Could you be "The Biggest Loser" of unhealthy habits? Register for a six-week challenge (Oct 7-Nov. 18) of healthy eating and physical activity by visiting the Center for Health Education & Wellness, DeNaples Center 205K, or e-mailing chew@scranton.edu. Win prizes, lose weight and gain healthy habits. For more information, call 941-4253.

The Community Outreach Office is hosting “Safe Trick or Treat” in the Residence Halls on Sunday, Oct. 17, from noon to 3 p.m.

Employees are welcome to bring their children and grandchildren from ages infants to 12 years to this event. Because of the costs of this event for candy, crafts and food, we ask that guests be limited to family members only. Please RSVP to Ellen Judge by e-mail at judgee2@scranton.edu or by calling our office at 941-7429, letting us know the number of children attending.

Clubs - please sign-up to do a craft, game or activity geared to children 0-12 in the DeNaples Center's fourth-floor ballroom. Clubs should provide a table covering and the all supplies necessary for your activity. We ask that no activity include paints or glitter, due to the mess (we don't want to ruin the ballroom floor or the kids outfits). E-mail Dave Hopp at hoppd2@scranton.edu to receive a form and let us know what your club would like to do. Club members not helping at the table may also sign up to be a children's escort/buddies for the day. Escorts should sign-up in the student forum area outside The Community Outreach Office.

Residents/RAs - please sign-up your floor to hand out candy to the trick or treaters! Contact Mike Wiencek at wiencekm2@scranton.edu and he will e-mail you the form. Sign-ups are due by Tuesday, Oct 12. Please expect about 200 children.

Escorts – sign-up to be an escort/buddy for the day. The sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board in the student forum, second floor of DeNaples Center, outside the Community Outreach Office.

Oct. 1, 2010, has been designated “Feminist First Friday.” Conceived by women’s studies faculty members in cooperation with the Jane Kopas Women’s Center and the Center for Health and Wellness, the day invites all members of the University community to explore what feminism is. Further, the event celebrates the start of the new major in Women’s Studies.

Women’s studies faculty members have opened their classroom doors and/or developed mini-presentations of various women’s studies courses to provide everyone with the opportunity to sample women’s studies courses for the day.   Presentations and classes are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and also include informational sessions on the women’s studies travel courses as well as information and advising on the new major in women’s studies. Most events will take place on Dionne Green Amphitheater or DeNaples Center 405.

The day also features a feminist scavenger hunt, a keynote address by Eleanor Solo, Acting Chief to Coordination and Outreach Unit, Division for the Advancement of Women, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations at 3 p.m. in the DeNaples Center’s Moskovitz Theater, followed by a reception and a women’s studies faculty “meet and greet” at 4 p.m. in the DeNaples Center’s ballroom. 

Two displays will be featured all-day. The first, “Patriarchy—and How Not to Play it” features a life-sized game based on the game “Monopoly.” Developed by students in PHIL 218 Feminism:  Theory and Practice, it will be on display in the DeNaples Center’s ballroom from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 4 to 5 p.m. The second display will be in the Weinberg Memorial Library lobby and features influential women’s studies books recommended by Women’s Studies faculty and students.

Feminist First Friday participants are also encouraged to venture downtown for First Friday and a feminist book display at Anthology books, and then to return to campus for a concert featuring Regina Sales on the DeNaples Center’s patio at 10 p.m. The latter is a Late Night event sponsored by CHEW and the Jane Kopas Women’s Center.

Student participants in events can qualify for drawings for cash prizes. 

For additional information, contact Dr. Sharon Meagher, director of Women’s Studies and chair of the Department of Latin American Studies and Women’s Studies (LA/W/S), at Sharon.meagher@scranton.edu or Hope Smith, director of the Jane Kopas Women’s Center at hope.smith@scranton.edu.

The Council for Exceptional Children Club will hold its second meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 7:30 p.m. in Collegiate Hall. Dr. Clarence Lamanna will be speaking on new Pennsylvania educational initiatives. For more information, contact Dr. Dona Bauman at ext. 6282 or baumand4@scranton.

On-campus houses, apartments and residence halls will close on Saturday, Oct. 9, at noon., and re-open on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at noon.

Dining Information

The Fresh Food Company (third floor of DeNaples) closes on Friday, Oct. 8, at 2:30 p.m. and re-opens on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at 4:45 p.m.

The first-floor food court is open on Friday, Oct. 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 9, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Regular hours for dining on the first-floor food court resume on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at 8:30 a.m.

Meal plan schedule resumes on Tuesday, Oct. 12, at dinner. Students may use Royal or Flex earlier that day if needed.

All residents are required to complete the following closing procedures:

• Clean your room (i.e. remove trash/clean out personal refrigerators).
• Remove any items that may spoil over break (i.e. milk, bread, etc.).
• Close and lock all windows.
• Pull down and close blinds.
• Turn off all lights.
• Close and lock room door.
• Last person to leave, sign the “We're Outta Here” form and place on the outside of the door.

Individual residents who would like to make a request to stay on campus during the break must submit an online form through UIS by Monday, Oct. 4. This form can be accessed through Myscranton.edu (UIS, Student Tab, Student Services/Financial Aid, Residence Life, Break Request). Residents will only be granted permission to stay on campus with legitimate reasons (distance, employment, etc.). Break housing for groups of students (athletes, service trip participants, etc.) has been previously arranged through athletics or faculty/staff members and these students do not need submit an individual request on UIS. Please note that graduate students living in Herold House and Dorothy Day Apts. are not required to leave campus housing during holiday breaks.

For more information, contact res-life@scranton.edu.

There comes a time in every rightly-constructed boy’s life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for buried treasure — "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain."

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" will play on Friday, Oct. 1, and Saturday, 2, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 3, at 2 p.m. in the McDade Center for Literary and Performing Arts in the Royal Theater.

Grab your shovels and join us in this lively new adaptation, commissioned by the Hartford Stage, of a treasured American classic. This production is funded in part by a cooperative grant between Marywood University and The University of Scranton and is in collaboration with Scranton Reads; One City, One Book. It is directed by Bob E. Gasper.

Ticket prices for general admission is $8. Students, faculty/staff and senior citizens are $5. The weekend shows of Oct. 1-3 is free for freshman.

For reservations or more information, call 941-4318

The Office of Multicultural Affair presents Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Among the activities scheduled are:

EVENT: Arizona Immigration Bill 1070
Learn more about the controversial Immigration bill 
Thursday, Sept. 30, 11:30 a.m.
Brennan Hall 500

Event: Latin Heritage Month Celebration Dinner 
Join us as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with savory food and an awards ceremony
Co-sponsored with the Office of Equity and Diversity
Sunday, Oct. 3, 3 - 6 p.m.
The DeNaples Center, fourth-floor ballroom