Students Read Newspapers

Student Life and ASUR kicked off the Newspaper Readership Program managed by USA Today last year, providing students with free access to daily newspapers on campus. After participating in a successful free trial last year, USA Today offered the program to the university this fall at a very reasonable rate. The Los Angeles Times and San Bernardino County Sun, along with USA Today, are dropped off in newspaper racks at each hall five days a week with USA Today providing recycling services. The racks also have space for the Bulldog.

USA Today reports the benefits of the program are an increased awareness of community, national and world events and enhanced classroom discussions, as well as development of a lifelong, daily readership habit. Recent program surveys show that 82 percent of students believe newspapers are important or very important to their education. Additionally, 94 percent believe that availability of newspapers in their residence halls contributes to the habit of reading a newspaper on a regular basis.

Aaron Abrahamsen, a resident coordinator in Fairmont Hall, commented on the program: "As a member of the Residence Life staff at the university, I have had the unique perspective to see just what a change the readership program has had on life inside the residence halls. In direct response to the distribution of the papers, I have witnessed a marked increase in the numbers of discussions that have been prompted, current events that have been shared and issues that have been debated. From my perspective, the culture and overall intellectual environment of the residence halls has been enriched by the readership program."


Trees Top Priority

Though the Press-Enterprise headline read "Trees Aren't a High Priority in Redlands," Physical Plant Director Fred Weck knows better. "Trees are a valuable landscape element," he said. "We all love trees."

The city of Redlands removed dead trees along Sylvan Boulevard recently, prompting the story.

"We only remove trees if they are diseased or otherwise pose a hazard," said Weck. "Our policy is when a tree comes down, we look at replacing it."


Giving Back to the Community

The United Way campaign is under way in an effort to raise $20,000 from employee contributions. Funds go to a variety of agencies, including the Red Cross, Family Service Association, the YMCA/Y-Alliance and Second Harvest Food Bank.

Gifts can be made in a variety of ways, including the relatively painless payroll deduction. Please be generous!

A raffle will be held Dec. 8 for those who pledged. Thanks to the generosity of KUOR, Town & Gown, the Redlands Symphony Association and Bon Appetit, raffle items include lunches, dinners, pizzas, CDs, event tickets and even a vacation in Laughlin!

If you have any questions (or anything you would like to donate to the raffle), please call Alumni Director Sharilyn Bailey at ext. 4011.

Thank you in advance for supporting the United Way and making a difference for thousands of individuals in this community.

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Campus Highlights

The Inter-Cultural Awareness Program (ICAP) sponsors Holidays Around the World the week of Dec. 4-8. The Asian Pacific Student Association holds an Asian New Year's holiday at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4, in Cortner Hall. Hillel hosts a Hanukkah celebration at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 5, at Cal-Founders. The Hawaii Club holds a Hawaiian Christmas dance at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, at Grossmont Hall. MEChA hosts their Posada, a Christmas celebration about the coming of Jesus, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, with a procession starting at the Multicultural Center. The African American Association holds their Kwanzaa ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 at Hunsaker.

The new Masters in Interactive Telecommunications Speaker Series, will present its first lecture, "The World Wide Web and GIS: the Interface" featuring Dennis Fehler and Boykin Witherspoon III of ESRI, 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan.13, at the University Club. To RSVP or for more information, contact Sheryl Robinson at ext. 6262 or e-mail her at robinson@uor.edu.