Handbook | Other Support Groups and Campus Services

8. Other Support Groups and Campus Services
The University has a number of facilities available to the student body and sometimes to the community. These groups and services provide help, information, and support as needed, and may be of use to you during your time here. You may contact these centers and organizations for specific programming information and queries regarding local places of worship.

a. ALANA Diversity and Opportunity Program
The ALANA Diversity and Opportunity Initiative of the University's Office of Graduate Student Recruitment and Retention (OGSRR) seeks to increase the number of ALANA graduate students who apply, are accepted, enroll, and graduate from the University. OGSRR offers a limited number of fellowships on a competitive basis to incoming ALANA students and to ALANA dissertation fellows. Fellowship awards are based on academic excellence/talent and underrepresentation of a particular ethnic group in a field. Applicants for these fellowships must be nominated by the relevant department.

In addition, OGSRR serves as a major resource for departments on diversity and multicultural issues. Through various orientation activities, newsletters, personal contact, and social events, the Office helps the University to be more hospitable to graduate students of color. OGSRR is located in 524 Goodell, 545-5284.

b. International Programs Office
The International Programs Office provides information, advocacy, and advice for students from abroad. It coordinates a special orientation program at the start of each semester. All immigration matters relevant to students, staff, and faculty are handled by the International Programs Office and students are strongly advised to consult this office about issues related to immigration status as well as for assistance with personal matters and questions about employment. The Office also offers a wide variety of international exchange and overseas study programs. For a list of structured opportunities for graduate students, please see the Graduate School Bulletin. In addition, there are many overseas programs which may assist graduate students in fulfilling foreign language requirements. Graduate students may also pursue research abroad as part of their degree programs.

For additional information, please visit the International Programs Office at 467 Hills South, call 545-2710 or e-mail to fsadvisor@ipo.umass.edu. You can visit their website at http://www.umass.edu/ipo/.

c. Career Services
The Career Services Office is the resource for UMass Amherst graduate and undergraduate students seeking guidance in all aspects of career planning. Among the several benefits available to graduate students are career counseling to help you explore your options, resume/c urriculum vitae assistance, interview skills workshops and access to job listings and on-campus interviews. You may also choose to open a Credentials file and ask professors and relevant past employers for written recommendations. At your request, your credentials file will then be sent to institutions to which you apply. For further information, the Career Services Office is located in 511 Goodell, reachable by phone at 413-545-2224 or visit the website at http://www.umass.edu/careers/.

d. Ombuds Office
The Ombuds Office helps all University students and employees to receive fair and equitable treatment within the University system. The Ombuds Office can mediate disputes, help resolve conflicts impartially without judging, rewarding, or punishing parties, and provide appropriate information and referral for grievance procedures and other services. The Office is impartial and neutral and can mediate disputes regardless of rank in the University. In addition, the Ombuds Office can facilitate communication, investigate claims of unfair treatment or erroneous procedure, and listen, advise, and make recommendations to students. Records, contacts, and communication are normally confidential; in unusual circumstances (which are explained to clients), rare exceptions are made if required by law. With the ability to gain access to most University records, reports and documents that may help resolve a dispute, the Ombuds Office handles concerns including interpersonal conflicts, personnel issues, administrative matters, academic disputes, and ethical concerns. Appointments are recommended. For more information, contact the Ombuds Office, 823 Campus Center, 545-0867 or email ombuds@ombuds.umass.edu or visit their website at http://www.umass.edu/ombuds_office/ . Office hours are Monday through Friday 9:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. (Summer Hours 8:00a.m. to 4:00p.m.).

e. Student Legal Services Office
The Student Legal Services Office offers free advice, representation, and/or referrals in most legal matters affecting students. Consultation services are free for graduate students who have paid the Graduate Senate Tax. Students who have not paid the tax or are on program fee will be assessed a one time $20 consultation fee. Advice is given by appointment only, and cannot be given over the phone. To make an appointment, call 545-1995 or visit 922 Campus Center. For more information, visit their website at http://www.umass.edu/rso/slso or email ccarvalh@stuaf.umass.edu.

f. Everywoman's Center
Everywoman's Center (EWC) is a multicultural women's center providing a range of services to diverse cultural and linguistic populations of the University and Hampshire County. EWC's mission is to provide leadership in promoting educational access and equity for women, to empower women to take control of their lives, and to strengthen the bonds among women. EWC works to stop the cycles of all forms of oppression, particularly those based on gender, age, class, ethnicity, race, mental and physical ability, sexual orientation, and spiritual belief.

Services offered are an extensive information and referral system, including general, health, legal, social, and political resources available to women, short-term personal counseling, walk-in and call-in hours, referrals and support groups; 24-hour comprehensive services for victims/survivors of sexual assault and battering; educational workshops and training on issues of sexual violence; and advocacy, cultural, educational, and social programming for women of color. All services are free; however, donations are welcome.

Twenty-four-hour crisis intervention and comprehensive support services are available to victims/survivors of rape, battering, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, and their friends and families, by calling the sexual assault hotline at 545-0800 (TTY).

Everywoman's Center is open year round. For services, call 545-0883 (TTY) Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesday from noon to 4 p.m., or by dropping in at Wilder Hall during these hours. Everywoman's Center is located on the second floor of Wilder Hall behind Morrill Science Center and in Nelson House on East Pleasant Street in Amherst. For more information, visit their website at http://www.umass.edu/ewc/ or email ewcmail@admin.umass.edu.

g. Graduate Women's Network
The Graduate Women's Network is dedicated to providing academic support services for graduate women. In an effort to ease the transition to graduate school life, the network provides information regarding campus resources and a Peer Mentoring Program. Contact the Graduate Student Senate, 919 Campus Center, or call 545-5312.

h. The Stonewall Center
The Stonewall Center, addressing Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Trangendered Concerns, offers advocacy, support, training, and educational and cultural programming for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students, staff, and faculty in the Five College community, as well as education to the wider community. The Stonewall Center provides information and referral resources including a large lending library of books, newspapers, periodicals, videos, and articles. The Stonewall Center also maintains a reporting mechanism for homophobic discrimination and harassment as well as victim support and referral. In addition to these services, the Stonewall Center coordinates a Speakers Bureau, in which many graduate students participate, to address the wider UMass community. Graduate students sometimes present their scholarly work in the area of LGBT Studies in lectures organized by The Stonewall Center. Regular LBGT cultural and educational events such as concerts, readings, theater, poetry slams, and film are also sponsored by The Stonewall Center.

The Stonewall Center employs a number of graduate students to coordinate its programs. A number of different email listservs have been set up to help connect LBGT folks to each other and to events, housing, jobs, etc. in the Pioneer Valley. The general listserv is QueerE, and there are specific listservs for LBGT Grad Students and LBGT people of color.

The Stonewall Center is located on the first floor of Crampton House in Southwest, right off the parking lot between Prince and Crampton. For more information, call 545-4824 or go to the Center's web page to find links to information about campus or area GLBT groups, series, and events: http://www.umass.edu/stonewall/about/index.html or you can email stonewall@stuaf.umass.edu.

i. Religious Organizations
UMass Hillel serves as a cultural, social, and religious center for Jewish students. Hillel provides a Jewish living center for students and also offers kosher dining facilities. A graduate student group meets about twice a month for social events such as potluck dinners, video nights, and various outings. Graduate students also participate actively in all aspects of Hillel's programming, which includes guest speakers, holiday and Friday night Shabbat services, dinners, parties, residence and kosher meals in Hillel House. In addition, Hillel provides advocacy, counseling, and support for students; the Hillel staff may be able to intervene for students in cases of anti-Semitic discrimination. Hillel is located at 388 North Pleasant Street one block from campus. For information or to be placed on the mailing list, call 549-1710 or stop by.

The Newman Center, located at the corner of Massachusetts and North Pleasant Street, houses the Catholic chapel on campus, a 500-seat chapel for prayer, a library for study and reading, two lounges for study and relaxation, two classrooms for meetings, and a large cafeteria. The purpose of the Newman Center is to provide a unique setting to encourage students to grow spiritually. It is a place where friends meet, ideas are shared, and critical thought is encouraged. For hours and other information contact the Newman Center, 472 Pleasant Street, 549-0030.

For a current listing of other Campus Ministries, see the campus Faculty and Staff Directory under the University Chaplains Directory in the Campus Departments and Resources section (yellow pages), or contact the Dean of Students Office, 545-2684.

j. Culture and Art
The University provides an intellectually stimulating and colorful environment with many cultural and artistic activities taking place on campus and at the other colleges of the Five College Consortium each year.

The UMass Fine Arts Center serves the campus community and western Massachusetts with internationally recognized performing, visual and educational programs. Celebrated for its diverse programming, the Center offers a mix of classical music, world arts, dance, theater, jazz, Broadway, family events, popular music, and gallery exhibitions in all media . Serving as a rich resource for the academic departments of the University, the Fine Arts Center employs artistic exploration, educational collaborations and creative community engagement to advance a deeper appreciation of the arts . To ensure that the arts are an integral part of student life, the Center offers discounted student tickets, workshops by visiting artists, and artists-in-residence programs. For more information call 545-2511 or visit the FAC online at www.fineartscenter.com .

There are also many other interesting lecture series, conferences, film festivals, and arts events taking place on the UMass campus as well as at the other colleges in the Five College Consortium. For more information about the current cultural and arts events in the area, see the monthly Five College Calendar of Events, which is available at http://calendar.fivecolleges.edu/FiveCol/calendrome.cgi. The University Events Calendar Web site sponsored by Campus Activities is at http://www.umass.edu/umhome/events/index.php.

k. Speech, Language, and Hearing Services
Located in the Communication Disorders Department, the Center for Language, Speech, and Hearing offers speech, language, and hearing services to the community. Hearing aids may also be purchased. The department also provides special speech and language improvement programs for international students and their families. For details about cost and procedure for a particular problem, contact the Center for Language, Speech and Hearing at 17 Arnold House, 545-2565, email: speech-hearing@comdis.umass.edu or visit their website at http://www.umass.edu/sphhs/centers/speech.html.

l. Campus Center
The Murray D. Lincoln Campus Center is the community center for the University and the site for numerous services and activities. Along with several meeting and conference rooms, stores and dining facilities, the Campus Center Hotel, a barber shop, a travel agency, automated teller machines (ATMs), and the Campus Parking Garage are also located in the Campus Center. In the Main Concourse of the Center, an information desk is centrally located in front of a large campus map to provide students and visitors with basic information about the facilities on the campus. University-based or local publications, such as The Voice, Daily Collegian, Five College Calendar of Events, and Valley Advocate, are available next to the Information Desk. You can visit their website at: http://www.aux.umass.edu/campuscenter/.

m. Mullins Center
The Mullins Center is a state-of-the-art multipurpose sport and entertainment facility and serves as the home of the UMass Minutemen and the University's ice hockey program. The 10,500 seat arena can be reconfigured to host commencements, concerts, theatrical performances, circuses, ice skating events, trade shows, and conferences. Along with the practice rink and racquetball courts, the facility has two Olympic-sized skating surfaces and a banquet facility overlooking the main arena. For more information about events and ticket prices, please visit the website at http://www.mullinscenter.com/default.asp.

n. Escort Service
The Escort Service at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is designed to provide a safe, dependable, and courteous campus environment for students, faculty, staff, and guests of the community. Residence hall Security Supervisors and UMPD Police Cadets provide walking safey escorts to and from all points on campus.

The Service is available from 7 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. when school is in session. No escorts are available during Spring, Summer, Thanksgiving, or Wintersession breaks. Individuals seeking an escort should call Residence Hall Security at 545-2123. A security supervisor equipped with a two-way radio will be dispatched to walk individuals to their destination.

The Residence Hall Security office closes at midnight on Sunday - Wednesday evenings. Individuals who call after midnight on these evenings will be forwarded to a voice message system directing them to call the UMPD dispatcher at 545-2121 to request a Police Cadet escort.

o. Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity
The Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity (EO&D) monitors the implementation of federal and state affirmative action, equal opportunity, and nondiscrimination regulations at the University. Additionally, EO&D assists in the development and monitors the implementation of these institutional policies and procedures and has responsibility for providing programs that enhance diversity and foster equality. The office is also charged with administering the University's grievance and sexual harassment policies and procedures.

The University's Affirmative Action and Non-discrimination Policy statement is printed on the inside front cover of the Graduate School Bulletin.  For more information or to obtain copies of the above mentioned policies, contact the EO&D Office, 243 Lederle Graduate Research Center Lowrise, tel. (413) 545-3464 or emaileod@admin.umass.edu. The office is open Monday through Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm. A copy of the Grievance Policy and Procedures and the Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures can also be found at the EO&D website at http://www.umass.edu/eod/.

p. Cultural Centers
There are a number of Cultural Centers on the UMass campus. For a comprehensive list of cultural centers and detailed descriptions, please visit the Office of ALANA Affairs website at http://www.umass.edu/alana/studentculturalctr.html#kochiyama .