This Week @ AU

Water Skiing, PHED 1770-01, and Advanced Water Skiing, PHED 1780-01, will be offered this spring semester for all academic levels and disciplines. Instruction includes time on the water with pro wakeboarder Chad Reece and Barefoot Endurance Champion Stewart Bieber. The Colonel Biggs Waterski Show Team will also lead instruction.

An activity fee is required. For more information, e-mail Mike Norrell at mcn0002@auburn.edu.

Got a great tattoo? A favorite band? A gripe about, well, anything? Auburn Magazine is conducting a quick online survey of Auburn University student culture and lifestyles, and wants to hear from you!  Answers are anonymous, and survey results will be tabulated and featured in the Spring 2010 issue of the quarterly magazine published by the Auburn Alumni Association. Click the link to participate:  http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB229WRYT3422.

The University Program Council will show the film “Funny People” on Tuesday, Dec. 1, in Haley Center room 2370 at 7 p.m.

Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity and the employees of Auburn University Photographic Services are offering family, group or individual portraits made with or without Santa Claus in front of Samford Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. All donations will go to missions of South America through SIFAT. To make an appointment, call 844-4560 or drop by Photographic Services in 104 Foy Hall (old student union). For more information, visit this link.

Auburn University will be holding three H1N1 vaccination clinics this week. Both forms of the H1N1 vaccine, flu shot and nasal spray, are free to students, employees and dependents ages 10 and older. Those who haven't been vaccinated can do so before finals and the holidays. Clinics will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in 103A Dunstan Hall; Friday, Dec. 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. in the 3D Arts Building, located at the Facilities Division complex on West Samford Avenue; and Friday, Dec. 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on the second floor of Overton-Rudd Hall at the College of Veterinary Medicine. For more information on H1N1 flu and the vaccine, please visit www.auburn.edu/emergency/flu.html. Questions can be sent to emergencymanagement@auburn.edu.

Student Counseling Services, or SCS, is coordinating "Take a Break from the Books: Stress Reduction Day" on Dec. 9 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m on the first floor of the Raulph Brown Draughon Library. This event coincides with the first day of finals and SCS staff and volunteers will be available to provide stress management tips, wellness-promoting activities and informational resources for students, staff and members of the community. A chief aim of the program is to encourage healthy balance, self-care and appropriate breaks to combat the stress of finals.
This event was a big success and well-received by students at the end of the spring term. SCS expects to have several options for stress-busting activities, including stress balls, mood magnets, self-help materials and outlets through arts and crafts. Food and refreshments for healthy snack options will be available. Also, Terri Gilmore, a massage therapist employed by Auburn University Medical Clinic, has agreed to offer free massages from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. All are welcome to participate.

Miss Auburn University is presenting a Pancake Breakfast fundraiser on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Longhorn Steakhouse located next to the Tiger Town shopping center in Opelika. Tickets are $5 per person and all proceeds will go to the Children’s Miracle Network and the Miss America Scholarship Fund. Tickets will be sold by the contestants, the 2009 Miss Auburn University and the directors at the table in the Student Center this week. Please contact Michelle Murphy at murphmi@auburn.edu if you have any questions.

The Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve welcomes the public to join them at a Holiday Wreath Workshop on Saturday, Dec.12, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Ginger Purvis and the preserve staff will help participants make fresh holiday wreaths using natural greenery, pine cones and berries. Children will be making a cotton angel ornament. The cost is $15 per wreath and registration is required. For more information, call 707-6512 or send an e-mail to preserve@auburn.edu.

Applications are being accepted for the W. James Samford Jr. '72 Memorial Scholarship. Eligible students must be enrolled full-time at Auburn University and be a junior in good standing, successfully passing no less than 61 and no more than 89 semester hours. While this scholarship is not awarded solely on academic achievement, a student's academic performance will be considered. Therefore, the student must have minimum 3.0 cumulative, unadjusted Auburn University GPA to be considered. One $10,000 scholarship will be awarded for the 2010 academic year. Completed applications should be submitted to the Office of University Scholarships, located in 115 Quad Center, on or before Jan. 15. For an online version of the application, please visit http://www.auburn.edu/scholarships/forms-and-documents.

The College of Veterinary Medicine will host its World AIDS Day Symposium on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Stephanie Schleis, a veterinarian with the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Mark Freedman, veterinarian and epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speak at 11 a.m. in Goodwin/Overton Auditorium on the veterinary campus on Wire Road. Everyone is invited and lunch is provided. Schleis, a diplomate in the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, will speak on "Pet Ownership and the Immunocompromised Client." Her lecture will focus on what veterinarians should know and she will offer information to help veterinarians educate their clients. She will also dicuss the veterinarian's role in working with physicians to facilitate the benefit of having companion animals when owners are immunocompromised. The symposium is sponsored by Auburn Diversifying Veterinary Medicine. For information, e-mail depompa@auburn.edu.

Through a grant from Verizon, researchers in Auburn’s College of Engineering are teaming up with the School of Nursing to bolster Kid Check, a program that provides health screenings to children in Alabama’s rural communities.

Representatives from the Verizon Foundation recently presented a check for $23,000 to the deans of Auburn University’s College of Engineering and School of Nursing.

The Kid Check program enables nursing students to conduct free health screenings for school-age children, in kindergarten through grade 12, in communities which are medically underserved or have high poverty levels. The assessments identify children at risk for chronic health issues and diseases and provide them with referrals to area physicians. They also offer health education to modify any identified risk factors.

For more information or to read the full story, follow this link.

The Women's Philanthropy Board, in Auburn University's College of Human Sciences, will host a roundtable luncheon and discussion on Friday, Dec. 11, at noon in the private dining room at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. The featured speaker will be Liz Hutchins, attorney at law. This roundtable is part of the Women's Philanthropy Board's yearlong effort of "Thriving in the 'New Normal': Maximizing your Philanthropic Footprint." Hutchins is a shareholder with Sirote and Permutt of Birmingham, where she assists clients in the areas of estate and charitable planning; estate gift and trust tax law; wills and probate. The roundtable luncheon will be Dutch treat. Seating is limited and early registration is recommended. To register, contact Sidney James Nakhjavan at 844-5324 or e-mail wpbchs1@auburn.edu.

The Auburn-Alabama football game will be an All Auburn All Orange event in which Auburn fans are asked to wear their official All Auburn All Orange T-shirts. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 27. A portion of the proceeds from the T-shirts supports the Student Government Association's Big Event, a way for Auburn students to give back to the community through service projects. For more information, see this link.

Auburn Idol, a talent competition with a $10,000 grand prize, will have the first round for 25 contestants at 7 p.m. tonight at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. Contestants auditioned last Saturday and will now compete before judges on four Friday nights: first round Nov. 20, second round Dec. 4, third round Dec. 11 and final round Dec. 18. Tickets are $5 per person at the door. A full bar and concession stand will be available. The event is sponsored by The Hotel at Auburn University and Mix 96.7 radio station, which will record and air the winning song.

The Auburn University Bookstore will be open Nov. 23-24 from 7:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and on Friday, Nov. 27, which is Iron Bowl game day, from 7:30 a.m. until an undetermined time after the game.

The College of Veterinary Medicine's Small and Large Animal Teaching Hospitals will offer full service Nov. 23-24. During Nov. 25-29, the hospitals will receive patients on an emergency-only basis. According to hospital policy and to best serve patients, clients should contact their primary care veterinarian to request referral appointments for specialty services. Primary care veterinarians should then contact the appointment desk to arrange referrals during the holiday schedule. Contact the Hoerlein Hall Small Animal Teaching Hospital at 844-4690 or the John Thomas Vaughan Large Animal Teaching Hospital at 844-4490.

The Auburn University Student Pharmacy will be open the following schedule during the Thanksgiving holidays: Wednesday, Nov. 25, open from 9 a.m. to noon; Thursday, Nov. 26, closed; Friday, Nov. 27, open from 9 a.m. to noon; and Saturday, Nov. 28, closed. The Auburn University Employee Pharmacy holiday schedule is as follows: Wednesday, Nov. 25, open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Thursday, Nov. 26, closed; and Friday, Nov. 27, closed. Delivery service will not be available during the holiday period. Auburn University Montgomery deliveries will be made on Tuesday instead of Wednesday.

The Starry Nights astronomy program by the Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve, originally scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21, has been canceled due to rain and cloud cover. The event will be rescheduled in January or February. Check the Web site for the makeup date.

Auburn University is interested in hearing student's thoughts about attending summer school at Auburn. The survey is to study why students would attend, or why not? Auburn students are asked to take the survey that will help the university learn more about whether students think summer school is for them. To take the short survey, follow this link.

Since the beginning of the semester, three pedestrian and car accidents have occurred on campus. In two of those cases, the pedestrians suffered life-threatening injuries. Nationally, the number of pedestrian and car accidents are on the rise; this is a growing trend that we must work together to combat. Two studies provide further insight:

Talking on the phone while traveling, whether driving or on foot, is increasing both pedestrian deaths and those of drivers and passengers. Professor Peter Loeb at Rutgers University discovered that the high number of cell phones in use has increased the number of pedestrian and car accidents. Studies show that Walking While Texting, Walking While Cellphoning and Texting While Driving are becoming fatal mistakes.

Compounding the situation is the change in daylight-savings time. Carnegie Mellon University scientist--Paul Fischbeck and David Gerard--concluded that pedestrians walking during evening rush hour are nearly three times more likely to be struck by a car in the weeks after the fall time change. The problem is that pedestrians and drivers have gotten used to more than six months of visibility during those hours and are slow to adapt to the danger of the darkness.

As such, I would like to offer the following words of advice:

Use sidewalks. Always walk on the sidewalk. If there is no sidewalk and you must walk in the road, walk in the direction that faces traffic.

Use crosswalks. When using the crosswalk, give drivers ample time to stop before entering the crosswalk and make eye-contact with drivers to confirm they are stopping. When crossing a multiple lane roadway, visually clear each lane as you proceed. Don't assume that since one driver stopped that the other one will also stop.

Parked cars. Avoid crossing the street between parked cars. Sometimes drivers are pulling out of a parking space and their attention is focused more on oncoming traffic rather than on pedestrians.

Left--right--left. When I was in the fifth grade, we learned a simple street crossing rule that I use to this day. The rule is: pedestrians should look left, right, then left again before crossing the road.

Electronic device warning. Put down your cell phone and remove your headphones when crossing the street. It is the only way you can be sure that you are not distracted.

Alcohol warning. Alcohol and drugs impair your ability to drive safely, just as it impairs your ability to walk safely. Do not assume that because you are walking drunk that you are safe. Find a sober friend to help you get home.

Do not assume. Every country has slightly different driving rules and driving norms. In some countries pedestrians have the right of way and may cross wherever they see fit. Depending on where you live, crosswalks may not exist; therefore, drivers do not understand that they must yield to pedestrians in the crosswalks. Wherever you go, pay attention to the rules of the road and take personal responsibility for your safety. Do not assume you and the driver are on the same page; in fact, assume just the opposite.

Your safety is our number one concern. When a student is injured in a car accident or responsible for striking a pedestrian, the entire Auburn family is affected. There are simple things we can do to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities. The most important thing is to pay attention.

Tiger i is being upgraded and will not be available for class registration, bill payment or other related functions during the weekend beginning Nov. 20 at 5 p.m.  Blackboard and TigerMail will be available through both AUAccess and the Current Students page. Tiger i is expected to be available again on Monday, Nov. 23, at 7:45 a.m.  If you have questions, please contact the OIT HelpDesk at 844-4944 or helpdesk@auburn.edu.