World AIDS Day: Day Without Art

Day Without Art began on December 1st 1989 as the national day of action and mourning in response to the AIDS crisis. To make the public aware that AIDS can touch everyone, and inspire positive action, some 800 U.S. art and AIDS groups participated in the first Day Without Art, shutting down museums, sending staff to volunteer at AIDS services, or sponsoring special exhibitions of work about AIDS. Since then, Day Without Art has grown into a collaborative project in which an estimated 8,000 national and international museums, galleries, art centers, AIDS Service Organizations, libraries, high schools and colleges take part.

The Office of Student Life and Development, the Student Wellness Center, and the Department of Architectural Technology have teamed together to bring Day Without Art to City Tech. This week, in locations across campus, you will see works of art shrouded in black as a reminder that HIV/AIDS continues to rob our community of people whose ideas, energy, creativity, innovation, and passion build the imaginative bridge between technology and art that benefits us all.

We have lost to AIDS such artistic lights as visual artists Keith Haring, and Robert Mappelthorpe; architects Frank Israel, Robert Ferri, and Alan Buchsbaum; filmmaker Derek Jarman; graphic designer William O. Johnston and Enno Poersch; theatrical designers Jeffrey Struckman and Ken Holamon and many, many others whose names we do not know.

What Can I Do?

Know your HIV status: get tested TODAY in the Student Wellness Center!

Also, the NYC Department of Health offers free and confidential HIV testing at locations across the five boroughs. Check out our blog for more information:
www.studentwellnessatcitytech.blogspot.org

Participate in Housing Works 24 hr. vigil of the Reading of the Names on December 1st in front of City Hall.

Encourage friends, family members and loved ones to use latex barrier protections each and every time they have sex. Come to the Student Wellness Center for testing information and free latex barrier products.

Want More Information on Day Without Art? Check out Visual AIDS for inspiration, ideas and more art activism.

Feeling Blue During the Holidays?

So, the holiday season is here and you're feeling down? You're not alone, and you're certainly not crazy! The University of Maryland Medical Center offers some information and tips on managing the holiday blues:

What are holiday blues?The holidays are supposed to be a joyful time of good cheer and optimistic hopes. Yet, it is not unusual for many of us to feel sad or lonely during the holiday period -- a condition that has come to be called holiday blues or holiday depression.
Holiday depression may occur at any holiday or vacation time, but most commonly happens during the December holidays when, it may seem, just about everyone in the world is celebrating in some way. There are many causes for holiday blues, and the symptoms may mimic clinical depression.
While they may be intense and unsettling, holiday blues are usually short-lived, lasting for a few days to a few weeks prior to or just after the holiday. The good news is, holiday blues usually subside after the holiday season is over and daily routines are resumed.
There is a long list of recommended Do's and Don'ts for managing your holiday blues. The most important things to remember are: it's a normal response to a stress-filled time of the year, and you don't have to suffer unnecessarily. Find someone to talk with who can help you through this difficult time -- a family member, friend, member of the clergy, or a physician or professional counselor.

Be Prepared This Flu Season

CDC Says “Take 3” Steps To Fight The Flu

Flu is a serious contagious disease.
Each year in the United States, on average:
More than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications.
20,000 of those hospitalized are children younger than 5 years old.
36,000 people die from flu.
Take action to protect yourself and your loved ones from the flu.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urges you to take the following steps to protect yourself and others from influenza (the flu):

Take time to get a flu vaccine.

The Student Wellness Center will be administering flu vaccination to students on Monday November 17th from 9:00am to 5:00pm and Wednesday, November 19th from 10:30am to 6:00pm.

CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease.

While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine protects against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season.
The vaccine can protect you from getting sick from these three viruses or it can make your illness milder if you get a different flu virus.

Getting a vaccine is very important for people at high risk for serious flu complications, including young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart or lung disease, and people 65 and older.
People who live with or care for those at high risk should also get a flu vaccine to protect their high-risk contact.

Take everyday preventive actions.
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
If you get the flu, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.


Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor recommends them.
If you do get the flu, antiviral drugs are an important treatment option. (They are not a substitute for vaccination.)
Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaler) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body.
Antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. They may also prevent serious flu complications. This could be especially important for people at high risk.
For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started soon after getting sick (within 2 days of symptoms).
Flu-like symptoms include fever (usually high), headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and muscle aches.

For more information on the flu, the flu vaccination, and what to do if you get sick, visit CDC's website

New Technology for Bikers!

You've heard of Mapquest for driving and Hopstop for taking the bus and Subway--now meet Ride the City, a new website that will map your bike route from one destination to the next. As their website explains:

The concept is pretty simple. Just like MapQuest, Google, Microsoft, and
other mapping programs, Ride the City finds the shortest distance between two
points. But there are two major differences. First, RTC excludes roads that
aren't meant for biking, like the BQE and the Queens Midtown tunnel. Second, RTC
tries to locate routes that maximize the use of bike lanes and greenways.

We think this website is simply terrific! You can choose the safest route (almost all green bike lanes or designated paths) a safe route, or--for you daredevils and traffic fearless types--the most direct route. Any way you ride, choosing to bike--instead of taking public transportation or driving a car--is a convenient way to sneak exercise into a busy schedule! (Plus, its the best option for the environment as well).

So, map that route and get on your bikes for a few nice days before winter kicks in for good. And, of course--always wear a helmet

Blood Drive On Now: October 27-29

Okay, City Tech--

Now's the time. You've seen the signs up for weeks on end, you've heard us talk in your classes, table at events, stop you in the hallway, offer free goodies, all in the hopes that you will take 20 minutes out of your day to give blood.

Why?

Each day, the New York Blood Center needs close to 2,000 people a day to roll up their sleeves to give the gift of life. There is simply no substitute in the world for voluntarily donated blood. Without volunteer donors, our community would not have an adequate community blood supply.

What does this mean? It means that if you have ever had anyone you know and love go to the hospital for an emergency procedure, give birth, receive cancer treatments, or any other hundreds of possible medical procedures more likely than not they benefited from some stranger, somewhere, taking the time to donate blood. Your blood donation will, in turn, help people you will never meet. Its simple, really. If we all pay the gift forward, the blood will be there when any of us need it. But--we have to give.

If you cannot give blood, encourage your friends and co-workers to give. It is free, it is fast, and every single day it saves lives. Last semester, City Tech’s Spring Blood Drive yielded the 3rd highest number of donations of any CUNY school but I think this semester we can do even better.

Plus, every donor will receive a free ticket to the Haunted Hotel!

Thank you so much for caring enough to give.

Sincerely—

Holly Burmeister
Director, Student Wellness Center

Recipes from Sabor de la Salud!

If you were anywhere on campus Thursday, October 16th at cllub hours, you couldn't have missed the LIVE SALSA Band and the FREE FOOD that were part of the Sabor de la Salud event sponsored by the Student Wellness Center and the Office of Student Life and Development.

Want to have your own Sabor de la Salud night? No sweat! Its easy and (thank goodness) inexpensive to make delicious, healthy Hispanic food. Check out the recipes below:

Salsa
Serving Size: 2 Tbsp.
Yield: 16 servings
Calories: 4
½ cup jalapenos, diced
1 cup canned tomatoes, diced
1/8 tsp. cumin, ground
c tsp. Salt
½ tsp. vinegar
1 garlic clove, diced
½ cup of water
2 tbsp. onion, diced
1/8 tsp. black pepper, ground

Boil water, add jalapenos and cook until tender. Drain all but 1 tbsp. water. Grind jalapenos in remaining water. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve as a topping for tostados, enchiladas, huevos rancheros, beans or rice.

Courtesy of the Ohio Commission on Minority Health Eating for your Health Cookbook

Mexican Rice
Serving Size: 1 cup
Yield: 12 servings
Calories: 80

2 cups brown rice
3 tbsp. tomato sauce
½ cup onion, diced
½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
3 ½ cups of water

2 tsp. salt-free chicken bouillon mix
1 cup tomato, diced
½ tsp. cumin seed, ground
½ tsp. chili powder


Brown rice in saucepan with onions. Add remaining ingredients; cover tightly and simmer for 45 minutes or until rice had absorbed all liquid.

Marinated Fish

1 pound white fish, skinned, pared and diced
Juice of 4 or 5 lemons
2 tbsp. onions, finely chopped

2 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped
6 pitted green olives, chopped
1 green chili pepper, finely chopped

1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp. olive oil
Iceberg lettuce leaves

1. Place fish in a medium glass bowl, add enough lemon juice to cover it completely. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in refrigerator overnight.
2. Two or three hours before serving, drain off lemon juice and stir in remaining ingredients. Cook for 15 minutes on moderate heat.
3. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves.

COOL TROPICAL FRUIT
1 fresh mango
1 ripe banana
½ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
8 ice cubes
4 slices fresh or unsweetened pineapple
mint leaves

1. Peel mango and take the pulp from the pit.
2. In a blender or food processor blend pulp, peeled banana and pineapple juice.
3. Pour enough ice to make four cups. Divide among 4 chilled serving bowls.
4. Finely chop the pineapple and divide into 4 portions. Stir each portion into the fruit puree.
5. Garnish each bowl with mint leaves. Served chilled.


Red Beans with Rice
Serving Size: ½ cup
Yield: 16 servings
Calories: 109 Fat: 2 grams Sodium: 78 mg. Fiber: 4 grams
Carbohydrates: 8 grams Protein: 4 grams

8 ounces kidney or pinto beans
2 onions, chopped
1 green or red pepper, chopped
2 cups uncooked rice
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 tbsp. dried oregano
3 cups bean cooking water or 3 cups of water
½ tsp. salt to taste

1. Soak the beans overnight. Drain soaking water, cover with fresh water at least one inch over top of beans, and cook until tender. Drain beans, reserving 3 cups cooking water.
2. Sauté onions and garlic in oil until softened slightly; add pepper and sauté one minute more.
3. Add oregano and mix. Add beans. Stir. Add reserved liquid and boil.
4. Add uncooked rice and stir to moisten all rice.
5. Simmer, covered, until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve hot. (if using canned beans you will probably not need to salt.

See? Easy and delicious. Now, turn up the stereo and DANCE!

Vote For Your Health!

Don't Forget to Register to Vote!



October 10, 2008 is the last day to register to vote in New York State. You can register to vote here at City Tech outside the library, in the Student Wellness Center, and in the Office of Student Life and Development.

Click on the link to hear Halle Berry, Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio and others give their reasons to vote on Tuesday, November 4th in the Presidential election. Why Vote?

Want to find out how each Presidential and congressional candidate stands on the issue of healthcare? Go to: http://www.yourcandidatesyourhealth.org/

The next president will make important decisions on health care and health opportunities for the entire country. If you care about your health and the future of healthcare in the United States, get registered and VOTE!

Got Asthma? Got Questions? We've Got Answers!

Activities Include:

• Asthma 101 talk by Liz D'Imperio, RRT of the American Lung Association in N-119 at 1:00pm and 2:00pm
• Asthma Action Plans and Q and A by Deputy Medical Director of School Health for students with children in schools
• Asthma Screenings and information on how to prevent asthma attacks by North Brooklyn Asthma Action Alliance and Woodhull Medical Center
• Smoking Cessation information and materials from W0odhull Medical Center.

Free Hepatitis B Vaccines

Dental Hygiene, Restorative Dentistry, Human Service interns, Nursing, and Radiation Technology Students Only

Monday, September 8, 2008 12:30pm -3:30pm

Tuesday, September 9, 2008 12:30pm-3:30pm

Students will be seen on a first-come, first-serve basis. You must be present when your number is called. If you are not present when your number is called, you will need to take another number.
Bring your immunization card with you so we can record this vaccination into your records.
Under 18? Read on:
All students under 18 yrs. old must bring either their parent/guardian with them to the clinic or a notarized letter from their parent/guardian giving consent for the student to be immunized at the clinic.

Please call the Immunization Coordinator at (718) 260-5917 if you have any questions.

Free MMR Vaccination Clinic

Free MMR (Measles, Mumps & Rubella) Vaccinations for City Tech Students

All clinics are held in the Student Wellness Center (P-104)

Thursday, August 21, 2008 10am-2pm and 3pm-6pm

Monday, August 25th 2008 10am-2pm and 3pm-6pm

Students will be seen on a first-come, first-serve basis. We will start distributing numbers at 9:45am. You must be present when your number is called. If you are not present when your number is called, you will need to take another number.

Bring your immunization card with you so we can record this vaccination into your records.

Under 18? Read on:

All students under 18 yrs. old must bring either their parent/guardian with them to the clinic or a notarized letter from their parent/guardian giving consent for the student to be immunized at the clinic.

We're Blood Drive Winners!

It's official: City Tech is one of the top 25 organizations in Brooklyn and Staten Island for the most blood donated in 2007-2008. Thanks to all the faculty, staff, and students who rolled up their sleeves for our Race for Blood, we collected 177 pints of blood!

Congraulations to everyone who participated in our campaign by donating or encouraging friends and co-workers to donate as well.

Right now, New York City is facing a blood-shortage crisis; the metropolitan area has fewer than five days supply of blood available. If you donated in our blood drive in April, you are eligible to donate again. Check here for locations to donate near City Tech or your home. (And hey--you could get free Mets tickets or other goodies in the process!)

Finally, the Student Wellness Center and New York Blood Center will be teaming up with Entertainment Technology students and faculty to present Blood, Guts, and Gore Halloween Drive! Stay tuned in the coming months for all the terrifying details. . .

Cheap Summer Fitness Thrills in the City

Tired of hanging out at the same old places and want to find something new to do this summer? Want to squeeze in some fun betwen the job and summer classes? Kids out of school and driving you crazy?

The Student Wellness Center is here to help! Click on the links below for more details on these free fun activities available all summer long in NYC.

Free Pool Parties!

Sundays June and July; 2-7pm at McCarren Pool in Williamsburg.

Dodgeball, slip-n-slide, food, ice cream, live bands, fans, families and kids of all ages.

Sandcastle Building Contest

July 27; 12-2pm at Rockaway Beach in Queens

Refreshments and prizes for several age categories. Bring buckets and tools. While you're there, why not take a swim?

Kayaking on the Hudson River

Saturdays and Sundays until October; 10am-5pm in Manhattan

You've all been over the bridge, now float under it! See the city from a whole new viewpoint and get a great upper-body work-out.

Learn Petanque in Bryant Park

Weekdays all summer long; 11:30am-2pm

So, probably you've never heard of petanque, right? Well, its like bocce, only french! This is a super-fun lawn game that over 17 million people play world-wide, including some die-hard enthusiasts in in the 5 boroughs. Be the first in your crew to take the boule in hand.

Pilates with a river view

Tuesdays until August 12; 6:30-7:30pm at the Plaza on 66th St.

This total body workout is a great way to develop superior core muscle power and tone, while looking over the beautiful view of the Hudson. Please wear loose, comfortable clothing and bring your own mat.

Stroll through the Greenmarkets

Every day in the summer except Sunday; 7am-5pm, multiple locations

The green markets are bursting with fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. Try a vegetable yo've never eaten before or sink your teeth into local strawberries that'll make you shun the cardboard California imitators for good. City tech is a mere 1/2 block away from a terrific market at Borough Hall

Visit the Brookly Botanical Gardens

Free on Wednesdays and Saturdays before noon

Its amazingly beautiful, world-famous, and just a mile away. Take a long walk and reduce your stress.

Stay tuned this summer for more ideas on how to get out and get active this summer.

The Heat is ON!

New York City is currently experiencing record heat--and we're definitely feeling it at City Tech. Follow the tips below--adapted from the NYC Office of Emergency Management--to manage the heat and stay safe.

* Use an air conditioner if you have one. Set the thermometer at no lower than 78 degrees and use curtains or blinds to block the sun from entering the house. If you do not have an air conditioner, go to a cooler place such as an air-conditioned store, mall or movie theater, or visit a cooling center.

* Make a special effort to check on your neighbors during a heat wave, especially if they are seniors, young children, and people with special needs. Many older New Yorkers live alone and could suffer unnecessarily in the heat because they are isolated from friends and family. We want everyone to be safe.

* Drink plenty of water or other fluids, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Avoid beverages containing alcohol, caffeine, or high amounts of sugar. Remember, NYC tap water is as pure as bottled and its free! Carry your own water and avoid the expense and waste of bottled water.

* If possible, stay out of the sun. When you’re in the sun, wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing that covers as much of your skin as possible, wear a hat to protect your face and head, and use sunscreen (at least SPF 15) to protect exposed skin.

* Avoid strenuous activity, especially during the sun’s peak hours – 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you must engage in strenuous activity, do it during the coolest part of the day, usually in the morning between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m.

And, don't forget your pets--they're hot too! Provide plenty of fresh water (more than they usually need) and a place to lay down that is out of the sun and has open ventilation. Do not exercise your pets in the heat.

Stay safe and healthy to enjoy the pleasures of summer.

If skipping the elevator lines isn't reason enough. . .

The New York City Department of Health has caught on to what we at City Tech have been touting for years: taking the stairs is good for your health!

The surprise news is that taking the stairs is also good for the planet. Consider these facts:

Stair climbing burns almost 700% the number of calories you burn standing on an elevator.

Just two minutes of stair-climbing each day burns enough calories to eliminate the one pound an average adult gains each year.

An escalator that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, can use 28,000 kilowatt hours of energy over the course of a year. That’s enough to create 43,000 pounds of carbon dioxide – more than three times the amount a car produces.

Every time you take the stairs you make a choice that is good for your heart, your health, and the environment.

Skip the elevator lines, make it on time to class or meetings, tone your legs and glutes, give your system a shot of adrenalin, and rev your metabolism. . . all by taking the stairs.

Last Chair Massage of the Semester

Here's your final chance to take advantage of

Tim, Jennie, and Rob's amazing hands.

Come out for the FINAL chair massage session

Thursday, May 15th
12:00-3:00pm Atrium 1st fl.

You must sign up and be present when your turn is called.

Less Stress=Academic Success!

Free Breast Cancer Screening

FREE MAMMOGRAM SCREENING


Tuesday, May 13, 2008

10:00AM in Mobile Van

300 Jay St., in front of Klitgord Building

FOR WOMEN 40 AND OLDER WHO HAVE NOT HAD A MAMMOGRAM IN THE PAST YEAR

NO Insurance is NO problem

An appointment is necessary
Please call 1-800 564-6868

SPONSORED BY

Student Wellness Center &
Women’s Outreach Network

In partnership with
Outreach For Breast Health Foundation

FUNDED BY

Brooklyn Healthy Women’s Partnership

EARLY DETECTION OF BREAST CANCER IS OUR BEST PROTECTION
In Partnership with the American Italian Cancer Foundation