Welcome to the month of September!

We’re in a time of trying to find our rhythm while we transition into the fall season. And it’s okay if you’re still figuring things out. Beyond our campus, there is so much happening in our world and in our personal lives, a lot of which is outside our control. We invite you to pause, take a deep breath, and consider the things currently within your control. Notice your shoulders, if they’re raised, and allow them to relax. Take another breath, and release any tension in your jaw. You’re still here, and you’ll find your pace. Some of you might find yourself feeling energized at this time of the year instead. Maybe you're impressed by how you’ve met recent challenges, how you've been courageous to speak up for yourself or others, and are encouraged by the connections you’re making. You’re off to a great start.

For all of us, this is just the beginning. Keep doing your best and taking the semester one day at a time. We hope the resources and events below are valuable in promoting our students' well-being.

In community,
The Skorton Center for Health Initiatives at Cornell Health
part of Student and Campus Life at Cornell University

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Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo_hó:no' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo_hó:no' are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo_hó:no' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo_hó:no' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.

Managing your time well is key to success in college and also in life! Many college students find themselves with more unstructured time than they had in high school. Of course, unstructured time and free time are not the same thing, and learning how to create structure for yourself can require patience, practice, and persistence.

Using calendars is key! Students tell us that using a semester calendar and a weekly calendar helps them:

• make (and keep) semester-long goals,
• stop wasting time by finding hidden time and using a “work-day” approach; and
• be more prepared and organized.

The Learning Strategies Center (LSC) can help match you with study partners for your Fall 2023 classes!

Why have so many students signed up for a study partner? Because they know that studying with peers is an effective way to learn complex and challenging material and helps them connect with each other. They are also really helpful if you need to miss class!

Click here to visit the LSC's “Find Study Partners” page.

Below, we've highlighted some upcoming events that we hope you'll check out. These are great places you can use to take a break, connect with others, and enjoy nature!

Botanic Gardens Highlights Tour

• When: Saturday, September 9, from 11:00am to 12:00pm
  
• What: Take a relaxing stroll with a Garden Guide through the gardens around the Nevin Welcome Center and discover the beauty and diversity of our cultivated plant collections. Visit the Robison Herb Garden, Young Flower Garden, Bowers Rhododendron Collection, Shady Groundcover Collection, tropical container display, and more. Each tour will be a unique experience, as we observe the gardens’ progression throughout the growing season.
• Where: Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center - 124 Comstock Knoll Road, Ithaca, NY 14850
• Fee: Free; donations welcome

Mindful Botany Walks

• When: Friday, September 15, 2023 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm
• What: Join Cornell Botanic Gardens staff to observe the beauty and drama of nature unfolding on monthly nature walks. While exploring various paths and gardens each month, we will practice mindfulness by dedicating our attention to the present moment and fully observing and appreciating the amazing plant transformations that take place throughout the year. Walks will be held rain or shine on the third Friday of each month, beginning May 19 and ending October 20.
• Where: Cornell Botanic Gardens - 124 Comstock Knoll Drive
  
• Fee: Free; donations welcome

2023 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour

• When: Thursday, September 14, at 8:30pm / Sunday, September 17 at 5:30pm
• What: The 2023 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour, presented by Shutterstock, is an 90-minute theatrical program of seven short films curated from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, including two Festival Award-winning titles. This year’s selection features a mix of fiction, documentary, and animated shorts that are funny, sad, inspirational, and full of strong characters.
• Where: Cornell Cinema

Sustaining Keyboards Symposium Recital: Wood and Wire, Song and Dance

• When: Friday, September 15, at 7:30pm
• What: Matthew Bengtson performs works by Mozart, Chopin, Fauré, and others on a selection of instruments from the CCHK piano collection. This event is part of the symposium “Sustaining Keyboards” (September 15-16, 2023). The symposium asks how notions of sustainability might prompt us to think anew about keyboard histories, embedded as they are in ecologies of nature and commerce, artifice and art, craft and industry. To what extent are those histories, and the instruments that embody them, sustainable into an uncertain future?
• Where: Barnes Hall - 129 Ho Plaza Cornell University: Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
• Fee: Free and open to the public; no tickets required

CU Downtown (Welcome Students Weekend)

• When: Saturday, September 9, from 12:00pm to 5:00pm
  
• What: CU Downtown, an award-winning event that we can't wait to see you at! Join the Tatkon Center for New Students and Ithaca Downtown Alliance for an afternoon intended to welcome new and returning students to Ithaca. This year we are collaborating with Ithaca College and Tompkins-Cortland Community College. Explore downtown Ithaca and with the CU Marching and Pep Band kicking off the event at 12:30pm, stay to see student performances starting at 1pm and continuing throughout the afternoon. Take advantage of special student discounts and activities at retail stores and participate in the scavenger hunt. There will be lots of free giveaways as well!
• Where: Ithaca Commons, Bernie Milton Stage - 198 E Martin Luther King Jr St, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA

See more events on the Cornell Calendar

Let’s Meditate is a FREE, guided, mindfulness meditation series sponsored by Cornell Health, in collaboration with numerous campus partners. It is open to all members of the Cornell community, including students, faculty, and staff of all identities. You are welcome to come to as many sessions as you wish.

Click this link to access the website and full schedule.

Preview of the Fall 2023 Let's Meditate Schedule:

• Mondays: 9:00 – 9:30 am — Meditation with Kimerly S. Cornish from the Hasbrouck Community via Zoom (recurring weekly)
• Mondays: 12:15 – 12:45 pm — Meditaciones en español with Mar Perez from the Dean of Students office via Zoom (recurring biweekly: 9/11, 9/25, 10/9, 10/23, 11/6, 12/4, led in spanish)
• Tuesdays: 12:00 – 12:30 pm — IN-PERSON Meditation with Travis Winter from Cornell Health at Olin Library, Room 703 (recurring biweekly: 9/5, 9/19, 10/3, 10/17, 10/31, 11/14, 11/28, 12/12)
• Thursdays: 8:30 – 9:00 am — IN-PERSON or via Zoom Meditation with rotating staff from Cornell Health in Room 501 (recurring weekly)
• Fridays: 12:15 – 12:45 pm — Meditation with Michelle Keyser-Speth from Human Resources, Benefits & Transitions via Zoom (recurring biweekly: 9/8, 9/22, 10/6,10/20, 11/3, 11/17, 12/1, 12/15)
• Fridays: 3:30 – 4:00 pm — Meditation with Joy Mushabec and Linda Stout from Cornell Health via Zoom (recurring weekly, guides alternate)

Group counseling is one of the most effective tools for addressing issues common among college students. For many students, group counseling can be as effective or more effective than individual counseling. A preview of the topics covered this semester are listed below.

Click here for the full Fall 2023 Group Counseling Schedule.

Preview of the Fall 2023 Group Counseling Offerings:

• AOD: How to Change a Habit

• AOD: Mindfulness-Based Harm Reduction (Graduate)
  

• Gender Expansive Process Group
  

• Graduate Women's Process Group
  

• Student of Color Process Group

• Understanding Self & Others: An Undergraduate Process Group

• Write it OUT: Weekly Process Group

• ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy) for Anxiety & Depression

• AOD: Mindfulness-Based Harm Reduction (Undergraduate)

• Building Resiliency with DBT Skills

• Collaborative Health & Eating Program (CHEP) Recovery Group

• Getting out of your Head: Managing Anxiety and Depression Through Movement

• International Student Process Group

• LGBTQ+ Support/Process Group for Graduate Students

• Thriving Lotus Circle (TLC): Growing from Abuse

• What You Resist Persists: a Group for Those with OCD

• Anxiety & You: Managing Anxiety in Times of Uncertainty

• Authentically ADHD Support Group

• Collaborative Health and Eating Program (CHEP) Education Group

• Grief Support Group

• Tools for Feeling Better: 4-Week Group

• Queering Connection: LGBTQ+ Interpersonal Process & Support Group for Undergraduates and Graduates

• Anxiety & You for Graduate Students: Managing Anxiety in Times of Uncertainty

• AOD: Discover Recovery

• Finding Healing Through Art Therapy

• Graduate Women's Process Group

• Life Altering Illness Support Group

• Mindful Movement Group

• Positive Action Through Interaction: A Graduate Student Group for All Genders

• UR Not Alone: A Men’s Process Group

  
  

Student Disability Services (SDS) provides academic and/or environmental accommodations and services for qualified students with disabilities.

Student Disability Services:

• Establishes and disseminates criteria for disability services
• Meets with students to discuss access needs
• Receives and stores confidential disability documentation to support a student’s eligibility for disability services and accommodations
• Collaborates with faculty and staff regarding essential course and/or program requirements and appropriate reasonable accommodations
• Is a leader of diversity efforts on campus that promote disability equity and inclusion

Student Disability Services is a Cornell Health program within Student and Campus Life. Information shared with SDS is confidential. Your health care records with Cornell Health are NOT shared with SDS staff, and vice versa (unless you sign a release for specific records to be sent).

Click here to connect with SDS!

When: Thursday, September 21, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm; Priority registration ends on Sept 14th

What: Kick off the new academic year with graduate and professional students, postdocs, faculty, staff and other community members to celebrate and develop connections. Finger foods and drinks will be provided. This event is co-hosted by the Graduate School Office of Inclusion & Student Engagement (OISE) and graduate student organizations represented on the Graduate & Professional Student Diversity Council

Click here to register.

Where: G10 Biotech

Supporting LGBTQ+ Students Mental Health

When: Thursday, September 14, at 5:30pm

What: If you would like to learn more about the LGBTQ+-specific mental health resources on campus, join us for a conversation with LGBTQ+ counselors from CAPS.

Where: The event will be held at 626 Thurston Ave. first floor conference room. Snacks provided! Food Provided (Via's Cookies)

BRIDGE Program

The Cornell BRIDGE (Building Relationships to Aid Growth and Empowerment) Program for Undocumented Students is designed for undergraduate undocumented students to form lifelong mentorships with graduate undocumented students to explore graduate school, career pathways, and other life milestones. The program encompasses professional development and community building programming. Newly launched in Spring 2022, this program is seeking undocumented, DACA, and formerly undocumented graduate/postdoc students at Cornell University. To learn more or to participate, contact Julia Dahae Jun, Graduate Assistant, Student Empowerment & Undocumented/DACA Student Support.

Afternoon Tea Dinner Series

Undocumented and DACA students come together at these private meals to create a community of support for each other. To learn more, contact Julia Dahae Jun, Graduate Assistant, Student Empowerment & Undocumented/DACA Student Support.

Open to everyone in the Cornell community! Use the survey below to submit a written response or a photo of you, your friends, your colleagues, and/or your organization practicing something that helps you flourish, for a chance to be featured in our newsletter!

Help is available any time day or night by connecting with the following resources. You don't have to be in crisis to take advantage of these free opportunities to speak or chat with a trained professional or volunteer who can listen to your concerns and offer insight and advice.

Cornell (24/7):

• Cornell Health phone consultation (support for students): 607-255-5155
• eni Confidential Counseling Services (support for faculty and staff): 800-327-2255
• Cornell Office for Public Safety (support for students) 607-255-1111

Student Support & Advocacy Services (24/7):
Student Advocacy & Support Services and Administrator on Call (support for students): Business hours: 607-254-8598; After hours: 607-255-1111

Ithaca hotlines (24/7):

• Ithaca Crisisline (for anyone): 607-272-1616 or 800-273-TALK (8325)
• Advocacy Center (for sexual violence / relationship violence): 607-277-5000
  
  

National hotlines (24/7):

• 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988
• Trevor Lifeline (LGBTQ): 866-488-7386
• LGBT National Hotline: 888-843-4584
• Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
• RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-4673
  
  

National text / chat services (24/7):

• National Crisis Text Line: Text HELLO to 741741
• Steve Fund Crisis Text Line: Text STEVE to 741741 (especially for students of color)
• TrevorChat (chat service) and TrevorText (text line): Text START to 678678 (especially for LGBTQ students)
• 988 Lifeline Chat: connect with counselors via web chat for emotional support and other services
  
  

International services:

• See listing of international hotlines