Letter From the Executive Director

We did, of course! It has been a wonderfully refreshing change for Brumby Hall, too. From the Brumby housing staff to the parent

alumni that come through the building, everyone comments on how inter-esting or nice it is to see males walking around Brumby.

As a new RHD at UGA, I have never known anything but co-ed resi-dence halls at other institutions. Hearing all of the fears, concerns and quips from people about boys coming in to Brumby, I was somewhat apprehensive about how this would go. Even friends of mine who went to UGA as undergrads talk about the tradition of all-female Brumby Hall. Tradition can be a tough issue to overcome. However, Brumby being a first-year building means that each year is different and provides the op-portunity to change the culture. The females who are in Brumby this year

Who Let Boys in Brumby Hall?BY RACHEL BUTTS

CONTENTS

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

1

Dear University Housing Team:

Thank you for a great start to the new school year! With new leadership of the university, there are

many changes that have occurred with more to come. One change that will impact us directly is our new vice president for Student Affairs, Victor Wilson. I am excited that he has agreed to do introductory meetings with our staff in the Rooker Fireside Lounge.

Thank you for your continued commitment to our mission. While I know there are many other examples that I do not have time to mention, here are a few ex-amples of how we have demonstrated that dedication:

We have responded to numerous work orders as well as cleaned and maintained our buildings to our standards and buildings are looking great. Our new vice president has toured some of our facilities and was impressed. We opened Rutherford Hall to rousing reviews and compliments from students.

We recently obtained the certificate of occupancy for Brown Hall on the Health Sciences Campus and Oglethorpe House is up and running in good order with a new HVAC system and room windows as well as LED lighting. Again, we are looking good.

We have been through Welcome Week, Roommate Week, PAW Week, RHA Exec-N-Rec and Building Bridges with flying colors. These activities introduce new stu-dents to living and learning in the residence halls and demonstrate the high level of commitment we have to students’ personal growth and academic success.

We are helping students with room changes and moving to permanent room assignments. We are mov-ing along to integrate with the new Banner student information system and the “go live” dates for students arriving in the fall 2014. Also, we are working diligently to prepare for the arrival and implementation of a new housing assignments software package (StarRez) to replace our beloved Dawg House and include a whole new set of services for students. Thank you for your good work and service to our stu-dents, to each other and to the department mission.

Sincerely,

1 Letter from the Executive Director, Who Let Boys in Brumby Hall?

2 Comings and Goings, Call For Contributors

3 College GameDay Puts Myers Quad on a National Stage

4 News from SDSC, Focus on Cardboard Recycling During Hunker Down

5 Open for Business and All in Place, Reflecting on Fall Opening

6-7 Lady Mellcomb: The All-Female Experience

8 Fun Ways to Keep Up Morale

9 Green Cup Challege Underway

10 Protect Your Computer from Malware

11 Living the Mission Nominees

VOL. 6 ISSUE 4: OCTOBER 2013

Male residents take the stairs in Brumby Hall during Hunker Down with Housing.

BRUMBY HALL

LIVING THE MISSIONOCTOBER 2013

2

WELCOME NEW STAFF MEMBERS!ALYCIA RIVETALIDA RIVERAOWEN “GARRY” HUFFJERICA JONESHANNAH GRISSOM

COMINGS GOINGS

LIVING THE MISSION is published quarterly for University Housing staff. Submission deadline for the next issue is September 24.

Do you know a full-time staff member who is Living the Mission? Recognize their efforts! Email Carrie Campbell at ccampbel@uga.edu and in a couple of sentences describe how they are help-ing provide comfortable, affordable and secure on-campus housing op-tions in residential communities where the academic success and personal growth of residents are encouraged and supported.

EDITOR: Carrie Campbell

facebook.com/ugahousing

twitter.com/ugahousing

liveitUGA.blogspot.com

youtube.com/housinguga

pinterest.com/UGAhousing

have never known Brumby without boys, so their attitudes have generally been very positive and accepting of this new culture. All students come in with expectations of course, but they usually adapt well to their surroundings.

Staff members have learned to adapt as well. The professional staff has had to reconsider Brumby-specific policies and procedures; some policy violations that were easy to recognize when the build-ing was all-female are now blurred with males present in the building. The female RAs, who were somewhat nervous about the addition of males to staff, have been pleasantly surprised at the atmosphere the men have created on staff. An all-female staff can be a challenge in and of itself, and the addition of males has taught the women how to interact with another demographic. I have observed many inter-actions between the staff members here in Brumby, and overwhelmingly there are nothing but positive interactions between the male and female staff members. The females have stepped up to the change and have been welcoming of new sugges-tions and ideas from the males on staff.

While there were negative comments and concerns leading up to this change, the addition of males into the Brumby community definitely has been a posi-tive one. Here are some comments from returning staff members:

“Boys on staff provide balance. The girls

feed off their relaxed attitudes.” Tiffany Ward, GR for Darien Colony

“It has been awesome! The whole atmosphere has changed; before this year, Brumby had a very uptight and strict environment.” Hope Calhoun, third-year desk assistant

“Boys bring a different energy to Brumby.” Marcella Smith, Brumby Commu-nity administrative assistant

“It has not been as awful as we ex-pected. We were all freaking out last year that the boys would be more aggressive, but they have not.” Kelsey Vermeer, second year desk assistant

Of course, it will be a year of Brumby “firsts”: the first male GR, the first male RAs and CA, the first male resident to check in, the first male community council president, and the list goes on. As the year progresses, even now in October, the commentary on males in Brumby lessens. Initially the returning female RAs com-mented on how weird it was to see male bathroom signs up. Now, it’s just another part of the building. How easily the things that we fear become just another part of our lives! This change is undoubtedly a break in the tradition for the building, but this new Brumby era will forge greater relationships, opportunities for personal growth, and the next step of community and student development which we hope will continue beyond the residents’ first-year experience in Brumby.

BRUMBYCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Instagram: UGAhousing

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTORSDo you or your staff have a story you’d like to share with University Housing? Tell us about a program you worked on, a positive experience you had with a coworker or a resident or just send a shout out to some staff members who helped out with a special project. Email submissions to Carrie Campbell(ccampbel@uga.edu) by January 25.

Brumby’s first class of male residents break tradition.

LIVING THE MISSIONOCTOBER 2013

3

College GameDay Puts Myers Quad on a National Stage BY CARRIE CAMPBELL

ESPN’s College GameDay took over the Myers Quad for the Bulldogs’ battle

with LSU and residents and staff in the Myers community had a front-row seat to watch all the action. Hundreds of fans at-tended the live broadcast, which featured a wide shot of the quad in front of Myers Hall. The new Rutherford Hall had its 15 minutes of fame, too, when former UGA player and ESPN commentator David Pol-lack interviewed Heisman Trophy winner Hershel Walker on the hall’s front steps.

“It was a chance for residents to meet their favorite ESPN broadcasters, David Pollack and Lee Corso, live and in action,” said Myers Hall Residence Hall Director Giacomo Cirrincione. “I imagine for many residents this was a surreal moment for them to have here at UGA that they will cherish for many years to come as why they love being a Bulldog.”

University Housing Maintenance Su-pervisor Steve Smith witnessed the setup from beginning to end. “From my per-spective, the housing staff’s performance was outstanding from start to finish,” he noted. “It was a team effort, from Adam [Scarbro]’s staff to the maintenance and custodial staff in providing excellent support to accommodate the ESPN crew and all who were involved in the entire process.”

With less than a week’s notice, housing staff members had their work cut out for them in preparing to be in the national

spotlight. “It was a tremendous amount of work,” Smith said. “All in all, even with the heavy rains the day before set up, the damage to the Myers Quad was kept to a minimal, and things looked great. It was amazing to see all of the work that was involved. The entire ESPN crew was extremely nice and

pleasant to work with. It was certainly a break from the normal routine, but I thought it was a huge success and a lot of fun as well.”

Follow the excitement over social media on Storify:Myers Quad Hosts College GameDay: http://sfy.co/bREA

MYERS HALL

It was certainly a break from the normal routine, but I thought it was a huge success and a lot of fun as well.”

LIVING THE MISSIONOCTOBER 2013

4

Summer ConferencesThe 2013 summer conference season

wrapped up on Monday, August 5. We hosted more than 155 summer conference sessions and generated more than $1.1 million in revenue. The 2013 conference season was a big success and the successful season could not have been possible without all of the hard work and dedication from each and every one of you. We are already preparing for the upcom-ing 2014 summer conference season. Summer conference applications for the upcoming season become available on the University Housing website on Monday, October 28.

Staff TrainingNew CA/RA staff are in training seminars

with visiting presenters from the Environmen-tal Safety Division, Counseling and Psychologi-cal Services, the Fontaine Center, learning communities, NCBI and the Department of Recreational Sports.

Graduate assistants have ongoing devel-opment seminars and will participate in a session on supervision presented by Jessica Pense and Megan Dailey.

Conduct Review BoardWe have nine housing

resident volunteers who are completing training to serve on our Conduct Review Board.

Staff Selection

Ariella Perry and Evan Thrailkill, two of our SDSC graduate students are complet-ing a YouTube video of our CA/RA staff in their natural habitats as a recruitment tool for our students interested in applying to be CA/RAs for 2014-2015.

Graduate assistant applications go live October 1 through the office of the vice president for Student Affairs. We anticipate seven masters-level vacancies for next year.

Health Sciences CampusThe Health Sciences Campus has become

more active in the last couple of months. In late July, the Health Sciences Campus Housing Office transitioned from its former location on Kenny Road to the new location at Brown

Hall. Students from Georgia Regents Univer-sity and graduate students from the College of Public Health moved into the townhouses on McGowan Road and into two townhouses on Kenny Road for the new academic year. We successfully opened Brown Hall for 137 upper class and transfer students beginning on Tuesday, August 6. The inaugural Brown Hall council executive board has been elected and they are busy planning impactful programs for the residents. The visiting scholar and faculty-in-transition housing program continues to be in high demand.

News from SDSCBY SCOTT NELSON, KATHRYN HALL AND MEGAN DAILEY

The sustainability and Hunker Down with Housing commit-tees are focusing on improving our recycling efforts during

move in. Although we were able to recycle approximately 9.5 tons of cardboard during Hunker Down with Housing this year, we really could have done a much better job. Most of the 40-yard Dumpsters that were used for cardboard recycling were con-taminated with other trash and had to go to the landfill. The only Dumpsters that were successfully recycled were at Oglethorpe House and about 3.1 tons of cardboard came from the card-board corrals that were set up around our buildings.

Now that we have a doctoral intern for sustainability, Jane Diener, we expect to do a much better job of cardboard recycling next year. There is a proposal to have “green patrol”or “recy-cling champions” manage the recycling around campus during next year’s move in through education and communication with the UGA Solid Waste Department, our housing communities and the Hunker Down with Housing headquarters.

Before Hunker Down we will once again set up recycling

areas, including the large Dumpsters and cardboard corrals as well as label each recycling area with proper signage and make sure it is not lost when the Dumpsters go to the recy-cling facility. We will make ensure that each recycling

volunteer has all of the tools that they need and an information sheet on exactly how to manage a particular recycling area. We will also select three to five “green patrol commanders” to monitor recycling throughout Hunker Down with Housing and endeavor to educate students and families about our recycling efforts in the Bulldog Families publication that is distributed during the sum-mer prior to move in.

With these new efforts we hope to, at a minimum, triple the amount of cardboard recycling at next year’s Hunker Down with Housing.

Focus on Cardboard Recycling During Hunker DownBY JOEL EIZENSTAT

STAFF DEVELOPMENT AND STUDENT CONDUCT

FACILITIES

Undergraduate residents began moving into

Brown Hall on August 6.

LIVING THE MISSIONOCTOBER 2013

5

Open For Business and All in Place!BY KIM ELLIS

A Big Crowd: Fall 2013 open-ing is behind us and the Housing Assignments Office spent the summer prepping to be a part of this successful year! As the summer began, we got word that the first-year class would be slightly larger than antici-pated. As we worked with staff members in Residential Programs and Services and Facilities, we allotted supplemental spaces in Brumby and Russell halls as well as some in the “lower five” of the Hill Community. By the time we opened, there were 71 students

assigned to these supplemental spaces, thereby opening most of those halls with occupancy over 100 percent. Since opening we have been working to make offers to those students in order to place them into a traditional residence hall space. By the end of the fall semester, it is our goal to have them all placed out of supplemental spaces.

A Big Change for Brumby: As men were assigned to Brumby this year other all female options opened up in the Hill Community.

Along with Church Hall, which has traditionally had all women assigned there, Mell and Lip-scomb halls were designated as all female for 2013-2014.

New Places: After more than a year of construction, the new Rutherford Hall opened with 261 beds. Home to the Franklin Residential College, about half of the spaces are FRC assignments, with the rest of the spaces hous-ing upper-class students. The new Rutherford Hall offers modern living in a traditional setting.

Last but not least, Brown Hall on the Health Sciences Campus opened this fall following some renovations and updates. This is the first year University Housing has made assignments in Brown Hall and we are happy to add this building as one of our offerings for upper-class students. For its inau-gural year with University Housing, we configured the occupancy to offer 50 double-as-private rooms and students were quick to take us up on that offer. We look forward to the growth Brown Hall can offer the housing program!

ASSIGNMENTS

BUILDING 1516

During the weeks leading up to fall opening for University Housing here

at UGA, I was constantly asked “Do you think you are ready for opening?” The truth of the matter was that until I became involved in the process I did not fully understand what an undertaking Univer-sity Housing fall opening truly was here at UGA. Now that Building 1516 is open and residents have returned to their normal routines, I have had time to reflect on the awesome feat that we accomplished as a department and my role in this accom-plishment.

Coming from a student activities back-ground, serving as a residence hall direc-tor during this time of year has been a very new and eye-opening experience. All of the planning for opening sets the stage for our department to live our mission throughout the semester in service of our residents. When a person thinks of open-ing for on-campus housing, usually what comes to mind is the first day students are able to move into a buildings. In hindsight, everything housing staff does leading up to the first day students can move into a building is what creates opening.

PlanningThis summer, between camp and confer-ence sponsor meetings and training, I attended meetings where staff training was discussed. A group of RHDs would be sitting in a meeting with Kathryn Hall providing her with feedback on DA train-ing, RA training, CA training,” simulation Saturday” and whatever else Kathryn asked for feedback on. These conversa-tions gave me quite a bit to think about. This school year I would have a brand new staff working in my building, and I needed to determine what that meant for

the community. Our discussions in these meetings were valuable for me because I was able to learn about the way other communities operate and I was able to write down ideas for 1516.

The biggest challenge would be taking in all of these ideas and deciding which ideas could be the most beneficial for the community in Building 1516. It was helpful to bring the ideas and information I gathered into meetings with my supervi-sor. Jessica Pense and I had great conver-sations that assisted me with my vision for building community in 1516 and sticking with ideas that supported the vision.

Planning community time during train-ing was a vital part of the preparation process. The professional staff had the task of following the outline in our train-ing schedule and making the information relevant to our buildings. For example, during the section of community time titled “Facilities and Maintenance-Related Responsibilities” I spoke with Travis Ben-nett, Building 1516 skilled trades worker, and Nick Jacobs, head 1516 building service worker, in regards to this section

Reflecting on Fall OpeningBY CHRISTINA DUNCAN

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

6

LIVING THE MISSIONOCTOBER 2013

of training and their involvement. Both men were more than willing to meet the new student staff and assist them with learning about 1516. During community time Nick and Travis lead my staff and me through the building while providing us information on 1516 from a facilities perspective. Nick and Travis gave demonstrations and provided my staff with hands-on experiences that taught the staff members how to assist with minor facilities issues that may arise while they are on duty. These simple lessons gave my staff the knowledge and tools that could prevent serious damages that result from leaks and floods in buildings.

Community time during desk staff train-ing was an opportunity for me to sit down with my new desk staff and have conversa-tions focused on the way desk operations fit into building community in 1516. It was important to talk to the desk assistants and office assistants about my expectations for them and I explained how meeting these expectations fit into the University Housing mission. During community time I stressed the importance of their role and the direc-tion that the 1516 community is moving towards.

Another challenge that I faced during my preparation for opening was creating what move-in day should look like in 1516. Deter-mining the number of stations that needed to be in place, the number of staff members to manage those stations, and the atmo-sphere that we hoped to have during move in where all final pieces of the opening puzzle. Once these pieces we determined, my staff and I believed we were ready for move-in day.

Move In Once early move in for special groups was over, my staff and I set up the multipurpose room for the first day of early move in for all residents. We were all up bright and early and ready to for the rush of students that would arrive. Once the first student arrived with her father to move into 1516 my staff and I cheered them on. Once that moment was over students began to trickle into the building slowly. There were times that a decent size group of people arrived at once, but for most of the day there was a steady trickle. For a new staff that anticipated a huge rush of people and excitement this was a little difficult to understand. But the

following day we brushed it off and were up early. We were ready for the overwhelming rush of students descending on 1516, after all today was the official first day of move in. Again, the staff saw a steady flow of stu-dents checking into their rooms but no real rush. And during the days that followed, my staff saw a decrease in the flow of students checking in.

This presented to next challenge I faced during opening. How do you keep a young and excited student staff motivated when they expect to have the high rise move-in day experience, but that is not a reality for east campus? Many of my staff members lived in high rise buildings the previous year and that is the only move in these students have ever experienced. I found myself main-taining an overly positive outlook on during this week and having frequent pep talks with my staff members to prevent anyone from becoming discouraged. Encouraging my staff to begin reaching out to their residents as they arrived and having conversations about the difference between communities in a high rise building and 1516 assisted my staff. We worked through opening and they were able to maintain their enthusiasm leading into their first floor meetings and the meet the CA program.

Looking BackReflecting on the time leading up the move-in day and the pieces that went into making it happen has taught me lessons about residence life. The importance of training and the effort that goes into it can make the difference in the success of opening. Many times I heard people say that opening hap-pens every year. You cannot avoid it and it will happen whether you are prepared or not. While this is very true, planning and preparation can make or break an opening for residents and student staff members. That first week when students arrive and CA/RAs meet the faces that coincide with their door decorations sets the tone for our community. Armed with all of this knowl-edge and new experience to add with it, I look forward to re-opening in the spring and opening next fall. My goal is to make the most of planning time and preparing my staff for what is to come. Opening this year was a great experience and my goal is to prepare myself and my staff to make open-ing bigger and better in the future.

MELL/LIPSCOMB

Working in residence life, I’ve had the pleasure of being a

residence hall director for special populations in the past. The resi-dence halls I have been in charge of have had policies ranging from substance-free to gender-neutral. With that being said, I would have never thought that one of those populations I would later be supervising would be all-female in Mell and Lipscomb Halls. I had my own biases about an all-female set of halls; I thought that they were an option that was no longer desired or needed. I felt that all-female halls were unrealistic in the sense that this generation of students seems to thrive on interactions with the opposite sex. I thought single sex female housing was past its prime and was only relevant to the old days where we felt we needed to separate students because they couldn’t handle the freedom of liv-ing in close quarters.

I had great experiences working with Mell/Lispcomb co-ed resi-dents; it was a community where RAs and residents alike created

Lady Mellcomb: The all-female experienceBY CHLOE BECK

Building 1516CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

ABOVE: Brittney Laryea, Megan Weber, Fatima Marigorda, Dil-ru Silva, Allison Owens, Taylor Stubblefield Chloe “The Boss” Beck.

LIVING THE MISSIONOCTOBER 2013

MELL/LIPSCOMBCONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

friendships that blossomed into brother/sister like connections and even some lasting relationships. I loved having to challenge my staff to program for a mixed population, and seeing a hall council of strong young men who were just as invested in the programs as their female counterparts was very exciting. I felt that I had the perfect pair of halls from staff selection, to hall council members down to the residents that hung out in the hall. I didn’t want to lose that and I made up my mind that an all-female staff and hall would be a nightmare.

Of course the halls would smell bet-ter (well, at least that was my hope). We

would have dance parties and impromp-tu movie nights in the lobby where we would paint our toes and gossip about celebrities. These things were all ap-

pealing to me but I couldn’t help but think about the other side of an all-female hall. I was told when I arrived that a special population of stu-dents chose the all-female route. Of course we have Soule Hall, filled with scholarly quiet upper-class female residents who you never really heard about. But the group that I was going to get would be the

displaced Brumby girls who would no lon-ger have a home after it was decided that Brumby would cross over and go coed.

These were the young ladies who chose Greek life over joining my precious award-winning hall council. These young ladies would not be around because of Greek socials and functions related to their organizations; these would be the ladies that would challenge my staff to success-fully get turnout to our programs. Now, speaking as a sorority girl myself, I loved everything that being a member of my so-rority did for my social life and the bonds and memories that were attached but I remember how being a resident assistant

and a sorority girl posed challenges for me. I remember those conversations and the feeling of being pulled between two things that I loved dearly. The difference from myself and my new population of residents was that I was already bitten by the housing bug before I joined my orga-nization. I was scared that, since my ladies would come early to rush their organiza-tions, they wouldn’t have the time to fall in love with housing. So, needless to say, that I had my own issues with having my halls change from coed to all female. I was so closed-minded in my thought process. I had the mentality of it being either Greek life or housing, not both.

To my surprise, I can admit that I was wrong, from the moment that my all-female staff came for training I instantly fell in love with the all-female experience. We dressed alike, planned outings and had

great conversations about life, program-ming and the year to come. My group of resident assistants came from all walks of life; I have the business-minded members and I have the laid back, go-with-the-flow RAs. I have the determine-to-make-you-smile RA, the RA that will find common interests with just about anyone and make them feel as if they are never alone. I have the RA that enjoys being driven and is awkward—wearing socks with flip flops. I had a dream team from the beginning. They helped ease my mind a little bit about the all-female experience but I was still nervous about the future members of the staff titled “Lady Mellcomb.”

From the first resident that I met until today, I have been nothing shy of blessed when it comes to the ladies that walk the hallways now plastered with Ryan Gosling photos and inspirational quotes. These young ladies are my dream that I didn’t know I had. The “sorority girls” are always around and some are even on my hall council. I have a population of residents who are at peace with living in an all-female hall, they say that they can study and feel completely safe without having to look cute for that guy down the hall. I have residents that play guitar, saxophone and ukulele in the lobby for the rest of the ladies. I have chefs, doctors, lawyers, artists and the next Michael Jackson living in my halls and I am so proud to say that they are all the first cohort of Lady Mell-comb residents. I never want to see these residence halls go back coed because I now know that all-female halls are not about keeping the boys away or pacifying parents. They are about the stories, differ-ences, and freedoms of showing that each resident is unique and that they are given the opportunity to express themselves in their living quarters without competition or the feeling of having to be a certain way for the opposite sex. I love when I see my ladies can just be themselves and I can honestly say that this is the first time that I’ve ever witnessed such peace and tranquility amongst my residents in their living quarters. I would like to take all the credit for this, but I have to say that it might just have something to do with the new population in the halls that I super-vise tucked over at the bottom of the Hill Community.

7

8

LIVING THE MISSIONOCTOBER 2013

Aside from the five pillars of our mission statement, part of living the mission

in University Housing involves creating and providing a meaningful work environment that can lead to employee satisfaction and productivity. In residence life, residence hall directors are constantly working to provide this meaningful work experience for their staff members to keep RAs, CAs and DAs positively motivated and productive. Some-times doing something very simple makes a world of difference to our student staff or, honestly, to any staff member. Here are some simple ideas staff are currently implementing to keep student staff moral up; feel free to adapt them!

Kudos! “Thumbs up,” “community snaps,” “hats off,” or whatever you call it, it’s a great way for staff to identify fellow staff members on the good work they are doingFocus on the positive! “Peaches and Pits” or “Highs and Lows” are typically done in staff meetings, and each staff member states one thing that went well in the week and one thing that wasn’t going great. Con-versation then gears around why the lows aren’t really that low or how they can make the low moment into a great oneBring a snack! Whether it’s some dough-nuts in the morning, baked goods at a staff meeting or a full blown potluck… we all have to and enjoy eating! Sure, budget is an issue, but there are certainly some low budget items that can make all the difference (i.e. cookies, brownies, cake, etc.)Celebrate holidays! Even if it’s just a card or an email, employees appreciate being noticed on birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Hal-loween, etc…Create an idol! Whether it’s “Hippo Ray” in SDSC or the “RUMLS cup” in the Myers community, idols are an easy way to build staff morale and a friendly competition at the same timeAwards! Bulletin board/door dec awards and end-of-the-year staff superlatives, if done correctly, can certainly boost morale and productivity at the same time! Involve oth-ers in the decision-making process to show students other staff are invested in their work as well

Incorporate fun! Some staff incorporate cute, appropriate videos and pictures into staff meetings and agendas while other staff may take/join staff out for a lunch or dinner instead of always meeting in the office. You can also incorporate quick, simple staff devel-opment activities for a good positive break during or at the start of meetingsBe invested! Attending a program, meet-ing or other event that is important to staff is

an easy way to show you’re supportive and invested in the work they are doing. If you can’t make it, that’s okay, too… send an email, text or whatever method makes sense to wish them good luck and/or ask if they need any last minute assistance. Then follow up to see how the program, project, etc. went! Be awesome! The Book of Awesome provides random moments in our lives that seem significant but feel awesome. Come up with your own “awesome” moments, or share these on agendas or emails. Seriously, at least one of these examples has to make you smile:• The smell of the coffee aisle in the grocery store• High-fiving babies because they usually don’t leave you hanging• The moment at a concert after the lights go out and before the band comes on stage• The other side of the pillowSay Thanks! Thank you cards and emails

are tedious and often things we simply don’t have time to do. When you can make the time to do them, they can really go a long way with students and staff. Say “hi” and call people by their first names whenever you can. UGA is a big place but we make it feel smaller and more like a community when we do these little things. Similarly, tell staff “good luck” when they have a big project coming up or students “good luck” during exam times, etc.

There are many more ways folks in housing are working together to create a meaning-ful work environment. These are just a few things happening in residence life where staff members are doing a little extra for big rewards. A huge thank you to Lisa Martin-son, Roxanna Gandia, Giacomo Cirrincione, Christina Duncan, Nekeisha Randall, Jane Lee, Devin Budhram and Abi Aparajithan for help-ing with this entry and to all of you for doing what you do to make a meaningful work en-vironment that leads to employee satisfaction and productivity within University Housing!

Fun Ways to Keep Up Morale BY RICKY BOGGS

RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

LIVING THE MISSIONOCTOBER 2013

Green Cup Challenge UnderwayBY DEVIN BUDHRAM

HILL COMMUNITY

Kermit the frog once said, “It ain’t easy being green.” For those of us that grew

up with this beloved puppet, we heard Kermit sing about the hardships of being green and how it made him wish to be a different color. By the end of Kermit’s song though, he spoke about some posi-tive aspects associated with being green and embracing his “greenness.” Though this may be a leap away from the tradi-tional message portrayed by this beloved children’s character, one could argue that Kermit’s message applies to the modern push for recycling and being sustainable. Here at University Housing, we agree that being green is easy and embrace the push for becoming a more sustainable entity.

The Green Cup, the annual sustain-ability competition that takes place in the “lower five” residence halls of the Hill Community—Boggs, Church, Lipscomb, Mell and Hill halls, is the perfect example of the modern push to promote both recycling and sustainability. During the challenge, we measure the usage of water and electricity and gather information about how many items residents recycle during a certain time period. This infor-mation is broken down by building to determine a winner. We even break down the data further to reflect daily usage per resident. The idea is to make residents cognizant of their carbon footprint and how it impacts the environment.

This educational competition is the result of collaboration between University Housing and the Office of Sustainability. It focuses on educating residents about the many different ways they can help our department and university as a whole become more sustainable. To reinforce the notion of being eco-friendly and to earn buy-in from our residents, the Office of Sustainability along with University Housing offers incentives such as reusable water bottles and grocery bags, shower timers to reduce water usage and other items that can be reused to reduce energy use and waste. This year, Church, Hill, Boggs halls will compete against Mell and Lipscomb halls to see which community can be the most sustainable. The com-

munities will gather points through the amount of energy and water that is saved per resident, the amount of recyclables each group recycles correctly, by creat-ing creative programs that center around educating residents about being sustain-able and by participation of each com-munity’s residents throughout the entire Green Cup Competition. This initiative

is currently being implemented through the two community’s hall councils, who have decided to take on the competition in order to prove that we can all be green and do so seamlessly through educational programming. The winning community will win customized pint glasses for each of its residents.

The enthusiasm expressed by mem-bers of both offices, combined with the excitement of both communities’ hall councils has created a buzz in the Hill Community that hasn’t been seen before.

With student interest building, this year’s Green Cup Competition has the poten-tial to be the most effective educational initiative set-forth by the Hill Community to date. Please stay tuned for the various eco-friendly programs that are set to take place within the upcoming month and remember…IT’S EASY TO BE GREEN!

The Green Cup Competition runs from September 22 until October 21. Events include:September 22 “Green Cup Tailgate Party” (Hall Council and Office of Sustainability)September 29 “Less is S’mores” Mell/Lipscomb Hall Council EventOctober 6 “The Greener Games” (Church Hill and Boggs Hall Council Event)October 13 “Ecolympics” (Office of Sustainability)October 21 (Legion Field) Final Celebration (Office of Sustainability)

9

10

LIVING THE MISSIONOCTOBER 2013

Most of us use a computer to assist us in accomplishing our daily tasks. The

computer has become an indispensable tool and without it, it is nearly impos-sible to get our work done in an efficient manner.

Years ago, University Housing’s leader-ship had the vision to create an internal Information Technology (IT) office to look for the interests of the department. Since then, the uses of computers within the de-partment have increased with every year that passes by. Not too long ago we were only using desktop computers, we then

transitioned to using laptops and now we are looking for ways to use tablets and other mobile technologies.

Regardless of the type of hardware that you are using to accomplish the mission, it is important that the IT staff and the supported users work together to use the equipment properly and in the most ef-ficient manner. This is a brief overview of malware and what happens when a com-puter is suspected of carrying malware.

What is malware?Malware is an abbreviation for mali-

cious software, which may come in many forms. The main objectives of malware are to disrupt the normal operation of a computer system or to steal information. Among the most common types of mal-ware are: viruses, worms, Trojan horses, adware, spam and rootkits. Some of these malware can be very destructive and oth-ers, such adware can be very annoying to the computer user. In either case, we must treat each one of them with caution.

How to recognize malware?A vigilant computer user can eas-

ily recognize when there is something wrong with the computer they are using. However, some of the malware is more difficult to recognize than others. Some of the symptoms of malware are listed below; this list is not all-inclusive.

1. Increased Central Processing Unit (CPU) usage

2. Receiving pop-ups to install software

3. Frequent freezing or crashing4. Modified or deleted files5. Appearance of strange files, folders,

programs or desktop icons6. Programs running, turning off or re-

configuring themselves such as antivirus software being turned off

7. Strange computer behavior

Treating Malware InfectionsEnterprise Information Technology Ser-

vices (EITS) has systems and procedures in place to detect the presence of malware in the university’s networks. The hous-ing IT staff is promptly notified by EITS when network traffic is detected carrying malware. However, these systems and procedures are not 100 percent effective.

Upon notification, the IT staff immedi-ately quarantines the suspected computer. The quarantine consists of the computer being removed from the network and the user’s desk. The computer is then in-stalled at the IT office to analyze the level of infection and determine the course of action to take.

If it has been determined that the com-puter system is not infected, the computer is returned to the user.

Approximately, 50 percent of suspected infections are false alarms. Given the importance of computers in performing our duties, we need to be vigilant and err on the side of caution when notified of a suspected infection.

The most effective way to avoid mal-ware is user awareness.

Together, as a team, we can continue to be alert and protect our computers and networks from being infected. Having all computer assets available to us will give us a better chance to accomplish our mission “to provide comfortable, af-fordable and secure on-campus housing where the academic success and per-sonal growth of residents is encouraged and supported.”

Stay alert, stay the course, and accom-plish the mission.

Protect Your Computer from MalwareBY ALVIE ALVAREZARMENTA

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

11

LIVING THE MISSIONOCTOBER 2013

Living the Mission Nominees

Residence Hall Director

Devin is committed to putting students first and insuring that UGA students are successful. Every time I interact with him, he reminds us all that students are our first priority and that we are in a field where hours worked should not matter if we are truly living the mission. He took on the task of being the lead profession-al staff member for the Building Bridges program, which meant lots of late hours and meetings with students outside of his nor-mal schedule. With his assistance, this group has managed in only a few weeks to plan an event that targets the personal growth and development of many students. Also under his guidance, his hall council has thrived in a limited amount of time and, because of that hard work, the students won a number of awards for their spirit, hard work and excitement during the Exec-n-Rec confer-ence. His dedication to the per-sonal growth of UGA students is clear to me in all that he does in his job.

NOMINATED BY RACHEL BUTTS

Devin BudhramAdministrative Assistant: ECV and FGH

Lauren consistently goes above and beyond in East Campus Village and Family and Graduate Housing and is a vital part of the staff in that area. As a housing veteran, she has an excel-lent understanding of University Housing in general; she has great relationships with students and staff and she’s always looking for ways to improve processes for the students and staff. She has also gone above and beyond by getting involved with several committees over the past year and certainly contributed to them greatly.

NOMINATED BY ANONYMOUS

Skilled Trades Worker: Building 1516

Travis Bennett is the heartbeat of Building 1516. Travis has been in 1516 since the build-ing opened in the fall of 2010 (and previously in another area) and takes pride in every inch it. Travis also takes the time to do more than maintain the facilities in 1516 and respond to work orders. Travis builds relationships with the student staff that lives and/or works in Building 1516. Everyone knows Travis by name and can recognize his voice from down the hall. Travis is always there to chat with the students of 1516 and he gets to know them beyond their role as a housing staff member. Travis is always there to assist and answer questions whenever he is needed. Travis is living the mission because he supports 1516 beyond the facilities aspect. Travis is here for our students and values building relationships with each and every one.

NOMINATED BY CHRISTINA DUNCAN

Lauren Ladd Travis Bennett

Phil Badaszewski

Phil is the man behind the curtain. He has his hands in so many different parts of housing operations it is difficult to see how the department could function without his dedication, determination and thoroughness. Whether he is working with the Assignments Office and IT on the new Banner system or organizing departmental policies and auditing the website, Phil’s competency and work ethic serve as examples to the rest of us. Phil also serves on duty rotation and worked very hard in helping organize ASC’s recent retreat to the State Botanical Gardens—all this while being one of the best-dressed students I have seen. He is positive and organized and always has residents’ and housing’s best interests in mind.

NOMINATED BY CARRIE CAMPBELLDoctoral Intern