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COVID-19 Updates

Until further notice — to centralize campus information during this unprecedented event, any and all updates regarding the campus response to COVID-19 will be posted on: 🔗 https://desales.edu/COVID-19.

You may still submit your updates regarding campus events, changes, etc. to dsudaily@desales.edu where they will be aggregated and vetted to be added to the COVID-19 page. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.

Please join us in praying for those whose health and life are impacted by this virus.

Questions? kristin.laudenslager@desales.edu

Tonight: Scheduled Wireless Internet Maintenance

The IT Organization will need to take a wireless outage on Thursday, October 29, between the hours of 10PM EDT (Thursday, 10/29) to 1AM EDT (Friday, 10/30) to perform maintenance on the Wireless system.

During this time, you will not be able access the internet via wireless.   All other systems will be available.

We are cutting over to a new server and expect the outage to be brief but are allotting extra time to troubleshoot should we encounter issues.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

Questions? Jim.Mazurowski@desales.edu

Practicing Gratitude During a Pandemic—Kathleen Ehrhardt

Kathleen Ehrhardt

Kathleen Ehrhardt is the assistant program director in the physician assistant program.

DeSales University has recently adopted the Core Values: gentleness, humility, gratitude, hospitality, and wisdom. The value that really speaks to me during the pandemic is gratitude, and I share here some of my reflections on this. The changes that have come to all our lives since March 2020 have been substantial. I have found myself praying more during this time, first because of a need to help my mind settle and then to ask for strength in my roles at home and at work. This quiet time for me each day has helped significantly. One of my favorite memories growing up was my Mom quoting Psalm 118:24, “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” This is gratitude! She would share this bible verse with me on days that were difficult and days that I needed to be reminded to be grateful. We all need to be grateful during this challenging time.

During the pandemic, routine things have changed significantly from our ability to go to the grocery store, visit with friends and family, as well as to spend time on the beautiful DeSales University campus. Additionally, the way we educate our students needed to change because of COVID-19 to include social distancing, masks, hand sanitizer, and less in-person student/faculty interaction. Meetings that routinely were in person now are on Zoom. We are all missing routine interactions including handshakes and hugs. We are missing seeing people smile without a mask. Those changes have been necessary to keep everyone safe, and they have. The Ready for Anything policies and practices in place on campus have kept us much safer than faculty and students at other colleges and universities. This faculty member is very thankful for this. 

During this time in our lives, it is important to continue to practice gratitude. Practicing gratitude has been shown in the literature to increase happiness and reduce depression. Gratitude helps you hold on to positive things and helps you cope with stress. Gratitude will help you improve your mental and physical health. Gratitude will help you be more resilient and be less concerned with negative events and situations. Tell your friends, family, faculty, staff, and classmates that you are thankful for them. Write a letter to someone important to you and tell them so. Create a gratitude journal that you can reflect on daily. Look for the positive to reflect on during difficult situations. 

Our experience with the pandemic has reminded all of us what has changed and what we are missing. Practicing gratitude will help you remember all the things you are thankful for that the pandemic has not compromised. 

Kathleen Ehrhardt is the assistant program director in the physician assistant program.

Cybersecurity: Social Engineering Part 2

cyber security awareness month logoOver the past month, we’ve talked about phishing, ransomware, spear phishing, identity fraud, and oversharing. We’ve also talked some about social engineering and how your information can be used against you to get you to give up sensitive or financial credentials to your accounts. Now we’d like to highlight the top 10 social engineering techniques cybercriminals use to get you to do what they want. For more on social engineering, check out KnowBe4’s full article on social engineering.

  1. Pretexting – where the criminal uses the information they know about you to get you to give up even more information. Like when a person calls to “verify” your information and gives you part of it that is correct but maybe not all of it so you “correct” them and give up more of your information.
  2. Diversion Theft – often used to physically get someone to deliver goods somewhere besides the place that was intended. Or it could be a masked email invoice that looks legitimately like a real invoice but you end up paying the cybercriminals instead of the real vendor.
  3. Phishing – emails are the number one way phishing is used and it often masquerades as either a trustworthy person you know or a business you work with. It could be an email that looks like it comes from a legitimate source. 77% of successful social engineering attacks start with a phish.
  4. Spear Phishing – a targeted phish for specific purposes and a specific “pay-off.” Where phishing typically is large-scale and uses a large “net” to get whoever with bite, spear phishing is more of a long game where a specific target is researched and the intention is a wide-scale data breach. According to KnowBe4 and Trend Micro, 91% of cyberattacks with a data breach started with a spear phishing campaign. Spear phishing is also how CEO fraud scams are generally conducted.
  5. Water Holing – taking advantage of a website where people hang out and exploiting any vulnerabilities of the site and then infecting subsequent visitors with malware or gathering information to be used against them.
  6. Baiting – dangling a carrot of information to get someone to click on something or dropping a USB drive as “bait” to get them to load malware.
  7. Quid Pro Quo – getting something by giving you something. This is a classic case where someone calls pretending to be IT support and they have to load a patch. They just need access to your computer to do so. You grant them access and then the malware gets installed.
  8. Tailgating – where someone tries to gain physical access to an unauthorized area by following behind someone else through the door.
  9. Honeytrap – used against men, typically, to get them to give up information to an attractive female online.
  10. Rogue – computer malware that gets installed and notifies you that you are infected and then you call the number where you pay to have the “malware” removed by the “tech support” team when really they just wanted your credit card information and you are out the money for the “fix”.

The more educated you are on these tactics, the easier it is to spot them. Social engineering is the number one way hackers get access because targeting people to give up credentials is usually the easiest way to gain access to network resources and/or data.

Questions? Kat.Lehman@desales.edu

Dining Daily: Halloween Dinner!

Menu for October 29, 2020

Lunch:                  

  • Bistro: Citrus Tarragon Chicken Sandwich, Grilled Cod Sandwich, Mediterranean Tortellini, Sautéed Green Beans, Oven Roasted Potato Wedges, Parmesan Crusted Cauliflower

Dinner:                        

  • Sauté: Chicken Wing Bar
  • Bistro: Stuffed Chicken Parm, Beef Stew in Bread Bowl, Tortellini in Pesto Cream Sauce, Curly Fries, Wild Rice, Roasted Corn, Green Beans & Almonds

DUC Late Night Menu (8PM – 10PM Daily):

  • Whole Pizza or Slices, Wings (Hot or BBQ), Chicken Fingers, Mac & Cheese, Buffalo Popcorn Chicken Mac & Cheese Option, Mozzarella Sticks, French Fries

*Transact Mobile Orders Only*

Announcements:                               

Want to change or add a meal plan for next semester? Go to the University Card Office from November 1 to November 20! Commuters, you have the option to get added our commuter meal plan! **No Changes will be made after November 20**

For more meal plan information visit https://desales.sodexomyway.com/my-meal-plan/index

Pulse Café & Skylight Café are ONLY accepting Mobile orders at this time. Need to add Paw Bucks? Visit www.desales.edu/pawbucks

Our Annual Can Drive is under way! Last year we donated over 3,800 cans, let’s try to beat that number! We will continue to accept donations until the end of the semester! Only $1 per can!

Questions? dining@desales.edu

Kinder, Gentler, and More Patient—Dr. LaShara Davis

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them—every day begin the task anew.
—St. Francis de Sales

Dr LaShara Davis

LaShara A. Davis, PhD, is an assistant professor of communication.

The year 2020, touted as the year of perfect vision, has been all but perfect. I recall spending New Year’s Eve in church with my sister in our matching 2020 shirts that we’d made just a few hours earlier. We’d made plans for all the things we’d accomplish this year: joint business ventures, sister trips to exotic locales, and more time spent together cherishing the joys of family. But in March, this all seemed to come to a screeching halt when the COVID pandemic hit.

I’ll be honest.  At first, I was excited to get an extra week following Spring Break. But that week turned into months of pandemonium, months of uncertainty, months of social isolation. I started to lament all the things that COVID took away. During the first few weeks, I put tremendous pressure on myself to be extra productive. I’d reorganized the kitchen, cleaned out a bedroom closet, set up a home office, purchased a new vacuum, an exercise bike, a sewing machine, and a Cricut. I was going to be the perfectly fit teacher with the best office space in my clean house where I sewed and crafted in my spare time. It was ridiculous! When I failed, I was subjected to my own, equally heinous, self-beating. It wasn’t until I attended a workshop on “How to POWER Forward in Times of Uncertainty” that I began to look with new eyes at this experience.

During the workshop, we were challenged to change our perspectives, and instead of looking at what COVID took away, look at what is now possible. As I reflect on where I am now, I’m reminded that when things seem harder to accomplish, my motivation is low, and I’m more exhausted than normal due to the added emotional labor of managing life and relationships post-COVID, that I can choose to be patient and extend myself a little grace. I can put the bat down and give myself space to breathe. It is often easier to extend this grace to others, understanding that this time has been challenging on them and they are doing the best they can. I am now challenged to be kinder, gentler, and more patient with myself.

Oh, what my life will be when I extend that grace inwardly!

LaShara A. Davis, PhD, is an assistant professor of communication.

Tuesday: Billera Hall to be Closed for Election Polling

On Tuesday, November 3, Billera Hall will be used as a polling place for the Presidential Election. The entire building and Compardo Fitness Center will be CLOSED to all DSU students, faculty, and staff.  All facilities will reopen during normal business hours on November 4.

On November 3, the Dorothy Day Fitness Center will remain open for use.

Questions? jodie.morgan@desales.edu.

Dining Daily: Ice Cream Sundae Bar in the DUC!

Menu for October 28, 2020

Lunch:                  

  • Bistro: Pork & Broccoli Raab Sandwich, Chicken Parmesan, Korean Stir Freid Vegetables & Tofu, Buttered Egg Noodles, Steamed Basmati Rice, Steamed Broccoli, Italian Vegetables

Dinner:                        

  • Sauté: Cheese Ravioli Bar
  • Bistro: Parmesan Crusted Tilapia, Jamaican Jerk BBQ Chicken, Carved Smoked Pit Ham, Cilantro Lime Brown Rice, Ratatouille, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Sautéed Carrots

DUC Late Night Menu (8PM – 10PM Daily):

  • Whole Pizza or Slices, Wings (Hot or BBQ), Chicken Fingers, Mac & Cheese, Buffalo Popcorn Chicken Mac & Cheese Option, Mozzarella Sticks, French Fries

*Transact Mobile Orders Only*

Announcements:                               

Today is an Ice Cream Sundae Bar on Bistro in the food court! 6 Flavors, 15 Toppings!

Want to change or add a meal plan for next semester? Go to the University Card Office from November 1 to November 20! Commuters, you have the option to add our commuter meal plan! **No Changes will be made after November 20**

For more meal plan information visit https://desales.sodexomyway.com/my-meal-plan/index

Only 2 weeks left in the Thanksgiving Bake Sale! Fill out an order form at any dining location and return the form to the DUC for payment!

Pulse Café & Skylight Café are ONLY accepting Mobile orders at this time. Need to add Paw Bucks? Visit www.desales.edu/pawbucks

Questions? dining@desales.edu

Mu Omicron Nursing Honor Society Holiday Drive to Support Allentown Rescue Mission

Mu Omicron Nursing Honor Society is collecting the following items for our annual holiday drive to support the Allentown Rescue Mission:

Single-serve snacks (granola bars, chips, crackers, etc.), single-serve waters/beverages, powder drink mix, Windex, carpet cleaner, Clorox/disinfectant wipes, bleach, all-purpose disinfectant cleaner, Pine Sol, toilet paper and paper towels, latex gloves (L-XL) and 55-gallon trash bags. These items can be placed in our donation box located in the Gambet lobby benches, decorated in holiday décor!

Also, donated gift cards to Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, Wawa, and Sunoco Gas Stations are appreciated by the Mission. These items can be placed in Mu Omicron President Colleen Bolks’ mailbox located in the Division of Nursing office in Gambet.

Questions? colleen.bolks@desales.edu