require meal plans). Assuming that you will be living in one of our residence halls, a meal plan will be required.
There are job opportunities on and off campus, but jobs on campus are very competitive. That is, you can expect to have multiple applicants for one position. It is important to start your job search early. For incoming first year students, positions will open up in August and even earlier we start the school year. Jobs off campus are plentiful, but you will need to carefully evaluate your academic schedule to see if you indeed have enough time to go back and forth to another job.
We do not have an orchestra or symphony, however, we do have a plethora of options for you to continue your violin performance. Here is a link to the many options we have: http://www.usfca.edu/artsci/pa/music/#Ensembles
Please send over any further questions you have,
Charlene

Our Victory Song…Because People Ask Sometimes…

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Dug up from http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~dwilson/rsfc/FightsongsI.txt I mention this only because of the second verse which I have never heard.

“Victory Song”

On to victory,
We’re out to win this game
Here’s Why:
For the Green and Gold
The Dons are going in to do or die.
Win or Lose today
We’re gonna try and try the same old way,
And with all our might
we’re gonna
fight fight fight
fight fight fight
On to Victory!

(The next stanza comes from back when we had a football team–not many people even know it exists)

Onward USF,
Our college here
Beside the Sea.
All together now
We’re going onward on to victory.
Let the Dons roll
And keep them rolling rolling across their goal.
And with all our might
we’re gonna
fight fight fight
fight fight fight
On to Victory!

NOW SING IT FOR ME!
-Char

The Need to Say Something

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With the recent loss of two students from our community, it has been hard for me to sit and write something. Without doubt, it has been in my mind so much lately, as it has for many members of the university community – even those who did not have the fortune to know our friends Chris and Jesse.

As news came across to me, first with Jesse and then with Chris, my instinct was to go online and watch, so keep an eye on the pulse of the school and see how people were feeling, what things were being said or felt. Even when there was little being said, I know that people were impacted by the deaths. Whispers, questions, and sadness weighed in during those first tense hours and lingered as the days went on.

At first it surprised me, how sad I felt; then I realized that as a member of the same community that both Jesse and Chris were a part of, why wouldn’t I feel sad? In my heart I knew we lost one, then two, of our own. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know them – I didn’t need to know them to feel directly impacted by their loss. What happened made me want to wrap my arms around those left behind and tell them that everything would be alright.

In my deep thoughts, I didn’t think to push anything out on social media land. I didn’t want to jump the gun and put my thoughts out there, and then someone said to me, “You should say something.”

Me? Say something? It hit me like a ton of bricks, that tweet. What could I have said, I thought to myself. It came to me as I drifted off to think of the people who stopped by on the fifth floor of UC, the Residence Hall Directors, RAs, public safety, officials…the friends who grieved openly in person and online…and I said something:

I didn’t know if that would be enough, and I tried to be graceful in the moment. I also tried to be respectful above all. I typed it into the box and got up and walked away. This always happens before I try to put something important out, and this was one of those tweets. After thinking about it, I said a quick prayer and let it go into the wild.

What happened next were comments from followers and others who just said, “thanks.” I didn’t expect anything from me putting something out. I think my role in doing social media took a shift for me at that point because the “need to say something” meant that my awareness and sharing that with my followers somehow, somewhere, began to be important and I was urged (maybe reminded) to follow through on my promise to be a voice of the university and a community.

It would be two days after I posted that that Fr. President would post his message on USF Connect, and I think that’s what students were hoping to hear. Fr. Privett has a way with words that I don’t know I’ll ever have, but I will admit that even I was waiting for someone to say something in those dark moments.

I just didn’t know that it was me that was needing to say it.

Thanks for reminding me, peeps.

Charlene

Lenten Season

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It’s the Lenten season, a time for reflection and pause. How each one of us does that is different, albeit there are some typical things that people do during this time before Easter. Some of us may fast, give much loved things up, enter in a period of mindfulness as we enter this period of 40 days.

Each morning, I’ve tried to send out a morning meditation, hoping that at least one person will give thought to it and, as I like to say, think on it. It only takes a few minutes, and if you’re good, maybe less than one minute. For me the point is that we often go through the day with activities that propel us this way and that without a moment of reflection or meditation.

Yesterday, for example, I was talking with students about stress, and how irritatingly normal stress is. It’s our response to stress that exacerbates what would probably be a slight bump in the road and turns it into OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING! EVERYONE STOP! IT’S SO TERRIBLE! It’s not. Hang on.

Taking a second to catch your breath and get a grip can be one of the most powerful things you can do. I asked the students to think about what are some of the coping mechanisms they use when they get stressed out. They shouted (love that): Exercise! Get some sleep (but not too much)! Talk it out! Be with friends! Meditate! The power of reflection is in there somewhere, slowing down the crushing stress into manageable pieces. The beauty of pausing, even for a breath, is that you are so much in control, even when it feels like you are spiraling. Even when you can’t find that anchor to keep you steady, there are wonderful people all around you here to help. You might not even know it, but yes, we’re here.

As we enter Lent, I’m hoping that we are able to stop in the middle of it all and think things through, to not turn ant hills into mountains, to reflect, to pause, and to be grateful for how far we’ve come and how the journey will take us further, if only, one step at a time.

Charlene