Don't Walk Across the Quad

In the warmer months, ESF students can be seen lounging, playing frisbee, and otherwise enjoying the grassy common space in the middle of campus. One thing that students do not do, out of habit and from pressure from fellow students, is walk across the quad to reach their destination.

This is one of many traditions at ESF and among the most visible. The rule is what one might call "socially enforced". Many a grad student on his or her way to the far edge of campus or on the way home has begun to walk across the grass, only to be verbally assailed by vigilant students warning them not to use the grass as a walking path. People learn quickly.

The stone monument on the corner of the quad at the entrance to campus reminds students to treat the grass with care and not walk across it. There has even been a Facebook group started in honor of this tradition.

Next time you are on campus, remember to walk the length and width, don't walk the hypotenuse. Taking the quickest route from A to B is not allowed. Use that time to stop and enjoy the grass.

Spotlight on Gradshare.com

Have questions about grants? Having issues with your major professor? Need publishing advice? Defending your thesis?

GradShare is an online community of graduate students from all over the country contributing from various subjects on hundreds of different topics. It's a place where you can get answers to any question related to graduate school, 24/7. Forums include:

• Thesis/Dissertation: from selecting your topic to writing proposals, publishing papers to advisor relationships. It's all about the thesis!

• Job Searching/Career Planning: writing your CV has never been easier; includes tips on interviewing and networking

• Teaching: techniques on lecturing, grading, and even dealing with student complaints!

• Grants and Funding: writing grant proposals and finding funding from both your university and outside sources

• Publishing: from publishing your work in peer-reviewed journals to presenting at conferences - tips on how to get your research out there

• Work-life Balance: tips on how to deal with stress, family issues, and scheduling your oh-so-precious time

This graduate school network can be accessed at http://www.gradshare.com/, and requires a school e-mail address and password. Post a question regarding various topics, or help out a fellow grad by shedding some light on experiences you have survived throughout your years at ESF.

Surviving Grad School 101: International Student Rights Panel

INTERNATIONAL STUDENT RIGHTS

Wednesday, October 14th at 5:00PM

Nifkin Lounge

This panel will focus on common issues international students face when becoming a graduate student, such as:

• OPT
• H1
• Immigration issues
• Student Visas
• Other common issues

With panelists such as:

• Carolyn Salter, International Students Coordinator
• Raydora Drummer, Multi-cultural affairs
• Scott Shannon, Dean, Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies
• Jennifer Gavilondo, Slutzer Center, Syracuse University
• International graduate students

Free Indian food will be served.

Co-sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Graduate Student Association, part of the "Surviving Graduate School 101" Panel Series.

Questions? E-mail the GSA International Committee Chair, Nidhi Pasi, at npasi@syr.edu.

Outdoors: Oakwood Cemetery

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Directly to the south and adjacent to the ESF campus lies Oakwood Cemetery. Besides being home to hundreds of tombstones and burial monuments, most of which date back to the 19th century, it is another small piece of nature that happens to be easily accessible to ESF students. Squirrels, crows, and occasionally deer or other animals bound across the hilly terrain.

Local residents walking dogs, runners and hikers, and students cutting across the cemetery to get to class (not recommended after dark) are common. Since Oakwood has been adjacent to a residential neighborhood for well over a century, vandals have tipped some monuments. All in all, the cemetery is well-preserved and has given over to nature in many places, especially further from the main road.

Take a look, Oakwood begins right behind the greenhouses on the hill behind Bray Hall.

Outdoors: Barry Park

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Barry Park, only one mile from campus, offers natural beauty, open space, and outdoor recreation for students and neighborhood residents alike. Amenities include a playground, 2 tennis courts, a handful of basketball courts, and a field for soccer, frisbee, and other sports. In the evenings when the weather is nice, it is common to find people from all countries and backgrounds playing pick-up soccer.

Across the street from the fields sits a pond and drainage basin, home to ducks, geese, and the occasional muskrat or other wild animal. Deer and rabbits have been known to frequent the area as well. Think of it as an oasis from the surrounding residential neighborhood. A trail around the pond measures 1.1 miles in circumference, making it a perfect destination for joggers (or mountain bikers) looking to stay off the hard pavement but still count the miles. In winter the site is used for cross-country skiing, walking pets, and, for the daring, ice skating on the frozen pond (try at your own risk!).

It was founded in the 1950s on the site of a former dump, though no signs of its past use are visible today. However, if one looks around an upturned tree or fresh earth, it is not uncommon to find broken milk bottles and other detritus of yesteryear.

Stay tuned for more installments in the Outdoors series.

TGIF Party

Today is one of those special Fridays when us graduate students come out from our hiding places and congregate to celebrate the end of another exciting week. Approximately once per month, the Graduate Student Association sponsors a party that most students call a "TG", short for TGIF.

These events generally take place on campus in Nifkin (Alumni) Lounge, on the basement floor of Marshall Hall. However, this week's event will be at the Inn Complete, the graduate student pub and restaurant on South Campus. This week is game night, and all events include free food and drink.

Outsiders are invited as well, just bring a valid ID. This is a good way to get to know other students, whether you are considering joining a program at ESF, or are already enrolled here.

Have a good weekend!

Unravelling the confuddlement of the 2A,3B, 5B, 6B, etc. Forms

If you are like most graduate students, when you first came to ESF you were a little intimidated about all the various forms you needed to fill out. And more importantly, when you need to fill them out and who needs to sign what. Well as the GAs for the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies (OI&GS), we are going to try and unravel the mysteries of the 2-6 lettered forms to make your life as a graduate student easier (because we all know we could use all the help we can get!).

2A: Appointment of Major Professor/Steering Committee - this form appoints your major professor (MP) and your steering committee (# of committee members depends on your degree). This needs to be signed by your Department Chair and needs to be submitted before your 3B form. The 2A is usually recommended to be completed by the end of your first semester.

3B: Graduate Program of Study - this form basically lists the classes that you will be taking as a graduate student and other necessary degree requirements. If you are transferring credits, they need to be listed too. This needs to be signed by your MP, your steering committee, and the Department Chair and/or Graduate Coordinator. The 3B form is different for MS, MPS, PhD, MF, and MLA degrees, so make sure you fill out the correct one. Form 3A contains information regarding completing your 3B form, and can usually be picked up from the OI&GS.

5B: Request to Appoint Defense of Thesis/Dissertation Examination Committee - this form appoints the committee for your defense of your thesis or dissertation. It is signed by your Department Chair and lists your MP, steering committee, and examiners (outside your committee). This needs to be in before you schedule a defense. If you are PhD candidate, you must fill out a 6B and successfully complete your candidacy exam before you can defend your dissertation. Form 5A contains information about your defense and is usually attached to the 5B form.

6B: Request to Appoint Doctoral Candidacy Examination Committee and Committee Chair - this form appoints a candidacy examination committee and committee chair, and should be signed by your Department Chair. It contains your MP and steering committee, as well as examiners. Form 6A is usually attached to the 6B form and holds information regarding your candidacy exam.

The rest of the forms out there are forms that you will receive throughout your graduate school process, usually confirming appointments, defense/candidacy dates, and the successful completion of these defense/candidacy exams.

For more information, reference your department's website or the OI&GS website on Degree Requirements and Forms: (http://www.esf.edu/graduate/graddegreq.htm)

Other important dates...

As graduate students we all know how fast the days fly by, so here is a little reminder of important upcoming dates you should mark your calenders for:

• Monday, September 28th: Yom Kippur (no classes - which means we graduate students will still be seen around campus because now we have the time to do our own work since we don't have hassle of teaching/attending classes. Yippee!)
• Wednesday, October 28th: Last day to drop a class
• November 11-November 29: Registration for Spring Semester 2010
• November 25-29: Thanksgiving break (time to seriously take a break grads. Go home, eat food!)
• December 14th: Last day of classes

This can all be found on the Academic Calendar at: www.esf.edu/catalog/calendar.htm

Upcoming Academic Deadlines

If you wish to graduate in...

December 2009:

1. Appointment for Defense of Thesis/Dissertation Examination Committee (Form 5B) is due by Friday, October 2, 2009
2. Last day to defend to qualify for degree: Monday, December 7, 2009
3. MPS, MF, and MLA students must notify the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies (OI&GS) of their intent to complete the degree to be included in the convocation program by Friday, November 20, 2009
4. Submit a final, revised, and signed version of required documents and associated paperwork to OI&GS by Monday, December 14, 2009

May 2010:

1. Appointment for Defense of Thesis/Dissertation Examination Committee (Form 5B) is due by Friday, February 12, 2010
2. Last day to defend to qualify for degree: Friday, April 30, 2010
3. MPS, MF, and MLA students must notify the Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies (OI&GS) of their intent to complete the degree to be included in the convocation program by Wednesday, April 28, 2010
4. Submit a final, revised, and signed version of required documents and associated paperwork to OI&GS by Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Consult the Instructions for Completing a Thesis or Dissertation before submitting a final draft to your defense committee members. All committee members must had a final draft at least two weeks prior to the defense. Students should contact OI&GS via e-mail of the date, time, and location of the defense at least 2 weeks in advance of the defense.

See http://www.esf.edu/graduate/graddegreq.htm for more information.

Hi this is Katie!

Hello! I am also a Graduate Assistant (dubbed GA) for the ESF Office of Instruction and Graduate Studies. I am a veteran at ESF, starting my third year in the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology (EFB), getting my M.S. in Conservation Biology.

My research focuses on creating a habitat model for moose (Alces alces) in the Adirondack State Park of NY, which required me to spend some time at one of ESF's off-campus facilities - the Adirondack Ecological Center (AEC) in Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF). HWF was my home away from home for about seven months from this past January to the beginning of August, as well as the summer of 2008. On HWF I spent my spring semester as the AEC's graduate research assistant, getting to trap small mammals, radio-telemetry for white-tailed deer, perform winter track counts, and help out with various outreach programs, including ESF's own Winter Mammalian Ecology (a class I reccommend taking!). In the summer I was continuing my field work as an Edna B. Sussman intern, classifying the thermal properties of various canopy types across the Park. It was a very fun (and cold) semester, and I loved living in a little cabin in the woods, but I am glad to be back in Syracuse to finish up my degree!

Before attending ESF, I hailed from a small, liberal arts school in central Maine called Unity College, dubbed "America's Environmental College," where I got my B.S. in Wildlife. As a Unity student I travelled to Yellowstone National Park to study wolves, grizzlies, and bison, to the Florida Keys for an internship at the Dolphin Research Center studying my favorite cetaceans, and finally all over the deserts of Arizona for a course in desert ecology. However I feel honored to continue my education at ESF, for it is one of the country's top schools, specifically in the field of environmental stewardship.

As past president of the Graduate Student Association, I feel I am well-versed in life at ESF, both on-and off-campus. If you have questions dealing with academic policies, administration issues, or social events, I am one of the many GSA officers to contact. I now currently hold the Social Events Coordinator position on the GSA Senate, so watch for e-mails from me concerning the fun "Thank Goodness It's Friday" (TG) graduate student events (with free food and drinks)!

We hope that this website is very helpful to you, whether you are an undergraduate looking to continue your education with a graduate degree, a professional seeking further educational experience, or a current student looking for information regarding graduate policies, deadlines, and general information. Please feel free to explore and contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns!

See you around,

Katie

Hi, my name is Kyle

My name is Kyle Bell and I am a second year Master's student in the Environmental Studies program. I graduated from undergrad with a degree in International Relations and Spanish in 2007, though environmental issues were present throughout my studies. Luckily, ESF offers a multidisciplinary program where I am now free to develop my own thesis, combining my interests and past experience with new insights gained from my time here.

After one year of courses dealing with everything from the social aspects of American lawn culture, to electricity market regulation, footprints and sustainability, and the interrelated issues of corruption and oil production, I settled on my thesis topic: air pollution and transportation in Mexico City, with a special focus on the Metrobús program. I have an interest in international development and environmental issues, and I spent time working in Mexico City, so this topic is a perfect fit for me.

Syracuse, New York is my hometown, so returning to SUNY ESF was a homecoming of sorts. The university and its students and professors are smart, friendly, and civic-minded. Its programs are well-regarded, and its facilities are more than adequate. In short, it was an easy choice to return from my globetrotting and settle here.

Environmental Studies is just one of many graduate programs at our great school, in fields from Biology, Engineering, and Forestry, to Policy, Landscaping, and Environmental Interpretation. We can get into the whole long list at some other point.

This is a blog, after all, so I'll keep it short. Take a look around and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Welcome to Life at SUNY ESF!

Hello and welcome to our new blog. Throughout the year we will be blogging about life at SUNY ESF - the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry. We will include discussion of academic programs, events, local attractions, what we do for fun, and other points of interest, all written by graduate students.

Sit back and take a read, we promise it will be worth your time.