Student Life

Boxes! The Lawrence Center for Community Engagement and Social Change (CCE) is collecting boxes and packaging tape to assist students in the moving process. Should you have any boxes or tape, please bring them to the CCE, located in the back of the Seeley G. Mudd library off of Lawe St. at 113 S. Lawe St. Please look for signs for the CCE and just drop off in the entrance. We are seeking to limit visitors. Questions can be sent to community.engagement@lawrence.edu

As many of you transition away from campus I am writing with information about how to engage with the April 7^th Wisconsin Spring Election.  While this information is current as of today, please check back to the Voting and Voter Registration page as information may change in the coming days or weeks.

Request an Absentee Ballot

The Wisconsin Spring Election and Presidential Preference Primary is still planned for April 7. All Lawrentians who are eligible and have registered to vote are strongly encouraged to participate in this important form of civic and community engagement and can do so by requesting an absentee ballot.

To request an absentee ballot, go to the absentee ballot page of My Vote WI. You may be asked to upload a photo of your driver’s license or other voter ID.  We encourage you to request your ballot as soon as possible.

Voter ID 

Wisconsin law currently requires you to have a voter ID on Election Day in order to cast a ballot, even for absentee voting. A Wisconsin driver’s license, U.S. passport, or military ID is acceptable. Your Lawrence student ID is not. If you do not have a Wisconsin driver’s license or a passport, you can obtain a Lawrence voter ID card from the ID Office at no charge. (For questions about an LU voter ID, send an email to idoffice@lawrence.edu).

What’s on the ballot?

In addition to the presidential primary, there are many important local races on the ballot.  These include:

• Appleton mayor
• Appleton city attorney
• Appleton school board members
• Appleton alderpersons
• Outagamie County circuit court judges
• Outagamie County supervisors
• Wisconsin State Justice of the Supreme Court

You can find a list of preliminary candidates and helpful information on Lawrence’s Voting and Voter Registration page.

Take care and be well,

Curt 

Curt Lauderdale

Dean of Students

CODA (Committee on Diversity Affairs) and PAO (Pan-Asian Organization) presents a pre-movie mixer for 4 times Oscar winner “Parasite.” The mixer is located in the Diversity and Intercultural Center this Friday (3/6/2020) at 7pm. Snacks will be provided. The movie will be shown in Warch Cinema this weekend. Please check it out!

Viking Ambassadors in Service and Engagement (VASE) aims to get small cohorts of first-year students volunteering, making connections, and learning about issues in the Fox Valley community within a Lawrence term. Students will gather weekly to learn and serve both on and off campus. All transportation provided by Lyft!  Spring term will offer three programs:

1. Arts Advocacy: Gain a greater access to the arts through representing and educating on different art forms (dance, art, music, theatre, etc.). Lawrentians will design and run their own creative program with children at the Boys and Girls Club. Direction on how to create a lesson plan, as well as any necessary supplies, will be provided.
2. Access to Education: Learn about access challenges within the various systems of education. Lawrentians will receive the support and resources needed to create their own project around furthering education equality within a community of their choice. Discussions and meetings will involve interactive activities, discussions and guest speakers from the education community.
3. Public Health: Partner with the City of Appleton’s Health department to create an intervention program for an epidemic impacting many local teenagers – vaping. Students will be trained to provide outreach within the Appleton Area School District. In addition, each week Lawrentians will better understand what it is to be a compassionate health professional through articles, speakers, and discussion.

To learn more and apply, visit our VASE homepage. Applications for Spring term programs are due on Monday, March 9. While this program is geared towards first-year students, all students are welcome to apply.

On January 31, 2020, Proclamation 9983 expanded the existing Travel Ban initiated by President Trump’s Executive Order 13780 and subsequent Proclamation 9645 in September 2017.  This new proclamation places immigrant visa and entry restrictions on six additional countries effective February 21, 2020: Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania.  International students are considered non-immigrant visa types, and therefore not considered “restricted” by the new ban.  The countries affected by the previous travel ban, which remain in effect, and in many cases do include both immigrant and non-immigrant visa categories, are Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen, and Somalia.  

International students (F-1/J-1 visas), students with global backgrounds, and any Lawrence student who may be impacted by the recent or previous proclamations or the health-related travel restrictions to/from China, (referenced by Vice President Card in the email sent on February 5,)  are encouraged to consult with Leah McSorley, Associate Dean of Students for International Student Services, prior to planning any travel outside of the United States.  Additionally, free consultations provided by a local immigration attorney are available on February 14, 2020 and can be scheduled by contacting internationalhouse@lawrence.edu.

All students are encouraged to understand their constitutional rights while residing inside the United States.  The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) will be providing and educational presentation about the rights afforded by the U.S. constitution on Wednesday, February 19, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. in the Cinema.  This event, sponsored by the Diversity and Intercultural Center and International Student Services, is free and open to the public.

Lawrence University is committed to serving students of all backgrounds from around the world.  Lawrence does not discriminate based on citizenship status nor country of origin and is committed to providing an equitable education experience for all students. Our campus welcomes students with global backgrounds including those raised in the United States.  Over 230 students representing 53 countries are members of the Lawrence community and we continue to value their presence and contributions to campus.

Sincerely,

Leah McSorely, Ed.D.
Associate Dean of Students for International Student Services
920-832-6509
leah.d.mcsorley@lawrence.edu

Curt Lauderdale
Dean of Students
920-832-6596
deanofstudents@lawrence.edu