Thursday, June 5, 2008

Feedback Survey: Your Help is Requested  

The Slutzker Center for International Services has been tasked with the completion of a self-assessment. All of the departments within the Division of Student Affairs have been similarly charged. One aspect of this self-assessment requires student (and in our case, scholar) input. 

Please take a moment to complete our fillable survey form on our website (http://international.syr.edu/Feedback_Survey.html) by no later than Thursday June 5 at 5:00 p.m. After that time, the results will be gathered and analyzed. 

Please note that all comments will remain anonymous as you are not required to provide your name or other demographic information and all submission will indicate "nobody" as the sender.

Your help will be greatly appreciated. 
 
Slutzker Center Staff will be UNAVAILABLE on Thursday, June 12 from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m

Slutzker Center Staff will be UNAVAILABLE on Thursday, June 12 from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. due to an important review of recent immigration and professional issues which were presented at the recent annual conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators.  We apologize for any inconvenience this might cause you. The full staff will be available again on Friday, June 13.  Please plan your visit to the office with this in mind. Thank you

Slutzker Center Welcomes Mary Schlarb, Assistant Director for Immigration and Scholar Services

The Slutzker Center is pleased to announce the addition of Mary Schlarb, who has joined our staff as Assistant Director for Immigration and Scholar Services.  Mary comes to us from Cornell University, where she served as the assistant director of the International Students and Scholars Office. Within our professional association, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, Mary filled the position of regulatory ombudsperson for New Jersey and Upstate New York for two years. She has been a presenter for regional and national conferences of NAFSA. Prior to joining Cornell University, Mary lived in Indonesia  and worked as the Indonesia Field Coordinator for Volunteers in Asia (VIA), and for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy. She also has lived and worked as a research fellow in Cebu City in the Philippines for the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation.  We are looking forward to her contributions to our scholar and student advising and immigration services.

Strawberry Festival--June 13

The Office of Human Resources, Recreation Services, and University College invite all staff, faculty, and students to join the two-mile Fun Walk and Run on Friday, June 13, to kick off the 2008 Strawberry Festival. The walk and uncertified run will begin at noon on the University Quad and will proceed along Comstock Ave. to Oakwood Morningside Cemetery and back to the Quad.
All participants in the walk and run will be eligible for several raffle prizes, which in years past have included lunch for two at the Goldstein Alumni and Faculty Center and other campus restaurants, as well as gift certificates from area merchants. Event prizes and raffles will be awarded on the steps of Hendricks Chapel following the walk. To register, arrive on the Quad at 11:00 a.m. and look for the Recreation Services tent (near the Orange Grove), or download and fill out the registration form online at http://recreationservices.syr.edu and return to Scott Catucci, Department of Recreation Services, 241 Archbold Gym.
For those who wish to just enjoy food, music, and socializing, the Festival will be ongoing from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and will feature:

• Strawberry shortcake and sundaes;
• Picnic lunch food;
• Music by Syracuse University’s Brass Ensemble;
• A service "trade show" featuring benefit vendors and SU departments, and the always-popular department giveaways!

Strawberry sundae tickets are $4.00 pre-event (why wait in line?). Tickets for sundaes go on sale June 9-12 in the Carrier Dome Concession office. Send an ID with ticket delivery instructions, including a room number, to Carole Harris, or stop by Carrier Dome Concessions after June 4.
Here's the rain plan: the walk and run will be held as planned, the “trade show” of University departments will be held on the Quad as planned; desserts only will be served on the patio of HBC (no picnic food), and you can catch the sounds of the Brass Ensemble in Hendricks Chapel.

Misprinted I-94 Cards Issued by US Customs and Border Protection

The May 30, 2008 edition of The Murthy Bulletin, a publication of the law firm of Sheela Murthy http://www.murthy.com contained an article regarding a problem with certain I-94 departure cards.  These are the white cards that are stamped at the US port of entry and generally stapled inside your passport.  It seems that there are approximately one million misprinted I-94 cards that were distributed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at various US ports of entry in early 2008.  The misprint is that the card has only ten digits, rather than the correct eleven digits, printed across the top portion of the card. These cards are causing problems with Social Security number issuance.

CBP has indicated that the misprinted I-94 cards have been recalled, but CBP does not know how many were issued.

If you made an entry to the United States during the first five months of 2008, take a look at your I-94 card and be sure it has eleven digits. The numbers are printed as nine digits, a space, and then two digits, to equal eleven.  If your card has only ten digits, please bring the defective card as well as your passport to the Slutzker Center so that staff can contact CBP on your behalf for a corrected card to be issued to you.

Drive Smart Suggestions

Drive Smart suggestions provided by the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Department.

--Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs