Lowell House News Volume 32, Issue 25 Monday, March 30 * CIAO! Italian Table, 6:00-7:00pm, Dining Hall Tuesday, March 31 * Room Applications available in the House Office Wednesday, April 1 * Housing Office hours 10:00am-noon, A-22 * UHS counselor drop-in hours, 5:00-7:00pm, N-14 * Physics table, 9:00-10:00pm, Dining Hall Thursday, April 2 * You are warmly invited to Tea, 5:00pm, Masters' Residence * Pre-Law General Meeting - MANDATORY for Fall 2009 Applicants, 7:30-8:30 pm, SCR (Q-11) * TRIVIA NIGHT!! SCR v. JCR, 8:30pm, Junior Common Room!! Friday, April 3 * Students leaving the College by this date are charged one-half tuition and SS fee. * Housing office hours, 3:00-5:00pm, A-22 * Watercolor Painting Class, 4:00-6:00pm, Art Room Sunday, April 5 * Walk For Change - fundraiser for Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, 10:00am, Canal Park, CambridgeSide Galleria * Pre-med Office Hours, 6:00-8:00pm, Dining Hall * Freshmen Welcome Reception, 8:00-10:00pm, Masters' Residence Monday, April 6 * Room Applications DUE by 5:00pm in the House Office * Housing Office Hours, 3:00-5:00pm, A-22 * High Table, 6:00pm Masters' Residence, 6:30pm, Dining Hall * CIAO! Italian Table, 6:00-7:00pm, Dining Hall Wednesday, April 8 * Housing Office Hours, 3:00-5:00pm, A-22 * UHS counselor drop-in hours, 5:00-7:00pm, N-14 * Physics table, 9:00-10:00pm, Dining Hall Thursday, April 9 * You are warmly invited to Tea, 5:00pm, Masters' Residence Friday, April 10 * Final degree applications due for June 09 degrees; Last day to change concentrations; Last day to file a foreign language citation * Advanced Standing eligible students planning on graduating early should file forms by this date * Students wanting to file for a fourth year AM degree must file advanced standing by this date * Watercolor Painting Class, 4:00-6:00pm, Art Room Sunday, April 12 * Pre-med Office Hours, 6:00-8:00pm, Dining Hall ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE RESIDENT DEAN * Ryan Spoering, Allston Burr Resident Dean Room A-22, 5-2283 (lo-abrd@fas.harvard.edu) As your Resident Dean, I am here to help you with all kinds of academic matters, and to connect you to Harvard's many resources. Please come to me with questions and concerns of any kind--in addition to my advising and administrative roles I also help Lowell House students manage personal struggles, illness and anything else you may encounter on your way to your degree. - BUREAU OF STUDY COUNSEL. The BSC offers a variety of services geared toward a healthy academic and personal life, including counseling services, a reading strategies course, peer tutors, workshops on rooming and blocking, writing, creativity, time management... The services that they provide are diverse and impressive, and a list can be found at their website: http://bsc.harvard.edu. - OFFICE HOURS THIS WEEK. I will have walk-in office hours this week from 11:00- noon Mon, Tues, Wed, and Fri. For other times, please contact Kit in the House Office (A-22, 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, I have a question regarding TFs. On a scale of 1 to 10, how acceptable is it to facebook friend my TF (10 being totally normal). Will my TF accept but be totally weirded out that I searched for her on facebook? Also, if I stumble across a TF's blog, how acceptable is it to mention said blog to TF? I came across the blog via a mutual acquaintance's facebook profile.. without realizing that she and my TF shared a blog. (True scenario, for which I am desirous of an answer from the *other side*.) Signed, Protocol-Challenged in P Dear Protocol, Is this all regarding the same TF?? Hmm. I would give it a 5. Your motivations and the age/stage of the TF are variables in this etiquette equation. Researching people's profiles seems to be de rigeur in the 21st century. These sorts of 'manufactured Eureka' moments you describe are part and parcel of current society, but only in the last 5 or 6 years. Cyberspace seems to be a free-for-all for people in their twenties, and everyone seems to have, like, a thousand 'friends'. But hammered into every TF's head -- young and old -- is the vigilant defensiveness about appearing too close to one's students. My opinion would be that if your TF is young and well, she will not be surprised (nor terribly concerned) that you noticed her on Facebook, friended her, or read her blog (which is asking to be noticed). However, if she is old and ill, or a bent and ragged creature like myself, perhaps lurching through graduate school on the never-never plan, then I would reconsider it. It confuses the middle-aged mind to be noticed by younger people--especially online. But the 64,000 dollar question is: why do you really need to 'friend' her? Is it because you actually want to befriend her, or is it more like stalking?! If you want to be friends, I say, wait until the class is over. That's the sure-fire way to not weird anyone out. ~Beth ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE PRE-LAW COMMITTEE Website: http://lowell.harvard.edu/advising/pre-law 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) ***Tuesday, April 7: Trip to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court*** You are invited to spend the day with the Lowell House Pre-Law Committee at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the highest court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts). We will be observing oral arguments in the morning, taking a tour of the courthouse, eating lunch in Quincy Market, and meeting with Chief Justice Margaret Marshall. Chief Justice Marshall is the author of many important decisions including the pathbreaking opinion in Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, which found a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. This is a great opportunity to see a state supreme court in action and to meet with a preeminent jurist. We will leave Lowell House at approximately 8:00am and return at approximately 5:00pm. All members of the Lowell House Community are invited. Space on this trip is extremely limited, so email karlprocaccini@gmail.com to reserve your spot now. ***Sunday, April 19, 7:30pm, SCR: Mandatory pre-law meeting for students intending to apply to law school this fall*** !! NOTE THE CHANGE OF DATE !! Mark your calendars for this MANDATORY meeting for all students planning to apply to law school this fall. We will explain the admissions process, discuss important deadlines, and answer questions. Other students planning to apply in future years are also welcome to attend. This meeting will be immediately followed by a short workshop on writing personal statements. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE FELLOWSHIPS TUTORS * Josh Goldman (jdgoldm@fas.harvard.edu) * Courtney Peterson (cmpeters@fas.harvard.edu) * Susanna Mierau (susanna_mierau@post.harvard.edu) * website: http://lowell.harvard.edu/fellowships 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 (in OCS conference room unless noted) - Marshall and Rhodes Scholarship Preview (for class of 2010) * 04 May, 3:00 PM * 05 May, 3:00 PM * 06 May, 3:00 PM - Fulbright Grants Preview (for class of 2010) * 07 May, 3:00 PM * 08 May, 3:00 PM *** UPCOMING FELLOWSHIPS *** FOR SUMMER ACTIVITIES FOR UNDERCLASSMEN - 01 April: Harvard College Research Program (HCRP) grants. Funds summer research supervised by a Harvard faculty member. - 02 April: Dean's Summer Research Award. Replaces the summer savings requirement for senior thesis writers on financial aid. - 02 April: Harvard-Cambridge Summer Undergraduate Fellowship. Funds a summer in the U.K., preferably at Cambridge University. May include research, coursework, arts or music, work with a Cambridge-affiliated nonprofit organization, or even a non- Cambridge affiliated organization FOR PUBLIC SERVICE - 16 March: Summer public service grants (Lee/Lamont/Ho/Ritland etc.). Summer grants of $700-$3500 for public service. - 16 March: Steiner Community Service Grants. $1600 for summer community service projects FOR MORE INFORMATION: See the Lowell House fellowships website. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM YOUR PRE-MED ADVISING TUTORS * Ilya Leskov (chair), Marlys Fassett, Benjamin Rapoport, Mary Alexander ** lohomed@fas.harvard.edu. Announcements for 2009 Applicants: Premed Questionnaire I is due to lohomed@fas.harvard.edu by 5 p.m. April 15. You can find the PDF form on our website: http://www.lowell.harvard.edu/advising/pre-med.php (2009-2010 Med School applicants and alumni applicants in particular...) If you missed the intro meeting, please: **Come see us at office hours, in the dining hall every Sunday night, 6-8 p.m. **Email lohomed@fas to declare your intent to apply so you can be added to our applicant-specific email list. Workshops for 2009-2010 Medicine Applicants Sundays, 7:00-8:00pm in the Dining Hall with Marlys April 5 Evaluating Your Readiness: applicant case studies April 12 Writing the Medical Application Essay April 19 Choosing Medical Schools May TBD AMCAS application FAQs Forms and Advisor Assignments are always available on our webpage: http://www.lowell.harvard.edu/advising/pre-med.php ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS * WALK FOR CHANGE - A FUNDRAISER FOR THE BOSTON AREA RAPE CRISIS CENTER Join the Lowell House Team and the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response for a walk against sexual violence. On Sunday April 5 Registration starts at 10am, walk starts at 11am Start/Finish at Canal Park, CambridgeSide Galleria. 5K loop along the Boston and Cambridge sides of the Charles River. * EXHIBITION OPENING - LECTURE AND RECEPTION You are invited to the Peabody's Museum's new exhibition "Wiyopiyata: Lakota Images of the Contested West." The exhibition will be launched with an opening lecture given by Nathaniel Philbrick, author of Mayflower, on the topic "Standing at Standing Rock: Following Custer and Sitting Bull to the Little Big Horn". This is followed by a reception. Opening Lecture: 5:30pm, Friday 3 April, Peabody Museum Opening Reception: 6:30pm, following the lecture, Peabody Museum