LOWELL HOUSE NEWSLETTER Monday, 26 October 2009 Volume 33, Issue 9 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------- CALENDAR Monday, October 26 *Gov advising office hours | 6-8pm, Dining Hall Tuesday, October 27 *Pie Baking in the Master's Kitchen | 7-10pm, Master's Residence *Masters Pie Study Break | 10-11pm, Master's Residence Wednesday, October 28 *Round Table Dinner with Professor Steven Pinker | 6-7pm, Small Dining Room *Gov advising office hours | 7-8pm, Dining Hall *Econ advising office hours | 7-8pm, Dining Hall *PUMPKIN CARVING, DINING HALL *Meditation with Dorothy Austin | 9-10pm, Tower Room *"Glee" Study Break Sponsored By Queer-Straight BGLT Tutor Alliance | 9-10pm, JCR *Physics table | 9:30-10:30pm, Dining Hall Thursday, October 29 *Masters' Teas | 5-6pm, Masters' Residence *German Table | 6-7pm, Dining Hall *Lowell Poemical Society | 7-8:30pm ***STEIN CLUB**** Sunday, November 1 *Sociology Table | 5-6pm, Dining Hall *Lewin Musicale | 10-11pm, Library *Milk and Cookies | 10pm, Library Monday, November 2 *HIGH TABLE, 6pm Masters' Residence. 6:30pm, Dining Hall (sorry, no interHouse this evening) Wednesday, November 4 *Round Table Dinner with Professor Michael Puett | 6-7pm, Small Dining Room *Gov advising office hours | 7-8pm, Dining Hall *Meditation with Dorothy Austin | 9-10pm, Tower Room *"Glee" Study Break Sponsored By Queer-Straight BGLT Tutor Alliance | 9-10pm, JCR *Physics table | 9:30-10:30 pm, Dining Hall Thursday, November 5 *Masters' Teas | 5-6pm, Masters' Residence *German Table | 6-7pm, Dining Hall *Lowell Poemical Society | 7-8:30 pm Sunday, November 8 *WELLNESS: Chair massages! | 8– 10pm, SCR *Lewin Musicale | 10-11pm, Library *Milk and Cookies | 10pm, Library ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM THE RESIDENT DEAN * Brett Flehinger, Allston Burr Resident Dean Room A-22, 5-2283 (lo-abrd@fas.harvard.edu) -OFFICE HOURS CONTEST. There was spirited attendance at office hours this week, and to keep things going, here’s a challenge. The entryway that has the highest attendance at office hours this week will win some form of exciting prize from me at the end of the week.* To that end, I’ll hold office hours on Monday from 2:00-3:30 and Tu-Fr 11:00-12:00. Please come by for anything you want, including just to say hi. If the drop-in hours don’t work, just contact me for an appointment (5-2283, lo-abrd@fas.harvard.edu), I’m glad to have you come by and talk for any reason. --FINAL EXAMS…are still forty-seven days away but now is the time to check your schedule and make sure you don’t have any conflicts or other problems with your exam schedule. If you do, please contact me this week and we can talk about your options. --IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH. O.K. this is mostly about sickness, but with both seasonal flu and H1N1 around, you might find yourself missing a class or two because of illness. If you miss a class or a deadline because of illness, please drop in to UHS and get a note from the doctor. If you've seen someone at UHS, your doctor and I can help you request accommodations from your courses. * Probably cookies, but the options remain open. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASK BETH, the HOUSE ADMINISTRATOR * Beth Terry, A-22, 5-2283 (lo-admin@fas) Dear Beth, I need a rec letter postmarked by noon today but how can I get access to it? Help! I'm freaking out! Signed, Stressed on a Saturday Dear Stressed, There, there. We can always fax it on Monday with explanation to the recipients. However, the explanation may have to be that you did not make arrangements to get the information to the House Office and allow for a civilized 48-hour turnaround time for us to get a letter in the US post for you. In this world of instantaneous communications, flash intros and immediate downloads, try to remember we still run an old-fashioned, 5 day, 9-5 operation. We don't do anything flashily or instantly. We actually can't. Recommendation letters still tend to be on paper, most are not downloaded electronically yet, and they certainly cannot be handed to you upon demand if you have waived your right to see them. In fact, you are supposed to hand *us* an addressed, stamped envelope for the rec letter with a few days' notice for us to send it wherever it needs to go. That's the idea, at least. In your haste to accomplish everything yesterday while procrastinating today, I invite you to view our quaint methodology as .....attractively modest. Or perhaps look at it as a sentimental throwback to the days when Harvard students spent leisurely hours thumbing through dusty books in Widener and circumventing parietal rules in their loafers. And, while ruminating on this irrelevant vision, remind yourself to refresh your understanding our of recommendation letter procedure. Armed with updated information, I swear, as the Dean is my witness, you will never be rec-less again! ~Beth RECOMMENDATION LETTER PROCEDURE - 3 steps The proper procedure for obtaining recommendations for your House file is as follows: 1. Fill out a waiver form, either from the House Office or from the website: http://lowell.harvard.edu/administration/Request_for_recommendation.pdf 2. Give the waiver form, along with an envelope addressed to the Lowell House Office (10 Holyoke Place, Cambridge, MA 02138-5052), to the *recommender* a few weeks in advance (you must give them time to write the letter, after all) 3. Wait patiently for an email from the House Office saying that we have received the letter. This usually comes from Kit Gattis (lowell@fas). Call us if you need to follow up. Please remember that we customarily need at least 48 hours turnaround time to send or fax a rec letter back out. So please don't leave stuff to the last minute. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM THE FELLOWSHIPS TUTORS * Susanna Mierau (smierau@fas.harvard.edu) * Josh Goldman (jdgoldm@fas.harvard.edu) * Courtney Peterson (cmpeters@fas.harvard.edu ) LOWELL HOUSE FELLOWSHIPS WEBSITE The Fellowships section of the Lowell House website features an annotated 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 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--and this week Wednesday--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) - 27 Oct, 4:30 PM: Social Impact Funding Forum (OCS reading room) - 28 Oct, 8 PM, Leverett JCR: Harvard-Cambridge Scholarships meeting with selection committee * * * UPCOMING FELLOWSHIPS * * * FOR GRADUATE STUDY ABROAD: - 09 November: Eben Fiske Studentship. Postgraduate multi-year advanced degree study in the U.K. - 24 November: Williams Scholarship. Postgraduate study in the U.K. (international government and public affairs) - 01 December: Harvard-Cambridge Scholarships. Postgraduate study in the U.K. - 04 December: Henry, Knox, Smith (non-science), and Von Clemm Fellowships. Postgraduate study in the U.K. - 07 December: Mackenzie King-Harvard Scholarship. Postgraduate study in Canada (in a Canadian field) - 08 December: Herchel Smith Harvard Postgraduate Scholarship. Postgraduate study in the U.K. (natural sciences, computer science, or mathematics) FOR PURPOSEFUL TRAVEL (seniors only): - 01 February: Millfield, Shrewsbury, and Stowe Teaching Fellowships.Postgraduate teaching in the U.K. - 18 February: Gardner, Shaw, Sheldon, Trustman Traveling Fellowships. Funds a year-long project of your choice in a foreign country. FOR GRADUATE STUDY AND/OR OTHER POSTGRADUATE ACTIVITIES: - 29 October: Carnegie Fellowship. Provides a one-year fellowship at the Carnegie Institute for International Peace. - 30 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. - 02-12 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. See http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=6201&org=NSF - 10 December: Beinecke Scholarship. $2,000 for senior year and $30,000 for graduate study in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. FOR UNDERGRADUATES: - 2 November: Goldwater Scholarship. Prize for outstanding sophomores or juniors in science/math/engineering. Also comes with funding toward your remaining undergraduate years. FOR MORE INFORMATION: See the Lowell House fellowships website. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM THE WELLNESS TUTOR Brodi Kemp (bkemp@fas) Together with the Center for Wellness, we're going to run a special YOGA class at Lowell. Our instructor, Kerry, has designed a class to provide a physically challenging workout with some time at the end for relaxation, of course! LoYoGa. YoGaLo. LoYoGaWell. Whatever you want to call it, sign up! DETAILS: Class: Monday nights, Nov. 9 - Dec. 14 in the Lowell dance studio Time: 8-9pm Registration: The cost is $10.00 per student for the entire course. (The remainder of the cost is covered by the Center for Wellness.) Each class participant must register for class on the Center for Wellness website ( http://cw.huhs.harvard.edu/programs/yoga.html) prior to the first class, must supply his/her own yoga mat & towel, and must be affiliated with Lowell House. Students of all levels are welcome. You need to register on the Center for Wellness website and then you can come to as many classes as you like (participation in the whole series is certainly encouraged, but isn't required). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ IM'S THIS WEEK Monday 10/26 @ 8:30pm @ Stadium: Flag Football vs. Pfoho Thursday 10/29 @ 7pm @ Stadium: Frisbee vs. Adams Your IM reps: Katrina (katrinawelch4@gmail), Brian (bkaufman@fas), and Joe (jalin@fas) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PIE WITH THE MASTERS’ Pie Making in the Masters’ Kitchen Tuesday 7 - 10pm | Master's Residence Bake apple pies from scratch using fresh fruit picked at Honey Pot Orchards. Come to learn, help or just nibble. No experience necessary. and Masters' Study Break Tuesday 10-11pm | Master's Residence Enjoy freshly baked apple pie made by Lowellians ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LEWIN MUSICALE Sunday, November 1: 10pm in The Library Need a break from an arduous weekend of Halloween partying and frantic studying? Then come to the library at 10pm during milk & cookies to be soothed and entertained by the sonorous voice of our favorite Australian sophomore, Marina Connelly. She will sing everything from Bach to beautiful jazz standards. AND, as a special treat, senior Christopher Lim returns this month to serenade us with some virtuosic piano music. Stop by to study, get your sugar fix & vitamin D, and support two of our talented Lowellians! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * LANGUAGE TABLES AT LOWELL HOUSE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GERMAN TABLE *Nayla Hamdi (nayla@brandeis.edu) Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Then come to the German Table every Thursday at 5:45 PM in the Lowell House Dining Hall. All levels of proficiency are welcome. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM THE EDITORS Got an item for the newsletter? Email it to lohonews@fas. Items received by noon on Saturday will be in Mondays newsletter, space permitting. Do not despair; all submissions will be included in the online edition. ------------------------------------------ Elizabeth G. Terry Administrator Lowell House, Harvard College 10 Holyoke Place A-22 Cambridge MA 02138 p. 617 495 2283, f. 617 495 2523 -------------------------------------------