March
2013
Greetings from
Gail:
Have a Heart on St. Patrick's Day
Many legends surround both Saint Patrick and the celebration of his life. For the man, that he that he drove the snakes out of Ireland and used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. For his celebration, that it is a day focusing on imbibing alcohol. According to researchers, these legends are fiction, not fact. Historically, Ireland has never had snakes and the Irish celebrated their saint with religious services and feasts. By law, pubs in Ireland were closed on this national religious holiday, as recently as the 1970s.
Last March, Burlington felt the impact of the celebration on St. Patrick's Day. This City of neighborhoods where students live side-by-side with families with young children, seniors, professionals, and working people experienced lost sleep, had to comfort children disturbed by the late-night activities, and had to clean up the messes on their
streets. I work with many students who care about the community and they came out and did a clean-up the day after the holiday.
I hope that this year's St. Patick's Day shows how much we care for this place we share and for each other by celebrating in ways that lessen the impact and keep us safe:
Thanks for taking the time to read this message and for your efforts to have a safe and peaceful celebration.
Books:
Celebrations
of Black History Month &
Women's Herstory Month by John Mejia
Anyone
that knows me knows I am
a bibliophile (those 
less kind describe me as
a 'hoarder of books').
But I am always on the
look out for books that
fill in the missing
stories in our
collective histories.
That's why I was excited
by these two books. The
first is "Discovering
Black Vermont: African
American Farmers in
Hinesburgh, 1790-1890"
by Elise
A. Guyette.
As I prepare
to become a Monktonite
(I am moving to Monkton,
VT not becoming a super
hero) I was thrilled to
find a book about the
missing history of Vermont (and really the nation) about the role people from 
marginailzed communities have played in improving this country and fighting for equity and justice in the face of incredible barriers. The book is focused on the Hinesburg area which includes Monkton.
The second book, "Vermont Women, Native Americans, & African Americans" is short and really doesn't weave the historical documents into a compelling narrative. However, the facts themselves are enthralling and highlight the many African-American firsts that Vermont can boast. Interestingly, both of these books were authored by women scholars. An indication of how stories long ignored can find their voice as the academy struggles to become more diverse and inclusive.
Read on!
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Renter Rebate
is a tax credit that can
put money back in your
pocket. Below are the
eligibility requirements
for the Renter Rebate
You must meet
ALL of the following eligibility
requirements:
- You were a legal resident of VT for the entire calendar year 2012; and
- You were not claimed in 2012 as a dependent of another taxpayer; and
- Your household income in 2012 does not exceed $47,000;and
- You are the only person in the household making a renter rebate claim; and
- You rented for all 12 months in 2012.
(One Exception: If you owned a Vermont homestead in 2012, sold the homestead before April 1, 2012, rented on December 31, 2012, and your household income is $47,000 or less, you may be eligible for a renter rebate for rent paid in 2012. This is the only situation where a renter rebate can be for less than 12 months rental)
Due Date: April 15, 2013
Claims may be filed up to October 15, 2013. Returns filed after October 15 cannot be accepted regardless of the reason the claim could not be filed.Claims may be filed seperately from your income tax return, Form IN-111.
Timely Filing
The Department considers a renter rebate claim timely filed when it is mailed through the U.S. Post Office and the Department receives it within 3 business days of the due date. If you bring the renter rebate claim to the Department in person, you must deliver ir on or before the return due date.CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Thursday, April 11
8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Dudley H. Davis Center, UVM
We hope you'll join us for the 2013 conference!
REGISTER HERE
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Save Some Green!
“March” right over to the Redstone Market and the University Marché to save some “green.” Be one of the “lucky” ones and take advantage of these two dining deals!
Did you know as an off-campus student you can purchase meal points? Start your account with as little as $10 and add points anytime. Add between $100 and $249 and we'll give you a bonus of 10% in additional points! Add $250 or more and we'll give you a bonus of 20% in additional points.So what does that all mean? $100 gets you 110 meal points and $250 gets you 300 meal points.
To sign up for a meal plan call the Meal Plan Office at 802.656.2945 or visit them in Living & Learning room A110.
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Want
to Reduce Your
FINE$?
Have you
received
a noise ticket?
Wanna help your
neighbors and
reduce
your fine?
The Burlington Community Justice Center offers a restorative noise program. If you are willing to accept responsibility for causing noise that negatively impacted the community, you can reduce your fine by $100 by participating in a two-hour session where you will learn about the history of Burlington, how to avoid future tickets, and ways to solve the issue of noise in our community. You can reduce your fine by an additional $100 by performing 10 hours of community service. If you choose to participate, the remainder of your fine goes to the Parallel Justice Victims Fund, which helps victims of crime restore their safety needs.
The noise program aims to be a constructive process for you and the community. As one UVM student and program participant remarked, “Getting a ticket by itself only teaches me to not make noise so that I don't have to pay a fine. This experience helped me see that I shouldn't make noise because it hurts my neighbors.”
To get started, the first step is to contact the Community Justice Center within seven days of receiving a ticket and before you send your ticket in to the Judicial Bureau or do any community service. We’ll explain the process, schedule you for a noise session, discuss community service opportunities, and answer your questions. Contact Anneke Hohl at 865-7169 or ahohl@burlingtonvt.gov.
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ASB
and OSCR Team Up!
We partnered with
Alternative Spring Break
participants to conduct
surveys on select streets
in an effort to improve
our work in our
neighborhoods.
Over 40 ASBers spent 3 hours on a snowy Saturday going door to door asking residents about their experiences in their neighborhoods, what they loved about living there and how they could help improve their neighborhoods. This effort was a benchmarking exercise that will help different groups (OSCR, the Community Coalition, Dean of Students Office, City Government) understand the state of our neighborhood communities and help address any quality of life issues by addressing the specific concerns of survey respondents. If you would like to join this effort by volunteering with your group or if this kind of project is of academic interest to you, contact us and see how we can work together to make Burlington all it can be.
Info: oscr@uvm.edu
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Common Ground:
Living with College Students
A
Geostories Project
from Fall 2012
by Susan Consolati & Stacey Wang
Off campus housing is in high demand at the University of Vermont. Off campus housing is mainly for upper classman, eagerly waiting the moment they can officially live on their own with no supervision from parents or a resident advisor. Not only does moving off campus come with freedom and excitement, it also comes with a great deal of responsibility. Burlington is a college town, of that there is no doubt, but there are a large number of families that live in downtown Burlington as well. Some of these families have been living downtown, surrounded by students, for years while others have more recently arrived. Regardless of their situation, it is important to build a relationship between these families and students living in the same community.
Two long-standing Burlington community members, Phil Hammerslough and Brian Cina, provide some insight on what it is like living in neighborhoods with so many student tenants. Both Phil and Brian feel that living with so many young individuals is refreshing and that students bring in an upbeat vibe to the neighborhood. They feel that student population deserves credit for bringing energy into the community. However, living with such a large number of students is difficult at times. Students have a tendency to get very loud and destructive, often keeping families awake on the weekends. “Students would have more respect for the neighborhood if they were to live here longer, they feel they have a sense of entitlement when they live in our neighborhoods. Because of the lack of feeling connected they behave in a way they could never get away with in the neighborhood they grew up in” explained Phil. Phil strongly believes if students were to spend more time in one spot and consider it a home instead of a temporary location then they would have more respect for the neighborhood and those who live there permanently.
Phil and Brian are both members of ISGOOD, a group started by Brian over seven years ago to help beautify Isham Street. They work together with other residents of Isham Street planting gardens and cleaning and maintaining the street. Brian also brings Isham Street together by having block parties. He personally goes around to every house inviting all of the residents to the block party so they can be better acquainted. “When the students get involved in the community and see the beauty we are planting and creating, I think they have more respect for it. They want to keep it beautiful” says Brian. It is important for students and permanent Burlington residents to build relationships so they can be aware of each other’s needs. It is both the students and families’ responsibilities to work together to find common ground and live together in a way that both parties can be content.
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Mosaic
of Flavor: Somalian
Sambousas
Wednesday, March 27, 2013 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Sustainability Academy
See map:
Google Maps
Create a memorable next dinner party with an appetizer other than chips and dip. Learn how to make Somalian sambusas, a fried or baked pastry with savory fillings, such as potatoes, onions, peas, lentils, ground lamb, beef, or chicken. Fardowsa Yusuf will walk us through the steps of creating these savory treats. In addition, we will learn how to brew Somali chai tea. Fardowsa moved from Somalia to Burlington with her husband and two sons 3 ½ years ago. She says that sambousas are popular throughout Somalia and one of her favorite things to make and eat. A Mosaic of Flavor is a series of classes coordinated in collaboration with the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program
Questions? Please call the Customer Service Desk (861-9701).
$5 for City Market Members, $10 for non-members Reserve your spot today!
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On Saturday March 23, UVM students will be helping with a bottle drive raising money for victims of crime. Parallel Justice BTV is partnering with Catamounts Care to collect your redeemable bottles and ALL THE $ will go DIRECTLY TO VICTIMS to pay for basic and safety needs – like replacing a smashed car window after vandalism, or installing a new lockset for someone whose keys were stolen, not to mention the dozens of off-campus students we’ve helped with security concerns after a burglary. So please hold onto your bottles for the next two weeks (St. Patty’s Day is coming up), and look for us on Saturday morning going door to door. More details on where to donate directly on our facebook page or our website - www.pjburlington.org.
Empowering victims and restoring safety. . .
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Spruce Up the City for Spring
The Office of Student and Community Relations is working with the Student Government Association and Fraternity and Sorority Life to do a clean-up on Sat., March 23, from 11 am to 12:30 pm. We will meet at the office (1st floor of 12 Colchester Ave.) for materials and bagels at 11 am. If you would like to help out, please contact us at
oscr@uvm.edu. You can focus on your street if you'd like! We would love to have your involvement!
Have a story or event you
think we should include in
our next newsletter? Email
submissions will be
accepted until the 10th of
each month for that
month's newsletter. Submit
your stuff here.
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