Fitness facilities at UVI
The 900 square feet BUCS Fitness Center on the St. Croix campus lies within a convenient area between the cafeteria, snack bar and Student Activity Center. The fitness center provides exercise machinery to tone and strengthen every part of a student’s body. There are two treadmills that were not working since early in the semester but the treadmills are expected to be functional after Oct. 19. According to the Student Activity advisor, the treadmills were down so long was because they were waiting to receive a part for both machines. Besides the machinery, the gym has other fitness accessories, such as free weights, one fitness ball, jump ropes, yoga mats and punching gloves. It also contains lockers, a convenient restroom and a shower that are both located inside the gym.
The gym is too small for a campus that has hundreds of students. An estimated 100 people have membership at the BUCS gym each semester. Students often peep through the glass door of the gym and turn back when they notice that all the working exercise equipment is occupied. In addition to the small space, the air conditioning system was not functioning for two consecutive weeks.
Students and regular attendees of the gym often feel clustered in the small space when so many students are using it at one time. Students constantly have to wait their turn to use the exercise equipment. This can be time consuming and inconvenient for students who are on a tight schedule.
While a student membership is affordable at $20 per semester, the BUCS fitness center needs more space and more exercise machines.
The new state-of-the-art wellness center on the St. Thomas campus has a wide range of equipment to accommodate multiple students. Optional services, such as fitness classes require student fees. The usage of basic exercise machinery and accessories are all included in the student activity fee at the Wellness Center on the St. Thomas campus.
The Wellness Center is a 6,250 square feet area that is seven times larger than the BUCS fitness center. According to UVI’s website, it has a dance studio, fitness equipment, hammer strength, weight training and cardio vascular equipment. It includes more than five treadmills, spin bikes, cable equipment, free weights, TKO barbell and dumbbells, elliptical, exercise bikes, fitness balls, step equipment and a high efficiency air conditioning system. It offers over 10 fitness classes in addition to its services and many more cool features.
The comparisons between both fitness centers are inevitably distinguishable. While the St. Thomas campus has the modern advances of its fitness facilitiy, the St. Croix campus is one step away from bringing more students into the BUCS fitness center to improve their overall health.
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- Inside the closets of UVI Fashionistas (deniciasuarez.wordpress.com)
Prepared Unexpectingly
DENICIA SUAREZ
ST.CROIX- It was a cool and cloudy Sunday morning in the Sunny Isle Shopping Center.
The rain sprinkled on the streets while the gray sky flashed with soft lightning. I was expecting a normal day of work at the Payless Shoe Store. However, what I wasn’t expecting would be what I was most prepared for.
Instinctively, I dropped the window cleaner and hurried across the street only to see that there was an elderly male lying unconscious on the ground.
I felt prepared, like I was supposed to be there. During that moment, flashbacks from my nursing lectures at the University of the Virgin Islands and CPR training flooded my mind. I heard the voice of my instructor Ms. Cooper asking me “What are you going to do first?”
In about 10 minutes the ambulance arrived on the scene, the blinking lights and sirens flooded the area as people watched frantically.
A bystander knelt down to the ground to meet me where I helped stop the bleeding. He held on to the man’s arm with a sense of compassion, trying to keep him conscious.
I could feel around me getting warmer. I turned my eyes away from the guy on the floor for the first time and saw many more bystanders staring at me.
The paramedics got the stretcher out and assessed the senior citizen who tried to speak but spoke with a slur. I left him there when the paramedics took over and headed back to work with no sweater.
The sweater I had put on that morning was now under a strangers bleeding head. The adrenaline that was running through my body was now resorting back to its normal composure. I felt calm when I saw the paramedics wheeling out the stretcher and lifting the small framed man off of the hard cold concrete.
The nursing program at UVI prepared me mentally for this situation that required fast action and critical thinking.
Many locals decide to go to nursing school on the mainland but UVI’s nursing program is one of the best nursing programs. It offers an associate degree on the St. Croix campus and bachelor’s degree on the St. Thomas campus.
If anyone is interested in the nursing program at UVI, go for it! The professors and
advisors are willing to help and give you step-by-step guidance in the skills you need to learn to help you at the bedside or in emergency situations.
I wasn’t a hero as people said that day. I was just a nursing student, prepared for the worst.
Musical Talent at UVI
Musical Talent at UVI
(Published on www.uvivoice.net October 27, 2013)
Musical Talent at UVI
DENICIA SUAREZ|
ST.CROIX- An unfamiliar face walked into the theater on a Wednesday afternoon. He walked to the back to the only piano, a Baldwin, sat down and played an original song, “Origami,” while students listened in amazement.
The University of the Virgin Islands has musically talented students who might be compared to famous pianists such as Ray Charles, Ludwig van Beethoven and Sun Ra, but they go unnoticed. Students at UVI say there isn’t a strong music program and going off island seems to be the better option.
Freshman, Jamal Francis , playing his original piece “Origami”
Jahmal Francis emerges from the circle of students whose musical talent stands out.
Francis is an 18-year-old freshman at UVI. His personality and calm charisma is sculpted by music. He started playing the piano at the age of 12 and at 15 he made a special effort to master his talents. Francis sings and has mastered both the tenor saxophone and the piano, with piano being his favorite. His high school music teacher taught him the basics of playing the piano, however, he learned the rest on his own. He enjoys incorporating his R&B style into every key he plays on the piano.
“I first play with my heart, then my hands in a sense. The music takes me away,’” he said.
This multitalented student majors in business management but his true passion is music. Francis says he might transfer to a different school. He really wants to major in entrepreneurship with a concentration of music, however, majoring in music is not UVI’s strong point. According to UVI’s website, the only degree program that UVI offers in relation to music is a bachelor’s degree in music education. Francis is torn between leaving home and going away to study his true passion.
When Francis is not playing a mellow tune, he is writing poetry. In his free time he plays his emotions into his piano and projects his lyrical thoughts on paper through song writing.
Francis is a perfectionist when it comes to his music. Along with recording his music, his keen hearing for piano notes allows him to tune his music to perfection.
Francis is an original. His smooth style, soulful keys and other musical elements included in his music are 100 percent him. He listens to a variety of music because he believes every artist is unique and it inspires him to be different. Listening to a variety of musical genres allows Francis to channel his musical abilities through his voice and instruments to share with other people who enjoy music.
There are only a few people who aware of Francis’ talent because there are limited showcasing outlets for musical talent at UVI. Promoting himself as an artist can be difficult because he does not have the proper materials to record his music. However, Francis still finds alternatives to promote his music through social networks like Facebook.
The famous pianist, Ludwig van Beethoven said, “the barriers are not erected which can say to aspiring talents and industry, ‘Thus far and no further.’”
Francis and a group of other young artists are on their way to making an album. The album will contain a collage of young local artists showcasing their different styles and abilities.
Music is something special to Francis. It brings out a humble, artistic aura that touches others when he plays. Even though showcasing outlets and required materials to record his music are few, Francis pushes through and finds alternatives to stay local through the album and remain at UVI.
The University of the Virgin Islands has musically talented students who anxiously wait to find an outlet to showcase their abilities.
“If you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don`t hoard it. Don`t dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.” said Aaron Kildow.
Inside the closets of UVI Fashionistas
Inside the closets of UVI Fashionistas
published on www.uvivoice.net september 18, 2013DENICIA SUAREZ|
ST. CROIX- At The University of the Virgin Islands, most students wear T-shirts and jeans, but within the trendy crowd there is a distinct and peculiar group of people called “UVI Fashionistas.”
We stepped into the closets of Shakirah Ritter and Ajah Richards style to learn more about the in-fashion on campus.
photo credit: Miss WillaWorld
Shakirah Ritter is a 19-year-old ticking fashion bomb that explodes when she steps out for a girl’s night out or heads to class. She emulates simplicity, yet her unique style is super high-fashion, sleek and versatile.
Shakirah’s favorite trends are inspired by tribal prints and pastels and she studies fashion through magazines like ”Vogue.” Celebrities like Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian inspire Shakirah’s daily outfits. Shakirah says she enjoys pairing high heels with her outfits.
In “In Style Magazine,” Kim Kardashian states, “I wear a lot of heels! They give you extra height, plus they lengthen your legs and make you look leaner.”
Even though Shakirah looks at celebrity fashion for inspiration, she never copies. In fashion, clothing is not the only fashionable factor. Makeup and hair also are key ingredients for the perfect mixture of a fashion soup.
Messy buns, occasional braids and sew-ins are Shakirah’s main hairstyles. She uses Mac makeup, which creates that perfect natural look for regular days and a dark smoky eye for photo shoots. Fashion makes her feel cool and she enjoys expressing herself through fashionable clothing.
Photo Credit: Ajah Richards
UVI Fashionista Ajah Richards
Ajah Richards is a 22-year-old sophomore at UVI. His fashion sense is very urban and stems from New York City.
This urban guy likes to create a chemical mixture of fashion that blows people away.His mixture of urban and casual are meticulously put together to ignite his finished product.
Ajah’s urban twist is totally unique because he is inspired by women fashion too! However, he finds a way to twist feminine styles into “masculine macho.”
He says that almost 89 percent of the time, styles and prints such as galaxy, Aztec, and even floral are not only for women but are also available in styles for men.
“Fashion is risk taking,” Ajah says.
Some people are afraid of wearing fashions that they admire; however, he has no fear. Fashion makes him feel confident. For example, Ajah has a T-shirt with a ballerina design on the front. It may seem strange, he says, but the ballerina on his T-shirt actually is just cover art from Kanye West’s track called “Runaway.”
Ajah shops at Urban Threadz in Sunny Isle and occasionally online at Dr. Jay’s. Ajah dresses up his look with some cool glasses, snap backs and male accessories.
To conclude, Ajah and Shakirah both gave advice. To someone who is trying to develop his or her own style, Ajah says “Find someone whose fashion you admire and use that as a base to create your own style.” Shakirah says, “Be unique, think about your personality, the things you like and work around that.”
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