The BACCHUS NetworkFebruary 2013
Greetings! 

 

Welcome to our first newsletter!  My name is Matthew Shore, and I have the pleasure of serving as your representative on the national Student Advisory Committee.  I'm currently a junior at Columbia University majoring in Neuroscience, and am originally from Long Island, New York.  This year, I hope to get our area to a point at which we all feel comfortable regularly communicating with each other and sharing information accordingly.  Our communication forum was born for this very reason, and I have a project idea up my sleeve for our area conference that I hope will also help in this regard.  I'm really looking forward to seeing all of our members in one room at The University at Buffalo from March 8-9, 2013!

  

I hope you enjoy this newsletter.  Keep doing what you're doing - it's great!  As always, if I can be of any assistance or if you have any questions about BACCHUS, please email me.

 

~ Matthew

Looking for fun? Inspiration? Socialization? Communication? You'll find ALL 4 at our Area Conference on March 8-9, 2013!

             
Register today to secure your spot - you won't regret it, it's going to be great!
 

With the theme "Small Change Adds Up," the Area 11 Spring Conference will be held March 8-9, 2013 at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, NY.  Take a look at the Schedule at a Glance and the Conference Guide, and join us for a weekend of student and professional development opportunities featuring keynote presentations, exciting breakout sessions, social and networking events, awards, and so much more.

 

Highlights:

Friday night opening event is... A TRIP TO NIAGARA FALLS!  Buses leave from the University at Buffalo Student Union at 7pm.  More details will be sent in the conference update email to registered schools.

 

Saturday Keynote:
We're excited to have KARIMA AMIN, a life-long resident of Buffalo and well known community activist, as our keynote speaker.  Read more about her and check her out on YouTube.
  

Key deadlines for your calendar:

  1. Early Registration Deadline: February 22, 2013
  2. Award Nominations: Due February 22, 2013

Register now, and save $25 a person.

 

Nominate someone for an award.

 

To stay up on conference plans, check out the Facebook event and Like Area 11 on Facebook.

 

The rest of your peer education group needs this info:

 

New Communication Initiative:

 
At this year's conference, I'll be launching a new initiative to further help you communicate with your counterparts at other schools in our area.  It will be a photo book distributed only to conference attendees.

  

Please email [email protected] with:
  • a headshot,
  • the name,
  • year,
  • peer education group,
  • and email address

for each of your campus' conference attendees.  Please note that this photo book will only be distributed to Area 11 Spring Conference attendees.  This project cannot come off the ground without YOU, so I greatly appreciate and thank you for your cooperation in advance.

 

The rest of your peer education group needs this info:  

Candid Corner
 
Check this out: Area 11 member, THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO MEN'S GROUP caught in the act of saving lives with a Free Hugs with Consent event that, I'd say, doubles as both a stress relief and sexual health event.
           
  
  
  
  
  
Also, check out Area 11 member, PEERS ON WELLNESS (POW!) of MARYWOOD UNIVERSITY caught in the act of saving lives too with a stress relief event.

  
  
  
Hey, isn't it neat that both UB and Marywood coincidentally hosted similar events?  Proof that we're all more alike than different....  Let's all communicate more with each other and share tips and tricks of the trade.  Way to go, UB MEN'S GROUP and POW!.  Keep it up!!!
 
Does your group want to be featured here?  Send me a picture.  "Candid Corner" is a new Area 11 initiative introduced by 2013 SAC rep, Matthew Shore.  Every Area 11 member is invited to send a picture for inclusion here in our area newsletter.
Hello from your BACCHUS Student Trustees
J. Miller | K. Starry
  
By: Jess Miller and Katie Starry,
The BACCHUS Network Student Trustees

 

Katie Starry

Hello BACCHUS Members! My name is Katie Starry and I am one of your Student Trustees for the 2012-2013 term. In this first article I wanted to give you a brief introduction to me and my role within peer education and The BACCHUS Network.

 

I began with The BACCHUS Network in the fall of 2010 when I became involved in PEAK Performance, a peer education group at Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. I stayed actively involved and became president of this group during the two years I attended CMC obtaining my Associates of Applied Sciences in Professional Photography. In the summer of 2011, I had the amazing opportunity to intern in The BACCHUS Network national offices in Denver, Colorado. After graduating from Colorado Mountain College in May of 2012 I transferred to The University of Colorado Denver and became a member of the CU Denver Peer Educators. This is where I currently attend school and the group I am a proud member of. I was so thrilled to be elected as Student Trustee at the 2012 General Assembly and am very excited to carry out this term serving The BACCHUS Network in just one more facet.

 

I am currently working towards my Bachelor's Degree in Photography and plan to stay involved in peer education as long as I can. I am aspiring to become a professional food photographer and want to concentrate on healthy, real, beautiful food. Within peer education Nutrition and Fitness is my favorite area to educate students on. I hope everyone has had a fantastic start to the semester and I look forward to serving all of you in the coming months.

 

Jess Miller

Hey y'all! My name is Jess Miller and I am the other Student Trustee for this term! Katie and I are here as the student voice for our national staff and are here for all of our affiliates when needed! Here is a little bit about my experience with The BACCHUS Network and peer education.

 

I started my journey with peer education at the University of Missouri (AKA Mizzou) with our very own MU Student Wellness Advocates. In all honesty, I joined my peer education group as a resume builder, but quickly learned that these were issues that I was deeply passionate about. Becoming a peer educator must have been written in the stars for me! My first experience with BACCHUS was the 2011 General Assembly in Reston, VA, and that's all it took for me to be hooked. Having the opportunity to meet such amazing advocates for change that had the same passion as me from around the country was both exhilarating and comforting. I was blessed enough to be elected as the Area 5 Student Advisory Committee representative for the 2011-2012 term and loved the opportunity to be the student voice, which is what led me to run for Student Trustee! I love this opportunity to represent my peers in such a meaningful way.

 

Here at Mizzou, I am working toward my degree in Secondary Biology Education and hope to go on to work in high-needs high schools as a biology teacher. I have also considered going on to be a youth director for a christian education program within the church. Though many people would say that these aspirations have nothing to do with peer education, my experience with BACCHUS has changed my perspective on many things completely and has given me the empowerment necessary for me to pursue these goals. I hope that in the coming years, The BACCHUS Network will be able to touch your heart and give you the same fire that it has given me. This is our year, y'all, let's get this healthy movement kickin'!

A word about awards...  

  

You're doing great programs, so remember to APPLY FOR AWARDS at the biannual BACCHUS conferences:
  1. Apply for recognition at the Area 11 Spring Conference and nominate someone for an award (deadline: February 22, 2013)
  2. ...and then keep an eye on the BACCHUS website to do the same for GA 2013!
Recap of awards donned to Area 11 members at GA 2012
  
Congratulations to the following Area 11 members who took awards back to their campuses this past November at General Assembly:
  
Outstanding BACCHUS Network Members:
 
      DeSales University
           Peers Advising Counseling Educating (PACE)
 
      University of Albany, SUNY

           Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program

 

Outstanding Prevention Program:

 
      Columbia University

           Responsible Communities @ Columbia (RC@C)

  
Way to represent Area 11, DeSales, UAlbany, and Columbia!  Keep up the good work.
  
To those members that did not receive awards this time around: keep doing what you're doing and APPLY so you'll be in the running for an award at GA 2013! ;)
About Our Online Forum
 
Are you logged into Facebook ALL DAY?  Well then you'll be glad to know that you can now contribute to our BACCHUS Peer Education Forum right from the Facebook interface.  I've integrated a forum into our Area 11 Facebook page.  Simply click thebutton at the top to be transformed and immersed in a sea of collaboration. ...and don't be afraid to post your own thread!
  
Current threads up on our forum: 

The conversation's hopping, so don't miss out.  I look forward to seeing you there.

 

Not a Facebook user?  Please tell me here.

CU Hosted a Wellness Forum and U Should Too
By: Matthew Shore,
Area 11 SAC
 
Area 11 member, Columbia University, recently hosted a wellness forum to discuss mental health on campus. The impetus for this forum was Columbia's recent high ranking as one of the most stressful schools in the nation.  The forum was well attended by students from various campus groups.  In this article, I will share ways in which you can host a similar forum on your campus.  First off, ask around -- ask your school's administrators if they have any contacts, garnered either personally or professionally.  The idea of Columbia's wellness forum only came about because our Dean of Community Development and Multicultural Affairs in Student Affairs asked her friend from college to come and speak on campus.  The dean's friend is an LCSW/stress expert (stresspert?) and thus the dean wanted her to help us, students, make a plan to combat the issue of stress and mental health once and for all.  Also, don't forget to invite non-health, more subject-specific groups to your event and involve them in your work.  At Columbia's Wellness Forum, aside from our health and wellness groups, the Columbia Neuroscience Society was also present, as its members are very interested in helping with mental health outreach on campus.  Also, consider breaking up into small groups.  Our forum opened with an interactive presentation by the therapist, and then proceeded into small groups to discuss what changes we would like to see on campus.  View and download the worksheet given to each small group to get the conversation started.  Lastly, consider reconvening as a large group to share what was discussed.  Columbia's event ended with each small group sharing its ideas with the other groups.  "It's great to get all the groups on campus working toward the same goal in one room, as that is exactly how progress is made," said Matthew Shore, Co-Chair of the Student Health Advisory Committee.  "Forums like these help magnify the impact of our campus' peer education groups."
 
Comment on this article.
A Message for Area 11 Peer Educators:
    
Hey Area 11 Peer Eds! I love how you're all saving the world, but please remember the importance of keeping yourself healthy too. You can't help others if you don't first take care of yourself, and your impact on others is greater if you, yourself, are healthy. Remember: Nutrition, Sleep, and Stress Management.
A Message for Area 11 Peer Education Advisors:
 
For all of our amazing Area 11 advisors out there: how do you know if you're stressed and what can you do about it? Check out this gem - perfect for this point in the school year.
FYI
   
As a member of The BACCHUS Network, your group is legally allowed to display the BACCHUS logo on its website.  Is the logo present on YOUR group's site?  If not, see an example, download it today, and paste it on to show your BACCHUS love.
Thanks for reading -- See ya on March 8-9 in Buffalo, NY
  
...and then again at GA 2013 from
November 14-17 -- mark your calendar!
 
Got a suggestion for a future newsletter?
 
Have a topic that you'd like to see covered in a future newsletter?  Want to share a story from your peer education group?  Are you doing something wonderful on your campus you'd like to share with your fellow Area 11 peer educators?  Post a thread on our forum or email Matthew Shore and I promise I'll be in touch with you to make it happen.
Have any feedback about this newsletter?
 

As an Area 11 affiliated peer educator, we greatly value your feedback. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns (positive and negative), please do not hesitate to share them on our forum.  There's a thread for that!

 

If you wish to do so confidentially, please do not hesitate to email me or anonymously fill out this form.
In This Issue
Area Conference
Candid Corner!
Hello from the STs
You have to APPLY for awards
About Our Online Forum
How to host a Wellness Forum
A Message for Peer Educators
A Message for Advisors
You CAN use the BACCHUS logo
New Training Kit for 2013!
Did You Know...
Important Links
  

Quick Links

  
  
  
  
Follow us on Twitter 
View our videos on YouTube
  
Visit our blog
  
   
New Training Kit for 2013: Mental Health
 
 
Did you know...
...that The BACCHUS Network Materials Center has tons of resources - and I'm not just talking shirts. Need an informational pamphlet for an event? Don't bother with the hassle of a print/graphic design job, BACCHUS has you covered. ...and don't forget about the 10% discount your BACCHUS membership gives you!
Your Area Team

 

Michael McNeil

Columbia University

Area 11 Consultant

 

  

Theresa Tantay-Wilson

Rutgers University

New Jersey State Coordinator

 

 

Dolores Cimini

University at Albany - SUNY
New York State Coordinator

 

 

Monica Thomas

University of Scranton

Pennsylvania State Coordinator

 

  

Matthew Shore

Columbia University

Area 11 SAC Member