“The impact of the events of 2020 on filmmaking will be monumental,” said Karen Offitzer, director of the undergraduate minor in filmmaking at Stony Brook and one of three co-directors of the Social Impact Filmmaking program. “It will bring changes in the way we make movies, changes in the way we see them, and changes in the very stories we want to tell.”

“Social media gives us all a powerful platform to get our content seen and interact with audiences,” added Simone Pero, another co-director of the program. “From a social impact perspective, what has fundamentally changed is that we believe filmmakers must evolve with what’s happening around us by leveraging the art form for positive change because the issues are now impossible to ignore.”

Despite the enormous capabilities individuals now have in their hands, Offitzer said filmmaking is still an art form with its own rules and language that must be learned and practiced to meet its potential as a change agent. And that is the mantra that serves as the backbone of Stony Brook’s Social Impact Filmmaking program.

“The students in our inaugural class are currently sharing stories and developing solutions on a wide range of issues including immigration reform, climate change, racism, LGBTQ rights, prison reform, women’s rights, and hunger,” she said. “All these students will be trained as creative, effective filmmakers by understanding and practicing the fundamentals and learning the more advanced techniques of visual language and story designed to motivate and inspire.”

“This program offers similar opportunities for transformation,” she said. “It provides filmmaking tools and support to anyone with a cell phone, a story, and a passion to make a difference.”

Read the full story: https://news.stonybrook.edu/facultystaff/social-impact-filmmaking-program-teaches-passion-to-make-a-difference/ 

For the all-student Stony Brook Volunteer Ambulance Corps (SBVAC), it began with a Volkswagen bus and a Cadillac.

Before SBVAC was created, the Setauket Ambulance Service and Stony Brook Fire Department serviced Stony Brook, taking between 15 and 20 minutes to arrive. The SBVAC changed all that: Today’s standard response time is seven to 10 minutes.

To launch SBVAC, the students made use of a donated VW bus and a 1959 Cadillac ambulance. The VW was used as a transportation vehicle while the Cadillac was the first ambulance and thus a full-time emergency service — the first such student-run operation in the country — was born.

Leo DeBobes, SBVAC’s longtime faculty advisor since 1993, addressed the emergency service’s early years.

“They operated with an old Cadillac Ghostbusters-style ambulance, later shifted to the Type II vans, and then to the modern Type III modular rigs.”

Larry Starr, SBVAC’s founder and president from 1972 to 1974, noted that the original Cadillac was built from a hearse because “hearses were the only vehicles back then that could carry a patient in a reclining position.”

In the long run, the vehicles’ strange appearance didn’t matter because “we were at the vanguard,” Starr said. The service was effective and efficient, and it had the distinction of being the first student-run operations in the country.

In 2002, SBVAC won the Suffolk Regional EMS Council Agency of the Year Award, then went on to win the New York State EMS Agency of the Year Award — a remarkable feat considering that the collegiate EMS agency competed against all community and locally funded EMS agencies in New York State.

In 2013, SBVAC won the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation Collegiate EMS Agency of the Year Award.

Read the full story: https://news.stonybrook.edu/featuredpost/volunteer-ambulance-corps-marks-a-half-century-of-community-service/

Stony Brook’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) runs educational programs open to all retired and semi-retired people over the age of 50.

So when sweeping limitations to on-campus activities were announced in order to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, the program’s administrators had to react quickly. 

The team found creative ways of continuing  regularly scheduled workshops, committee meetings, elections, art exhibits and the like by leveraging online technologies.

Resilience is the name of the game for this program, part of the School of Professional Development, which has seen its numbers jump from 600 to 950 since June 2019.

“Many of our members have never used their webcam,” OLLI Program Manager Breanne Delligatti said. “But they are learning and even loving it. During the pandemic OLLI members, workshop leaders, advisory board members, staff and student assistants came together and bridged the gap in communications through the use of technology.” 

Delligatti and the administration focused their efforts to keep the community together and continue OLLI’s educational mission. One of the most popular new events hosted via Zoom is “Lunch, Learn and Laugh,” which meets once weekly and epitomizes the social experience.

“We have 36 workshops online now,” said Delligatti. Technology is often challenging to senior populations, and social distancing has required them to become familiar with new technologies such as Zoom.

“Our members are remaining connected as a community of retired lifelong learners through these difficult times. Members are able to interact on this digital platform without the risk of COVID-19,” she added.

“To see everyone through Zoom, to follow up through texting and chats, to have some brief semblance of normality in its newest version: I really could just cry for the gift of it,” said OLLI participant Michele McMath.

Read the full story: https://news.stonybrook.edu/homespotlight/older-learners-embrace-unfamiliar-technology-maintain-community/