DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Out-of-State Student Association (OOSSA)

                                                                                   

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.
User-uploaded Content
DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

OOSSA is a relatively new club at Stony Brook University. In the few years it has existed, it has evolved from a couple of kids from Massachusetts getting together to watch Patriots games to an organization dedicated to creating a community amongst out-of-state students by hosting a wide variety of trips and events and acting as a base to form new school clubs and organizations. 

 

At the end of the spring semester of 2012, I was elected as Vice-President. My fellow eBoard members (the club's leadership cohort) and I spend our time organizing events and advocating for the needs of out-of-state students as well as working closely with the Admissions Department. 

 

E v e n t s

Some of the events my eboard and I organized included large off-campus trips such as a taking 30 people into Manhattan for the day to see a Broadway show and smaller trips to go to the beach or bowling. We also held on-campus events such as tie-dyeing our club shirts, bi-weekly meetings, and holding professional advising events in the Career Center. Over Thanksgiving break, we also cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for out-of-state students that couldn't go home over break. 

 

A d v o c a c y

In the fall semester of 2012, my eboard and I drafted and collected signatures for a petition calling for Stony Brook University to expand their current weekend bus service to Port Jefferson on Sundays. This expansion would greatly benefit out-of-state students because students traveling from the Northeast to Stony Brook frequently utilize a ferry that runs from Connecticut to Port Jefferson. However, on Sundays, the local public bus service does not run which means that these students travelling back to campus from the Northeast via the Connecticut-Port Jefferson Ferry face the choice of either taking an overpriced taxi back to campus or walking a mile to the nearest train station.


We collected over 1,000 signatures in support of our petition in a little over a semester and are currently in contact with faculty members who are moving our petition along.


A d m i s s i o n s   D e p a r t m e n t

Our club has contributed our time to the Admissions Department in a variety of ways. Our members have been panel members for new freshman as well as prospective freshman during Admitted Students Day, participated in online chats to prospective high school students throughout the year, met with visiting high schools students for coffee and informal tours around campus, and have staffed tables promoting OOSSA at Admitted Students Day.



Vice President Responsibilities                                             
From the OOSSA Constitution:

 

"The Vice President shall be required to see that standing committee chairpersons are fulfilling their duties. The Vice President shall further perform such duties as may be necessary and proper in the fulfillment of his/her office, subject to the approval of the executive board. If the President is unable to perform his/her duties (due to impeachment, leave of absence, or resignation), the Vice President shall assume the position of President. Vice President specific duties include but are not limited to: 1) block-booking meeting rooms for the semester, and 2) updating the “events” spreadsheet with a review of each event after its occurrence."


During the 2012 - 2013 year, I attended every eboard meeting and event. Specifically, I worked closely with our President to collect signatures for our petition and meet with faculty to move our petition forward. Our entire eboard also worked together to draft a budget proposal for next year. 

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.