EVENT - Fall Open House is an annual recruiting event at Hofstra University that allows high school seniors, transfer students and their families to visit the campus. The agenda includes academic information sessions, student services fairs, a web-based scholarship workshop, admissions and financial aid information sessions, and various campus tours.The schedule is flexible. Many sessions are offered several times so that visitors can see everything they need to in one day.
DIFFICULTIES - Some of the challenges of Fall Open House include directing attendees to their desired workshops and ensuring that we receive contact information from each student who arrives on the campus during the event. To overcome these obstacles, two late check-in sites are available. One site is the Hofstra Arena and the second is located in the Student Center. Each late check-in location is stocked with registration cards, extra programs and giveaways. By having multiple sites available, it is ensured that a Hofstra staff member meets everyone who visits the campus and is able to get them on track for the day.
TECHNIQUES - Potential attendees are invited during the fall by both printed and electronic invitations. Admissions counselors invite students at college fairs. Event posters are sent to high school guidance offices. An online Event Registration page (link) was created for the Office of Admissions by the Computer Center to accurately account for all R.S.V.P.'s. A solid media plan is in place to advertise on the radio and in newspapers. An Event Checklist is used to plan this event. Organization and attention to detail are key factors for running a successful Fall Open House.
STUDENT PARTICIPATION - Fall Open House includes three main student components.These components are campus tours, student participation in academic information sessions and the Student Life Highlights Show. At Fall Open House, 20 student ambassadors provide tours of the south campus. These students have been specially trained by the Office of Admissions. Professors are asked to include their top students in the day so that attendees are able to ask student-to-student questions about their programs of interest. The Student Life Highlights Show was a new component added to the 2003 Fall Open House. It has been well attended and is a wonderful way for families to see the full range of student activities offered at Hofstra University. At this portion of the program, student organizations alternate performances with speeches to best express the nature of their groups. Some of the participants included Strictly Steppin', SGA and Spirit Support.
EVENTS COMING UP - The Office of Admissions produce many events throughout the year. These events include open houses, enrollment services days, admitted student events, and guidance counselor events. This is in addition to participating in college fairs across the country. For more information, log on to the Undergraduate Admissions Office website.
THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS - I realize that planning an event like Fall Open House relies on the assistance of the entire Hofstra community. The dedication of the Hofstra community is amazing.Communication with key departments makes this event successful. The pre-event operations meeting is an essential part of making sure that all details have been covered prior to the event. I send an electronic survey to attendees and ask members of the campus for feedback post-event, so I can find out what can be improved or added next year.

EVENT - We are a new club and have had several small events as we got to know each other and made decisions on how we want to use our time. A Right to Life debate, cosponsored with Hofstra University Honors College, will take place on February 16. The presentation will include expression of opposing views, a question-and-answer period, an introduction and concluding statements to define the topic, and an experienced moderator. It will serve the Club's goal of creating a better understanding around the issues.
DIFFICULTY - There was an event, a debate, that we planned to have before we had a room reserved. Then we had trouble getting the room.We are still trying to work out the best way to schedule meeting rooms and confirm the details, so that we have the space for the events that we advertise. We need to choose two people, and then they have to work together to make it happen, so that the responsibility can be shared.
TECHNIQUES - We are trying to mix social, educational and activism for our members. The club has done an Ice Cream Social, a showing of the classic movie, "It's A Wonderful Life," a "club fair" type of event where representatives of organizations came to talk with us and brought materials. Also, being connected with other groups at other schools and nationally is something that we are looking at to structure ourselves.
STUDENT PARTICIPATION - We hope that all students will attend our events and join the club if they want to. We are very open to new members who can contact us through the Office of Student Activities or our advisor, Father Brian Barr, in the University Chaplains office at x-36920. Our weekly meeting is at 4:30 p.m. on Mondays.
EVENTS COMING UP - In addition to the debate, we are looking at sponsoring a social event (with babysitting) for single mothers and having a weekend conference with other organizations in other colleges. We are planning to go to Washington, D.C. on January 24th for the March for Life.
THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS - Knowing a little bit about how to get the word out really helps, and some of us have been or are now in other clubs so we have some experience. We advertise some of our events in the Residence Halls by putting flyers in the RA mailboxes, and we do banners in the Atrium for events when we meet on Mondays.

EVENT - Career Week 2004: You're Hired! was a week-long event that included 23 separate events, between three and six per day, presented for the purpose of educating, exciting and motivating students about their options in the world of work.We want to help students choose majors, learn about internships, hear from other students about job searches, and be able to present themselves in the most successful way.
DIFFICULTY - Our goal is to bring as many students as we can to each session. The exposure to the material and the interaction with our staff, speakers, and each other is invaluable to their search for career connections. One way that we are able to do this is by sponsoring sessions with other student groups or offices on campus and involving students who may be apprehensive about their career search. Students may feel instead that they have something to offer to other students by participating in a panel discussion, or that the experience of doing this is one that they need to have. Some of our cosponsors for the week included Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD), the Psychology Club, the Dean of Students Office, M.B.A./M.S. (Business) Student Organizations, The Princeton Review, and the School of Communication Alumni.
TECHNIQUES - We used the Career Center's library and meeting room to bring students to the center, so they know where we are and feel comfortable coming back. Our website, brochure and giveaways were all used to promote the event, and we utilized the "Featured Events" section of the Hofstra homepage to get the word out to everyone on campus about the sessions, including when and where they were taking place. Our brochure was a glossy, colorful map of the event, highlighting our sponsors on the front page, and we feel that the importance of the event was reflected in the piece. We began informing students of the planned events throughout the semester through our Web site and flyers, and we hand-delivered the brochure to faculty mailboxes so that they would be informed and encouraged students to attend sessions.
STUDENT PARTICIPATION - We find that students who present or participate in sessions really add to our program, and so we tried to involve students we have worked with in every session.
EVENTS COMING UP - We will present a Sales and Entrepreneurial Fair on February 23rd, the Job and Internship Spring Fair on April 20th, and the Senior Boot Camp on April 22nd, a one-day-only event to teach you all the necessary tools and skills to prepare for the real world. For more information, visit our website at http://www.hofstra.edu/StudentServ/Career/index_Career.cfm
THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS - By offering a week-long event, allowing many students to make time to attend sessions around class and work schedules, we had something for those conducting both a casual and dedicated search of their options beyond their Hofstra education. The cooperation of so many departments and alumni really had an impact on the event because students were looking for great role models. Kwame Jackson, of "The Apprentice" fame, was a real hit!

EVENT - The club was resurrected after the King Manor excavation trip in Queens, New York, this summer. Students who participated got to bond with each other with this physical and academic experience. Our goal is to continue to explore other cultures in as many different ways as we can. Funds for travel, gasoline, museum admissions, parking and flyers will help us a lot.
DIFFICULTY - It has been challenging to get the funds that we needed for our events. When a group is starting out, they should know that there are several steps to becoming a club and getting the funds after they are approved. We also had to get a commitment from at least seven people to get the whole process going. Everything takes time, too, once we did the forms for funds and meeting rooms, and students should try to do these things a month or so before an event. Getting things in early is something that we are not able to do sometimes, so talking to administrators about how long things will take is a good idea.
TECHNIQUES - I keep people up-to-date on activities via group e-mail. We are keeping our activities as varied as possible, exploring cultures wherever we can. We have three faculty advisors who involve us in projects, like the King Manor excavation, which is really a great experience.
STUDENT PARTICIPATION - For students who want to learn more about cultural differences, who have ideas and energy to plan events, and who want to connect with others who want to do the same thing, you can e-mail me (T.J.) at trowelhead5@yahoo.com.
EVENTS COMING UP - We want to book a speaker next semester who our faculty advisors have recommended. We also want to find other groups who we can combine our dollars with so that we can do even more events. We plan to have Movie Nights and take trips to museums on a regular basis. We also want to visit another dig or restoration project and aFood Festival with other cultural groups, so hopefully we can get that off the ground next semester.
THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS -Communication with the members of the club is really the key. We are in the process of making the members a group who, along with the officers, can choose the direction and decide the activity that we can participate in. It's a process but we are definitely getting there!

EVENT - The First Oratory Competition took place in Dempster Hall on December 9, 2004. The subject of the persuasive, extemporaneous speeches given by five students was Corporate Media and It's Influence on Public Opinion. The event was cosponsored by the Department of Speech Communication, Rhetoric and Performance Studies and the School of Communication. I used a flyer, which other faculty members also distributed in their classes, to invite all students who had taken two entry-level courses.Cash prizes were awarded for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.
DIFFICULTY - The timing of the event may have limited some participation, due to the fact that it took place on the last day of classes. It was, however, prior to the time that finals began, and it was done at a point when course requirements were completed and fresh. We may look at another time during the Spring semester to see how it may work to encourage new participants.
TECHNIQUES - Several professors and a student formed the panel of judges.They were not in discussion with each other, but they were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 several aspects of the presentation. Students who were audience members also participated by writing critiques for extra credit, allowing for another level of learning. Some of these students decided to participate when we repeat the event in the Spring semester, and so we feel that inviting the audience helped us build future participation. I did not sit on the panel of judges, but rather provided coaching to each participant, and this allowed students to do the job and become clear as to the task at hand.
STUDENT PARTICIPATION - Students are reminded with this exercise that public speaking, persuasion, organization of thoughts, and learning about how they were persuaded are all relevant to their future endeavors. It also allows them to be recognized by our faculty and their peers, and supported in the learning process. We want students to recognize the usefulness of communication skills that they build in this program.
EVENTS COMING UP - We want to use this and other events, while the level of participation increases, to highlight to all Hofstra students the value of the study and exercise of communication skills. We want to become more visible, talk to more students about our programs, and to give all of our students more public recognition.
THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS - We collaborated with Dean Delgaudio and other faculty in the process of planning, and many of them were present to support their students. We help our students make decisions in this program about where their focus will be in their studies and in their future career choices, and our event provided an opportunity for them to clarify and use their understandings. They learn a classical form of speech-making, but they go beyond that by exercising their skills with an audience of their peers and professors. Our success is their success. For more information, click here.