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Points of pride
We are excited to share our redesigned Student Affairs website along with several of the great accomplishments that the Division of Student Affairs has made over the fall quarter.
Some of those accomplishments include moving 13,968 students into on-campus housing, welcoming more than 5,600 Anteaters at New Student Convocation, breaking the Guinness World Record of balloon tag with 1,514 participants, and the UCI Esports team winning the 2018 College League of Legends Championships. Looking ahead to 2019, we begin the planning process for the Student Success Building which will open its doors in 2022 and will house many of our departments in a new state-of-the-art facility.
We have many points of pride to share about Student Affairs and are grateful to our colleagues across the campus who partner with us to create a first-in-class co-curricular experience for UCI students.
– Edgar J. Dormitorio, Interim Vice Chancellor, Student Affairs
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A high-rise approach to urban gardening
Vertical garden towers have been installed outdoors at The Anteatery, Mesa Court’s residential dining commons. The garden will help support #OneMileMeals with ingredients grown on site. The garden towers use 90% less water, 10 times less space, and grow three times faster than conventional agriculture. This is just the latest innovation for Mesa Court Towers, described as “building up, living green and winning awards.” MC Towers houses more than 1,000 first year students and, along with the Mesa Court complex, includes state-of-the-art amenities: study areas, smart classrooms, two-story great rooms, fitness center, recreational room, student office space, community kitchenettes and laundry facilities for the 3,000-student Mesa Court community. The project, which opened in 2016, has been recognized with numerous national awards for innovation, collaboration, design and sustainability.
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Students give back
In September a team of Mesa Court students and professional staff leaders participated in a community-based service experience. The Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center was severely impacted by wildfires in 2017 and the Mesa Court group repaired fire damage, learned about trail management, tended plants and trees, and engaged in the creation of a “Food Forest” to support a vibrant agricultural ecosystem and provide healthy, organic food for Orange Country.
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DREAM team
Quickly-developing court cases caused renewals of DACA to become a priority this summer, and the UCI DREAM Center partnered with UCI Police Department to support undocumented students. For some students, fingerprints were required in order to renew DACA, and the difficulties of scheduling appointments individually increased delays. In stepped Community Engagement Officer Benny Green who, with DREAM Center Director Oscar Teran, coordinated priority fingerprinting for all students. This act of solidarity and support has had a significant impact on UCI students and shows what is possible when our campus community comes together.
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SPOTLIGHT
UCI ranked a best college for veterans & a top veteran-friendly school
Learn
More
SAVE THE DATE
UCI All
Student Affairs Conference
March 5, 2019
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Zapping stereotypes
The Disability Services Center successfully launched the ZotAbility Awareness Campaign this quarter with a powerful goal: to eliminate, eradicate and obliterate stereotypical thinking about disability. The campaign kicked off with a high-energy open house and their first annual scholarship luncheon. In October the DSC welcomed students, faculty, staff and community to a speaker event featuring Haben Girma, the first deaf-blind Harvard Law School graduate, pictured here with her dog Milo and DSC staff members. The ZotAbility Campaign offers awareness and workshops through the ZotAbility Ally training for students, faculty and staff.
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Counseling Center: Partnerships make a difference
The Counseling Center partnered with UCI Athletics to provide mental fitness screenings to over 360 student-athletes as part of their yearly physicals ... partnered with KUCI to help increase mental health promotion and resource awareness ... partnered with UCI School of Law for a one-year pilot program to increase mental health support for UCI Law students ... and is now providing drop-in “let's talk” spaces in several campus locations including LGBTRC, CBCRR, Cross-Cultural Center, W-Hub and Athletics.
 Achievements & recognition
Frances Diaz, Psy.D. received the Helen Roehlke Outstanding Service Award from the Association of Counseling Center Training Agencies (ACCTA). Shruti Mukkamala, Ph.D. was published in the March 2018 edition of the Asian American Journal of Psychology. Milo Dodson, Ph.D. (at left) accompanied the UCI Esports team in China this summer as Counseling Center Liaison.
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FRESH Basic Needs Hub: A souped-up pantry for students
Did you know that UCI’s FRESH Basic Needs Hub goes far beyond emergency food and toiletries? In addition to connecting students to critical on and off-campus resources, FRESH provides educational opportunities to take responsibility for personal wellness and the well-being of the community. FRESH’s Smart ’Eaters Life Skills workshop series teaches students about food insecurity, life skills including nutrition, meal planning, grocery shopping, eating well on a budget, financial basics, cooking, and kitchen safety. The Emergency Meal Swipe Program helps students experiencing food insecurity or an emergency by providing access to healthy and well-balanced meals at the university dining commons. Students in turn can support FRESH by applying for field study placement to engage in research to understand the complexities of students’ basic needs.
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Anteaters are in it to win it!
Following months of planning by ASUCI, Anteaters claimed their seventh world record, this time for largest game of balloon tag. “Breaking a Guinness World Record has become a UCI tradition,” said ASUCI Student Services VP Dilraj Toor. “We wanted our students to experience this amazing feeling!”
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