Student resource centers teach life lessons not found in text books
A lesson in independence can be one of the most important lessons a college student can learn. To help guide students in making decisions, CU offers several student programs, including the Student Outreach and Retention Center for Equity, CU’s Off-Campus Student Services and the Dennis Small Cultural Center, to name a few.
Since its official start in 2003, SORCE has helped students see they are not alone planning and adjusting to college life. SORCE provides academic counseling and help in financial needs. Mostly, it stresses helping students bring their own individual vibrancy to a cultural community.
“When it comes down to it, we want to show that there is definitely strong support in such a small community,” said SORCE Coordinator Israel Garcia, a senior sociology major.
SORCE also helps with outreach programs for potential college students in low-income middle schools and high schools. For incoming freshmen, events are planned to help new students feel more included. Events include breakfast, lunch and dinner meal events and even mic nights. In the future, SORCE is looking to expand into more of a community center that can help in leadership training and bigger events.
Visit the Web site www.colorado.edu/SORCE for more information on the SORCE.
OCSS helps students gain financial independence by making students aware of legal liability and community conduct.
“I look at us as non-academic education, this is the real stuff you don’t get in a classroom, ” OCSS Legal Adviser Bruce Sarbaugh said.
Sarbaugh has been working for three years as the legal adviser for the OCSS program to help students properly analyze what, for many, may be their first lease. He can also help advise students with an already existing lease and any legal problems they may be having with their current landlord or roommates.
OCSS does not stop there. It also helps advise students on how to deal with neighbors, how to understand City of Boulder ordinances and even how to have an exciting but safe party at an off-campus location.
On Feb. 14, OCSS will hold a housing fair in the Glenn Miller Ballroom to help further educate students on off-campus housing issues.
For more information visit its Web site at
www.colorado.edu/OCSS.
The Dennis Small Cultural Center plans events to help students experience multiple cultures through events like learning to cook foreign dishes and seeing an exotic world through dance. The center is named for a 1969 CU alumnus who promoted diversity on campus. The events are meant not only to introduce students to different cultures, but also to inspire students.
“We provide a space for students to share their passions and also to share their culture and find a connection to cultures that aren’t their own,” said Gabriela Resto-Montero, a senior news-editorial major.
The center hosts guest speakers who help involve students in interactive theater events of music, poetry and seminars. Events are held monthly and the center works with other groups to involve as many students as possible.
For more information on events or to become involved visit the center’s Web site at www.colorado.edu/UMC/quicklinks/getinvolved_dscc.html.
