Tuesday, August 31, 2010

What does OMSA do?

Mission

The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) supports the academic success of students of color at the University of Chicago and works to build an inclusive campus community. OMSA's programs focus on enriching students' experiences and encouraging cross-cultural dialogue on campus. OMSA serves and advocates for all African American, Asian American, Latino, and Native American students who attend the College, Graduate divisions, and Professional Schools.

OMSA executes its mission in collaboration with other departments within the University of Chicago. All students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the University are welcome to partner with OMSA in advancing its efforts to support students of color.

Pillars
  • Advocacy | OMSA works with other campus divisions to ensure that each is aware of and responsive to the needs of students of color. The office coordinates a student advisory board to inform the director and university administration of the needs of students of color. If you are interested in being a part of the advisory board, please contact OMSA’s Director, Ana Vázquez. In addition, staff members are part of the Bias Response Team, which actively addresses issues of hate and bias on campus.
  • Cultural Awareness & Dialogue | OMSA collaborates with various University of Chicago partners and culturally-oriented student organizations to initiate and nurture dialogue on diversity issues and to shed light on the concerns of students of color. Our programs include a quarterly Men and Women of Color Dialogues and Graduate Student Dialogues. Please visit the OMSA Events Calendar for dates and times of OMSA programs.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Advice from Current Students, part of the Welcome (Back) series

As the start of the school year approaches, OMSA is getting ready to welcome the Class of 2013, and welcome back returning students. To kick things off, OMSA will be featuring a series of blog posts in the upcoming weeks offering advice from current students for new students in the College and new students in the graduate and professional schools.

In addition, we will highlight resources and services offered by OMSA including, but not limited to, the research initiative grant, free test prep courses, the 5710 resource collection and so much more.

In this post, we are featuring one student in the College and one student in graduate school.

Featured Graduate and Professional Student

Mary Adekoya, 5th year PhD student
Cinema & Media Studies

Favorite Campus Hangout: 5710 S. Woodlawn

3 Tips to enjoy the First Year Experience:

  1. I completely missed out on O-Week my first year because I thought that, as a graduate student, I was 'too cool' for orientation. But I quickly found out that the students who attended orientation were already forming great connections and now knew about all the resources the University of Chicago had to offer. I would definitely encourage you to attend O-Week.

  2. Speaking of resources - take advantage of them! Call it unfair, but there are many hidden resources for people who need extra financial help for research, books, language study, etc. As well, there are various campus and community groups that you can join that will boost your skills and networking options. Ask people you meet about what opportunities are around and take advantage of the ones you can benefit from.

  3. For those of you in graduate school, I should warn you that the advisor-advisee relationship is a very important one. Be painstakingly careful with how you pick your main advisor. Do not just select someone who you admire academically or who knows everything there is to know about your thesis/dissertation. Most importantly, you should select someone who presents himself or herself as very interested in your work, someone who will be present to provide advice and guidance, and someone who you find is not difficult to work with.

Dalia Rubino Yedidia, 3rd year transfer student
Anthropology
Primary Campus Group Affiliations, if any: OMSA, LGBTQ Student Life
Favorite Campus Hangout: Harper Library (winter) & Bartlett Quad lawn (summer)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Weekly Schedule: August 13-19

Summer Festival

Friday, August 13
Summer Java Jive
Time: 8:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Location: Library of the Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 E. 59th Street

Saturday, August 14
61st Street Farmers Market
Time: 9:00 AM -2:00 PM
Location: Experimental Station, 6100 S. Blackstone Avenue

Tuesday, August 17
Movies in the Park: Sherlock Holmes
Presented by: the Chicago Park District and the South Shore Cultural Center
Time: 8:00 PM
Location: 7059 S. South Shore Drive.

Wednesday, August 18
Courtyard Crafts
Presented by: Office of the Reynolds Club & Student Activities
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Hutchinson Courtyard

Thursday, August 19
Pub Night
Presented by: Office of the Reynolds Club & Student Activities
Time: 4:30 PM – 6:30 PM
Location: University Pub, Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street

Friday, August 6, 2010

Weekly Calendar: August 6 - 12

Summer Festivals
Friday, August 6
Summer Java Jive
Time: 8:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Location: Library of the Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 E. 59th Street

Saturday, August 7
61st Street Farmers Market
Time: 9:00 AM -2:00 PM
Location: Experimental Station, 6100 S. Blackstone Avenue

Sunday, August 8
Fun for All
Presented by: Hyde Park Art Center
Time: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Hyde Park Art Center, 5020 S. Cornell Avenue

Tuesday, August 10
Ice Cream Social
Presented by: ORCSA
Time: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Location: Marketplace in Reynolds Club, 5706 S. University Avenue

Wednesday, August 11
Shake Break
Presented by: ORCSA
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Hutchinson Courtyard, 5706 S. University Avenue

Children’s Penny Cinema: “Night John”
Presented by: DuSable Museum of African American History
Time: 10:30 AM
Location: DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place
Movies in the Parks: Iron Man
Presented by: Chicago Park District and the University of Chicago
Time: 8:00 PM
Location: 1130 Midway Plaisance North

Thursday, August 12
Children’s Penny Cinema: “Free At Last: Civil Right Heroes”
Presented by: DuSable Museum of African American History
Time: 10:30 AM
Location: DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place

Movie On the Quad: Shutter Island
Presented by: ORCSA
Time: 8:00 PM – 10:30 PM
Location: Bartlett Quad