Bearcat Buzz – November 5, 2021

November 25-28: College Closed – No classes scheduled

Dear Students,

CUNY has changed the implications of the WU grade. The basic meaning remains the same: WU still means that a student has “unofficially withdrawn” from a course. The change is that, in the past, a WU was figured in a student’s grade point average as an F (in other words, as a zero); starting in Fall 2021, the WU will not be counted in the GPA—in that sense it will be the functional equivalent of W, but assigned by the faculty instead of via the student’s own withdrawal.

CUNY’s Executive Registrar has further clarified the difference between the F and the WU as follows:

“A grade of WU is to be assigned to students who participated in an academically related activity at least once, completely stopped attending at any time before the culminating academic experience of the course (e.g., a final exam, final paper, etc.), and did not officially withdraw.

A WU grade should never be given in place of an F grade.

The F grade is an earned grade based on poor performance and the student not meeting the learning objectives/outcomes of the course throughout the entire academic term/session. If the student has participated in an academically related activity at least once or if there is documented evidence of the student’s participation in a course, and they have ceased participating in the course, at the end of the term, the unofficial withdrawal grade reported must be a WU. When a student does not officially withdraw from a course and fails to complete the course requirements, the instructor assigns the WU grade on the final grade roster.”

Please note that the WU grade is available only to undergraduates, not to graduate students. For the full glossary of grades used at Baruch College, see this page on the registrar’s website.
– Dennis Slavin, Associate Provost

The Allen G. and Mary E. Aaronson Student Center is now open for all undergraduate students! You must make a reservation through Navigate. The appointment time slots are each 90 minutes long, Monday to Friday, as listed below:
9:30- 11:00 a.m.
12:00- 1:30 p.m.
2:30- 4:30p.m.
Same day appointments can be made starting at 9:30 a.m. and are subject to availability. The Aaronson Student Center is located in back of the Madison Square Post Office. The entrance is on East 24th Street between Lexington and Third Avenues, next to the AutoMotion garage.

Make sure to sign up on Navigate!

Baruch College Class of 2022 its time to celebrate all you’ve achieved!
When: Beginning Monday, November 1
Where: NVC 2-110 (Baruch College)
To schedule your appointment and find important updates please visit the Lexicon website.

Interested in getting involved with clubs? Make sure to check out their virtual events and activities by going onto MyBaruch! Continue to check this webpage in the future to find more engagement opportunities throughout the academic year.

Careers Pathways Professional Panel
Higher Education Administration Club
Monday, November 8, 2021
6:00-7:00 p.m.

Movie Night with AMA
American Marketing Association at Baruch
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
6:30-9:00 p.m.

Leadership Series: Product Management 101 by
Sonam Ganapathy, Director at Mastercard
MBA Club/ Zinklin Women in Business
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
4:30-5:30 p.m.

[GBM #7] Taste of Gia Dinh
Vietnamese Student Association
Thursday, November11, 2021
12:45-2:00 p.m.

Battle of the Sexes
Women Empowered for Success/ ASEDOM
Thursday, November 11, 2021
6:00-9:00 p.m.

Our free immigration lawyer services are up and running. The Undergraduate Student Government and the Graduate Student Assembly provide current undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to speak with an immigration lawyer twice a semester.  Appointments can be scheduled for the Fall 2021 semester. Please make an appointment for the immigration lawyer via our online form.

Hey Bearcat Community! Are you looking to be a part of something spectacular for the month of February? Then join the Black History Month planning committee through the Office of Student Life. We are recruiting faculty, staff, and students as we help celebrate the contributions of Black people to the United States. Sign up on MyBaruch!

Craving a more fulfilling college experience? Want to become a part of a close-knit community of high-achieving students? Learn how to become a Provost or Inquiry Scholar within Baruch’s Honors Program. Honors students receive priority registration, individual advising with a dedicated advisor throughout their academic career, access to smaller classes, and a myriad of professional development opportunities. Contact Harmony.Osei@baruch.cuny.edu to discover what an Honors education can do for you. Learn more on the Baruch Honors website.

In response to the current environment, the Counseling Center offers free and confidential individual and group counseling and Support sessions:
Individual Counseling
Please visit the Counseling Center’s website or email Counseling@Baruch.cuny.edu.

Group Counseling
Are you struggling with a new transition, feeling lonely, wanting to make new connections or having trouble in your relationships? The Counseling Center is offering two groups called Relationship to Self and Others, during 2020-2021. The groups are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:00 -2:00 p.m. on Zoom. To participate, in the Tuesday group, please send an email to Vanessa Rumie at Vanessa.Rumie@Baruch.cuny.edu. To participate in the Thursday group, please send an email to Nina Lei at Nina.Leil@Baruch.cuny.edu.

Black Mental Health Matters (BMHM) Support Sessions for Baruch Students
Fridays: 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Dear Black students,

In light of the recent events of racial violence and injustice towards Black, African American and African descendant communities, the Baruch College Counseling Center would like to remind you of and invite you to join Black Mental Health Matters. These support sessions aim to foster and support the growth, networking, collaboration, success, and well-being of Black Students. Past topics have included:

• Self-care during the pandemics (Covid-19 and Racism)  
• Being Black at Baruch  
• Intersecting Identities  
• BLM Movement and Advocacy  
• Power and privilege  
• Finding motivation  
• Coping with loss  
• Social distancing   
• Remote learning  
• Developing community  
• Power dynamics in and out of the classroom  
• Microaggressions  
• Food/Housing/financial insecurities

…and much more. If you are a Black student who is interested in finding a safe space to meet and talk with others who may have similar experiences, then these support sessions are for you. These support sessions are led by two Black Psychologists, Dr. Jael Amador and Dr. Gary Dillon, who work from a social justice and multicultural framework. We meet on Fridays at 2 pm.  

To participate in these support sessions, send an email to Dr. Jael Amador at Jail.Amador@baruch.cuny.edu from your Baruch student email account and we will send you the Zoom link.

In solidarity and support,
Drs. Amador & Dillon

Note: In a previous version of this post, it was brought to our attention that we used offensive language. Despite our intent, we acknowledge that our impact was hurtful. For that, we offer to you all our sincerest apologies and a commitment to continue to learn and grow as we continue our work. We have also corrected our communications on all platforms.

November 9, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. with remarks by Baruch College President S. David Wu.

Speakers include:

• Baruch College Weissman School of Arts and Sciences Professor Glenn Petersen (Sociology/Anthropology), US Navy veteran, and author of War and the Arc of Human Experience
• CUNY Graduate Center Director of Public Relations Tanya Domi, US Army veteran, and activist on women’s and LGBTQ issues in the military
• Isiah James, Black Veterans Project senior policy advisor, US Army veteran, Baruch MPA alumnus

Deadline: Monday, Nov. 15, 2021
We are pleased to announce that through the generosity of Tedd Drattell, Debra Phillipes and The A Team Consulting www.ateamconsulting.com, we have (2) $1,000 awards to grant to an outstanding undergraduate student and an outstanding graduate student.

Award recipients will be selected through a 250-400 word written submission that demonstrates perseverance, motivation and/or “grit”. Essays will not be reviewed if they are over the word limit. Please answer the following questions in your essay:

• Why do you want to pursue a degree in accounting or taxation?
• What challenges have you or will need to overcome to graduate?
• What lessons have you learned in facing these challenges?
• What are your career plans?

Criteria to be eligible for the True Grit Award:
·         Currently enrolled at Baruch, pursuing a BBA, MBA or MS degree in Accounting or Taxation
·         Meet minimum 3.2 GPA
·         Will not require a U.S. work visa or sponsorship now or in the future

For consideration, complete and return your True Grit application, résumé, 250-400 word written statement, and copy of your unofficial transcript electronically via email to Lauren Braun at lauren.braun@baruch.cuny.edu by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 15, 2021.

Come join the Office of Alumni Relations and Volunteer Engagement on Thursday, November 18th from 1:00- 2:00 p.m. for our first virtual roundtable for the semester focused on the Media Industry! Student will have the opportunity to speak one on one with alumni experts who work at companies such as Hulu, New York Times, Vice Media, FOX, Viacom, and much more.

ERAP provides significant economic relief to help low and moderate-income households at risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability by providing rental arrears, temporary rental assistance and utility arrears assistance. Applications from households with income up to 100 percent AMI will be prioritized for processing through October 29, 2021. After that, all applications for households with income up to 120 percent AMI will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on ERAP, eligibility criteria and applying for this resource, visit the New York State website.

The Athletic & Recreation Complex (ARC) is currently accessible to:

• Students enrolled in Physical Education classes
• Students who have rented a Paid Locker Rental
• Student-Athletes competing in the College’s NCAA Division III Programs

Otherwise, the ARC facilities are closed until further notice. Please stay tuned.

– Men’s Soccer Defeats CCNY in Semifinal, Play Lehman Saturday for CUNYAC Title.

– Women’s Tennis Wins CUNYAC Championship! Earn Berth to NCAA Tournament Next May.

– Chung Voted Volleyball Player of the Year; Four Players Named All-Stars; Young All-Sportsmanship.

Upcoming Athletics Schedule

Saturday, November 6
ECAC Division III Cross Country Championships (at Milton, NY)
Bearcats at Men’s Cross Country 8K Race, 10:30 a.m.
Bearcats at Women’s Cross Country 6K Race, 11:15 a.m.
CUNYAC Men’s Soccer Final (at Brooklyn College Soccer Field)
Men’s Soccer vs Lehman College, 4:30 p.m. (Live CUNYAC – Facebook Live)

Tuesday, November 9
Men’s & Women’s Swimming vs York College, 6:00 p.m. (Home – ARC Aquatic Center)

Wednesday, November 10
Women’s Basketball vs St. Joseph’s of Brooklyn, 7:00 p.m. (Home – ARC Arena)

The New York Collegiate Institute is looking for 12 of the best and brightest African American male freshman, sophomores, and juniors in New York City to participate in an academic yearlong program where students will meet corporate CEO’s, business leaders, elected officials, and more on a personal and private basis. Participants will learn how to network with public and private sector leaders, learn about professions they have not been exposed to. The application and more information available on the Institute’s website. For questions, please feel free to email: cganges@theinstitute.net.

A Mentorship Program for students who identify as Asian and Pacific Islanders, LGBTQ+, are 18-24 years old, and will be in NYC from 9/2021-4/2022.

• New to NYC?
• Need advice on living your best queer API life?
• Just want to meet other API LGBTQ+ New Yorker?

Join our mentorship program, GAYme! Email ichang@apicha.org. To learn more about Apicha, go to: www.apicha.org. You can follow Project Connect on Facebook.

The FAFSA is available at www.studentaid.gov. Don’t forget to obtain or retrieve your Federal Student Aid ID at fsaid.ed.gov to sign the 2021-2022 FAFSA electronically; If dependent, at least one of your parents will need one, too. Baruch’s Federal Code is 007273. The NYS TAP (NY resident only) code is 1409.

To ensure the safety, security, and well-being of our students, Baruch College has determined that a moratorium had been placed on pledging and rush activities in all Baruch social fraternities and sororities at least through May 31, 2024. Read a message from the Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean of Students, Art King, for further details. * To anonymously report any hazing activity please fill out the Hazing Incident Report Form.