University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

Page 305 text:

The SORC office, located on the fourth floor of the Union, has its doors open for students. The office was open from I Oa.m. to I I p.m. during the week. Y. Granata photo A student organization member gets help at the front desk of the SORC office. Student organization leaders became par- ticularly familiar with SORC, as they used the office to sign groups up for Diag boards and banners. Y. Granata photo GO o 7: n

Page 304 text:

student organization resource center QQQ QO QQO2 one tudent Organization Research Center, or the SORC, was founded in 1970. Its major goal was to provide an integrated approach to campus information and publicity dissemination. It coordinated the use of low-cost campus advertising services for University departments and over 800 student organizations. The SORC promoted annual programming and workshop series through the monthly newsletter Get To The SORC. As a branch of the University Union ' s Arts and Programs department, the SORC was a valuable resource for many organizations. We provided low-cost advertising services for student organizations and departments. We also provided a full-scale balloon service, graphic design assistance and standard office equipment. The SORC was open over 80 hours a week, manager of the Michigan Union Recreation SORC Betsy Sundholm said. SORC was a good resource which could be used in certain important events on campus, junior electircal engineering major Vashist Vasanthakumar said. Being the Vice President of the Cricket Club of the University - which is a registered body under recreational sports - 1 used the SORC widely for their banners and customized badges which the Cricket Club used when we telecasted the India-Pakistan cricket series at the Michigan Union. The office was also a place for organization leaders to stop in and check their e-mail if necessary. The SORC also provided employment opportunities for many students who enjoyed being introduced to the wide variety of organizations on campus and worked well with people. My main goal was to coordinate the efficient and fair distribution of limited campus advertising resources. Another goal of mine was to have the most effective, knowledgeable, and helpful student staff on campus. When we were open, the SORC was staffed almost entirely by students , Sundholm said. All in all the SORC was a helpful resource for many student organizations on campus. The people working for the SORC were friendly and understanding in dealing with the ever-busy students of the University. Without this resource many University organizations would have had to look elsewhere for low-cost advertising. by : aparnaa bhatt An employee of the SORC blows up a balloon with the office ' s helium tank. SORC provided numerous resources for organizations planning events or advertising around campus, such as balloon supplying and inflating. y. Granata photo

Page 306 text:

black educators of tomorrow % OQO T he Black Educators of Tomorrow, founded last September 2004, strove to help African Americans become more involved in the field of education. It ' s an organization that was founded this year. It is basically a support system for African Americans and other minorities on campus that are interested in topics related to education, senior language arts major and co-founder Desiree Harrison said. The other co-founder was senior elementary education student Sidney Bailey IV. Together, the two hoped that the organization could provide various support networks and resources to the University ' s School of Education in order to help recruit more freshman and sophomores. Like the Ross School of Business, the School of Education required students to apply for admittance at the end of their sophomore year, and the Black Educators of Tomorrow provided guidance in the application process. We want to make more people aware of the school [of education] and the opportunities it can provide. We want to make it more known to LSA students, Harrison said. Her motives for founding the organization were quite clear: Ever since I ' ve been in the School of Education, I just felt like there wasn ' t a presence of African Americans there - either with staff or students. Before entering, I felt like they weren ' t totally interested in me, she said. The organization and its members discussed expanding to other campuses across the country but felt that it was first necessary to build a strong foundation at the University. The Black Educators of Tomorrow met once a month in the School of Education. At the most recent meeting, the group held a panel discussion about urban education, and discussed the implementation of a community service program. We want to start writing letters to teenagers someday in order to hopefully help mentor them through high school, Harrison said. The Black Educators of Tomorrow was open to all students interested in any part of the School of Education. Students already involved ranged from freshmen undergraduates to graduate students. Harrison also mentioned that the best way in which to get involved was to simply attend one of their meetings. by : robert fowler Senior language arts major Desiree Harrison and senior elementary education major Sidney Bailey IV, the co-founders of Black Educators of Tomorrow, stand with a guest speaker at one of the group ' s meetings. Meetings were open to all students interested in the School of Education. Photo courtesy Black Educators of Tomorrow