HILC'S WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Tuesday, September 8, 2020
The HILC Weekly Newsletter will continue posting the best events hosted by or related to the Holland International Living Center!

Preview:

1. Virtual Game Night this Thursday!
2. How can our Faculty Fellows support you?
3. HILC Culture Night Interest Form
4. Volunteer to be a Speaking Group Discussion Facilitator

Important Announcements ­ƒöê

• Having COVID-like symptoms? Make sure to contact Cornell Health as soon as possible to schedule an appointment. Cornell's COVID surveillance testing is designed for people without COVID symptoms, but if you're experiencing symptoms, make sure to talk to Cornell Health right away. And as always, continue to practice good hygiene!
• Printing is now available in the Robert Purcell Community Center 2nd floor! When entering from the door closest to HILC (side entrance), the RPCC Computer Lab will be down the hall on your left. The lab has two printers set up for student printing, with instructions. To download and install the Mac and PC CU Print clients, see this link.
• Smoke detector beeping? Whether your smoke detector is beeping periodically or rapidly, it's probably in need of changing. Some residents have experienced this as many of Cornell's smoke detectors are nearing the end of their shelf life. If this happens in your room or in a smoke detector in your suite, call CUPD at 607-255-1111 at any time of day (ASAP) and they will dispatch Environmental, Health & Safety professionals to solve the issue.

How can our Faculty Fellows help you?

The Holland International Living Center has four amazing faculty fellows, many of whom have volunteered with our building for decades! These faculty members from across campus are excited to get to know you, attend and host events with you, and help connect you across campus.

With events being virtual (until at least the end of September) our faculty fellows would love to hear from you--how can they as faculty support you in thriving as Cornell students? What would you like to learn from them, or how they can they add to your experience?

Please fill out this survey by next Friday, September 18th at 5:00pm to let us know how the faculty fellows can support you!

HILC Culture Night Interest Form

Culture Night events have a history in HILC, and we want to continue the amazing tradition. We would love for people to come and share more about their culture/country/background with the HILC community!

Culture Night events will take place virtually, on a Friday evening (though exact time is variable based on the availability of presenters). Our staff can advise you in creating a short presentation with whatever information you'd like to share about your culture--whether that be language, customs, history, food, fashion, or more.

Please share your thoughts if you'd like to host a Culture Night and our staff will be in touch to help coordinate!

NOTE: By signing up on this interest form, you are not fully committing to hosting just yet. You can always decide to wait/not host after filling out the form, if you prefer.

Volunteer to be a Speaking Group Discussion Facilitator! 
and Meet International Graduate Students from Around the World!

Do you like working with international students and learning from others who may have different life experiences? Have you traveled abroad or are planning to? Are you interested in learning about other cultures? Join the English Language Support Office’s Speaking Groups Program this fall as a Discussion Facilitator! It’s a great way to connect with new people on campus.

FACILITATORS commit for 8-weeks of a semester to help lead and organize small weekly 1-hour discussions with international graduate students. This program brings together international graduate students and fluent English speakers for language support and conversations about culture, academic interests, and campus life. Groups begin meeting on a remote platform the week of September 21 and continue until November 14.

To be a facilitator, you need to be a Cornell undergraduate student, staff member, graduate student, post-doc, alumni, retiree or faculty, should be fluent in English and have knowledge of US culture. The group participants are international graduate students from diverse programs, diverse linguistic backgrounds, and at diverse points in their graduate careers. The goal is to improve English speaking skills while making meaningful connections across campus in weekly small group discussions.

If you are interested in becoming a facilitator, you will need to:

o complete a brief registration form: Fall 2020 Facilitator Registration (once you click on the link, go to Facilitator Register in the right upper corner)

• attend an initial orientation meeting (for all new facilitators; orientations will be held September 7 -10), a mid-semester meeting, and final reception
• commit for 8-weeks of the semester to help organize and facilitate small, weekly discussion groups with international graduate students
• each facilitator will create a group meeting time that works with their schedule
• maintain communication with your group and create Zoom links for weekly meetings
• remote group meetings will begin the week of September 21 and continue for 8-weeks

• For any questions or concerns, contact the English Language Support Office (ELSO) Speaking Services Coordinator Melissa Myers at mm177@cornell.edu or visit the Speaking Groups Program website: https://knight.as.cornell.edu/SGP

  Read more about the Speaking Groups Program in the Cornell Chronicle: http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2018/05/international-speaking-groups-broaden-perspectives