December 14, 2009
This year’s entering freshmen "the European Union has always existed."
—Mindset List for the Class of 2013 (Beloit College)
Older Newsletters: Archived Here
Auburn University is preparing to establish a Common Book for the incoming class of 2010 to read. The Common Book project involves the entire incoming class reading the same book before arrival on campus. Many institutions of higher education offer a common reading for incoming students. Upon arrival on campus students will participate in a variety of activities related to the chosen book. The Division of Student Affairs will be actively involved in creating outside the classroom activities associated with the book. Three books are currently being considered: 1. Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (2006); 2. Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell (2008); and 3. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder. I invite you to read one of these books during the holidays, I think you will enjoy it. Also, think about how we can make learning opportunities out of the content. The chosen book will be announced at the beginning of the new year. Please contact Amy Hecht (amy.hecht@auburn.edu) if you have any questions.
The regular football season is over, and we closed out the year with 59 ejections at the Alabama game, which included 17 individuals in possession of alcohol who were under the age of 21. For the year 2009, we had 297 ejections compared to 249 for last year. The increase in late games plus an additional game help push the numbers higher for 2009. Even with the additional game the number of under 21 violations stayed about the same with 99 for 2009 verses 96 for 2008.
Toni Hession, Administrative Support Associate in the Office of Greek Life, will leave Auburn effective January 5, 2010. Toni has served in her position for the past six years and is an invaluable member of the staff. The staff wishes her well and wants her to know that she will be missed. A reception will be held to recognize Toni's service to Auburn and Greek Life on Thursday, December 17 at 11:45 a.m. in Suite 3130.
Auburn University will have an emergency preparedness training exercise the morning of Wednesday, December 16, so university personnel and local first-responders can practice dealing with a campus emergency or disaster. The exercise is set to begin at 7:45 a.m. and should last until about noon. Perimeters will be set up around the area of the Student Center and Haley Center for the "active shooter" drill that will include role playing and emergency response by public safety agencies. Participating agencies will include Auburn University, Auburn Police Division, Auburn Fire Department, Lee County Emergency Management Agency, Auburn University Medical Clinic and East Alabama Emergency Medical Services. In addition, a joint information center will be activated on campus that will allow the university's Office of Communications and Marketing to test its effectiveness in gathering and disseminating information. University officials selected December 16 for the exercise because classes will have ended for the fall semester, and activity on campus will be light.
Mark your calendars for the January 21 women’s basketball game against Vanderbilt at 8 p.m. The Division of Student Affairs will team up with the School of Pharmacy for the attendance competition known as the Deans’ Challenge. The team with the highest percentage of tickets used (based on the number of tickets scanned) will win. The winning team will receive a $3,000 scholarship to divide evenly. Please see Laura Sellers (4-8880 or ljs0002@auburn.edu) for tickets.