CHARGE: End Of The Year Reflection

I first got hired to Residential Life as a CHARGE Assistant, almost three years ago. I worked with amazing ladies who always used to say "once a CHARGE, always a CHARGE." I didnt grasp the meaning of that statement till I came back as a CHARGE Peer Educator the past year after being a Resident Assistant for a year. Dont get me wrong, I loved being a RA; I met so many people through this almost 3 year course in Residential Life. But once I came back as a CPE, it felt like home. Even though everything was different this time, from protocols to coworkers to supervisor, it still felt like the place I belonged.

Being a CPE this past year, I was able to engage with my peers in a more personal level by hosting dialogues and programs. This past semester especially, I have hosted three dialogues and programs that was so important. My favorite was the dialogue that I hosted with CPE Kadeija, on Microaggression. It was a very raw dialogue where our peers expressed the amount of microaggressions they continue to face. It was successful not only because we were providing our audience with the educational information but the fact that everyone in the room was educating each other by sharing their stories.

Dialogue: Above Microaggression

The past semesters, I was also invited to collaborate in programs with the HM's of the University Apartment staff. This semester, I took part in their program of "Behind Closed Doors" where I hosted "Paint for Hope" portion of the program. The event was hosted in hopes of bringing awareness of domestic violence.

Last but not least, the last program that I hosted was " Pay what you get paid" bakesale. It is very different to host a bakesale as a program. But this bakesale in collaboration of CPE Vanessa and I was hosted to bring awareness of the large wage gap that continues to exists, based on gender and race.

Paint for Hope

This sale was hosted in Alumni Quad (thank you CPE Carmel). The bakesale started a lot of conversation about the wage gap; some for and against it. Some peers refused to pay us their $1 for a cupcake because they saw that other races and genders were paying much less. They were definitely shocked when we explained the reasoning behind the prices.

Pay what you get bakesale

To end the year off, CHARGE in collaboration with MSRC hosted our
banquet style event "We are
CHARGE." This event celebrated what CHARGE is and what we do! It was an amazing collaboration with lots of audience, performances and good food. I think this event truly reflected what our small but mighty group can accomplish!

End of the Year Program

Being a CPE is all about educating others through bringing awareness to issues that are much easier to avoid. I have truly enjoyed my time as a CPE! Though I will be graduating this upcoming week, I do believe that the CHARGE Peer Educator program is in great hands and I know it will achieve many more success in the future. I will miss my CPE's and our supervisor!

With much love,
CPE Faerie Akhter

CHARGE End of the Year Reflection

Although I just started working for the CHARGE program, this initiative is something that already holds a special place in my heart. The first dialogue that I hosted with CPE Vanessa was called #After911 and this was an insightful experience because of how I was able to walk away knowing that when students are engaged, its amazing how different ideas flow and really build a conversation. The end of the year CHARGE event was also a program that I really enjoyed because of how all the CPE's were able to collaborate and create a truly meaningful event. Everyone who was present, definitely walked away with greater knowledge on what CHARGE really is and why our mission is so imperative for the campus community.
I look forward to being a CPE next year and making the end of the year CHARGE event bigger and better than it already was! There is so much potential that CHARGE has and with the right outreach I can't wait to see what next semester will bring!

Until next time,
CPE Subha, Colonial Quad
#stayCHARGEdforchange

CHARGE comes to an end

The CHARGE program for the 2015-2016 is coming to a close and it is bittersweet. It is bitter because some of the CPE are graduating and leaving the CHARGE programs. It is sweet because they are graduating and moving to the next step of their lives. But this year had more ups than downs. There was a chance taken on me and I took full advantage of it. If I had to give advice to anyone coming into CHARGE or anyone that gets a 2nd or even 3rd chance: Take advantage of it. Prove people wrong. Prove it to yourself. I came in with my reputation slandered because of a semester of work or non work. But I was able to come into my own under the CHARGE program and I thank Leiry for taking a chance on ya boy.

My favorite program is the program that myself and Kadeija hosted called "The real Negus". It was about the history and usage of the N word whether it is with ER or A or GUS. The reason why it is my favorite program because my fraternal brother came and spoke about the history with citations and receipts that he brought to his professors at Stony Brook university. Just hearing the breakdown of the word and history enlightened me. It wasn't he said or she said. It was facts and that caused me to stop my usage of the N-word. CHARGE is known for programs like this and that is why I love being CHARGE. We were able to bring that to the school and those who attended. When you come to a CHARGE program you know will learn something.

-Simba Ravilus

CHARGE End of 2016 for Alumni

Spring 2016 has been a very C.H.A.R.G.E semester on Alumni Quad!!!! We have done so many initiatives on all topics C.H.A.R.G.E to educate the Alumni Quad community on the culture and life around them. C.H.A.R.G.E CHATS was a great success and a great way to familiarize myself with all of the residents in the different buildings of Alumni. It was amazing to see residents repeatedly show up to the programs on the different nights. The first program, Chinese New Year, was educational and fun for all of the students that attended. Working with Resident Assistant Hui Lin is always a great time because of her cultural background and exciting personality. Although I did many programs, including two large scale committee programs, my favorite program was Vagina Dialogues in conjunction with the Pay What You Get Paid program done by CPE Vanessa and CPE Faerie. It was highly responsive and approximately 60 residents participated in the dialogue. I enjoyed collaborating with both CPEs to put together a great dialogue. You know students really enjoy a program when they stay after for another hour to continue discussing what we were talking about in the program. Engaging students make CHARGE programs successful. Shout out to all of those dedicated students. This semester in CHARGE was very successful. We were organized, put together, and strong. We really had each others' backs and helped one another complete programs. No semester is ever easy and this one was one for the books. With our lack of funding, we were still able to get students to come out and enjoy our programs. That's impressive. I am so proud of our first ever end of the year WE ARE C.H.A.R.G.E program. There were hiccups, but it was smooth and enjoyable. Probably one of the best C.H.A.R.G.E experiences ever. If I had to leave anything behind for the peer educators, it would be to stay receptive and open. This position works best when someone can be like that and focus on teamwork. WE ARE C.H.A.R.G.E AND WE ARE A FAMILY.


Sincerely,

CPE Carmel Joseph of Alumni Quad
#staychargedup

End of year Spring 2016

This Semester has been pretty Charge'D up . With countless amounts of different programs as well as supporting other programs there was plenty to do. This semester ended with a bang as we successfully pulled off our first large end of the year program centered all around awareness and giving people a night in CHARGE. The experience of this semester was honestly unlike any other the programs we honested, dialogues that made a large impact and truly starting to make a footprint on this campus. My favorite program this Semester was the end of the year program "Charge'D for change" I truly enjoyed this program because of the perseverance and the way it all came together. This program was thoughtfully assembled and truly embodied every piece that makes us charge and that supports what we do. In future years, I do know that with more time and truly more resources available to us this will continue to be one of the most memorable nights for charge and for those who get impacted by our events. Being a peer educator myself seeing the program come to light was moving for myself  is the least I can say. Keep being #CHARGE'Dforchange!

- CPE Vanessa

Diversity Conference

The Diversity conference was hosted on February 27th in SUNY Oneonta. It was a conference where there was different workshops and speakers. One speaker was an actor that acted out different characters such as "in the closet" football player or a girl that was visiting a therapist. Then it was broken up into workshop as mentioned before. I went to a Beyonce and Yik Yak seminar where I learned about different experiences of Yik Yak on their campuses and it was very insightful. Also There was a workshop about mentorship that was really for the students at that university. Then we had another speaker, then a play on different events in life, and the conference ended. If the conference was brought to the university at Albany, I would suggest that all the programs are universal. Universal meaning that if someone from an outside school chooses to go to that workshop. But other than that the workshop was great and I hope that it is brought to the university with invitation from different schools.

CPE Simba Ravilus

Introducing CPE Subha Tasnim

Hi everyone! My name is Subha Tasnim and I am the CPE for Colonial Quad! I am a first year student majoring in Political Science and Criminal Justice with minors in Sociology and Homeland Security. I also serve as senator at large for the Student Association and am a brother of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International. As a Charge Peer Educator I am extremely excited to raise awareness to issues that are prevalent in today's society but overlooked due to societal norms and stigmas. I look forward to helping the students here at UAlbany realize the importance of diversity and inclusion of every type of person regardless of their gender, sexual, cultural, or religious differences.