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(02/06/08 12:00pm)
At the Ewing Animal Shelter, the stories are similar and the task daunting, but the results rewarding.
Consider Stan: A 2-year-old pit bull and Labrador retriever mixed breed, Stan was abandoned by his owners who no longer wanted to use him for breeding.
Then there is Jada: A 5-year-old pit bull and shepherd mix, Jada spent her entire life as a house pet, sprawling on sofas and scurrying for scraps. When her owner's boyfriend said he would leave if the dog stayed, Jada too was tossed to the curb.
When the shelter eventually rescued the dogs, the staff volunteers were not satisfied with merely housing the canines. In what has become typical for the shelter, the volunteers treated the dogs as family, and became intent on finding loving homes for them.
After several months in the shelter, the staff and dogs were rewarded, as Jada and Stan were recently adopted. But with dogs arriving in far greater numbers than new volunteers, the shelter's residents are increasing at an alarming rate.
"I think dog rescue is something people really relate to," said Mark Phillips, one of the lead volunteers and a member of the Citizen's Committee for Ewing (CC4E), a non-profit town watchdog group that works with the shelter. "I get the sense it's everywhere."
CC4E is coordinating a volunteer day this month in which volunteers, especially college students, can meet the animals and assist in cleaning and maintaining the shelter's Ingham Avenue location.
Following orientation, volunteers will be encouraged to socialize with the animals at the shelter and assist at monthly adoption days in Ewing.
The Sovereign Bank Arena is interested in sponsoring a number of adoption events on the concourse during hockey games as well.
"I consider the College a great source," Phillips, who added that several students already serve as volunteers, said.
Phillips, a College graduate, specializes in socializing the animals.
He brings his canine companions to his home to bond with his two dogs, and to work.?"I work in an office space with a printer," said Phillips, who runs a graphic design business.?"The owner of my building loves dogs."
Interested volunteers should e-mail Phillips at mark@iggybragg.com.
The writer is an occasional volunteer at the animal shelter.
(12/01/04 12:00pm)
As part of the College's Sesquicentennial Celebration, the College reintroduced its "Thanks for Giving" Feast, which last took place during the late 1950s, and prompted the return of several influential alumni.
The feast originally took place in the Hillwood Inn, the College's old student center, which was located where the Forcina parking garage, Lot 12, currently stands. Female students who lived in Allen Brewster, Ely and Norsworthy Halls, in what was called the Priscilla Procession, dressed in pilgrim costumes and served as hostesses.
"We really don't know (exactly) when or why the tradition stopped," Janis Blayne Paul, major events director and chief Sesquicentennial officer, said.
For the modern-day setting in Eickhoff Hall, many of the alumni and current College employees - including Blayne Paul - dressed in pilgrim costumes.
"I'm not one who dresses up for Halloween parties," Len Tharney, coordinator of Emeriti funding, said "but for this opportunity, I said sure."
The meal took place a week prior to Thanksgiving, on Nov. 18, between the usually scheduled 4 to 8 p.m. dinner hours.
Hoards of students, many of whom were unaware of the unique dinner, were attracted to the wide variety of foods and desserts.
Pat Coleman-Boatwright, director of College and Community Relations, was quick to praise Sodexho, who catered of the event. Without "their very creative minds," Boatwright said, (the meal) would not have been possible.
"We had 40 students submit their favorite foods from their own Thanksgiving meals," Steve Hugg, marketing director of Sodexho, said. Their responses enabled Sodexho to create a more culturally diverse menu, one not consumed solely by the traditional Thanksgiving selections.
In addition to the impressive menu, the "Thanks for Giving" Feast featured turkey carving lessons by Sodexho chefs.
"The sense of commitment at that time - I'm happy to bring it back," Tharney, a graduate of the College's Class of 1954, said. "I'm delighted the College made this possible."
According to Coleman-Boatwright, "There was a disconnection with campus traditions before the Sesquicentennial Celebration. "Everyone searched for ideas, and this was one," she said.
The Sesquicentennial Celebration was not the only reason for the dinner's return, though.
"We are always looking for ways to bring the community together," Blayne Paul said. "With each event, we try to incorporate meaningful traditions. Since it is our 150th (anniversary), this is a wonderful opportunity to bring back lost traditions that were a special part of our history."
(10/20/04 12:00pm)
Many student employees at the College have yet to see a paycheck compensating them for their work. Whether their employers, the computer system used, or the office of Career Services is to blame remains an issue.
Typical procedure for a student acquiring an on-campus job has not changed. However, the rehiring system has.
"This is the first year that departments have used the (computer) program to rehire," Ariella Alpert, student employment coordinator for the College, said. "Last year, we did it for them, but we provided training, and now they're on their own."
Alpert said problems have arisen for campus employers who don't post their jobs online or fail to update spreadsheets. "For the most part, everything has gone smoothly," she said.
Alpert maintains that this is a "timing issue." Once a student has been hired, he or she must sign a contract before any compensation is given. After the contract has been completed, students must acquire timesheets, which are printed every other week.
Employees who delay signing contracts or picking up timesheets cannot expect to be paid until the following time period. "It takes time, but nothing is wrong with the system," Alpert said.
Student Finance Board Chairperson Craig Gross said, however, that this is not the only complication he has seen. "All I know is that Career Services is or was experiencing technical problems when uploading contracts this semester," he said. "As a consequence, many students who work in the division of Campus Life for various organizations and offices, have not received timesheets yet."
"While I don't know the specifics of the problem, I do know that it is very frustrating for a student to wait an inordinate amount of time to receive pay," Gross said.
Gross mentioned that several Student Activity Fund employees and those working for other campus offices, such as Campus Activities, are aggravated at not having been paid thus far. "They are slowly but surely receiving their (timesheets) as their information is uploaded to the payroll system by Career Services," he said.
Alpert, however, denies the charges that the system is flawed. The slight changes in the program, she said, make it more efficient than before.
Mary Jane Wall, assistant director of Payroll, was unfamiliar with any issues. "I haven't heard anything about people not being paid," she said, "but we are very concerned with paying employees in a timely fashion."
She referred all questions to the office of Career Services.
The two offices, which Gross said he thinks have had a lack of cooperation, work in conjunction with each other. Job availability and hiring are conducted through Career Services, while Payroll handles the actual pay checks.
"I have recently sensed a lack of cooperation between the two offices (Payroll and Career Services)," Gross said.
However, Alpert said this is not so. "Our system is very smooth," she said. "It is an automatic thing (where) three times a week a signed contract is uploaded."
Having had past experience with the two offices, Gross said he is confident the matter will be resolved. "I consider each office helpful, and though they must work together to resolve this technical issue, my interactions with both offices have been constructive."
Alpert said as long as a student signs a contract and obtains a timesheet, he or she will be appropriately compensated.
Gross remains optimistic. "I will state my high hope that this issue is resolved in a timely manner," he said.