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Nearly 70 Students Participate in Barry Service Corps This Year
Nearly 70 students participated in the Federal Work-Study Community Service Program during the 2016–2017 academic year.
The university dedicated about 15 percent of its FWS allocation to the program this year, Financial Aid Director Dart Humeston said. This more than doubles the required minimum of 7 percent set by the U.S. Department of Education.
All 66 students were enrolled in the program as members of the Barry Service Corps, with 19 of them selected for civic leadership roles as Barry Service Corps Fellows.
“The students served mainly as tutors, program assistants, and community service trip leaders,” Program Coordinator Valerie Scott reported recently.
The BSC members were assigned to various community agencies, where 23 of them served as tutors and mentors in youth-serving organizations and schools. Six students were mentors to youth at Breakthrough Miami. Five students assisted with a Little Haiti Optimist Club-sponsored program while four served with Gang Alternative. Another four students tutored at St. Mary’s Cathedral School.
The other schools offering tutoring opportunities through the FWS Community Service Program were Hubert O. Sibley K–8 Academy, Lillie C. Evans K–8 Center, and W. J. Bryan Elementary School.
Twenty-four students were given community-based program assistant roles, the program coordinator reported. The students served at Camillus House, Doctors Charter School, Easter Seals South Florida, E-SToPP (Eradicating the School-to-Prison Pipeline), Haitian American Community Development Corporation, Miami-Dade County Foster and Adoptive Parent Association, Miami Shores Village Recreation Department, Mount Tabor Baptist Church, Sinai Plaza Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, Special Olympics Florida, and Urban Promise Miami.
One student supported the Campus Democracy Project, a Barry University initiative to increase voter education and voter participation on and off campus. She assisted in facilitating the Lillie C. Evans Speech and Debate Club, distributed copies of the U.S. Constitution to area elementary schools, and organized U.S. Presidential Election activities on campus.
Taking part in a yearlong civic learning and leadership initiative, the BSC Fellows supported the work of community partners addressing urban health, youth development, human rights, and other social issues.
The Center for Community Service Initiatives manages FWS Community Service in partnership with Barry’s Office of Financial Aid and Division of Human Resources.
The Federal Work-Study Program of the U.S. Department of Education provides funds, which are earned through part-time employment, to assist students in financing the costs of postsecondary education. Higher education institutions are required to place a certain percentage of FWS students in community service positions. Currently, institutions must use at least 7 percent of their FWS allocation to support students working in community service jobs.
Humeston, the Financial Aid director, commended the CCSI on the development of the FWS Community Service Program. He has recommended that the university “place even more students in community service positions than this year if we expect to maintain that high community service rate.”
CCSI Executive Director Dr. Glenn Bowen thanked the retiring Financial Aid administrator for his “unwavering support” of FWS Community Service since 2012, when the program was established under the center’s administration.
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Barry Student Leader Attends Company Shareholders Meeting to Urge Support for Farmworkers
Barry student leader Paris Razor attended the Wendy’s Company shareholders meeting in Dublin, Ohio, recently to press for the fast-food company’s support for a farmworker-driven initiative called the Fair Food Program.
A steering committee member of the Student/Farmworker Alliance, Razor joined representatives of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and CIW supporters at the Wendy’s international headquarters for the annual meeting. The 27 members of the delegation had traveled from across the United States to speak with company shareholders about “injustices and human rights abuses” within the food supply system, Razor reported.
As a proxy for a company shareholder, Razor had been slated to be one of the speakers during the “general questions” part of the meeting. She was prepared to underscore the importance of the Fair Food Program and the need for social accountability by retail-food companies such as Wendy’s. However, after 11 members of the delegation spoke, the meeting organizers ended the session abruptly, preventing other program supporters on the list of speakers from having a say.
Those who spoke outlined the benefits of the Fair Food Program and emphasized the need for human rights protections for farmworkers.
Razor was disappointed that she was not able to speak to company shareholders, but she was encouraged by the process.
“I was able to see how powerful a group of people can be when they come together. The board members were able to see who the CIW members and their supporters are. We were able to overwhelm the shareholders with our presence,” she said. “By showing up and speaking out, we challenged their practices. They can see that we are not backing down.”
Because of Wendy’s refusal to participate in the Fair Food Program, the Student/Farmworker Alliance has been leading a boycott of the company’s restaurant chain since March 2015. Razor became a member of the SFA national steering committee earlier this year.
A large group of Fair Food Program supporters demonstrated outside of the Thomas Conference Center near Wendy’s corporate office building during the shareholder meeting. Students from The Ohio State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were among the demonstrators.
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Students Log 1,710 Hours of Service in Theology Courses
Students taking theology courses during the spring 2017 semester completed service-learning projects with 63 community-based organizations and programs.
The students rendered 1,710 hours of service as part of four theology courses, reported Experiential Learning Coordinator Liz James.
In an end-of-semester report, James noted that 225 students were enrolled in THE 201: Theology, Faiths, Beliefs, and Traditions (10 sections); THE 311: Sexuality, Sex, and Morality; and THE 312: Freedom and Virtue.
The instructors for THE 201 were Rev. Richard Clements, Sr. Mary Frances Fleischaker, Dr. Deena Grant, Dr. Christopher Jones, Dr. Marc Lavallee, Fr. José David Padilla, Fr. Jorge Presmanes, Karen Stalnaker, and Fr. Mark Wedig. Jones was the instructor for THE 311 and THE 312.
Service sites included churches, schools, and community centers. Among the community partners and programs were the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Lillie C. Evans K–8 Center, Little Haiti Optimist Club, Miami Shores Presbyterian Church, Mount Tabor Baptist Church, PACT (People Acting for Community Together), Prosperity Social & Community Development Group, and Urban GreenWorks.
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College Brides Walk Provides Service-Learning Opportunity for Students
Students taking SOC 200: Perspective Consciousness and Social Justice during the spring semester participated in service-learning activities to support Barry’s 7th Annual College Brides Walk, an initiative to raise awareness and promote advocacy about dating and domestic violence.
Experiential Learning Coordinator Liz James reported that 227 students enrolled in 10 sections of the sociology course provided 1,756 hours of collaborative service.
“The vast majority of SOC 200 students participated in the College Brides Walk to fulfill the service-learning component of the course,” she said.
The instructors were Drs. Luigi Esposito, Laura Finley, Lisa Konczal, Victor Romano, and Christian Schlaerth.
Service-learning activities, which took place throughout the semester, included orientation sessions facilitated by Finley; art and sign-making activities; a public service announcement contest as well as research on statistics, resources, and stories of survivors and victims of dating and domestic violence.
The walk itself took place on February 17, with an estimated 350 students from area universities, joined by faculty, staff, and community supporters, walking between Barry’s Miami Shores campus and Johnson & Wales University in North Miami. At the same time, some students who remained on campus were involved in various related activities.
Finley, the main organizer of Barry’s College Brides Walk, said approximately 900 individuals supported the event this year.
In the latter part of the semester, Finley facilitated debriefing/reflection sessions as part of the assessment of students’ experience.
“It was an opportunity for students to connect their service activities with course concepts,” said Liz James, the experiential learning coordinator.
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Barry Student-Athletes Score Big in Academics This Year
Barry student-athletes were impressive this year, not only at sports venues but also in the classroom and community.
The Buccaneers reached an all-time academic high with a cumulative GPA of 3.308 in the fall 2016 semester, when 11 of the 12 teams posted a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Additionally, 72.3 percent of the Bucs’ 225 student-athletes had a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 after that semester.
For the second consecutive year, Barry was one of 26 NCAA Division II institutions to earn the NCAA President’s Award for Academic Excellence, with an academic success rate of at least 90 percent. The Bucs were tied for 11th nationally, at 93 percent, for the 2006–2009 cohort.
For demonstrating academic and athletic excellence, Alayna Gallagher (softball) won BarryU’s Professor Miller Female Scholar-Athlete Award and Hanno Antoni (men’s soccer) the Professor Miller Male Scholar-Athlete Award.
Antoni was a 3.925 finance major as a junior, graduating early, last month. Gallagher, a junior, was a 3.972 student in biology this academic year.
Sophomore Tilda Larsson was named the Female Athlete of the Year and senior Ahmed Triki the Male Athlete of the Year. The Athletic Training Student of the Year recognition went to Daniel Zuluaga.
During the spring semester, Barry's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee collected more than 520 items of clothes, shoes, toys, canned goods, and toiletries, which they donated to Chapman Partnership, a nonprofit organization serving homeless people in Miami.
The softball team won the Sister Jeanne O'Laughlin Service Award for the fifth time, the most ever in the history of the award. In addition, Ali Perantoni and Grace Collins won the award as individuals.
Among the Bucs’ huge successes at sports venues was the first NCAA championship for the women’s golf program. Women’s tennis won the NCAA Division II National Championship, and men’s tennis finished as the national runner-up.
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Students Contribute Clothing, Food, and Household Items to End-of-Semester Project
Residential students contributed approximately 2,000 pounds of apparel items and 300 sheets and comforters to the Move-Out Drive last month.
They also donated 10 microwaves, 8 mini-refrigerators, 131 pounds of food, 186 towels and washcloths, 35 lamps, and 61 brooms and mops.
As part of the semi-annual Move-Out Drive, students who are leaving campus contribute unwanted items, which are then donated to some of the university’s community partners. Student, faculty, and staff volunteers collect, clean, and sort the items for delivery.
Move-Out Drive has served to divert usable items from landfills, the organizers say.
The semi-annual project is coordinated by the Office of Mission Engagement, Barry Ecological Sustainability Team, and the Center for Community Service Initiatives with support from the Department of Housing and Residence Life, Center for Student Involvement, Facilities Management, and Public Safety.
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University Donates Over 3,800 Books for Reuse and Recycling
Barry University has donated more than 3,800 books for reuse and recycling this academic year. The donations have saved unwanted books from landfills.
Between July 1, 2016 and mid-June 2017, the university donated 3,883 books, weighing 5,314 pounds, to Better World Books, said Merlene Nembhard, coordinator of electronic resources.
Of that total, 3,393 pounds of books were recycled and 1,921 pounds were reused. That’s according to a report from Better World Books.
Better World Books also reported that the Barry-donated books have saved 62 trees and 8 cubic yards of landfill space while also reducing greenhouse gases by 8,255 pounds.
The Monsignor William Barry Memorial Library organizes and manages the book donation drive on the university’s main campus. The library is part of a network of more than 3,000 libraries supporting Better World Books.
The library collects unwanted books, including books on CDs, for shipment to Better World Books. Among the books accepted are college textbooks published within the past 10 years, dictionaries, children’s books, and travel books published within the past three years. CDs, DVDs, and selected video games are accepted as well.
The donations are sold, with the library receiving 15 percent of the net sale price and Books for Africa, a Better World Books literacy partner, receiving 5 percent. Unsold books are donated to Books for Africa or recycled.
For further information, contact Merlene Nembhard at mnembhard@barry.edu or 305-899-4051.
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Middle-School Girls Attending Two-Week Math Camp on Campus
The Mathematics and Computer Science Department is hosting a two-week camp for underrepresented middle-school girls. The camp runs from June 19 through June 30.
"The girls will learn fundamentals of computer science and get familiarized with concepts of design thinking, collaboration, and social awareness," said Sanja Zivanovic, associate professor and assistant chair for Mathematics.
The ultimate purpose of the camp is to increase the number of girls who pursue a college education and develop competence in mathematics.
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Next Issue of Engagement News Scheduled for July 10
Publication of a feature story on a program called KAPOW (Kids and the Power of Work) has been postponed to provide space in this issue for a number of spring-semester news stories that were on hold.
The July 10 issue of Engagement News will highlight KAPOW’s Field Trip to Barry’s Miami Shores Campus.
Engagement News is being published twice a month during the summer. Regular weekly issues are scheduled to resume at the start of the 2017–2018 academic year.
The Department of Marketing and Communications publishes Engagement News on behalf of the CCSI.
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CCSI Newsletter
Posted On : June 19, 2017
