Lowell House News Volume 32, Issue 4 Monday 6 October, 2008 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter Format Guide: Announcements from Advising Tutors will always follow the Ask Beth column each week. Announcements regarding *Events* and Attractions will always be in the last section. Please remember to scroll down to that last section for event announcements and details if you are looking for them. If you'd like to place an announcement in the newsletter, email your 'blurb' to lohonews@fas.harvard.edu by Saturday noon to make the Monday newsletter. ----------------------------------------------------------------- CALENDAR Monday, October 6: * Makeup exams for Spring term 08 begin * Dining Hall closed for SOPHOMORE DINNER, 6:00pm Masters' Residence and afterward in the Dining Hall through 8:45pm * HoCo elections for sophomore representatives,_9:00 pm, JCR Tuesday, October 7: * Lowell House Supreme Court Discussion with HLS Professors Noah Feldman and Ron Sullivan,_7:30-10:00 pm, Library Wednesday, October 8: *Chinese table, 5:30 - 6:30pm Dining Hall * Physics table,_9:00-10:00 pm, Dining Hall Thursday, October 9: * You are warmly invited to TEA, Masters' Residence, 5-6pm * TGIT Coffeehouse,_JCR, details TBA Monday, October 13: * Columbus Day, University Holiday, House Office closed * FIFTH MONDAY, Add-drop deadline for undergraduates (you have until Tuesday) * Italian Language Table, 6:00-7:00pm, Dining Hall Tuesday, October 14: * Final Add-drop deadline for Fall term! * Lowell House Supreme Court Trip to Washington and Meeting with Associate Justice David Souter Wednesday, October 15: *Applications for study out of residence for Spring term are due at OIP *Chinese table, 5:30-6:30pm * Physics table,_9:00-10:00 pm, Dining Hall Thursday, October 16: * You are warmly invited to TEA, Masters' Residence, 5:00-6:00pm. * Lowell House Discussion with Toby Stock, Harvard Law School Dean of Admissions,_5:00-6:00 pm, SCR * Oktoberfest Stein,_10:00 pm-12:00 am, Grille Friday, October 17: Head of the Charles weekend Saturday, October 18: Head of the Charles weekend Sunday, October 19: Head of the Charles weekend * Students leaving the College by this date are charged 1/4 tuition and SS fee *********************************************************** FROM THE RESIDENT DEAN * Ryan Spoering, Allston Burr Resident Dean Room A-22, 5-2283 (lo-abrd@fas.harvard.edu) - ADD/DROP DEADLINE. In the next week, remember to take a look at your course listing on my.harvard.edu and make sure that you're enrolled correctly. The deadline to add and drop courses is OCTOBER 14TH, the "fifth Monday" (actually a Tuesday this fall due to Columbus Day). Add/drop forms are available in the hallway outside the House Office. - SIMULTANEOUS ENROLLMENT. If you are adding classes this week, please make sure that the meeting time does not conflict with any of your other classes. Simultaneous enrollment conflicts may take some time to resolve administratively, and you may be in a difficult situation if you create a schedule conflict this late in the term. - ON-LINE UHS APPOINTMENTS. You can now schedule certain UHS appointments online! To make appointments for 20 minute initial intake conversations or for medication follow-up visits, go to their website at huhs.harvard.edu, and click on "making an appointment" under the "Our Clinicians and Teams" menu. - BUREAU PEER TUTORING. Feeling a little daunted by a class? Consider hiring a peer tutor through the Bureau of Study Counsel. Tutors are paid with a subsidy and the cost is very reasonable. Interested in tutoring other students taking a class that you loved? Sign up as a tutor! For more information, see the Bureau website: http://bsc.harvard.edu/tutor.html - OFFICE HOURS THIS WEEK. I will have walk-in office hours this week MWF 10:00-noon. For other times, please contact Kit in the House Office (5-2283, lowell@fas) to set up an appointment with me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ASK BETH, the HOUSE ADMINISTRATOR * Beth Terry, A-22, 5-2283 (lo-admin@fas.harvard.edu) Dear Beth, Where did that bell thing with the arch come from?? Is it permanent? Are we supposed to ring it? Signed, Unbelieving in B Dear Unbelieving, The "bell thing" you refer to is a commemorative bell cast by the bell makers of Vera Foundry in Russia, makers of our shiny new bells in the tower. Certainly you have heard the lore of yore, the history of the bells, and how they were taken out of St Danilov monastery in Moscow, sold to a Harvard alumni back in the late 20's, shipped out of the country, thus preserved from Stalin's melting pots, yes? They were accepted -- in an inspired moment by President Lowell – and installed just as Lowell House was being constructed. Certainly you have heard the stories of the decades since during which the bells have been both loved and reviled, a source of both consternation and affection for the students in Lowell House, have you not? Well, it was an enormous project to negotiate and facilitate their return to Russia. St. Danilov, the Russian Orthodox Church and certainly the government of Russia is most grateful to Lowell House and its intrepid masters, Diana and Dorothy, for being catalysts of this whole process. It seemed only fitting and wise to cast a bell that would exist lower than 7 stories in the air and that would serve as a small monument to the exchange and the friendship that has grown between St. Danilov and Lowell House. The bell itself is a sturdy bronze and will surely outlast our civilization. But don't let that excite you into taking Liberties with it (get it -- ?). It's not for chin-ups or thwacking. It's for contemplation and occasional ceremonial use. And finally, while I agree that its installation recalls the famous "Gateway to the West" arch in St. Louis, don't let that lull you into thoughts of manifest destiny around here. There's not any expansion possibility in this here territory for you homesteaders in the House. Your Conestoga is parked. So grab your grub and get to some learnin'. ~Beth ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HoCo SAYS.... Hey Lowell! HoCo just wanted to make sure you have our events on your calendar! Here's what we've got planned for the rest of the month... Sun 10/5 Storage Sale 2-5pm in the small courtyard! Our rooms all need a little something, and especially at good prices! Mon 10/6 Sophomore Representative HoCo elections! 9pm in the JCR (Sophomores, see email) Thurs 10/9 TGIT: Coffeehouse (tentative) Emails to come out soon! Thurs 10/16 Oktoberfest Stein! Time TBA; Lowell Grille Wed 10/29 Pumpkin Carving Contest and make your own Halloween Treats! Time TBA; Dining Hall Thurs 10/30 FrankenSTEIN! Need we say more? Time TBA; Lowell Grille And a few BIG DATES for the future... Thurs 11/6 Trivia Night. It's the JCR (reigning champs) vs. the SCR! Bring your A-game! Time TBA; JCR Sat 11/22 Harvard-Yale Lowell Tailgate...that's right! Thurs 12/6 YULE BALL! Mon 12/15 Yule Dinner We can't wait to see you there! Lowell Love, Your HoCo ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM THE FELLOWSHIPS TUTORS * Josh Goldman (jdgoldm@fas.harvard.edu) * Courtney Peterson (cmpeters@fas.harvard.edu) * Susanna Mierau (susanna_mierau@post.harvard.edu) NEW LOWELL HOUSE FELLOWSHIPS WEBSITE We've redesigned the Fellowships section of the Lowell House website, featuring an all-new list of common fellowships designed to make it easy to find fellowships that will fund whatever it is that you're hoping to do. Check it out at http://lowell.harvard.edu/fellowships FALL FELLOWSHIPS MEETING Come to the Lowell House Fall Fellowships Meeting on Sunday, September 21 at 8:00pm in the library. We will give an overview of the kinds of fellowships available and the times of year when you need to apply. Students from ALL YEARS--especially sophomores--are encouraged to attend. DESSERT will be served. LOWELL FELLOWSHIPS MAILING LIST Want to know what fellowships are out there? Want to know about them before the deadlines appear in the newsletter? Want more information on the fellowships listed below? Subscribe to the fellowships mailing list to get notices about once every week or two of upcoming deadlines and things to think about (relevant for sophomores, juniors, and seniors). To subscribe, go to http://lists.hcs.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/lowell-fellowships . OFFICE HOURS We hold office hours on Sunday evenings in the dining hall, during which we'd be happy to discuss your plans and look over your application essays. To visit us during office hours, you need to sign up at least one day in advance on the sign-up sheet next to the fellowships bulletin board, right next to the entrance to the JCR. If you have specific questions, please email us at any time. UPCOMING INFOSESSIONS - 08 October: Introduction to Fellowships, 3:00pm @ OCS Conference Room - 09 October: Truman Scholarships (panel discussion), 4:00pm @ OCS Conference Room - 14 October: Traveling Fellowships, 3:00pm @ OCS Conference Room - 15 October: Fellowships Proposal Writing Workshop, 3:00pm @ OCS Conference Room - 28 Oct, time and location TBA: Harvard-Cambridge Scholarships meeting with selection committee * * * UPCOMING FELLOWSHIPS * * * FOR GRADUATE STUDY ABROAD: - 10 October: Churchill Scholarship. Funds one year of graduate study in science/math/engineering at Cambridge University. Must have a 3.7 or higher. - 15 October: Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Funds 1-4 years of graduate study at Cambridge in any field. Must have strong academic record. Open to citizens of any country except the U.K. - 17 October: DAAD Scholarship. Funds 1 or 2 years of study in Germany. - 24 October: St Andrew's Society Scholarships. Funds one year of graduate study in Scotland. You must have at least one Scottish ancestor. - 03 November: Ecole Normale Superieure Fellowship, Tower Fellowship, Williams-Lodge Scholarship to the Sorbonne. Funds one year of study in France. ENS and Williams-Lodge fellowships fund study at ENS and the Sorbonne, respectively; the Tower Fellowship is for any university in France. You can get the common application by emailing cgs@fas. - 13 November: Paul Williams Scholarship to Emmanuel College. Funds one year at Cambridge University in international government and public affairs (very broadly construed). - 17 November: Eben Fiske Studentship at Trinity College Cambridge. Funds multi-year advanced degrees. - 02 December: Harvard-Cambridge Scholarships. Funds one year at Cambridge University. - 05 December: Mackenzie King Harvard Scholarship. Partial support for study in Canada. - 08 December: Knox/Henry/von Clemm Scholarships (common application). Funds one year of study at various universities in the U.K. - 16 December: Herchel Smith Harvard Scholarship. Funds one year at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University in experimental natural sciences, computer science, or mathematics. FOR PURPOSEFUL TRAVEL (seniors only): - 17 October: Michael C. Rockefeller Fellowship. Funds a year of purposeful travel in a foreign country. ATTENTION ROCKEFELLER APPLICANTS: Please remember that there is a special Lowell House procedure for the House evaluation form! All the details are in an email you received (or will shortly receive) on the fellowships mailing list or from Josh directly. If you haven't yet requested your House evaluation, please do so immediately. - 06 December: Gardner, Shaw, Sheldon, Trustman traveling fellowships. Funds a year-long project of your choice in a foreign country. This is a Lowell House deadline, and you must have Lowell House nomination in order to apply. FOR GRADUATE STUDY AND/OR OTHER POSTGRADUATE ACTIVITIES: - 21 October: Merage institute for the American Dream. $10,000/year for two years for study, travel, internships, etc. Must have a green card or be a naturalized citizen. - 24 October: Luce Scholarship. One-year internship in Asia (no prior experience with Asia required). - 31 October: Hertz Fellowship. Funds 5 years of graduate study in the applied physical sciences. - 01 November: Soros Fellowship. Stipend + tuition grant for graduate study of any kind (including law & medicine). Must be a naturalized citizen, have a green card, or be the children of naturalized citizens. - 03-12 November (depending on field): NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Funds 3 years of graduate study in any field of science or engineering, including economics, psychology, and history of science. - 05 November: Carnegie Fellowship. Provides a one-year fellowship at the Carnegie Institute for International Peace. FOR UNDERGRADUATES: - 08 October: HCRP grants for fall 2008. Funds research with Harvard faculty during the fall semester. - 28 October: Goldwater Scholarship. Prize for outstanding sophomores or juniors in science/math/engineering. Also comes with funding toward your remaining undergraduate years. - 09 November: Truman Scholarship. Money for senior year of college and graduate school (and prestige). Open to juniors who plan to go into government or public service (broadly construed). - 11 December: Beinecke Scholarship. $2,000 for senior year and $30,000 for graduate study in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. FOR MORE INFORMATION: See the Lowell House fellowships website. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM THE PRE-LAW COMMITTEE Website: http://www.lowell.harvard.edu/advising/pre-law/index.php Pre-Law Committee (LoHoLaw@fas.harvard.edu) * Jean Han (jeanhan@fas.harvard.edu) * Sandy Alexander (sandy_alexander@post.harvard.edu) * Karl Procaccini (karlprocaccini@gmail.com) I. Important Dates for Applicants *October 12 (Sun): Last day to submit personal statements to the Lowell House Pre-Law Committee for review. Email your statement to: LoHoStatements@gmail.com *October 31 (Fri): Last day to submit application materials to Pre-Law Committee .If you wish the Pre-Law Committee to submit a Dean's Certification Letter for your applications, you must submit your application materials to the Committee by this date. Materials include: release form; questionnaire; resume; transcript and GPA; final personal statement; letters of recommendation; and list of schools. For more information, visit the Pre-Law website. II. Lowell House Pre-Law Events: *October 7 (Tue): Supreme Court Discussion. Harvard Law School Professors Noah Feldman and Ron Sullivan will join us to discuss and answer questions about two cases to be argued before the Supreme Court on October 14, Bartlett v. Strickland (a voting rights case) and Pearson v. Callahan (a 4th amendment case). Trip logistics will be discussed from 7:30-8:00pm; case discussion will begin at 8:00pm. Lowell House Library, 7:30-10:00pm. *October 13-14, 2008 (Mon-Tue): Supreme Court Trip. Lowell House is taking a trip to the Supreme Court of the United States! We will hear the arguments in two cases: one about voting rights and one about police searches of the home. We will also meet with Associate Justice Souter. Interested students should contact Sandy Alexander (sbalexander@gmail.com). *October 16, 2008 (Thur): Lowell House Discussion with Toby Stock, Harvard Law School Dean of Admissions. Dean Stock will meet with interested Lowellians to talk about HLS and the admissions process. SCR, 5:00-6:00pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM YOUR CAREER AND PRE-BUSINESS ADVISING TUTORS * Russell Miles - Resident Tutor (rmiles@oxfamamerica.org, 3-2990) * Christopher Laconi - Non-Resident Tutor (claconi@mba2009.hbs.edu) Thinking about what you will do after Harvard? It's never too early or too late to start!! As a Harvard graduate, the world truly is your oyster and there are so many options. Working in the private, government or NGO sector, further study, travel abroad!? Sadly, over 70 percent of the recruiters that come to Harvard are in Investment Banking or Consulting, so there is not a lot of diversity. However, this is great if this is the area in which you want to work and there are many resources easily available to you. The best place for resources and information is the Office of Career Services http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu/students.htm. The website is fabulous with a lot of great information. The OCS office is just around the corner from Lowell House at 54 Dunster Street and there are many people there who are available to help with all of your specific needs. OCS also has a very full program of events throughout the year - from career fairs to resume clinics, interview workshops and meet-the-recruiter nights. Check out the website regularly for the latest event calendar. But consulting and banking is not necessarily the career for everyone and the General Career Adviser is here to help you think through that decision and work out what you really want out of life and your career! There are so many interesting and valuable options available to you which are worth exploring. The Lowell Resident General Career Advising Tutor is Russell Miles. He can be contacted on rmiles@oxfamamerica.org or call 617-493-2990 to make an appointment. Or you can find in him J-11. Drop in times are: Weekdays 6:00pm - 10:00pm and Weekends 10:00am - 10:00pm. Christopher Laconi is a Non-Resident Tutor from the Harvard Business School and he can specifically help on Pre-Business discussions and exploring careers in banking and consulting. He may be reached at claconi@mba2009.hbs.edu or call 207-344-8923 for appointments. In addition to helping you think through your career decisions, Chris and Russell can also help get you on the path to further resources and can also help you finalize your resume and prepare for interviews. Russell is creating an e-mail list in order to send out messages about key dates and events. Please contact him if you are interested to have your name on this mailing list - rmiles@oxfamamerica.org COMING EVENTS * Exploring Careers in Advertising & Marketing: Marketing leaders in corporate and marketing agency positions talk shop. Hear from senior marketing leaders representing: - General Motors - Fidelity Investments - Procter & Gamble - Stop & Shop/Peapod/Giant - Intercontinental Hotels Group - Digitas, a local marketing services company Friday, October 10, 2:30pm - 3:30pm OCS Conference Room, 54 Dunster Street Moderated by Barbara Goose, HBS '96, Executive Vice President of Digitas To attend, send your RSVP to ocsrsvp@fas.harvard.edu with the name of the event in the subject line. If you have a specific question you'd like the panel to cover, please indicate that in the body of the email. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM YOUR RESIDENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT / INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ADVISER * Russell Miles (rmiles@oxfamamerica.org, 3-2990) Interested in international relations, international aid and development? Want to discuss international issues raised in class? Need help thinking about research paper topics? Want to meet and talk with people working in the development or humanitarian sector? Interested in an international career in public service, government or private sector, or simply wanting to travel to other regions of the world? E-mail me or come and talk with me about all these questions. If you would like to make an appointment to talk for a longer period, I am available for meetings on Saturday afternoons from 2.00pm-5.00pm. We will meet in the SCR. I am creating an e-mail list in order to send out messages about key dates and events related to international development and international relations. Please contact me if you are interested to have your name on this mailing list - rmiles@oxfamamerica.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS *Enjoyed watching the Olympics? Interested in chatting with Chinese native speakers on various topics? Trying to find a masterpiece Kung Fu movie? Need some help with your Chinese class? Wondering what travel/research/work opportunities are there in the greater China area? Or simply want to speak (or practice) Chinese? You don't have make the journey to Vanserg to talk with a teacher, you don't have to rely on traveling agency to find your host when you travel to China, you may even find the right person to talk to about your business ideas in Asia! COME TO THE LOWELL HOUSE CHINESE TABLE!! We're going to have weekly Chinese Tables on Wednesdays 5:30pm-6:30pm. We will put a sign there and we'll usually have at least two native speakers there. Thank you to Helen Tsim and Yali for offering help! * FROM THE LOWELL GREEN TEAM Susan De Wolf (Eco-Rep) and Cassie Bowe Supported by tutors: Russell Miles, Patty Villarreal, and Jenny Fisher Lowell's Green Team: On a Mission to take back the Green Cup Lowell's Green Team returns this year determined to make Lowell the most resource-efficient house on campus! Green Tip of the Week: Recycling at Harvard is now SINGLE-STREAM! Paper, cans, bottles, and even solo cups can all go in the same bin to make recycling even easier. 25% of our GREEN CUP SCORE depends on improvements in recycling and waste reduction within Lowell compared to last year! Questions, comments, ideas? E-mail sedewolf@fas.harvard.edu * MUSIC ABOUT THE HOUSE Dear Lowell Musicians, We're looking for students to perform for upcoming Lewin Musicales and High Tables. Musicales are informal gatherings at the house Library during Milk and Cookies and High Tables are formal dinners for seniors and SCR members. If you or your musical group have pieces you'd like to share with the house community, please email the music tutors for dates and more info. Maggie Cao: cao@fas.harvard.edu Andrew Amo: andrew.aamo@yahoo.com * CAREERS IN ORDAINED MINISTRY Considering a calling to ordained ministry? Come to the Vocations Dinner at Sparks House, 21 Kirkland Street. Hosted by The Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes. Thursday October 9 at 7:00pm Please RSVP to Rev. Jonathan Page (jonathan_page@harvard.edu)