FYSOP 24 Applications: Coming Soon!

Hey FYSOP fans,

Two big congratulations & updates from FYSOP world:

First off, congratulations to all the outstanding FYSOP Staff Leaders that were recently hired!  We’re looking forward to meeting you tomorrow, Wednesday, April 24th, at FYSOP Staff Meet & Greet from 7-9 p.m. in the Conference Auditorium.  

And another huge congratulations to the Class of 2017 for making the great decision to attend Boston University!  We hope to see you a week early in August participating in FYSOP 24.  Applications will be posted on the CSC’s website on Friday, May 3rd.  Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.  Orientation provides an opportunity for incoming students to meet FYSOP Coordinators and learn more about the program; that being said, interested students are welcome to apply when the application is posted and need not wait until their Orientation session.

Any questions, send them our way at fysop@bu.edu!

FyStaff applications are up!

Hello again and happy spring!

Some exciting news as we prepare to depart for spring break: FyStaff applications are up on the CSC website!

FYSOP Staff are integral to the FYSOP program. As a staff leader, you and your co-staff will be assigned an issue area and will lead a group of 12-15 first year volunteers through the FYSOP experience. For more information about the position click here. If you would like to learn more about the individual issue areas, see previous years’ blogs here.

 

Applications can be found here and will be due March 21st. Once you submit your application look for an email to sign up for a group interview as well!

If you’d like to help us promote the FyStaff experience, join us in wearing a FYSOP t-shirt on Tuesday,  March 19th!

Amber Glass in Avignon

Hey BU!

Bridget Burgoyne in London

As the newest Program Managers for FYSOP 24, we are super excited to start planning for FYSOP 24 and wanted to start by introducing ourselves.  Since we’re both tour guides, we’re pretty tired of your standard BU intro, so we thought we’d share some of the things we have in common.

• We’ve both studied abroad twice (covering Costa Rica, Grenoble, Madrid & Padova).
• We’re both FYSOP junkies, headed into our fifth FYSOP and together we’ve covered Elders, HIVAIDs (RIP), GF, Hu Rights and Hunger.
• We’re both seniors.  Don’t talk to us about the g word.
• We both love to cook… and eat.

And here are some things that keep us unique:

• We study completely different things: English and Environmental Analysis & Policy (although they both start with E…).
• We have different post-grad plans… Amber hopes to go to grad school or do hummingbird research in Costa Rica (casual…) and Bridget will maybe land a job in Boston.
• Amber hails from Prairie Farm, Wisconsin, while Bridget is from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.  Both are cute, quaint town names, even though our hometowns are quite different.
• We’re borderline bilingual – Amber in French, Bridget in Spanish. 

So, that’s us.  And we want to get to know you!  Come check out the Summer Leadership Information Session next Tuesday, Jan. 22nd in the Howard Thurman Center.  It’ll start at 5:30PM, and we’ll be able to answer any questions you have about the FYSOP Coordinator and CSC Program Assistant positions. Hope to see you there!

FYlove,

Amber & Bridget

THE PHONE-A-THON IS HERE

Hey FYSOP community! What’s up? We’re doing well, thanks for asking!

So today is our biggest, busiest day of the summer yet…OUR PHONE-A-THON!!! We are all at the office today, calling every single first-year, and congratulating them all on their FYSOP acceptance, and most importantly, announcing his or her issue area!

So to the first-year students who are catching this, keep your phones on you at all times! We will call back until we actually speak with you! It is imperative that we confirm all your information so that the week of FYSOP runs as smoothly as possible. After all, it is ONLY 18 DAYS UNTIL THE FIRST-YEARS ARRIVE!!!

To the staff, we are almost ready for you all to arrive for training! See you in a week and a half! Start packing your bags for fun!!!

We really are so excited to see you all.

Be the change you wish to see in the world! -Gandhi

Sincerely, FYSOP Staff

Issue Area of the Week: Gender Focus

Hello future volunteers!  Your Gender Focus Coordinators, Jackie and Anna, here!  We are here to tell you about all of the totally tubular things we have planned for FYSOP 23.  But first, you are probably wondering…”What does “Gender Focus” even mean”.

When we started this job, Anna and I (Jackie) knew what Gender Focus meant to Becca, Elena, Sam, Kiera, and all of the other coordinators that came before us, but we had to figure out what it meant to us.  Anna and I realized that Gender Focus was all about identity.  How does an individual construct their personal identity within or outside of society’s norms?    We are focusing on how the structure of gender manifests itself in our society and the construction of individual identity by looking at the perceptions of masculinity and femininity, body image and self-esteem, sexual orientation, and sexual and domestic violence.

It starts with gender.  Our society has a binary system in place, and within it two genders exist: man and woman.  We are looking at the way society says they are supposed to act, look, and the hierarchy they have in a given system.  These all directly relate to healthy v. unhealthy relationships, body image and self-esteem, and sexuality.  In researching sites we tried to find places that focused on sexual and domestic violence, LGBTQ advocacy, and body image.  Here is a look at some of our cool sites.

• Girls Inc.-  Girls Inc. is a national organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.  We know that strong self-esteem is important.  Girls Inc. provides girls with a strong support system so they feel comfortable being themselves as they move towards adulthood.
• Emerge- Emerge works toward eradicating violence in intimate relationships.  Emerge was the first abuser education program in the United States, and we can’t wait to work with them again.
• Black and Pink- Black and Pink’s mission is to abolish the prison industrial complex and advocate for LGBTQ prisoners.  We are focusing a lot on FYSOP Fusion, and Black and Pink is a perfect example of the overlap between Gender Focus and Human Rights.

Once again Anna, I, and our 24 Sassy Staff Leaders are so excited to meet all of you.  FYSOP is a phenomenal experience and we want to share it with all of you.  If you want to know more or have any questions, feel free to call us at (617) 353-4710 or email us at genderfocusFYSOP23@gmail.com.

GF Lovin’

Jackie and Anna