Get your Financial Training On!

It’s that time of year again, as your student organization looks to plan epic events and engaging opportunities for the campus community.  Those events take cash money though, and in order to put on a great event, you need to know how to keep track of your budget.  

The Student Activities Office can help you with that.  It is strongly recommended that your organization’s Treasurer or another officer takes some time to attend one of our Financial Trainings this week.  They are offered Monday through Thursday this week, starting at 6pm in 4-237.

We are excited to be a partner in your plans to take on big goals and do great things.  We look forward to seeing you all this week at the Financial Trainings!

MIT LEADership Week

“The most dangerous leadership myth is at leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.”

– Warren Bennis

If leaders are made, then a critical component of leadership is both the learning as well as the practice of leadership.  This week the MIT LEAD program is sponsoring MIT LEADership Week.  The week is designed to offer all MIT students an opportunity to learn more about how leadership matters in a different areas of MIT student life.  From learning about leadership styles, to making the connections of leadership and service, to figuring out how to balance your leadership experiences in a way that keeps you healthy and happy, this week is about helping students understand that leadership isn’t “one size fits all” and everyone has the potential to be a great leader as long as we work at it.

We hope that you will attend of the sessions taking place this week!

• September 16 6:30pm – So you want to be a Student Leader? (Maseeh Hall) 
• September 17 12:00 pm- Leading Through Service (W20 PDR1&2)
• September 18 5:00 pm – Health and Wellness management as a Leader (Z-Center Media Lab)
• September 19 6:30 pm – Desserts and Dialogue: Women in Leadership (Margaret Cheney Room 3-310)

Fall Festival Tix Going On Sale – feat. John Mulaney!

This post is written on behalf of the UA Events Committee – –

So, yesterday wasn’t very fall-like was it, being all 95 degrees and stuff.

We hope you all drank plenty of water to stay hydrated yesterday…

But, seriously, it is that time of year, where Pumpkin flavor takes over the world, the leaves change color, and the UA Events Committee provides an opportunity for you to guffaw heartily and laugh out loud before riding off in your ROFLcopter.

This year, the UA Events Committee is excited to announce that our Fall Festival comedian is John Mulaney, a veteran of Saturday Night Live, Conan, and Jimmy Kimmel!

Us too, John…

The show will be in Kresge Auditorium on Saturday, September 28th, 2013, at 8pm.  Doors will open at 7pm.  

Tickets for MIT Students go on sale TOMORROW, Sept. 13th, at 9am for $10 each. Tickets for MIT Community members and local college students go on sale at 9am on Monday, Sept. 16th for $15 and $20 respectively.

For every 2 tickets, 1 MIT or College ID MUST BE SHOWN.  There will be no exceptions and the MIT Events Committee and staff reserve the right to refuse entry.

So, we hope we don’t see ya’ll like this…

James Van Der Beek is a total party pooper anyway…

… but rather having a blast with the Events Committee and John Mulaney!

Yes! John Mulaney is on stage!

See everyone on the 28th at 8pm!

Make sure to follow the UA Events Committee on Facebook too so you can get all the latest news on the show!

OMP Showcase and Mixer is a success!

Our latest blog post comes from the new group of graduate assistants for the Office of Multicultural Programs!  Look for a profile blog post for all of the new SAO graduate students soon.

The Multicultural Showcase and Mixer hosted by the Office of Multicultural Programs was a great success. Hosts and attendees alike, had a wonderful time. The event took place on September 9, 2013, in the student center. Student groups from all cultural backgrounds came together to meet their advisor, Ms. La-Tarri Canty, as well as the new graduate assistants: Christopher Espinoza, Onyinye Oriji, and Qingyi Yu.

New OMP Graduate Students Christopher Espinoza, Onyinye Oriji, and Qingyi Yu

Attendees enjoyed free food provided by the Office of Multicultural Programs, and a prize give-away.  Winners of the give-away were awarded some great pieces of MIT swag from the campus bookstore, including  t-shirts, bags, coffee cups, lanyards, key chains, a blanket, and a MIT flag. In addition to the give-away, the participants also a played a intense game of diversity BINGO which encouraged individuals to break out of their comfort zone and meet some new friends.

SAO Director Leah Flynn welcomes student leaders to the Mixer

OMP Director La-Tarri Canty explaining the evening’s activities to the students in attendance

Students move around to complete their Bingo Boards.

–Christopher, Onyinye, and Qingyi

A note about chalking on campus

As everyone gets back into the groove of the academic year, we wanted to take a moment to make a reminder plug about chalking (the weather is ridiculously nice right now, so why wouldn’t you want to advertise your event by drawing outside, right?) on campus.

There are numerous places to find information about the chalking policies for groups and individuals on campus, which includes policies regarding how student organizations advertise their events.  You can find them on the ASA website and in the CAC & SAO’s Event Planning Guide.

You can totally chalk to help advertise your events, but here are some don’ts to consider:

• No chalking on vertical surfaces (including walls, buildings, and stair fronts) as this cannot be easily washed off by rain, and Facilities has to take time out of their already busy schedule to wash it off
• Please don’t chalk in front of 77 Massachusetts Avenue, which essentially serves as the gateway to campus, a place that Facilities and the Institute prefers look well-kept.

SAO, CAC, and Facilities does not recommend or condone the use of cats to chalk on campus.

Another thing to consider is that you should always be using biodegradable chalk (it washes away easier and likely won’t need Facilities attention), and stay away from using chalk spray paint.  They may be advertised as washable, but many brands do not easy wash away, and actually require Facilities to power wash it off.  Additionally, don’t use hairspray or other items over your chalking to give it more permanence – again, this requires Facilities to bring in power washing equipment.

Student organizations that chalk in a way that requires power washing or additional attention from our Facilities crew will be followed up with, and in many cases, will be required to pay the cleaning costs from their organization funds.

 

We want your events to be a success and for tons of people to find out about them, and chalking is an awesome way to do that, but there are methods to chalk effectively that will get the job done and will cause less of a headache for you and our Facilities crews!

 

 

–Joel P.

Check out an upcoming MITOC Film Festival!

MITOC, the MIT Outing Club, is hosting a couple of film festivals this upcoming semester, as well as early next semester.  More information about these events can be found here, but the first film festival, The Banff Radical Reels Film Festival, takes place on Friday, September 20th at 7:30pm in 26-100.

MIT Students can now buy their tickets online at $5 (must show MIT student ID upon arrival), or folks can buy their tickets at the door for $10.

Got questions? Kris Brewer from MITOC has answers!  Email him at brew@mit.edu.

MITOC may be able to teach you how to do this…

… and they’ll help you avoid a rock climbing oops like this.

MITOC hopes to see you out there, and check back with them later in the semester for more info on the next group of film festivals!

–Joel P.

Want to advertise your student organizations upcoming events on the MIT Student Activities Office blog?  We can do that!  Email Joel Pettigrew at joelp@mit.edu for more information.