Resource Reminder

 

Particularly with all that is going on in the world and on campus these days, we know that you don't stop having feelings just because you're busy with schoolwork, and we want to remind you of the many  resources on campus where you can find peers, professionals, and space to get some support.  Below are just a few examples:

Furman Counseling Center offers several forms of support for Barnard students:

• Students may visit Furman for free individual counseling. To learn more about how individual counseling works and why it may be of help to you at certain moments in your Barnard career, visit this page of the Furman website.
  

• Our counselors offer one-hour workshops throughout the year to help students develop personal skills in a variety of areas, such as maintaining balance, stress management, romantic well-being, and smart emotional living. Watch for announcements and flyers about these workshops on the FY Blog and in the residence halls.

• Furman also offers free and confidential support groups to our students.  To join one of our groups, or for more information, please call our front desk at 212.854.2092.

Your class deans are available to meet with you by appointment and during walk-in hours.  Click this link to find your dean's appointment link. Need to see someone but can't find an available time that fits in your schedule? Call the Deans Office for Advising and Support 212-854-2024 any time 9-5, Monday through Friday.

• Worried about a class? Confused about registration?  Just need a friendly, nonjudgmental listener?  Have a question but aren't sure whom to ask?  We're here for all this and more.

The Wellness Spot is the health promotion program and wellness center at Barnard College. Our mission is to promote the health and wellness of Barnard students through a variety of programming activities. Our philosophical approach to wellness focuses on an integration of body, mind and spirit, which moves us toward a more proactive, healthier existence. We use as our model the Wellness Wheel which includes physical, intellectual, occupational, emotional, social and spiritual, service and cultural dimensions which represent all aspects of human growth. The open center of the wellness wheel reflects the notion that each "spoke" impacts on the others and that we cannot be truly healthy if we neglect any aspect of the wheel. However, it is important to remember that gaining total wellness is a journey and a process that continues throughout life.

Your  Res Life staff are on site, trained, and ready to listen and support you.

Being Barnard's mission is to provide a holistic approach to sexual violence prevention through campus wide campaigns, educational programming, one on one health consultation services, community building, outreach, advocacy, and intervention. Sexual assault and interpersonal violence affect students of all genders, identities, and backgrounds and are widely recognized to not be isolated issues but part of a much larger societal picture. As such, it is our hope that by addressing a multitude of interwoven topics such as healthy relationships and sexuality, affirmative consent, personal boundaries, self care, bystander intervention, and social identities & power that we may help reduce and, one day, eliminate sexual
assault and violence from our campus and global communities.

Contact:  Want to know how to get involved? General questions and inquiries about the initiative can be directed to the Being Barnard office - BeingBarnard@barnard.edu!

Office of Title IX and Nondiscrimination

Barnard College is committed to providing an environment free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. The Nondiscrimination and Title IX Office endeavors to work collaboratively across campus to further the goal that faculty, staff, and students be able to work and study in a campus community free from discrimination and harassment. As such, the Office provides outreach, education, supportive consultation, and response services to all members of the Barnard community. Dr. Elizabeth Scott-Francis, Executive Director for CARES Outreach and Response, serves as the Title IX Coordinator for the College. 

We are operating in-person on the First Floor of Elliott Hall
Monday through Friday (closed on holidays) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Email: nondiscrimination@barnard.edu
Phone: 212-854-3362 (CARES Response Line; indicate you're calling to speak with the Title IX Coordinator)

Columbia Sexual Violence Response & Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center 

105 Hewitt 212-854-HELP (4357)

The Rape Crisis /Anti-Violence Support Center (also referred to as the RCC or Center) provides peer and professional advocacy and education to the entire University student community. If you are a survivor of sexual assault and would like to talk to someone immediately, call 212-854-HELP to speak to someone and/or schedule a time to meet. Advocates assist survivors by accompanying them to the hospital, health services, the police, public safety, court, campus disciplinary proceedings and other resources. They also help survivors make informed decisions about reporting and disciplinary options. Advocates receive a minimum of 50 hours of training and are supervised by Columbia and Barnard counseling clinicians.

Learn more about sexual violence resources through men's peer education, RCC peer educators, and other advocacy/outreach services.

Nightline is an anonymous, nonjudgmental peer listening hotline that primarily serves the Columbia/Barnard community and its affiliates by providing them with a listening and referral service. Staffed by committed, caring, and trained Columbia/Barnard undergraduates, Nightline offers a safe space for you to talk about anything that is on your mind. Operating by the mottos, "We are here to listen" and "We are here to get you through the night," Nightline is here to listen to anything you have to say; no problem is too big or too small.

• Nightline is here to listen every night of the academic year from 10:00PM-3:00AM at (212) 854-7777.

• Anonymous: All Nightline peer listeners, excluding the Directors of Nightline (who no longer take calls) are anonymous, and remain so during the entirety of their time at Barnard/Columbia. Callers also have the privilege of anonymity--listeners do not ask callers to identify themselves, nor do they have means to gather this information. The phones used by Nightline have no caller ID.

• Nonjudgmental: No matter what you want to talk about, be it sexual orientation, depression, eating disorders, family, friends, or just stress, we are willing to listen and will never judge a caller on what you have to say. No problem is too big or too small.

Communication Tips: Emails, Asking for Extensions, and Phone Calls

So you have a question that you can’t Google an answer for. What to do? It’s time to contact a real human being and ask for help. But wait, you’re not on campus or you don’t want to leave your bed. Don’t worry! You can still ask via ~email~ or with a ~phone call~.

But how do you properly ask someone a question via phone, email or IG dms? How do you write an email that’s effective, short, yet still polite and respectful? How do you make a phone call when you have no idea who will pick up? As people who have written a few emails in our day and have made more than 5 phone calls, here are some tips and tricks:

Emails

The most indirect, direct form of contact that leaves an electronic paper trail. Here’s how to write an effective and short email:

• Opening 
• You should always begin your email with a greeting. “Hello”, “Good Morning/Afternoon”, or “Hi” are all appropriate openers. If you know the name of the person you’re emailing, put it! Whether it’s a professor, dean, or faculty member, always include their name and title, if applicable. Professor Smith, Dean Jones, or Mr./Ms. Doe are all nice and polite ways to address them. If you’re emailing your TA, a classmate, or someone you know personally, using their first name is fine. 
• Save “To Whom It May Concern” for your cover letter
• If you’re emailing a general office email (like registrar@barnard.edu), then using just a greeting like “Hello!” is fine
• First Paragraph
• If you’re emailing someone for the first time, introduce yourself! It can be super short, like “My name is Nancy Drew and I’m an incoming first-year at Barnard College and I have a question about registration.” Just give some context to the person you’re emailing about who you are and why you’re emailing.
• In this paragraph, ask your question in plain language. You can go in detail later, but just give a brief gist of what info you’re looking for here.
• Pro Tip: If you have a question about a specific course, include the entire course name and course code when writing. For example, if you wanted to ask about First-Year Writing: Critical Conversations, say First-Year Writing: Critical Conversations, not just First-Year Writing. As you know, many courses have similar names so being precise from the get-go makes it easier for everyone.
• Second Paragraph
• If your question requires some in-depth explanation, explain it in a second paragraph. Again, use full course names and be as precise as possible. Explain things fully and don’t assume anything. Just because it makes sense to you when you use shorthand terms, doesn’t mean it’ll make sense to the reader. 
• If your question is extremely complicated or you have a ton of questions, it’s best to call on the phone or meet in person. Emails are meant for short correspondence.
• Closing Line/Paragraph 
• Thank the person you’re emailing! Again, this can be super short like “Thanks in advance for your help!” or “Thanks and let me know if you have any questions!” 
• This part just wraps up an email without abruptly finishing.
• Closer/ Sign Off
• Sign your email!
• Great sign-offs are “Best”, “Thanks”, or “Have a great day”. We’re sure many of y’all were taught to use “Sincerely” but that’s just weird. It’s a little too formal and old-fashioned, but if that’s your vibe go for it!
• Finish with your first and last name
• Tips to remember! 
• If you have a lot of questions, try to condense them down to one email. Don't flood someone's inbox with emails after emails that contain one question each.
• Most people will only check their emails between 9-5 on work days. If you email over the weekend, don't expect a response until Monday.
• Remember that the person you're emailing is doing other things to. If you email a professor, they may not respond right away because they could be teaching a class, holding office hours, or just living their life. Typical email etiquette is to respond within 24 hours, so wait a day or two.
• CHECK YOUR BARNARD EMAIL DAILY. This will be the place where every single announcement and form of communication will go. It is imperative that you stay up-to-date with your Barnard email. 
• On a related note, if you're emailing someone at Barnard, use your Barnard email. Some people's filters will send a non-Barnard email to spam. Always use your Barnard email when conducting Barnard business.

A full example email, for your use:

Hello Professor Smith!

I hope your day is going well. My name is Nancy Drew and I’m an incoming student at Barnard and I have a question about your BIOL-BC1501 Introduction to Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Course. Is this course recommended for students with little background in biology?

I took biology my freshman year of high school and really enjoyed it, but I did not take AP biology nor the AP exam. Any advice you could give on placement would be great.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best,
Nancy Drew

Asking for an Extension:

Want to email your professor and get an extension on an assignment? Sometimes we all need is another day or so to complete something; professors are generally understanding of this, and this piece by Best College is a great guide to how to craft an email asking for an extension. If you have any further questions on this, let us know! We're happy to help advise you on the best way to approach asking for an extension on an assignment or midterm.

Phone Calls

The fastest, most direct way to contact someone (and the most feared). Do you need an answer right now (if it’s between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM on a non-holiday weekday)? Then call an office!

Making phone calls can be stressful, but it’s actually super easy and relatively painless. Here’s how to make a great phone call.

• Rehearse What You’re Going to Say
• There’s nothing worse than talking on the phone and you keep saying “um”. Practice what you’re going to say! Just rehearse it in your head a few times so you have a plan about what you’re asking for. This makes phone calls smoother and shorter so you can get back to your Netflix binge. 
• When someone answers, introduce yourself!
• Say your name and why you’re calling. If you’re calling a general office phone and would like to speak to someone specific, ask if you can speak to them. Example: “Hi, my name is Leslie Knope and I’m calling to ask a question about recycling to Michelle Obama. Is Ms. Obama available?”
• More than likely, if you call an office you will be transferred. EVERY TIME YOU’RE TRANSFERRED TO SOMEONE NEW, RE-INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND STATE WHY YOU’RE CALLING. The new person you’re talking to probably has no clue about who you are and why you’re calling. When they say “hello” don’t just say “hello” back, state who you are! There’s literally nothing more awkward for us than answering the phone and saying “hello” just to get a “hi” back. HELP US HELP YOU.
• Ask your question
• Be as clear and concise as possible. Speak clearly and loudly so your words don’t get jumbled on the phone.
• End your call
• If the person has given you any information, repeat it back to them to make sure you have it correct. Example: “So we’re scheduled to have a meeting next Monday at 3:00 PM in your office?”
• Wrap up and end your call really quick:
• A great way to end your call is to say “Thanks so much for your help! Have a good day, bye!” 
• Done! That’s literally all you have to say.

You’ll write a ton of emails and make a solid amount of phone calls in college. It’s better to get the hang of it now, than a year or two down the line. These are life skills you can take with you forever, so we hope this helps!