INSIDE STUDENT AFFAIRSA weekly insider’s guide for those helping students reach their goals toward optimal health and well-being, engagement with learning, and sense of belonging at PSU
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Academic Affairs to Hold Budget Forum This WeekJoin leadership Tuesday, March 9 from 3-4 p.m. for a presentation and Q&A session about the Academic Affairs budget and possible future reductions. (Connect via Zoom or live stream.) Provost Susan Jeffords, Vice Provost for Academic Budget and Planning Amy Mulkerin, and Interim Vice Provost Dave Maddox will take questions about the OAA budget and reductions that could happen over the next three years. Please submit questions for consideration to townhall@pdx.edu or visit the OAA website to read more.
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April Is Sexual Assault Awareness and Action Month
In celebration of Sexual Assault Awareness & Action Month (SAAM), the Women’s Resource Center is hosting a series of events in April centering their 2021 theme: “We Are Each Other’s Future: Resilience, Resistance, and Interdependence.” Join the WRC in bringing awareness to each other in our work to end sexual and gender based violence in all of its forms while imagining a world free of violence. Speakers will be announced soon and registration will open shortly thereafter. For now, please save the week of April 19-23 for this year’s Sexual Assault Awareness & Action Month event series, and sign up for the WRC newsletter to receive timely announcements about SAAM.
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NCAA March Madness Bracket ChallengeMarch Madness is back! Make your bracket picks at IMLeagues.com/pdx and watch some exciting basketball games. Compete in the men's and/or women's bracket. The men's bracket is available on March 15; picks are due by 9 a.m. on March 19. The women's bracket is available on March 16; picks are due by 9 a.m. on March 21. Brackets will update automatically as the tournament plays out. Free and open to PSU students, faculty, and staff so make your bracket today!
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Emma Vandehey with a baby cow... "who doesn't love baby animals?"
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Meet Emma VandeheyEmma Vandehey is a senior at Portland State who is majoring in Russian language and literature with a minor in applied linguistics. She is in the Russian Flagship program, which hosts different events throughout the year like essay contests and end-of-term gatherings. Additionally, she has worked for almost two years in the Office of Student Affairs, which she says, "has been by far the most rewarding experience for me at PSU. Getting to help fellow students and working with an amazing team is an opportunity I will never forget!" Emma's father attended PSU in his late 40s, and seeing how loving, accepting, and open the community was toward him was a huge factor in her decision to attend.
To read more about Emma, including her appreciation for faculty and staff who have been so encouraging during the pandemic, visit her full interview here.
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Financial Aid Office HoursThe Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will open late several days this week as staff participate in training during the morning hours. Hours of operation will be 1 - 5 p.m. from Tuesday, March 9 through Thursday, March 11, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, March 12.
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Temporary Extended Vacation Cap ExpiringIn July 2020, PSU temporarily extended the vacation cap for all employees who were eligible for vacation leave to increase flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 31, the temporary extension will expire and the cap will be restored to 250 hours for classified employees and 260 for unclassified employees. Questions about the temporary vacation cap expiration can be sent to payroll@pdx.edu.
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Study by Jeremy N. Bailenson; published in Technology, Mind, and Behavior
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Read by Michele Toppe, Vice Provost for Student Affairs
In the first peer-reviewed article that systematically deconstructs Zoom fatigue from a psychological perspective, published in the journal Technology, Mind and Behavior, Stanford's Jeremy N. Bailenson has dissected Zoom on its individual technical aspects and identified four consequences of prolonged video chats that he says contribute to the feeling commonly known as “Zoom fatigue.”
- Issue: An excessive amount of close eye contact is highly intense.
- Solution: Bailenson recommends taking Zoom out of the full-screen option and reducing the size of the Zoom window relative to the monitor to minimize face size.
- Issue: Citing studies that suggest that when you see a reflection of yourself, you are more critical of yourself, Bailenson's notes that seeing yourself during video chats constantly in real-time is fatiguing.
- Solution: Use the "hide self-view" button during some or all of your Zoom meetings each day.
- Issue: Video chats dramatically reduce usual mobility.
- Solution: Get up, walk around, and use breaks in meetings to get away from your chair and your screen.
- Issue: Unlike in regular face-to-face interaction, nonverbal communication is natural and each of us often make and interpret gestures and nonverbal cues subconsciously. Due to the interference brought by the technology, the cognitive load is much higher in video chats.
- Solution: During long stretches of meetings, give yourself an "audio only" break.
See the full article to learn about the ZEF (Zoom Exhaustion Fatigue) scale and more.
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Facts About Stretching: When, What, and NO!“The best time to stretch is any time you feel like it, though there are some times that will be more optimal for different impacts. Really though, any time that you feel an inclination is a perfect time to stretch, as stretching can feel great and help you stay connected to your body.”
Visit the PDX CampusWell to learn the whens, whats, and hows of stretching, including what you may be doing wrong.
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On March 4, PSU Day at the Capitol, an event for students, faculty, staff and alumni from Portland State to advocate for the university with Salem lawmakers, went virtual.
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Not sleeping well? You're not alone. The CDC estimates that a third of US adults report that they get less than the recommended amount of sleep. According to a recent study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, your smartphone could be the problem. Dr. Vsevolod Polotsky, who directs sleep research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, suggests the #1 rule is no computers, cell phones or other PDAs at least one hour prior to bedtime. In honor of the beginning of finals week, let's put down our phones and get some solid zzzs!
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OFFICE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
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SUGGESTION FOR A FUTURE EDITION?If you want to include something in an upcoming Inside Student Affairs, please email studentaffairs@pdx.edu. Archives of past issues can be found here.
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