Fun Archives - SUNY Ulster News Blog

Support the SUNY Ulster Senators

January 9, 2019 by Roycroft Michaela

ten diverse SUNY Ulster male wrestling team members stand posed uniformly in their singlets with hands crossed in front of them

Here at SUNY Ulster, athletic life is both work and play. Just an added bonus being a student in Stone Ridge, all students are encouraged to apply themselves to one of our sports teams. Student athletes have more than doubled in the past three years and there are now eight teams one can join. These activities help students build collaborative and athletic skills that they can carry with them through the rest of their educational journey, and life.

Drum Roll Please…

We just recently released our new athletics page, pretty exciting stuff! Potential students are welcome to check out the new site and use it as a way to apply for the school. Current students are also able to easily find coaches; as a matter of fact, the site has a handy directory of all the athletic staff. So students can find any one of our sports centered staff who are always available to answer any questions you might have.

The new site has all the good stuff: rosters, schedules, game reports and even videos of our hard-working student athletes in action. Game reports and rosters feature biographies of athletes individually so fans can find all the information available about a player right from the stands if they wanted to!

Don’t Forget To Follow Us Everywhere Else Too

If the all that up to date game info doesn’t quite scratch your sports itch; included in the site are links to our various sports social media profiles such as Facebook, Instagram, and more. Where even more player coverage can be found.

Fun, Free Events at SUNY Ulster this Fall

September 25, 2018September 25, 2018 by SUNYUlster

As the days grow shorter and colder, you may find yourself wondering what to do, especially if you’re on a budget. Good news: there’s always something enriching to enjoy and learn from at SUNY Ulster! The following is a list of upcoming events happening over the next few months that are open to students AND the community, so even if you’ve never been to SUNY Ulster before, you should come by!

New Immigrant & Refugee Visions: Screening and Discussion

Wednesday, September 26, 1:00 p.m.,
College Lounge, Vanderlyn Hall

This event features documentary films by immigrants from around the world who came to America, followed by an audience-led discussion of immigrant issues. Find out more about this series by visiting Community Supported Film’s site. You can also find more events like this one by checking out the Diversity page on our website.

Visiting Artist Andrew Zuckerman: A Message from the Exterior

Thursday, October 11 – Friday, November 2, Slide Lecture/Opening Reception: October 11, 7:00 p.m., College Lounge

Visiting Artist Andrew Zuckerman is an award winning photographer, filmmaker, and curator. Much of his work is concerned with the intersection of nature and technology. Zuckerman’s ongoing portrait practice utilizes both photography and filmed interview formats to examine human perspectives. With the support of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, he released WISDOM in 2008 as a book, a feature length documentary film, and a global traveling exhibition. For this exhibition, Andrew will show a selection of works from his series “A Message from the Exterior,” an installation of photographic works from his continued investigation of the human relationship to the natural world.

The Art Force 5

Wednesday, October 24, 9:00 a.m.,
Student Life Center (Cafeteria)

The Art Force 5 uses the accessibility of art and the popularity of superheroes to explore issues of equality, violence, history, community, and empathy. The Art Force 5 is partnering with SUNY Ulster SGO, Multicultural Club, COIL, and Academic Travel to engage the community by inviting students and community members to paint one tile of a 250-piece mosaic tribute. The completed mosaic will be on display on the SUNY Ulster campus.

Annual Project Presentations for COIL

Thursday, October 25, 1:30 p.m.,
Burroughs Hall

For the past two years, SUNY Ulster has collaborated with students from Universidad de la Salle NoroEste from Obregon, Mexico. For a week in October, the students get a chance to meet face-to-face and work on presentations of their projects. This year, we open the doors to the SUNY Ulster community and the public to celebrate these student collaborations and to listen to their presentations.

Library Writers Series: Bruce Littlefield

Thursday, November 8, 1:15 p.m.,
College Lounge

Bruce Littlefield is a best-selling author, lifestyle expert, and an arbiter of American fun. He shares his passionate curiosity (and occasional mischievousness) through his books and TV appearances. Bruce has appeared on NBC, CBS, ABC News, FOX News, MSNBC, The Rachael Ray Show, NPR, Sirius, and numerous other programs and publications.

Tropical Seas & First Forests – New York
400 Million Years Ago

Thursday, November 15, 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.,
College Lounge

A drive through the rocks of the Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains tells the history of New York long before the dinosaurs. Marine shells and coral reefs in the valley indicate an environment of shallow tropical seas. Fossil trees and strata of the Catskills record a history of some of Earth’s earliest forests and an Andes-scale mountain belt in New England. Time travel to a very different New York State with Dr. Chuck Ver Straeten of the New York State Museum. Part of the John Burroughs Natural Science Lecture Series.

Ernie Shaw: Form of Shadows

Friday, November 16 – Friday, December 14, Opening Reception: Friday, November 16, 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Muroff Kotler Arts Gallery

Local resident Ernest Shaw will be exhibiting recent photography in his show, THE FORM OF SHADOWS. This exhibit is primarily focused on photography, a “new” medium in his 50 year career with sculpture, paintings, and drawings. The photographs integrate his lifelong concerns with mortality, the nature of the “self” and shadow, and the relentless search for integration and wholeness, particularly in the consequences of action and gestures, of moments and eons. These themes resonate with Shaw’s other career as psychiatrist, psychotherapist and long-time teacher of mindfulness meditation practices.

Holiday Concert Series

WIND ENSEMBLE & PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE CONCERT
Tuesday, November 27, 7:30 p.m.

HONORS RECITAL
Friday, November 30, 3:00 p.m.

STRING ENSEMBLE CONCERT
Monday, December 3, 7:30 p.m.

COMMUNITY BAND & JAZZ ENSEMBLE CONCERT
Wednesday, December 5, 7:30 p.m.

CHORAL CONCERT & GUITAR ENSEMBLE CONCERT
Thursday, December 6, 7:30 p.m.

To see more of our events, visit our Calendar of Events page or pick up one of our special events brochures located around campus!

Get Involved Outside of the Classroom

September 13, 2018September 13, 2018 by SUNYUlster

You’ve probably gotten used to life as a college student, but by now you may be looking for more ways to expand your horizons and get the full college experience. Even though Ulster doesn’t have students living on campus, we still have a great campus culture and many ways to get involved! Here are just a few:

Join a Club

SUNY Ulster offers many clubs for students to take part in. There are major-related clubs like Biology, Art, and Human Services, which are often open to students outside of the majors as well, and there are interest-related clubs like Multicultural, FOCUS, and Writing which are open to all students. Learn more about what each club does and consider attending a meeting or two!

Get an On-Campus Job or Consider Volunteering

There are many opportunities on campus for employment, which not only help you get better acquainted with the college and students, staff, and faculty, but also help you earn a bit on the side to help fund your college career. If the department you’d like to work in doesn’t have any openings, you can also consider volunteering to get involved. Some departments, such as Theatre, can always use extra help when it comes to putting on productions. Volunteering gets you involved and meeting new people, looks great on a resume, and could lead to employment in the department down the road depending on the situation. Talk to Career Services for more information, located in VAN 119, either in person or via email at careerservices@sunyulster.edu.

Attend Events

There are many activities going on around campus throughout the year! There are social events like the annual Spring Carnival, game days, and talent shows, and there are also informative and interesting events like concerts, discussions, and more that take place throughout the year. Keep an eye on the campus spotlight in the portal, our social media profiles, and the spring and fall events fliers located around campus to find out what activities and events are coming up.

Become a Student Leader/Ambassador

Students can become Student Admissions Ambassadors, Campus Connect Leaders, or members of the Student Government Organization if they want to take a leadership role or share and improve their campus experiences. Student Admissions Ambassadors share their personal experiences as SUNY Ulster students with prospective students at events, and their activities include volunteering at Admissions events, assisting at local college fairs, and participating in Open House. Campus Connect Leaders help run Campus Connect and assist new students with learning about the campus. SGO officers help plan and run student events and listen to the needs of students to make a more enjoyable campus experience for all. All of these are great options for getting to know the school and other students!

Don’t Just Attend Class and Run

The most important thing you can do if you’re looking for new opportunities and new friends is to hang out on campus outside of classes. Many things happen in the cafeteria and around campus that you only discover if you take the time to stick around and see what’s happening.

Give a few of these opportunities a shot, or just hang around campus for an extra hour or two each week. You never know who you’ll meet or what might happen!

Fun Electives Offered This Spring

December 12, 2016 by SUNYUlster

Are you looking for an intriguing and fun elective to fill up your schedule or fulfill a requirement? Though it sometimes takes a bit of searching to find, Ulster offers a number of unique and innovative courses to bring some excitement into your semester. Here’s just a few you can sign up for this spring!

History of Rock Music – MUS 175

Personally, I’ve seen enough students with band-related apparel to safely say that many of you love rock music. Why not learn more about it in this informative class that covers every aspect of the genre? You get to learn about the history of rock music from its pre-50s roots to today, including its social causes and effects, style trends, and the backgrounds of many performers and songwriters who worked within it. Every other aspect of the business is covered too, as the course description says other topics are “language geared towards the non-musician musical features of rock: instrumentation, melodic/harmonic/rhythmic details, performance styles, lyrics, visual aspects (personal appearances, album covers, etc.), and production/recording techniques.” Of course, you get to listen to a great deal of music, both in and out of the classroom. What could beat receiving college credit for listening to music you already love? Professor Gregory Dinger, who teaches the class, says “The students are assigned a lot of listening outside of class, and we do some playful things in class like “create” appropriate song titles or group names. Some of the written assignments include “Your Favorite and a Least Favorite Song,” reactions to a reading on the “Negative Reactions to early Rock & Roll,” and interviewing someone (of the right age) as to who they preferred in the 1960s: The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.”

Feature Journalism – COM 201

If you like writing, this is the course for you. Although it’s a 200-level Communications course, this class can be taken by anyone who has taken ENG 102. Students get to learn about many aspects of the journalism industry, including the development and research, writing, and editing processes used to create feature stories for newspapers and magazines. Best of all, students in the class staff the campus newspaper and contribute articles for credit. Anyone interested in writing or journalism can benefit from this experience and exposure! Professor Robert Pucci, who teaches this class, offers, “The feature journalism class gives the student an opportunity to experience the working environment of a freelance article writer. Students research markets, target publications, write query letters and complete three magazine articles geared to their interests. In the past feature articles written for the class have appeared in local publications.”

Solar System Astronomy – AST 102

Who doesn’t love looking at the stars? The astronomy course here at Ulster offers not only the opportunity to attend a night sky observation (with a telescope and professional input!), but also the chance to learn more about the fascinating world outside our planet of moons, asteroids, meteors, and comets. Professor Steven Schimmrich, who teaches the class, says, “Students learn to use a freeware program called Stellarium which allows you to view the night sky from any location on Earth at any date or time which allows them to predict when and where to observe planets and other celestial objects. Students are introduced to the latest data being returned from NASA missions to various planets, moons, asteroids, and comets in our solar system.” The history of the solar system up through the current search for extraterrestrial life and new planets is also covered. This course is designed for all majors, and actually fulfills a Natural Science elective you might need for graduation.

Register Today!

If you can fit one in, it’s always good to have a class to take purely for the joy of learning! Read more about the courses and find out what requirements they fulfill by clicking on the names above. Be sure to register for these and your other classes before they fill up!