School’s almost up, why not enjoy the nice weather and maybe win some money while you’re at it? Gather five of your friends and sign up for the spring volleyball tournament, hosted by the RU Student Volunteer Council. The tournament is open to 16 teams of 6 each; each player must pay $5 for a team total of $30. All funds go toward the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, taking place April 13-14th. The first place team for the tournament will receive a $100 gift card to go toward their swanky celebratory dinner. Also, pizza will be served for $2/slice! *Registration is required for this event and can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QQTMNHJ

Elijah’s Promise Service Day

Thursday, April 19^th
5:30PM-7:30PM
18 Neilson Street, New Brunswick, NJ

Join the Student Volunteer Council at Elijah’s Promise to participate in a day of service! We will be meeting in front of the Public Safety Building at 5:15PM and walk over to Elijah’s. Volunteers will help serve dinner to the patrons of Elijah’s Promise Soup Kitchen. Registration* is required for this event and can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ep419

YMCA Day of Service
Saturday, April 21^st
12:00PM – 4:00PM
144 Tices Lane, East Brunswick, NJ 08816

Join the Student Volunteer Council for their Service Day at the Raritan Valley YMCA! Volunteers will help with cleaning and maintenance both indoors and outdoors. Students will meet at 11:15AM in front of the Rutgers Student Center, as transportation will be provided. Please remember to wear gently worn clothes and sneakers, etc. For more information, please see attached document pertaining to this service event.*Registration is required for this event and can be found at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ymca421

::Other Opportunities::

TRICKY TRAY for CHILDREN in NJ FOSTER CARE!
Friday, April 27^th
5:15PM (Doors open) – 8:00 (Calling begins)
Spotswood High School, 105 Summerhill road, Spotswood NJ

Join us for a “Super Hero” Tricky Tray sponsored by The Foster and Adoptive Family Services Foundation.  Tickets are available at www.fafsfoundation.org Some of the great prizes you can win are: Southwest Airline tickets, Disney tickets, Cosmetics, Bikes, Electronics and more! Help us to help the children in the New Jersey foster care system! Please call Lisa with any questions at 908-420-3348 or email cartersauce@comcast.net

Jersey Cares Day
Saturday, May 5th

Jersey Cares Day is a day of true partnership and community building as people from all over New Jersey unite for the common goal of revitalizing and beautifying local communities. Come join us on Saturday, May 5th for The 14th Annual Jersey Cares Day. Volunteers will work together in schools, parks and nonprofit organizations throughout New Jersey’s cities. Registration* is required for this event and can be found at http://www.jerseycaresday.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1011844

Food Pantry Helper
3^rd Wednesday
10:30AM – 11:00AM

Second Reformed Church
New Brunswick’s Second Reformed church is seeking out volunteers for every 3rd Wednesday of the month to help unload a truck filled with boxes and other items for their Food Pantry. If you are able to meet the truck at the church between 10:30AM – 11:00AM on Wednesday, please contact Nancy or Jordan at 732 545-0581

English Conversation Partners Program
Join the International Friendship Program at Rutgers University!  In this program American friends/hosts and international students are assigned as one-on-one English conversation partners by the IFP program coordinator. Partners usually plan their own schedule for the semester. The program requires a minimum commitment of one scheduled hour per week. English Conversation Partners Program with a cross-cultural exchange American friends/hosts can also sign up for a cross-cultural language exchange, where you can learn/practice another language, while helping their partner with English. The program encourages a minimum of one two-hour session to give each speaker at least one hour per week of language practice. Apply today or join the IFP on Facebook and search for “Rutgers International Friendship Program”. Questions? Contact Carissa McCarthy, International Student Adviseratcarissam@gaiacenters.rutgers.edu.

Progressive Campaign Job Opportunities

Right now our country is at a crossroads as we approach the upcoming Presidential election. After the 2010 election, Tea Party candidates won seats in the House and Senate and as we look towards 2012 these candidates are looking to increase their majority in Congress and win the Presidency. They support policies that advocate for rolling back women’s reproductive rights, dismantling environmental protections and withholding civil liberties to specific groups of people. Please visit our website, http://www.grassrootscampaigns.com , for more information about current and past campaigns!

**Please note that if you register for an event, you are committing to attend. If you are unsure or not certain that you can make it to an event, do NOT register because there are other eager volunteers who want to serve.

Visit getinvolved.rutgers.edu/SVC to check out our Semester of Service projects for ongoing community service commitments. 

Please contact svc@echo.rutgers.edu with any questions, concerns, or comments.

You can help them overcome this tragic accident: Sigma Alpha Mu at Rutgers is holding a necktie drive on February 3 from 11-4 on Morell Street (Near the RSC). The Greek chapters at BU have split up the needs of the chapter and are holding separate fundraisers on their campus, but they are in need of formal clothing (i.e. neckties). There will be a table on Morell Street collecting any ties for the BU chapter.

All ties will be sent directly to the Boston University chapter, and we will also be accepting any donations. You can also donate online at the following link: http://www.bu.edu/hillel/ and click on “Sigma Alpha Mu Fire Relief Fund” on the homepage.

RU Screw’d supports Greek Life on campus, and thus cares for chapters on other campuses who share the same values for brotherhood, scholarship, and service as they do at Rutgers. So please, stop by on Friday or feel free to donate in the link above.

Nobody wants to know what it feels like to lose everything we have, and the Sigma Alpha Mu brothers at Boston University have just experienced it firsthand.

(Photo courtesy of the Boston Police Department)

Some of you might have had to go through this already, but for those lucky enough not to, here are a few tips on what to do if you lose your RU ID Card and/or your Room Key.

Getting a New Room Key

First, you will need to go to the Housing office on your campus.

The Following are University Housing Offices:

• Busch Campus/Graduate Student Housing: 581 Taylor Road (732-445-2992)
• Cook/Douglass: PAL building – Parking Lot 99A on Cook Campus (732-932-9625)
• Livingston: Room 109 between North and South Towers (732-445-3249)
• Rutgers College: Clothier Hall (732-932-7017)
• Camden Campus: Housing Building, 213 North 3rd Street (856-225-6741)
• Newark Campus: University Housing, Robeson Campus Center 350 Martin Luther King Blvd., Room 234 (973-353-1037)

When you go to the housing office and ask for a new key, you will be required to fill out some paperwork. Before the paperwork is processed, the office will give you a temporary key until you can pick up your new one.  The cost for a new key is $70.00 and the fee will appear on your term bill.

Getting a New RU ID Card

If you lose your swipe, all the information needed to replace it can be found here. You may want to suspend your card so no one else can access your accounts. You can visit the RU Express Website to do so. You can also reactivate your card via the same page if you find your card before replacing it.

If your card is worn or damaged due to normal use, you can replace the card free of charge as long as your give them ALL the pieces of the old card. If the damage appears intentional, or if you don’t give all the pieces of the card you will be required to pay the placement fee.

Remember, the punching of holes in your card is prohibited!

To replace the card, you must first visit a University Cashier’s office to pay the $15.00 fee. You can pay with cash, card, or check.

Cashier & Student Accounting Office Hours and Locations:

Records Hall
620 George Street
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1175
Phone: (848) 932-2254

Monday to Friday 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM

Bring your paid receipt to the RU Express Office which is located in Records Hall room 104 on the College Ave Campus.

If your wallet or purse containing your ID Card and/or your room key are stolen visit the Office for Violence Protection and Victim Assistance website and follow the guidelines listed to replace your ID and key.  In most cases, if you reported the theft to the Police and have a copy of the police report, the replacement fee will be waived.

If you have run into any type of trouble, legal services should be your first stop for some advice. They will be able to connect you to a lawyer of the Middlesex bar association at a negotiated student rate and talk to an academic dean in order to explain your situation. The dean will contact your professors on your behalf regarding the incident, this can be especially helpful if you have any missed exams.

RUSLS defines its objectives as a “three-fold mission” to provide legal assistance and representation to students, to hold community outreach seminars and workshops, and to provide educational opportunities for students through internships and externships. These objectives make RUSLS a powerful tool for any student trying to find legal help to a student interested in an internship before law school.

If that wasn’t enough, RUSLS also provides free notary service, links to free downloadable legal forms, an educational outreach program designed to make students aware of legal issues, and a website which provides up-to-date information on legal issues important to students.
(http://rusls.rutgers.edu/document-library)

When it comes to legal advice and assistance the main objective of RUSLS is to help students resolve their issues before going to court, as well as provide referral assistance to attorneys who specialize in all areas of practice.

Some of the most common issues RUSLS helps resolve are:
Landlord/Tenant Disputes
Contract Disputes
Collection
Family law
Civil matters

But it should be noted their services are not limited to the above. The attorneys of RUSLS are experienced in dealing with all sorts of legal issues. Students are encouraged to seek legal advice wherever they have any legal questions.

RUSLS is open year-round to all Rutgers University students (full-time, part-time, undergraduate, graduate, and summer) from all campuses. The offices are located in New Brunswick on the College Avenue Campus. Interested students can make an appointment to see an attorney for free legal consolation.

Contact information:
Office of Student Legal Services
14 Lafayette Street,Â
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone: 848.932.4LAW (4529)
Office Hours:
Monday – Friday
9:00am – 5:00pm

The apartments are part of the “vision for Livingston” which Rutgers has created and has been trying to push in the past few years. Recent changes to the campus have been the new student center, the campus circle and meeting ground, and let’s not forget course the sick new dining hall. I mean come on, there is a touchpad-ordering screen for burgers and chili cheese fries! You just can’t beat it.

The future plans include an excitingly modern new Business school, green energy facilities and a rumored convention center. The project’s goals focus on transforming Livingston Campus into business oriented campus, similar to how Busch is a science-oriented campus.

For more information on the over-all plans for Livingston, visit: http://visionforlivingston.rutgers.edu/

So back on the subject of these apartment. They seriously redefine on-campus housing. The project offers three different unit options, which include two-bedroom, three bedroom, and four bedroom apartments. Before you start jumping to conclusions, two bedrooms does not mean four people to a unit but two! Every bedroom in every option is a single, private space for you to enjoy but not share with a friend. While all these options are available, the number of two bedrooms and the three bedrooms available will be less than the number of four-bedroom apartments available.

Quick disclaimer: Only full groups of three can sign up for the three bedrooms and only groups of two and four can enter into Livingston apartments housing lottery.

Each unit will include a kitchen, a living room, an eating counter with high seating and hardwood floors. The kitchen will have stainless steel appliances, including a microwave, a stove, an oven, and a brand new addition to Rutgers housing, a dishwasher. The living room will be complete with furniture and RUTV. Most apartments will also contain two bathrooms. With the four bedrooms units being guaranteed two bathrooms. In addition to all this, there will be both wired and wireless Internet connections and individually controlled heating and air conditioning. Whats even more is that all utilities, including heating, air conditioning, electricity, RUTV and Internet connections will be incorporated into the flat housing cost.

At the beginning of this semester I drained all my accounts and forgot about the bank all together. My job paid me in cash and I hate credit cards so there was no need for me to check my statements. But this letter in the mail proved my ignorance had cost me.

Each month I was being charged $5 for a Monthly Maintenance Fee. Since my account had nearly no money in it, the account automatically overdrew and my savings went into the red. To make things worse I don’t get mail to my apartment and the emails from the bank had been banished to the spam box. I could have accidently ignored this problem until it became something less manageable than just $10. It could have resulted in higher fines or even damaged my credit score.

When we’re in college it’s easy to get caught up in future plans, especially concerning our career and salary. We all want to be rich someday and the best way to insure this is to take steps now. This is also easy to do, considering the limited amount of finances we have to manage (the benefit of being a broke college student).

The most important thing you can do to ensure success is save money and track expenses. Being extra-aware of how much you earn, keep, and spend can have a dramatic impact on your overall wealth. When you couple this idea with even a moderately stringent budget you’d be surprised at how quick your money can grow. It can be as simple as eating out less and going to the dining halls more or attending more college sponsored programs instead spending the money to go out.

Do you have any good ideas on how to save money?

When diving into my inbox I am constantly greeted by more than a few thousand unread e-mails a day. Every unread e-mail I have represents the needs of someone else. These people are trying to get me on their side for an issue, trying to sell me something, keep me updated on industry trends in the hopes that my e-mail brings me back on to their website to do what I want them to. Strangely, we actually volunteered to receive most of these e-mails we are so quick to ignore.

Luckily, you also have the option to unsubscribe or opt-out of everything you feel is constantly fighting for your attention. If you find yourself deleting or archiving these e-mails, haven’t clicked on anything they sent, or just don’t receive any value, it might be time you start to take yourself off their list. Just scroll all the way to the bottom of the unwanted e-mail and look for where it says “unsubscribe”, every e-mail subscription is legally required to make this option available to you.

After you unsubscribe from everything you deem unnecessary set your inbox back to zero and just delete or archive everything you didn’t maintain over the last year(s). Just start from your oldest e-mail, use the button to check all the e-mails on the page, and hit archive. Free yourself from the clutter of your inbox, spend less time navigating through junk, and spend your time doing things that matter more to you.

Do you think you spend too much time on your e-mail?

It makes sense for Sanu to leave if he truly believes there is nothing left for him to accomplish here at Rutgers. By adopting this mindset it’s possible that we too can get more out of the time (and tuition) we spend here.

One of the easiest ways to waste your time and money is to go to college because you’re supposed to, not because you want to learn something. This problem, however, can be easily solved by simply changing your mindset.

Figure out what it is you need to achieve and learn while you’re at Rutgers to prepare you for the real world and your future career. Think of your assignments and exams as challenges to better prepare you for future accomplishments.

When it’s your time to graduate and someone asks you if there’s anything left for you to accomplish at Rutgers, make sure your answer is: “Not that I can think of, no.”

There’s two weeks left of winter break and as always most students have left campus for their home-towns. While it’s fun to re-unite with High School friends many of us make the mistake of forgetting about our friends from Rutgers.

Remember, the social experience at Rutgers can be just as important as the academic experience. Making close friends and networking are keys in college.

For some of you this will be your last semester in the dorms before you transition into off campus housing. It a lot less easy to make new friends off campus than it was in the dorms, so it is important to maintain current relationships. The post-holiday season is a great time to re-establish your relationships, just wish them a New Year and ask how they spent their time over the holidays to get a conversation started.

Call your friends from the dorms or anyone else you met during winter break. Make plans to meet in your hometown or theirs. Some of the most fun I’ve had with my college friends has been checking out where they came from and showing off my hometown.

While you are waiting to go back to school, you and your friends can create a Facebook event to plan some type of meetup when everyone is back on campus. Try a new restaurant in New Brunswick, go see a show at the State Theatre, laugh together at a comedy show at the Stress Factory, or just take a floor trip to the dining hall.

Keeping in touch and following up with people is the best way to develop close friendships and to network effectively.

The new rules require longer passwords that need to be reset every 12 months. The university is in the process of trying to have one password available for all your Rutgers accounts (Eden, RUMail, and the new ScarletApps.

Instead of waiting for your notification, reset your password using the NetID Management Tool.

After changing your password remember to update your password on any mobile devices, e-mail clients, and anything else that stores your NetID/password. If you have RUWireless_Secure installed on any devices, make sure you re-configure devices with the updated password through the RUWireless website.