Food insecurity is a problem for many people across the country. At Stony Brook, members of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) participated in the America East Conference Food Frenzy as a way to help stock the local food pantry.

Each institution in the conference collected food items as part of a competition.  The team from SAAC was proud to report that Stony Brook won.

The SAAC holds an annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, and collected the most donations this year.

Nearly 1,200 food items were collected in person, and more than 800 items were donated through an online charitable giving service, You Give Goods. The donations were collected outside of local grocery stores, and donors were encouraged to share health-conscious items.

The donations were delivered to the Stony Brook University On-Campus Food Pantry on November 21 by the student athletes. They were able to fill the pantry and have enough left over for restocking.

The SAAC is a group of student athletes with members representing each athletic team. They meet bi-weekly to coordinate department initiatives and community service projects. The students  take pride in being able to give back directly to their campus community.

The SBU Food Pantry is open to all students, faculty and staff.

Learn more about Stony Brook Athletics: http://stonybrookathletics.com/

Student wellness and basketball were united in Wellness Night at the Basketball Game. Students were able to access the different student health services and health information right at the Island Federal Credit Union Arena during a recent Seawolves game.

Student wellness is a top priority at Stony Brook University, and it is very important that they remember to stay healthy.

Wellness Night at the Basketball Game took place for the first time at Stony Brook, allowing health and prevention services to become more available to students.

During the basketball game, representatives from the Center for Prevention and Outreach (CPO), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and Student Health Services set up tables where they provided students with health and prevention information, along with free flu shots for undergraduate students.

In addition, peer education programs such as CHILL, Red Watch Band, Green Dot and Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) were also present with information tables. These peer educators provided information to students regarding mental health, healthy sexual behavior and toxic drinking.

Learn more about Wellness Night at the Basketball Game: http://www.stonybrook.edu/happenings/oncampus/wellness-night-basketball-game/

If a tree fell in the woods and no one was around, would it make a sound?

From vibrations in speakers to light reflections and pixels in a camera, those were just some of the examples used to tackle the question “What is Sound?” in the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science’s 5^th annual Flame Challenge.

As an annual competition, the Flame Challenge offers innovative science education for 11-year-olds.

The Flame Challenge asked scientists to answer the question “what is sound?” in a way that would interest and enlighten 11-year-olds.

More than 26,000 schoolchildren judged the entries, including children in Australia, Canada, China, England, Germany, India, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sultanate of Oman, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Italy, as well as in the United States.

Nick Lucid, a physicist from Michigan who enticed kids with his descriptions of air wiggles, was the winner in the video category. Nick has an MS in physics from Eastern Michigan University and has been teaching college physics and explaining complex science in a clear and vivid way to the public on his YouTube channel: The Science Asylum.

Dr. Bruce Goldstein, the winner in the written category, painted a picture of sound by describing vibrations on a drum. Bruce is a distinguished teacher and Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Arizona.

Learn more about the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and the Flame Challenge:http://www.centerforcommunicatingscience.org/alan-alda-announces-winners-of-stony-brook-universitys-flame-challenge-scientists-explained-sound-to-11-year-olds/