Statesman V. 29, n. 01.pdf

Three nearby institutes of higher
education are more or less home to mere
than a fair number of Long Island
students. We live in an area abundant in
educational opportunities.
The State University at Stony Brook,
Suffolk County Community College and
Dowling C6llege are all familiar names to
local residents. Yet students as well as
local visitors to these campuses are often
unaware of the tremendous number of
services these institutions provide in
order to help students survive
academically, as well as to make their
leisure time more pleasant or contribute
to the greater community.
What is available on these three
campuses may hold a few surprises. Let's
begin our survey with a closer look at:
THE STATE UNIVERSITY
AT STONY BROOK
In terms of academic survival, a highly
successful operation has been under way
since April of 1983 when the Academic
Advising Center opened. The Center
exists to give students advice ranging
from changing courses to altering
ultimate goals. Although the Center is
open throughout the academic year, one
f
The Three- Village Area
an our share of educational opportunities
kost important functions is to advise
students when they tend to need it the
most - during the trying first three
weeks o of a semester.
This is the time when students often find
themselves facing unexpected academic
problems and needing professional advice
at once, without long, frustrating waiting
periods. For example, based on past
experience, the Center's staff expects to
help 2,000 or more students during the
initial three weeks of school this fall.
The 30-60 disabled students in attendance
annually at the University are
another group whose needs are being met
by special campus programs. The
University owns a transport van with a
wheelchair lift and provides aides who
can take lecture notes for students or
make recordings of articles or of chapters
from textbooks for the sight-impaired.
Wheelchairs and crutches are also
available on lkan.
Disabled students also have a special
lounge outfitted with lockers, a
refrigerator and TV, and a special room
in the library with reading machines, a
talking calculator and print enlarging
machines. There are also several dormitory
suites that have been equipped for
handicapped students.
About 25 talented junior and senior high
school students form another group that
gets a nod from the University, in the
form of the Young Scholars Program.
This program allows accelerated
sudents, particularly in math, to earn
college credit, get a taste of what a
college classroom is like and how much
work is required to succeed. They take
regular freshman courses in the late
afternoon, twice a week. These classes
are taught by members of the faculty who
are noted for their outstading teaching.
Students come from the Three Village
area and Port Jefferson as well as from
more distant towns like Center Moriches
and East Northport.
Veterans can also find an office on
campus that is set up to deal with their
concerns, which might include financial
counseling as well as academic advice.
As part of the support services for vets,
the University has published a booklet
titled "Help," which offers information on
a wide range of services that veterans
may need.
Both the Mathematics Learning Center
and the Writing Center are staffed by
graduate students who offer tutorial help
on a drop-in, no fee basis. Assistance with
.computer problems is also available at
the Mathematics Center. The English-As-
A-Second-Language Program offers
i,
foreign speaking students special
programs during the summer and the
academic year on a tuition bads.
The Returning Student Network ings
older students togeter with faculty and
professionals who are interested in
working with the adult portion of the
student body - men and women who are
either returning to college or attening
college for the first time. Renewed
Horizons is a sf-help club whose
members are adultre g student.
An organization called Commuter
College, which is part of sholent government,
sponsors events and give support to
commuter students who m many
important aspects of the college experience
simply because they are not
living on campus.
Commuter College also helps students
form car pools and organizes study
groups. The Commuter College has found,
in fact, that studying with others seems to
increase the likelihood of earning higher
grades.
The University's Interfaith Center
provides a variety of services including
personel counseling, help in times of
personal crises, and religious activities.
The Center's represented religious groups
includes Protestant, Catholic, Islamic,
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