The Community of Awesome is a group of students including Erin O’Connell, Ruby Smith, Xicheng Zhou, Savannah Votino and Ian Lesnick.

Together with their faculty sponsors, they discuss ways that they can remind the campus community of the positive things around them — whether it be something beautiful or an act of kindness — and how they can spread positive vibes themselves.

The group is a revival of a past movement by the same name that faded as students graduated and it lost support. Back and better than ever now, the group shares positive aspects of campus life through their official Facebook and Instagram pages as part of their positivity initiative, as well as on their blog.

“I always use the hashtag #spreadtheawesome on all of our social media posts because that’s really what we’re trying to do,” Erin O’Connell ’19 said. “We’re trying to showcase all of the events that happen on campus that really celebrate who we are and our diverse community and the super awesome people that go here.”

They are always planning different ways to bring positivity to students — last semester, they waited outside of different lecture halls and gave out candy as other students took their final exams.

You can check out some of the awesome things that the Community of Awesome is sharing on their social media.

Read more: https://news.stonybrook.edu/homespotlight/spreading-the-awesome-one-post-at-a-time/

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We hope you enjoyed learning about some of the ways Stony Brook University gives back to the community.

With unique educational opportunities, donation drives, cultural events and more, the students, faculty and staff at Stony Brook are proud to share their time, resources and expertise to improve the lives of others.

We look forward to sharing more good news next year.

– Joan Dickinson, Community Relations Director

Faculty and staff have a new resource for getting connected to the campus and the community — Brookology is a curated website of Long Island featuring leisure-time activities, special shopping deals, information on social groups and a digital bulletin board.

Whether you’re looking for a pick-up volleyball game, find your perfect beach, want to sell a car or search for shopping discounts, Brookology offers the Stony Brook campus community options for fun, social and engaging activities.

Yammer, found on Brookology, is a social interaction platform for SBU employees and students.

Brookology was developed in response to the campus plan for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity. Recognizing that there were few ways for employees to find others on campus with similar interests, the Community Working Group for the Diversity Plan outlined points of interest to increase opportunities for social interaction.

“With Brookology, employees can find new ways of being connected. It’s an opportunity to join a conversation, or start a new one,” says Judy Greiman, chief deputy to the President and senior vice president for government and community relations, who oversees the implementation of the Stony Brook University Plan for Equity, Inclusion and Diversity.

As an online resource, Brookology is organized into six tabs: GET CONNECTED, EVENTS, ON CAMPUS, IN THE COMMUNITY, STEALS & DEALS, and NEW EMPLOYEES. Visit stonybrook.edu/brookology to learn more.

Read more: https://news.stonybrook.edu/oncampus/stony-brook-launches-brookology-for-employees/

Twenty-seven brothers and sisters from Pi Lambda Phi and Theta Phi Alpha came together March 2 to be trained in Question, Persuade, and Refer Gatekeeper Training (QPR), a program designed to give people the skills to recognize and respond to someone struggling with suicidal thoughts.

QPR is supported by Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and the Student Health Services (SHS) Health Education Office from the Division of Student Affairs.

Rick Gatteau, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Jay Souza, Director of Campus Recreation, and members of Theta Alpha Phi, Pi Lambda Phi and Division of Student Health, Wellness & Prevention Services Team of Support.

A gatekeeper is someone who is in a position to recognize the warning signs associated with suicidal tendencies. QPR equips gatekeepers-in-training with the tools to question a person about suicide, persuade that person to get help, and refer them to the appropriate resource.

“We’re trying to get people aware of how to help others struggling with their mental health and thinking about suicide. It’s a scary issue and people may not know how to handle it, but we’re here to learn how we can help instead of being scared,” Jonathan Palmieri ‘20, president of Pi Lambda Phi, said.

QPR training is available throughout the semester. Students can register for one of the sessions online.

Read more: https://news.stonybrook.edu/student-spotlight/fraternity-and-sorority-trained-in-suicide-prevention/