Halloween Safety Tips for College Students

Halloween is all about the things that go bump in the night….and seeing the light of morning November 1^st. To help ensure your frightful night is a raging success, I’ve compiled a list of the internet’s best safety tips specifically geared for college students:

• ·         Watch your food and drinks. Don’t accept anything edible from people you don’t know well.  If you have to set your drink or plate down to say, head to the bathroom, assume it is trash when you get back. If you’re playing a game of pool or are otherwise engaged elsewhere while consuming, ask a trusted friend to watch your goods when your back is turned. Better yet, make a pact with your friends before heading out for the night to babysit each other’s food and drink.

• ·         Wear a reasonable costume. I’m not talking about the skimpy vs conservative debate. If your costume impedes walking, running or seeing, it’s not safe. Lots of things go down Halloween night, including pranks of all sorts. Pranks can go wrong, so make sure you can get out of a situation quickly and safely. High heels, long leg-wrapping dresses, even accessories can tangle up your limbs. Wigs,fake glasses and overflowing hats can prevent you from seeing. Make sure your costume is impressive and functional.

• ·         Consider sharing. Location services, that is. Share your phone’s location temporarily with a good friend for the night. Also, make sure your phone is on full battery, and if possible, bring a charger. Keep your phone on all night, and don’t set it down anywhere.

• ·         Don’t drink and drive. Do we still have to say this? Just don’t. Add to this one, don't text and drive. Don't get into a car with a driver who is either drinking or texting. 

• ·         Stay with your group of friends. As tempting as it is, Halloween is not the night to take off with a group of strangers, or worse, that one handsome devil at the party. Stay with people you know and who know you.

• ·         Here’s a good one: Decorate safely. “Are you the party host? Make sure valuables and breakables are put away safely. Light your jack o’ lanterns with glow sticks instead of real candles, which are a fire hazard.” 

• Stash some cash. Hopefully you'll end up back at home with your wallet, but just in case - stash some cash somewhere on your body for the night. 

For additional tips, check out these links: 

Huffington Post

The Ultimate Guide to College Halloween

Meet Our Staff: Alejandra Moncada

Alejandra Moncada
Interlibrary Loan Specialist
254-968-9660
amoncada@tarleton.edu
Dick Smith Library – Main Floor – 109G


I graduated from Tarleton State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. While I was in school, I worked at the library's circulation desk until December 2016. I took a little break from working, and on September 5th I became the Interlibrary Loan Specialist.  It is my job to process borrowing and lending through ILLIAD for faculty, staff, and students, as well as other institutions. In other words, I request books, articles, and audiovisual materials from other libraries that have them. We do the same and different libraries borrow our materials. Most of the articles are exchanged electronically. The cool part of my job is that I have to package the books and send them by mail.

I grew up in México in a city named San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. I go back and forth every summer or Christmas break to visit my family.  Other than that, I spent most of my time exercising, watching Netflix, or reading. I began to get a passion for books while I was earning my degree, since most of my classes required me to read from different literature movements from Spain, Latin America, and the Caribbean. I like literature because I can learn about history events, fashion and many things that happened around the time the book was published.  Not only that, I like to analyze the writing style of the authors because they have unique ways of telling stories. Others express their political views by using different personifications to pass the censors.  On the other hand, learning about history is another hobby of mine. My favorite topics included World War I, World War 2, the Holocaust, and anything involving dictators.

I am so happy to be here. I look forward to learning more about the library!

Italian American Heritage Month

October is Italian American Heritage Month. This is the time to recognize the experiences and contributions of Americans of Italian heritage. Starting in 1980 the United States Congress designated October 12th through 19th as Italian American Heritage week, and it was upgraded to a month in 1989.

2016 US Census Bureau estimate of Americans with Italian ancestry in the lower 48 states.
Created by Joshua Wallace with tools from the American Fact Finder website.

The US Census Bureau estimates that there are 16,896,518 Americans of Italian ancestry as of 2016. That's about 5% of the total population. The high point of Italian immigration to the United States was in the early 20th century. A little over 3 million Italians immigrated to the US from 1900 to 1914 (Iorizzo and Mondello 285).

Timeline of Italian-American History 
Click on the links below to find library resources on each topic. 

1492-1493 - Christopher Columbus, native of Genoa, discovered the New World and began the colonization of Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands on behalf of Spain.
The Log of Christopher Columbus by Christopher Columbus

1499-1503 - Amerigo Vespucci, native of Florence, led multiple expeditions to the Americas on behalf of Spain and Portugal. He is credited with deducing that the lands discovered by Columbus were previously unknown continents and not islands off the coast of Asia. A German mapmaker in 1507 named this new world "America" in his honor.
Amerigo and the New World by Germán Arciniegas

1524 - Giovanni Verrazzano, native of Florence, explored the east coast of North America on behalf of France.
The European Discovery of America by Samuel Eliot Morison

1678 - Henri de Tonti, native of Gaeta, explored the Mississippi River on behalf France under the command of Robert de la Salle. He spent the rest of his life in French Louisiana.
On the Discovery of the Mississippi by Thomas Falconer

1778 - Francis Vigo, native of Mondovi and fur trader living in Spanish Louisiana, supported American independence and provided money, supplies, and information to aid the cause. He became a US citizen in 1783 and spent the rest of his life in America.
The Conquest of the Illinois by George Rogers Clark

The Frieze of American History in the United States Capitol Rotunda.
By Farragutful (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

1860 - Antonio Meucci, Italian immigrant living in New York, developed the first working telephone but he never obtained a patent for it. In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell patented his phone and the rest is history.
"Antonio Meucci: Telephone Pioneer" in Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society by Basilio Catania

1877 - Constantino Brumidi (known as the "Michelangelo of the United States Capitol") began work on the Frieze of American History in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol.
Art in the United States Capitol by Architect of the Capitol

1880 - Il Progresso Italo-Americano became the first Italian language daily newspaper in the United States.

1880-1924 - Escaping extreme poverty, over 4 million Italians immigrated to the US.
The Italian Emigration of our Times by Robert F. Foerster

1887 - Francis B. Spinola, from New York, was the first Italian-American to serve in the US Congress.

1891 - An angry mob attacked a jail in New Orleans and lynched 11 Italian immigrants being held there.
"The Lynching of Sicilian Immigrants in the American South, 1886-1910" in American Nineteenth Century History by Clive Webb.

Italian immigrants faced discrimination in the US. This cartoon was printed in a New Orleans' newspaper in 1888.
By No signature seen on cartoon [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

1906 - Charles J. Bonaparte was first Italian American to serve on the US Cabinet.

1913 - Rudolph Valentino immigrated to the US. He became a major film star in the silent movie era.
Idols of Modernity: Movie Stars of the 1920s by Patrice Petro

1924 - National Origins Act severely limited Italian immigration to the United States.

1941 - Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees baseball player, sets 56 game hitting streak record.
Joe DiMaggio: the Hero's Life by Richard Ben Cramer
Beyond DiMaggio: Italian Americans in Baseball by Lawrence Baldassaro

1942 - Charles Poletti, of New York, became the first Italian American governor of a US state.

1943 - Frank Sinatra began his solo singing career.
Sinatra's Century: One Hundred Notes on the Man and his World by David Lehman
The Frank Sinatra Show with Bing Crosby, Dean Martin

1945 - John Basilone became the only enlisted Marine to receive both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross in World War II.

1950 - John O. Pastore, of Rhode Island, became the first Italian American to serve in the US Senate.

1956 - Rocky Marciano, heavyweight boxing champion, retired undefeated.

1966 - Jack Valenti, of Texas, began his tenure as the longest serving president of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which ended in 2004.

1986 - Antonin Scalia became the first Italian American to serve on the Supreme Court.
A Matter of Interpretation: Federal Courts and the Law by Antonin Scalia & Amy Gutmann

2007 - Nancy Pelosi, of California, became the first Italian American to serve as Speaker of the House.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New American Politics by Ronald M. Peters & Cindy Simon Rosenthal

President Reagan and Antonin Scalia meet in Oval Office, 1986.
By Bill Fitz-Patrick, White House Photographer - http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/photographs/supreme.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9387478

Tarleton State University's Dick Smith Library has a wealth of resources on the Italian American experience. Such as these titles:
Imagining Italians: the Clash of Romance and Race in American Perceptions, 1880-1910 by Joseph P. Cosco
Italian Americans: the History and Culture of a People by Eric Martone
The Italian Texans by University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio
New Italian Migrations to the United States ed. by Laura E. Ruberto
A New Language, a New World: Italian Immigrants in the United States, 1890-1945 by Nancy C. Carnevale

If you need assistance finding resources on this, or any other topic, then please contact us at 254-968-9249 or reference@tarleton.edu.

Works Cited 

Iorizzo, Luciano J. and Salvatore Mondello. The Italian Americans. Twayne Publishers, 1980.

Meatless Monday October

October, or “Vegtober”, is a fantastic time to join the movement of omitting meat one day a week. At www.meatlessmonday.com, you’ll find resources and tips to assist you – everything from delicious recipes to articles ranging from health topics to environmental concerns. 

As to the why – the site offers an interesting explanation:

“Research conducted by Johns Hopkins concludes that health promotions utilizing weekly periodicity and the unique cultural associations of Monday as the beginning of the week have the potential to positively affect a range of healthy behaviors. People view Monday as a day for a fresh start and are more likely to starts diets and exercise regimes, quit smoking and schedule doctor’s appointments on Monday than any other day. And a Monday start helps them carry out their healthy intentions for the week.”

You don’t have to partner with the site to enjoy the benefits of Meatless Mondays during the month of October. The practice is gaining quite a bit of traction with popular magazines such as “Real Simple” and “Fit”, and challenges have bloomed across social media platforms. Using hashtags such as #meatlessmondays and #meatfreemonday, people are sharing their tips and plates to celebrate good health in the month of October. 

For those interested in a meat-free Monday, here are some tips to get started from WebMD:

• Look for foods that are fortified with extra nutrients for a nutritional boost. Choose soy products that are fortified with calcium, vitamin D and B12.

• Try tofu and soy crumbles, which are mild-tasting and absorb the seasonings and flavor of whatever you cook them with.

• Eat plenty of dark, leafy greens, which are rich in iron and provide calcium.

• Top salads, soups, stews, and omelets with beans, nuts, or seeds to add protein.

• Add a once-daily multivitamin/mineral for nutritional insurance. See your doctor or registered dietitian if you are pregnant or have any other condition that could require extra supplementation.

• Choose low- and nonfat dairy products.

• Boost the healthy omega-3 fatty acids in your diet by eating fatty fish (if you include fish in your diet), enriched eggs, walnuts, flaxseed, and canola oil.

• Try going meatless one day a week at first. You don't have to cook elaborate vegetarian meals; it can be as simple as having a veggie burger and salad for dinner.