I’m registered for CERSI! Now what?

Registration Details (Dorm, seminar selection, balance due, etc.)

In early July, you will receive an email with registration related details. Subject line “CERSI: Action Required – Please READ ALL and Verify your Information” Please review and respond, if corrections are needed, to that email promptly. If you do not receive an email or if you have questions about your registration sooner please contact our registrars at registrar@cersiuu.org.

Workshifts

image of sign up genius form with instructions and a calendar.

ACTION NEEDED: To help keep costs down we require everyone age 18 and over to register for at least 2 hours of volunteer activities, called workshifts, during the week. You are welcome to sign up for more! Please visit our Sign up Genius page to signup or change existing shifts and to sign up for email or text reminders for the start of your workshifts. There are opportunities for people of all ages, skills, and mobility levels – Thank you for supporting our community!

We recommend you look at the available workshifts in the calendar view (see image on right) – it is a much cleaner presentation.

 

Masking

To live into our covenant of mutuality and equity we will model and respect healthy boundaries to ensure our community is safe for all of our diverse members.

Masks will be required in many areas, and optional in others. We ask that you all read our Covid Protocols and Masking Guidelines prior to attending CERSI.

Schedule

I get it, you’re a planner and you want to make sure you get the most out of your CERSI experience. Me too! We’ll here’s a DRAFT (but pretty darn final) schedule you can use for planning purposes or just to explore what you might want to do between naps in the hammocks!

Youth program

There will be a parent & youth orientation on Sunday from 8-9pm. In the meantime though we recommend you take time to watch this online introduction to the CERSI Youth Program to understand how it works before you arrive.

Golf carts

We will have golf carts that run between all of our buildings for all regularly-scheduled events. Because we have a limited number of golf carts and drivers and over 350 people coming to CERSI we ask that able-bodied people please leave the golf carts for those who need help getting around. A map of the golf cart route and schedule of run-times will be available on the website and in the dorms and other campus buildings.

Scooter rental

PennWest is a hilly campus and there may be wait times for golf cart rides. Those with mobility needs who wish to better control their schedule may wish to rent a mobility scooter. To secure a scooter, please call Rite Way Mobility at 724-407-0713. Tell them it is for CERSI at Penn West California in order to secure the discounted rate of $140. Payment will be due upon booking. The scooter will be waiting for you when you arrive. (Price includes delivery and chargers for the scooters).

Registration day: July 7, 2024

  1. Please arrive during registration hours of Noon–5pm.
  2. The address to use for GPS directions is 805 3rd St, California, PA 15419.
  3. When you arrive at the university look for signs that say ‘Welcome Center Parking’ – and park in Lot 17 while you register. See the “Parking” section below for more info on short-term, long-term and handicap parking.
  4. When you enter registration, give your Family Code to the people at the front desk. Your group’s “Registration Passport” will guide you through the registration process to receive your Wrist bands, Name Tags and other registration materials specific to your family’s programming. At the last step of registration you will receive the keys to your dorm room!

Parking: Short-term, unloading/loading, long-term & handicap

  1. Short-term parking during registration is in the parking lot in front of the Welcome/Natali Center in Lot 17.
  2. Short-term, when unpacking/packing your car, you may park in the lot in front of Smith Hall (Lot 19) or behind Carter Hall, our dorms for the week.
  3. Anyone with a handicap placard may park in any open spot on campus during the week.
  4. Those with mobility issues but who do not have handicap placards may use Lot 19 to park for the week (please do not use this lot if you are able-bodied, we do have many people with mobility issues who will greatly benefit from having this parking outside of their dorm).
  5. All able-bodied attendees should park in lots 15, 17 or 4 for the week.

Smoking, candle & incense use

PennWest is a smoke-free and flame-free campus. You may not have any matches or lighters on campus and you may not light anything, even candles or incense.

Fragrance sensitivities

We do have attendees who are sensitive to perfumes, body sprays and other strong-smelling personal scents. We will have a few rows at the front of the performance center marked for “fragrance free” seating and ask that all attendees be respectful of others by keeping their personal fragrance use to a minimum.

Laundry facilities

PennWest has a laundry facility in each dorm.  To use the laundry services, you will need to download the CleanPay Mobile app on your android or apple mobile device and pre-pay a minimum balance of $10.  Each load is $1.25 per load wash or dry and you must bring your own Laundry Detergent. No cash laundry services are available. Questions? Check out this CleanPay Mobile tutorial on Youtube.

Cash/Credit cards

You may wish to have cash and/or credit cards available to purchase specialty coffee drinks at the on-campus coffee shop which serves Starbucks coffee and speciality drinks (open 8am – 4pm), to buy items at the UU bookstore (open daily at lunch and dinner), to buy food or drinks in the nightly Pub or to make donations to the CERSI Heart Scholarship Fund. Payments by phone (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay) are not guaranteed to be available.

Refrigerators/Food storage

Unfortunately there is only one standard-sized refrigerator/freezer in each dorm, found in the lounge on the first floor. This is not enough storage for everyone so you may wish to bring a dorm-size fridge or cooler if you need to store items in your room. If you have a medical necessity that requires refrigeration (medications, breast milk, etc.) please contact our registrars at registrar@cersiuu.org to see if a dorm fridge can be made available to you.

Packing List

Over 40 years of Summer Institute attendance has gone into creating the packing list. Please review it and join us in conversation on Facebook or by email to sichair@cersiuu.org with any questions or suggestions.

Questions?

For more information check out https://www.cersiuu.org/. If you cannot find the answer to your question there please join us on Facebook or email sichair@cersiuu.org.