CORe Digest
February 14th 2008
The C Only one day late! I know that technically Valentine's Day was yesterday, but if I give you some marshmallow peeps will you forgive me for stretching this theme a little bit? There aren't that many options for themes at this time of year. It's a pretty tame month. We've got some good holidays coming up (Patriot's Day, anyone?), so don't get too worried. Some brief facts about Valentine's Day from Wikipedia: "Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. Until 1969, the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine's Days." Imagine if there were still eleven Valentine's Days. Hallmark would absolutely love it, but somehow I think the holiday might lose its significance to the majority of the population. Holidays are a lot less special if they happen regularly. Except Saturday. And Sunday. "Using the language of the law courts for the rituals of courtly love, a "High Court of Love" was established in Paris on Valentine's Day in 1400. The court dealt with love contracts, betrayals, and violence against women. Judges were selected by women on the basis of a poetry reading." It turns out Valentine's Day has been pretty sappy since it's inception. Imagine if modern day jury selection was based on a poetry reading. That might be a lot more entertaining for people who get jury duty. Maybe we should require poetry readings at CORe elections... "In Saudi Arabia in 2008, religious police banned the sale of all Valentine's Day items, telling shop workers to remove any red items, as the day is considered an un-Islamic holiday. This ban created a black market of roses and wrapping paper." Something about wrapping paper seems staunchly anti-black market to me. Also, don't forget that this Saturday (through the wee hours of Sunday) is the Olin One Laptop Per Child Hackathon! Drop by the Dining Hall all day to hear talks from speakers, learn more about the OLPC project, and get a chance to hack together some programs for the OLPC laptop. Swing by!
Re Digest
CORe Calendar: In Outlook | Google Calendar
Friday, February 08:
Saturday, February 16:
Sunday, February 17:
Tuesday, February 19:
Wednesday, February 20:
Greg "Cupid" Marra
Vice President of Communication
OLPC Day this Saturday!
Education, technology, design, global impact, and social enterprise come together
Join Olin's chapter of the One Laptop Per Child project in the dining hall mezzanine for a fun Saturday afternoon of discussion, tinkering, and development. The festivities start at noon and go all day, with most of the structured activities taking place from 1-5. With a good mix of Olin students, faculty, and staff, as well as a few off campus guests from Babson, Wellesley, MIT, and of course OLPC, it should be a great time for all. Whether you're ready to show up and write code or would just like to learn about OLPC, Olin's involvement, or discuss a few of the many facets of the project, we would love to have you there!
Come see the Vagina Monologues
Saturday Feb 16th at 8:00pm in Sorenson Theater
THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES
A One Night Only Engagement
Saturday, February 16th
8:00 PM
Sorenson Theater
Tickets: $5 or $3 with student ID
All proceeds are donated to SAFER, an organization devoted to establishing anti-sexual violence programs at college campuses
Come ready to laugh and to enjoy a Vagina Lollipop for only $2!!!
RECYCLEMANIA Update!
West Hall and East Hall are currently competing in a national collegiate recycling competition with 80+ other colleges. Olin is currently ranked 4th in the Grand Champion category which ranks schools by the percentage of waste they recycle. Olin is currently recycling 44% of its waste in the residence halls.
Last week (Feb 3rd-9th) we generated 890 lbs of trash in EH and WH or about 3.04 lbs per person. The average resident recycled 1.29 lbs and threw away 1.75 lbs. See attached spreadsheet for more details.
Olin can win this competition if we REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!
Suite Lounges Covered by Right of Entry Policy
At the suggestion of the Residence Life Committee of CORe, the following clarification has been made to residence hall policies. It takes effect immediately and will appear in the next edition of the Student Handbook.
Amended Section on Right of Entry (see page 93 of the Student Handbook 2007-08) -- new wording underlined: The College reserves the right to inspect rooms/suites and perform maintenance at reasonable times, and to enter rooms/suites at any time in case of emergency, in response to a complaint of a disturbance, or when there is reason to believe that a violation of College policy is occurring within the room/suite. E-mail notice will be provided to students at least 24-hours in advance of non-emergency inspections. Residents are not permitted to change or add private locks or security devices to their rooms or to any part of the building. College personnel are not to enter a room/suite without knocking and, if asked, should identify themselves and their reason(s) for entering the room.
Writing Tutors for Spring 2008
Struggling with a thesis? Need a proof read of that paper? Writing a resume?
Your Spring 2008 Writing Tutors are ready to help you out!
Feel free to email any of us to schedule an appointment or stop by our office hours.
Michael Hughes
Mondays, 9-10 p.m. in EH119
Kathleen Towers
Tuesdays, 9-10 p.m. in EH 416E
Amy Dyer
Wednesdays, 8-9 p.m. in EH 128A
For more info, check out the AHS wiki: http://ahs.olin.edu/ahswiki/WritingTutorPage
Library strategic planning, Thank you!
During the last month of the semester, the library reached out to the Olin community for input into our strategic planning process. We want to thank everyone who participated, and to provide an update to our planning. All told we had more than 120 students, faculty and staff complete surveys. Congratulations to Rachel Nancollas and Sylvia Schwartz for being our student winners in the library prize drawing.
The library staff has begun processing all of the data. We have already made a few changes, and will be writing our plan and creating longer term goals throughout the semester. In the spirit of picking low-hanging fruit, here are a few of our immediate actions:
- The New Books shelf is back in the form of a wooden cart in front of the circulation desk.
- The library is working with IT on an additional path to library databases from off-campus for those with VPN issues.
- Push/Pull signs will appear on the library doors as soon as we find frames consistent with campus design. The wording of the library access sign was tweaked to be more welcoming.
- Interlibrary loan issues such as poor quality on scanned copies are being addressed.
Summary reports of the strategic planning forms will be available to the community by the end of March. A new library strategic plan will be in place by the end of the semester.
Once again, thanks to everyone who gave their time and insights to our planning process. Questions? E-mail Dee at: dianna.magnoni@olin.edu.
Girls Science Club!
Girls. and Science! Volunteer!
If this description sounds interested, talk to SERV with questions or follow these instructions to get involved!
If you would enjoy showing girls how exciting science and technology can be and all the possibilities that are open to her, then this is a terrific opportunity for you.
Science Club for Girls is a unique after-school and Saturday program that brings out the inner scientist in young girls to show them that science is not only fun, but also a career field for women. We are looking for volunteers to be mentor-scientists to girls in our program. Volunteers work with small groups of girls once a week, just two hours per week doing hands on projects that are part of a curriculum provided by SCFG. Through our program, we hope to build self confidence, science literacy, and sisterhood.
We request that you make a two hour commitment for at least four weeks of our eight week program. We also require that volunteers attend a basic training. For more information and a volunteer application please visit us at www.scienceclubforgirls.org and click on “ways to volunteer”. If you have any questions, please send an email to slemnios@scienceclubforgirls.org.
Thank You, Olin Community!
Your support of the American Liver Foundation is appreciated
Tutor Needed!
Help a student with Partial Differential Equations
Concert by Martha Schrempel
On Feb. 20 at 12 noon in AC328 pianist Martha Schrempel will play a concert featuring “Preludes, Fugues, and Some Winter Heat.” Her program includes two preludes and fugues by Dimitri Shostakovich, César Franck’s Prelude, Chorale, and Fugue, Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, and a new work by Diana Dabby, A Fire’s Tale, which will have its world première in Philadelphia next month.
Women in Technology Summit [WiTS] 2008
Industry Leaders, Resume Help, Interview Workshops, Panel Discussions, and Career Fair
When: Saturday Feb 16
Where: Harvard CGIS South
Damage: Free!
Dress: Business Casual
The day-long conference features panels, discussions, and workshops on a diverse array of topics from software engineering to biotech to women in the workplace to resume review clinics. This year, WiTS is sponsored by Microsoft, Credit Suisse, Google, Morgan Stanley, SAP, and Cisco. Meet recruiters from these top companies at our Career Fair!
PGP Announcements
Olin’s resource for internships, summer research, jobs, graduate school and more…
GENERAL
Women in Technology Summit
February 16th (TOMORROW) Harvard Law School
This day-long conference features panels, discussions, and workshops on a diverse array of topics from software engineering to biotech to women in the workplace to resume review clinics. This year, WiTS will take place at Harvard Law School on Saturday, February 16, 2008, and will be featuring speakers from top companies like Google and Microsoft. Registration is free! http://womenintechnologysummit.com/
Lime Brokerage Information Session/Resume Collect
Wednesday, February 20th 6-7 PM MH 273
Lime Brokerage LLC will be here to talk about openings in their Waltham, MA office. They will be collecting resumes at this session and during the career fair earlier in the day. Check out their job description in EASE for an Enterprise Java Developer. Pizza will be provided.
Wednesday, February 20th 6-7 PM MH 273
Lime Brokerage LLC will be here to talk about openings in their Waltham, MA office. They will be collecting resumes at this session and during the career fair earlier in the day. Check out their job description in EASE for an Enterprise Java Developer. Pizza will be provided.
Olin College Post Graduate and Internship Fairs
February 20th, February 21st & February 26th 11-2 Campus Center Lobby
There are currently 29 companies, graduate schools and non-profits scheduled over the three days. Watch your inbox for more details and a complete list of attendees.
February 20th, February 21st & February 26th 11-2 Campus Center Lobby
There are currently 29 companies, graduate schools and non-profits scheduled over the three days. Watch your inbox for more details and a complete list of attendees.
Athenahealth College Open House Event for 2008 graduates and summer interns
Thursday, Feb. 21st 5:30-7:30PM Watertown, MA
We hire for aptitude, drive, and raw talent. We do not require prior work or internship experience (although it helps). We do require that you have a strong desire to learn and excel at what you do. We are hiring for point of entry positions in Software Development, Client Operations, Claim Operations and Analytics. Meet the leaders and alumni employees. Please RSVP to greilly@athenahealth.com
Thursday, Feb. 21st 5:30-7:30PM Watertown, MA
We hire for aptitude, drive, and raw talent. We do not require prior work or internship experience (although it helps). We do require that you have a strong desire to learn and excel at what you do. We are hiring for point of entry positions in Software Development, Client Operations, Claim Operations and Analytics. Meet the leaders and alumni employees. Please RSVP to greilly@athenahealth.com
SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES
Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
Deadline: February 28th
The Robotics Institute Summer Scholars program is a summer internship program for highly qualified and motivated undergraduate students. Acceptance to the program is limited and very competitive. Interns who are accepted into the program will have a chance to work on state-of-the-art research projects at Carnegie Mellon's world-renowned Robotics Institute. Interns will be assigned to work with faculty members who fit their area of interest. Projects will range from a wide variety of sub-fields in robotics including (but not limited to!) mobile robotics, computer vision, machine learning, robot navigation, autonomy, humanoid robotics, human-robot interaction, multi-robot systems, graphics, and mechanical design. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~summerscholar/Robotics_Institute_Summer_Scholars/Robotics_Summer_Scholars_Program.html
The Robotics Institute Summer Scholars program is a summer internship program for highly qualified and motivated undergraduate students. Acceptance to the program is limited and very competitive. Interns who are accepted into the program will have a chance to work on state-of-the-art research projects at Carnegie Mellon's world-renowned Robotics Institute. Interns will be assigned to work with faculty members who fit their area of interest. Projects will range from a wide variety of sub-fields in robotics including (but not limited to!) mobile robotics, computer vision, machine learning, robot navigation, autonomy, humanoid robotics, human-robot interaction, multi-robot systems, graphics, and mechanical design. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~summerscholar/Robotics_Institute_Summer_Scholars/Robotics_Summer_Scholars_Program.html
Summer 2008 Aerospace, Science and Engineering Research - University of Illinois
Deadline: February 29th
This ten-week research program focuses on multidisciplinary research in aerospace science and engineering (ASE). We invite highly-motivated juniors (rising seniors) with backgrounds in engineering, computer science, and physics to apply for an REU position. For more information and to apply online please go to http://www.ae.uiuc.edu/opportunities/reu/
Deadline: February 29th
This ten-week research program focuses on multidisciplinary research in aerospace science and engineering (ASE). We invite highly-motivated juniors (rising seniors) with backgrounds in engineering, computer science, and physics to apply for an REU position. For more information and to apply online please go to http://www.ae.uiuc.edu/opportunities/reu/
NIST Undergraduate Research Fellowships
Deadline: February 25th
Deadline: February 25th
For more information on this great research program in the Washington, DC area please check out the website at http://www.surf.nist.gov/surf2.htm
Interested applicants should also contact Stacy Riseman!
Interested applicants should also contact Stacy Riseman!
*Don’t forget to check out EASE for all the latest opportunities and to sign up for our upcoming events!