Welcome to FIU

Blue-and-gold enthusiasm builds for the 2010 spring semester. Below is a guide of important information for Panthers.

By Martin Haro

After a revitalizing winter break, FIU is set to welcome back to its campuses on Monday, Jan. 4, students, faculty/staff and administrators ready for the 2010 spring semester.

Panthers have much to look forward to as a new calendar year begins and both Modesto A. Maidique Campus (MMC), Biscayne Bay Campus (BBC), as well as the Pines Center and the university’s Frost Art Museum and The Wolfsonian-FIU move forward with their commitment to elevate the blue-and-gold experience.

Students are bound to notice some changes on campus, most notably the arrival of Pepsi as FIU’s new beverage provider.

For the university’s Week of Welcome Jan. 4-9, BBC’s Office of Campus Life & Orientation and the Office of Orientation and Commuter Student Services at MMC have prepared a schedule of events that is sure to spread blue-and-gold school spirit among all.

“Welcome Week activities provide the entire university community with an opportunity to welcome new and returning Panthers. We are excited about beginning a new semester and a new year,” said Rosa Jones vice president of Student Affairs. “It is a wonderful time for FIU.”

Panthers with questions may find answers at various campus locations at MMC, where Ask Me tables will be set from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 4-5.

Got questions at BBC? Then stop by AC I from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Also at BBC, there will be a Spring Barbecue on Jan. 4, from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., in the WUC flagpole area, and a Blue-and-Gold Breakfast in Panther Square, beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Jan 5. An SGA butterfly garden dedication is set for Jan. 6 at 2:30 p.m. in the flagpole area, as well as an afternoon of kayaking on Jan. 8.

Also on Jan. 8, at 2 p.m., everyone is invited to the women’s swimming & diving team meet at the Bay Vista Aquatic Center.

Meanwhile, at MMC, Panthers will be able to challenge one another to a friendly game of laser tag on Jan.4, from 6-9 p.m., in the GC Ballroom lawn, followed by an evening of star gazing until 10 p.m. out by the FIU observatory.

On Jan. 5, students will be able to test their singing skills at a karaoke session in GC 243, from 7-11 p.m., while on Jan. 6, at the Majors Carnival, they will be able to cross the Ts and dot the Is of their majors’ requirements from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the GC Ballroom lawn.

Panthers are also invited to get involved and try out for the FIU Dance Marathon So You Think You Can Dance competition, from noon-2 p.m., in the GC Pit on Jan. 6, as well as to the women’s basketball game against Louisiana-Monroe, at U.S. Century Bank Arena at 7 p.m., and the Frost Art Museum’s Night at the Museum event.

There is also a men’s basketball game on Jan. 7, against Louisiana-Monroe, and a doubleheader on Jan. 9, with the women’s team up first at 5 p.m., followed by the men at 8 p.m.

For a complete schedule of Week of Welcome events at MMC, click here.

Coming up at FIU

From Jan. 13-20, FIU will commemorate the 19^th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 2010 Celebration with events at both MMC and BBC.

On Jan. 13, students and faculty/staff are invited to attend the film screening of What’s Race Got to Do with It, which will be followed by a discussion. The event is sponsored by Hands of Miami Community and will take place in GC 140 from 7-10:30 p.m.

The MLK Jr. Day of Service, sponsored by the Center of Leadership & Service and Services for Peace, is set for Jan. 16 beginning at 8 a.m., while the MLK Youth Forum and Peace Walk, featuring a keynote address by FIU’s own Dr. Pedro Jose “Joe” Greer, Jr., chair of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine’s Department of Humanities, Health & Society, will take place in the WUC Ballroom at BBC on Jan. 20 beginning at 10 a.m.

For more information, call Multicultural Programs and Services at 305-345-2436.

Per tradition, the university’s largest student fundraiser, Dance Marathon, benefiting Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation through the Children’s Miracle Network, will take place Jan. 30-31 at the Rec Center at MMC.

Last year, the event raised a record $137,000 in a dance extravaganza that attracted 130 dancers. The theme for the 25-hour 2010 event, which will kick off at noon on Jan. 30, is “Dr. Seuss.”

“Our goal is to raise $160,000 and we’re hoping to have more than 150 dancers,” said Mari Campuzano, coordinator for the Center of Leadership & Service.

Later in the semester, the university will have another chance to give back when the 2010 FIU Relay for Life gets underway March 5-6 at MMC, on Palm Avenue at the 8^th Street entrance to the campus in front of the Ryder Business Building.

This year’s theme is “Relay Around the World” (emphasizing the university’s Global Learning initiative) and organizers have set goals to register 80 teams and raise $90,000 for the American Cancer Society.

The 2009 event registered 74 teams and raised $80,000. For more information, call Beverly Dalrymple at 305-348-6995.

The Women’s Center 4^th Annual Women Who Lead conference will take place March 5 in the WUC at BBC and March 26 in the Graham Center at MMC. Registration begins Jan. 11.

In April, the blue-and-gold family can help the Women’s Center and the Victim Advocacy Center promote sexual assault awareness, prevention and safety on our campuses and in our community at the fifth annual “Take Back the Night” event on April 12.

For more information, contact Suzanne Onorato at onoratos@fiu.edu.

For your entertainment

This season, FIU Theatre will stage Sam Shepard’s A Lie of the Mind in the Studio Theater at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center at MMC Jan. 28-31 and Feb. 11-14 and Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard in the Wertheim Main Stage March 4-7 and March 11-14.

For tickets and more information, call 305-348-0496 or click here.

FIU Music will present numerous performances during the semester as well, including an Opera Gala on March 7 that will benefit the FIU Music Excellence Scholarship Fund.

FIU Art + Art History will unveil the Spring BFA Exhibition at the Frost on April 23. The show will run through May 9.

Let us hear you roar

On an athletic note, FIU’s basketball programs and cross country/track & field, swimming & diving, baseball and tennis teams are in the middle of their seasons.

For tickets and information, call 1-866-FIU-GAME or click here.

Registration and Payment Important Dates:

• Sun., Jan. 3: Last day to register without incurring a $100 late-registration fee.
• Sat., Jan. 9: Last day to drop courses or withdraw from the university without incurring a financial liability.
• Mon., Jan. 11: Last day to add courses.
• Mon., Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Holiday (FIU will be closed)
• Fri., Jan. 29: Last day to withdraw from the university with a 25 percent refund of tuition.

Important Links:

Office of the Registrar: MMC – 305-348-2320

BBC – 305-919-5750

Broward Pines Center – 954-438-8600

Cashier’s Office: MMC – 305-348-2126

BBC – 305-919-5540

Parking and Transportation: MMC – 305-348-3615

BBC – 305-919-5558

Students may now order their parking decals and pay/appeal student tickets online.

Decal enforcement will begin on the first day of the 2010 Spring Semester.

GreenRide Carpool Program: FIU’s GreenRide Carpool Program encourages students to reduce the number of times they drive alone to campus each week.

Public Safety: Police dispatchers are available to take your emergency phone call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

MMC: 305-348-5911
BBC: 305-919-5911

MMC Public Safety

Offices located in the Public Safety Tower
Telephone number: 305-348-2626

BBC Public Safety

Offices located in the SO II Building
Telephone number: 305-919-5559

Students may sign up to receive Panther Alerts, a text messaging system available to the blue-and-gold community providing everyone with notifications during an emergency affecting FIU. (The service is free, but normal text-message fees from your carrier may apply.)

MMC Bookstore: 305-348-2691 (also for information on the bookstore at the Broward Pines Center)

BBC Bookstore: 305-919-5580

Libraries: Green Library at MMC – 305-348-2451; BBC Library – 305-919-5718; Broward Pines Center Library Liaison – 954-438-8608.

Campus Shuttles: There are two shuttles that travel between campuses: the Golden Panther Express, which travels between MMC and BBC, as well as the CATS shuttle, which travels between MMC and the Engineering Center.

Golden Panther Express tickets are $4 per trip (i.e., per round trip), $20 for 5 trips and $54 for 15 trips. You can save one of your rides to use at a later time when you purchase a round-trip ticket. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

At MMC, tickets may be purchased at the main office in GC and at the Gold and Blue parking garages. At BBC, tickets may be purchased at the Information Desk in the Wolfe University Center.

The CATS shuttle is a free shuttle.

Finally, as a student at FIU, there is a lot you can do to become involved and “Feel the Pride.”

There are many extracurricular university activities to help you enrich your time at FIU, including more than 100 student clubs, an intramural sports program and an ever-growing Greek presence, just to name a few.

Here are some useful telephone numbers and Web sites to keep in mind:

• Campus Life information hotline: 305-348-ROAR
• MMC Campus Life office: GC 2240 at MMC, 305-348-2138
• BBC Campus Life office: WUC 141 at BBC, 305-919-5804
• Broward Pines Center Campus Life office: 954-438-8610
• MMC Rec Center
• BBC Rec Center
• FIU Alumni Association: MARC 510 at MMC, 305-348-3334
• Greek Affairs: GC 2240 at MMC, 305-348-2138
• Kayak on the Bay at BBC, 305-919-4701
• Panther Safety Tram: 305-348-6173