CVA Golf Tournament

 

This years’ event will be held Saturday, March 31st at the well-manicured LINKS Golf Course in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  Check-in and registration starts at 11:00 am, and lunch will follow. Shotgun start begins at 1:00 pm. The cost is $50 per individual, or $150 per 4some, one golfer plays for free if you register a team. This includes lunch, range balls, green fees, and a cart. To help us properly plan for this event, please pre-register by going online to www.sga.tix.com  by clicking on the CVA Golf Tournament  (Deadline March 15th) If you would like to be a SPONSOR for this event, please contact Matt Daniels by email at mattbd565@yahoo.com or Jordan Carpenter at jkcarpenter@crimson.ua.edu. There is no minimum sponsorship amount but a donation of at least $50 will get you a sign on a tee box or green. Sponsorship can be in the way of a financial donation or in the way of items that can be auctioned or used as prizes for this event.  Proceeds from this event will go toward a scholarship fund for UA students who are veterans, service-members, or dependents. A portion of all proceeds will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.    All Checks should be made payable to the UA Campus Veterans Association and given to a student presenting this flyer or sent to David Blair, Director of Veteran and Military Affairs, University of Alabama, 355 Ferguson Center, Box 870292, Tuscaloosa, Al. 35487-0292.

   The CVA is a student organization sponsored by The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs at the University of Alabama. 

The LINKS at Tuscaloosa 1800 Links Blvd Tuscaloosa, Al. 35405 Saturday, March 31, 2012 Cost: $50 per player or $150.00 for four players Registration Deadline- 15 March 2012 120 Golfers - 30 Teams ·     Golf Attire required-collared shirts and slacks ·     No Steel Spikes ·     We will be selling string, mulligans, and  “red-bombers”, all for $5 each ·     Cart girls will be serving drinks and snacks on the course. Tel: 205-348-0983

Profiles in Service and Leadership- Community Service Awards

The Community Service Center will be hosting its annual Profiles in Service & Leadership Recognition Banquet on Thursday, April 12 at 6:30 pm in the Ferguson Center Ballroom.  We would like your assistance in nominating a service project for the Outstanding Service Project award. Please nominate a service project done by your organization, another organization, or a campus office that you feel has made a dramatic impact on our community this year. You can find the nomination form at www.volunteer.ua.edu/profiles.cfm.  

Nominations are due Monday, March 26, 2012. Please share this information with anyone else who might be interested in nominating a service project for this award.

We are also accepting nominations for Volunteer of the Year. If your organization would like to nominate an individual who you believe has been dedicated to service and has really made an impact this year through their service, please see attached nomination form. 

The Nest Project

           The Nest project seeks to heal some of April 27th's wounds with art and beauty. Creative Campus worked with the community over the past few months to collect tornado debris and build a larger-than-life nest sculpture to be displayed as a symbol of warmth, recovery, and rejuvenation after the storm. Creative Campus also worked with Tuscaloosa schools to have local students paint small sticks that will be worked into the sculpture upon its completion and unveiling. Thus, it will literally and symbolically weave together the pieces of the fractured, scattered Tuscaloosa community. 

       On February 25th, Creative Campus will host a painting event at Rosedale Park from 1 to 3pm. We will unveil the sculpture, display the students' art, have some live music, and invite the community to come and add their own brightly-painted stick to the sculpture. 

Learn How to Use SL Pro to Log Your Student Organization Service Hours

         If your student organization participates in community service, please create an SL Pro profile for your organization. SL Pro is the online volunteer database at UA, and all service completed by student organizations needs to be logged through this system. You can use the site to find volunteer opportunities for your organization, post your organization's projects, communicate easily with  volunteers, and track your members' service hours.

 
Setting up a student org profile is easy!...


1. Go to http://slpro.ua.edu.


2. Click on “Information" in the "Student Organization Representative" box.

3. Select “If you are registering a student organization, Click here to Register”


4. Complete a brief profile form for your organization and click “Submit”


5. You can now exit the system. You will receive an email from an SL Pro administrator when your organization is approved.


6. Once your organization is approved, you can log into SL Pro using the username and password you created to access your organization’s profile and begin posting community service projects.
 

         If you need assistance with SL Pro, please contact Amy Buchanan at aabuchanan@aalan.ua.edu or (205) 348-1691. You can also access SL Pro by going to slpro.ua.edu.

Rosalind Moore, SOURCE Advisor

By: Tynesha McConnell

Have you heard? The SOURCE has received another new addition that is working hard to support the SOURCE and all student organizations. Meet the new SOURCE advisor, Rosalind Moore! For those of you who don’t know Rosalind then you should know that she plays an important role in assisting the Board of Governors in developing programming, resources, and services to aid student organizations. Their aim is to equip organizations with the best possible resources to aid in reaching the student population and in accomplishing their organization’s goal. Need help with locating funding for your organization? How about learning about operational resources or receiving advice on group dynamics? Ever wondered about how your meetings should be structured? Moore is definitely the perfect person to talk to. She has established the fact that she is available to answer questions about anything that a student organization needs to make their organization more effective. In addition, on occasion Moore meets with students who are interested in getting more involved on campus and offers them a variety of suggestions and talks about what types of activities they want to get involved with.

                  Moore has her heart set on bringing out the best of the SOURCE and by doing so, she wants to see the SOURCE increase visibility, as well as enhance its resources and services available to student organizations. Moore is a great advisor who never fails to praise the SOURCE for their achievements. She describes them as an amazing group of student leaders comprised of 5 dynamic teams who are interested in tackling the issues and concerns of student organizations. The SOURCE has done this through a variety of efforts. There are so many things that each of the teams does on a daily basis! This year alone, they have had two successful Get On Board Days, hosted the first ever Resource Fair, reached out to student groups via Twitter and other media outlets, as well as rebranded the SOURCE with a new logo. In addition, our Special Events team has partnered with UA Track and Field to promote the first ever Relay Event for student organizations. Finally, our leadership team is launching a great initiative called The SOURCE Force, which is aimed at bringing resources and services directly to student organizations in the form of informational presentations. Overall, The SOURCE is a great (and busy) group!

                  Moore can be seen all around campus as she also serves as the Director of Graduate Student Services. Those interested in finding out more about this should visit the website at http://gradservices.sa.ua.edu. Moore doesn’t stop there! She also coordinates the Sitters For Service program, which is an undergraduate initiative that provides babysitting for students who have children and undergraduate students can earn community service hours in exchange. Moore chose UA for many of the obvious reasons. She stated that UA became her choice, in 2005, because she wanted to experience a large research-based institution. While here, Moore began to love and enjoy the students, the campus and the fact that we have so many resources available to assist people in having the best college experience.  Moore enjoys her position because it has allowed her to impact students in a variety of ways through serving as an advisor and advocate for their needs. Of course Moore is a person just like you and I. Don’t be surprised if you spot her relaxing on the Quad with Toni Morrison’s Beloved in her hand. Moore wants anyone interested in starting their own organization or already has one to please check out the SOURCE and watch us put your plans into action!

Katie O'Laughlin, SOURCE Director of Communications

By: Emily Dowdell

            Spring Semester is here, and with a new semester comes a few changes in the SOURCE! One of those changes occurred in the Communications team. After losing Daniel Connors to study abroad, the Communications team received Katie O’Laughlin to take his place as Director of Communications. O’Laughlin, a senior from Alpharetta, Georgia majoring in Public Relations, has already begun to make an impact on the SOURCE. As Director of Communications, O’Laughlin oversees the production of all public relations and advertisement needs for SOURCE events. This includes, but is not limited to posters, display cases, bulletin boards, CW advertisements, a monthly newsletter, and the SOURCE social media accounts.

            O’Laughlin’s main goal for the semester is to create a strong presence through the SOURCE social media accounts. She has already begun to do this in earnest, creating a forum of sorts where students have the opportunity to ask questions and learn about organizations and involvement opportunities on campus. O’Laughlin is most proud of the strong team that has developed to fulfill this goal, updating social media and keeping up a blog.

            The collaboration of SOURCE teams that lead to Spring Get on Board Day is another source of pride and excitement for O’Laughlin. In her words, “During Spring Get On Board Day, each director and team members worked hard while still having a great time together. The turn out was outstanding and made for a fun and engaging day.”

            In addition to her role as Director of Communications, O’Laughlin also serves as the SGA Press Secretary, where she assists with media relations and press release development. On a more personal note, O’Laughlin lists APR 419 (Public Relations Development) as her favorite course taken here at UA. In this class, she participated in a group project in which they created a campaign for Secret Meals for Hungry Children, and was able to gain real life experience as they developed and carried out a successful campaign. On the flip side, O’Laughlin notes that Biology was the most difficult course she has ever taken. “Science has never been a strong subject of mine, so taking Biology here at UA was definitely a struggle,” she said. 

            After graduation, O’Laughlin hopes to work in a Public Relations or Communications position in Atlanta. Like many of us, O’Laughlin has difficulty deciding on a favorite book, but she enjoys books like The Alchemist and The Help, and novels by Emily Giffin, such as Something Borrowed, which also happens to be her favorite movie. She would like all students and organizations to know that the SOURCE is here to answer any questions they might have. You very well might find her eating Japanese food at Bento, but if not, feel free to email her at kjolaughlin@crimson.ua.edu.

Tyler Cohen, SOURCE Director of Special Events

 

By: Katie O'Laughlin

              Spring semester has arrived! With this spring semester, there have been some changes within the SOURCE Special Events team. The previous Director of Special Events, Shea Mason graduated in December 2011. With Mason’s graduation, the SOURCE welcomes the new Director of Special Events, Tyler Cohen. Cohen is a sophomore from Franklin, Tennessee majoring in MIS (Management Information Systems) with a minor in Computer Science. As Director of Special Events, Cohen oversees all event planning, works with the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership on events, collaborates with student organizations, and helps with the SOURCE physical space.

            Cohen’s main goal for this year is for student organizations’ voices and opinions to become louder and more recognized on campus. Cohen said one of his most proud moments with the SOURCE is being apart of Spring Get On Board Day. He said that Spring Get On Board Day takes a lot of hard work and planning and to be apart of it was one of his favorites experiences with the SOURCE.

           In addition to his role as Director of Special Events, Cohen is also involved with the organization AIMS (Alabama Information Management Society). When asked what Cohen’s favorite class at UA was he said, “My favorite class was my English 215 Literature class. I enjoyed reading classic British authors like Chaucer and Shakespeare. Plus, we brought back the idea of forming our desks into a circle every day when we discussed. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?”

          After graduation, Cohen’s “dream job” would be working for a company back home in Franklin but is open for change and a new environment. Cohen said after graduation he would be ready to start working and begin his life.

         Cohen said some upcoming events that the Special Events team is planning includes working on hosting an SGA presidential debate, hosting new officer training for organizations and also partnering with the athletic department to help sponsor an organization relay race at Alabama’s home track meet.

         If any of these events or if event planning for the SOURCE sounds like something you’d be interested in, please send Cohen an email at tmcohen@crimson.ua.edu. Cohen said he is looking for team members to volunteer and help out! 

FEBRUARY STUDENT ORGANIZATION OF THE MONTH: LITERACY IS THE EDGE (LITE)

By: Emily Dowdell

            You might have heard about Literacy is the Edge. They have a catchy acronym (LITE), which actually manages to describe a little bit about the organization. LITE attempts, through communication materials (like a campaign to raise awareness) and the recruitment of tutors, to create a light in the darkness for the illiterate of Alabama. The organization partners with the Literacy Council of West Alabama to fight illiteracy in the state.

            The organization began in 2008, when a group of graduate students enrolled in Dr. Bruce Berger’s Persuasive Communications (APR 572) class recognized a need. About one in four Alabama residents are functionally illiterate. This means that 25% of Alabamians lack the basic reading and writing skills necessary to function in society. Functionally illiterate adults cannot help their children with their homework, read the labels on prescription drugs, or fill out a job application by themselves. After this realization, the students essentially made the class into a campaign, and according to current president Jessica Carlton, “the students in the class all join Literacy is the Edge, becoming officers and running the campaign.” “The major focus is awareness,” Carlton said. “People don’t realize what kind of impact they can have as a tutor, or even just as someone who spreads the word.” Carlton says that this year, the campaign focused its efforts on fundraising, and has raised over $4,000, nearly doubling their goal of $2,500. This doesn’t mean, however, that the group has done away with recruiting tutors. The organization also doubled their goal of 100 tutors, having recruited over 200 tutors.

            According to Carlton, currently there is more of a need for tutors for adults, than for children, “mostly because people generally feel more comfortable with children.”  However, the group can accommodate all interests, as tutors may choose to tutor adults or children in reading, in addition to becoming a GED and English as a Second Language (ESL) tutor. The organization emphasizes that just one hour of tutoring a week can make a difference, though students may dedicate as much time as they want.

            Interested students may email literacyistheedge@gmail.com to indicate their interest, or visit the group’s website at lite.ua.edu. Training sessions are held monthly, with the next training occurring on February 22^nd, from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Tuscaloosa Public Library. In the training program, “students get everything they need to become a tutor,” said Carlton, including instruction techniques and tips.

            To see the Empower Literacy campaign in action, visit the LITE website, where students can see PSAs created by the group, a promotional video for Quidditch on the Quad that the group put together with TCF (telecommunications and film) students, and much more.