When you’re on campus every day, it can be easy to miss some interesting things that are hiding in plain sight.

For example, did you know that there’s a beehive on campus? On the terrace outside of L-201 in Lefavour Hall, there’s a thriving colony that supports the local bee population as well as ongoing research efforts.

Established in the spring of 2013 as a joint effort between the student-run Sustainability Club, Buildings & Grounds, and Boston-based Best Bees, the colony’s original purpose was to combat Colony Collapse Disorder.

The first two years were difficult, and the hive did not make it through the winter. Last winter, a new hive was closely managed and provided with a new organic food source. Defying the odds, the hive survived the winter and increased in size throughout the warm spring months.

This growing hive is providing opportunities for research into why and how bee colonies fail. Bees are a vital part of agriculture throughout the world because they pollinate trees and crops that produce nuts, fruit, and vegetables. Improving our understanding of how hive management affects long-term results might help to stabilize the bee population in Massachusetts and beyond.

In addition to research, the bees on campus also produce honey and beeswax that is used in a variety of products. Honey from the hive has been given to students and auctioned off at the Staff Council Silent Auction, and students have used the beeswax to make lip balm.

If you’re interested in seeing the hive, you can view it from L-201 when the room isn’t booked, or from the hallway between group study rooms L-205 and L-206. If you’d like to learn more about the hive, please contact Steve Gusmini or Sara Smith.

Special thanks to Diane Hammer for providing the photos in this article.

Beginning at 7pm on Monday, December 21st, Buildings & Grounds will lower temperatures and decrease lighting levels in all Academic Campus buildings to reduce our energy usage during the winter break.

These energy conservation efforts will be in effect fromDecember 21st through January 3rd, 2016. When the College reopens on Monday, January 4th at 6am, heating and lighting will be reset to seasonally-appropriate levels.

If you plan to work on campus during the break, please submit a work order by 4pm on Thursday, December 17th. You can make a request online at fixit.simmons.edu or by calling 617-521-1000. Please be ready to provide specific room numbers and the dates and times when you’ll be working on campus so that we can ensure you’re able to work comfortably.

If you have any questions, please contact the Facilities Service Center at 617-521-1000.

As a reminder, you can help conserve energy by turning off computers, printers, and other electronic equipment in your office before you leave for winter break.

The holiday season is a prime time for criminals to target your information. Stay safe by being aware of the most common efforts to steal personal and financial data.

Phishing
These scams attempt to obtain confidential information or hijack your email account to send spam by crafting messages that appear to be from a trusted source. Links in these emails will direct you to websites that look like the sites for services you use and will ask you to enter your username and password or other personal information.

Remember:

• Never click links in emails that appear to be suspicious and never respond to an email requesting sensitive information.
• Simmons College will never ask for your password or ask you to click a link in an email to submit it.
• Secure Simmons website addresses begin with https://and end with the .simmons.edu domain. Additionally, Simmons login pages have green visual identifiers to let you know you’re in the right place.

Social Engineering
These scams manipulate people into performing actions or divulging confidential information and can occur both online and offline. Criminals may pretend to be someone else—either by phone, in-person, or via email—in order to request financial or personal details, or to ask that you take some action, such as completing a financial transaction. Always be wary of these requests, even if they appear to come from someone you know.

Before releasing personal or College information in response to a request, always establish:

• The sensitivity of the information and your authority to release it.
• The real identity of the other party.
• The purpose of the request.

If you suspect that sensitive information at the College has been released inappropriately, please report the incident to Public Safety at 617-521-1112.

Other Information Security Resources

• Stay Safe Online
• Simmons College Information Security
• Install free antivirus software
• Keep your apps and operating system up-to-date
• What to do when you’ve been hacked

Dining Services Has Been Busy
During the first seven weeks of the semester, we’ve served 40,566 meals in Bartol (8,600 more than last year!) and 45,924 meals in The Fens.

Celebrating October Birthdays
Dining Services would like to wish a happy birthday to all students celebrating a birthday in October! Last week, students gathered to enjoy a cake designed by our new baker in Bartol Hall.

Doing Our Best to Wow You
We’re always listening to students’ feedback and using it to improve dining at Simmons. A recent survey of students showed that this year more than 80% have given very positive feedback about on-campus dining. We’ll continue working every day to provide all Simmons students with delicious dining options and great service.

If you’re planning a meeting, event, conference, or holiday celebration, it’s never too early to book space.

Rooms on campus fill up quickly, so submit your request now by contacting [email protected] or online at events.simmons.edu.

The Conferences & Special Events staff is here to assist you. If you have questions, please call 617-521-2158 or stop by our new location in MCB*E106.

Recently, both Microsoft and Apple released significant updates to their desktop operating systems: Windows 10 and Mac OS X El Capitan (10.11).

Both updates focus on improved multitasking, integration and functionality across devices, and improvements to standard-issue software. The Windows 10 update also brings back the traditional Start menu, which had been missing from Windows 8.

If you have a Simmons-owned computer, please do not update your operating system just yet. Simmons Technology is testing both Windows 10 and El Capitan to ensure that they work well with our services and applications.

If you’re thinking about updating your own computer, there are plenty of reviews and guides online to help you decide:

Windows 10
PC World
The Verge

Mac OS X El Capitan
Macworld
CNET
The Verge

At Simmons Technology, we’re always excited to see how students are using technology in their classes, research, and careers.

In September, Simmons held its first hackathon, the Simmons SharkHack, hosted by the School of Library and Information Science and the Department of Computer Science. SharkHack brought together area students and mentors for what might be Boston’s only women-centered hackathon.

Find out more about the event, the teams who participated, and their projects in The Simmons Voice.

The Simmons Bookstore is proud to introduce just-released apparel and mugs featuring the new Simmons tagline: Your Moment. Your Move. Your Simmons.

The bookstore also has new athletic wear, including shirts, pants, blankets, and banners.

Best of all, you can get t-shirts and hats for each Simmons team sport. It’s the perfect gift for athletes and their families, friends, and fans.

The bookstore is open Monday-Friday from 8:30am to 6:00pm, Saturdays from 10am-3pm, and online all the time.

Have you recently spent more than a few minutes composing an email to a colleague or fellow student, and then waited (and waited) for a reply?

Google Chat might be just what you need. Chat lets you connect with other people in a real-time conversation. It’s perfect for asking quick questions, planning a meeting, or having an “offline” conversation with someone rather than replying all to a group email. And wouldn’t everyone’s day be a little better with fewer emails?

When you’re logged into your Simmons email, the chat panel is in the lower left corner of your screen. If someone is available to chat, you’ll see a green dot next to their name. If they’re not available, they’ll receive your message as soon as they’re back online. Clicking on a person’s name will open a new chat window. You can use this space to talk, share links, and send images.

You can even add additional people to turn a one-to-one chat session into a Hangout with up to 15 participants. It’s just like a conference call, but without all the calling.

To find out more about using Google Chat, visit the help center.

Single-stream recycling has been around for a long time at Simmons, but we only recycle about 20% of the waste we create on campus. Let’s see if we can increase that percentage this year!

Here are some tips for what and when you can recycle:

• Paper, plastic, glass, metal? Drop it all in the same recycling bin.
• Recycle everything right at your desk. Office suite and deskside bins are emptied twice a week.
• Almost everything at the Fens can go in the recycling bin, except food waste and plasticware. Think twice before dropping your plates and to-go containers in the trash!
• Single-stream is available at every recycling bin on campus, whether in a common area or in an office.

For more information about recycling, sustainability, or Simmons’ efforts to create a green campus, please visit green.simmons.edu or contact Sara Smith at 617-521-2244 or [email protected].