** Commonwealth College Notices **
+ TO SENIORS AND JUNIORS
+ STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING FEB 21
+WAL-MART: THE HIGH COST OF A LOW PRICE, FEB 21
+ WWWORKSHOP: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE, FEB 22
+ TEXAS HOLD ‘EM TOURNAMENT, FEB 23
+12TH ANNUAL UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE, APPLY NOW
** Campus & Community Announcements **
+ PLATANOS AND COLLARD GREENS, FEB 15
+ CROSSING CULTURES: THE AFRO-SEMITIC EXPERIENCE, FEB 15
+ GRATEFUL DEAD PUBLICIST DENNIS MCNALLY TO SPEAK, FEB 22
+ FAITH ADIELE READING IN WRITING BUTTERFIELD, FEB 23
+ GROWING ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE U.S., LECTURE MARCH 2
** Student Life **
+ DO YOU WANT TO BE A RESIDENT ASSISTANT?
+ ATTENTION FUTURE FEMALE LEADERS! MULTICULTURAL SORORITY
_________________________________________
** COMMONWEALTH COLLEGE NOTICES **
TO SENIORS AND JUNIORS
At the end of this month we will be compiling the Class of 2006 graduation candidates’ list for the UMass and Commonwealth College graduation ceremonies. We will be downloading the names of students who are designated on SPIRE with a graduation date of 2006. If you intend to graduate this year, please check your SPIRE record to make certain you are listed as Class of 2006.
Students who wish to postpone their graduation until 2007should contact the UG Records Office in Whitmore. Students who do not intend to complete their Commonwealth College requirements must request withdrawal from Commonwealth College in order to prevent problems with their UMass Degree awards. Such request may be emailed to advisor@comcol.umass.edu. Please include your name, SPIRE ID and reason for your withdrawal request.
STUDENT ADVISORY BOARD MEETING FEB 21
Join us for a discussion about the possibility of second year Learning Communities and the effectiveness of news@comcol. To see a more detailed agenda, check out the SAB webpage. We will be meeting on Tuesday, Feb 21st @ 6:00 pm in the Goodell lounge. Dinner will be provided; please RSVP to mbeesley@comcol.umass.edu if you plan on attending!
WAL-MART: THE HIGH COST OF A LOW PRICE, FEB 21
Did you know that Wal-Mart can cover the cost of a dollar-an-hour wage increase by raising prices a half penny per dollar? For instance, a $2.00 pair of socks would then cost $2.01. This minimal increase would annually add up to $1,800 for each employee. Yet in 2001, sales associates, the most common job in Wal-Mart, earned on average $8.23 an hour for annual wages of $13,861. The 2001 poverty line for a family of three was $14,630. Come learn more about America’s largest retailer as we continue our ‘Rebel With a Cause’ Film Series on Tuesday evenings at 7:30pm in the Goodell Lounge. Snack and refreshments provided (not purchased at WalMart!)
WWWORKSHOP: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE, FEB 22
You’re invited to attend this week’s Wednesday Workshop about the Undergraduate Research Conference in time to get situated for the March 2 application deadline. Learn what to expect at the conference, and how to register as a presenter. The workshop will conclude with an (optional) abstract writing workshop. Workshops run from 6-7pm in the Goodell Lounge, and include sandwiches from the Loose Goose. Please RSVP to peers@comcol.umass.edu if you plan on attending!
TEXAS HOLD ‘EM TOURNAMENT, FEB 23
7:30pm in the ComCol Lounge
Join us for Commonwealth College’s second “Play a Hand, Lend a Hand” Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament at 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 23 rd!
The donation required to reserve a seat is 3 non-perishable food items or $5, all of which will be contributed to a food drive for the Amherst Survival Center. How often do you get the chance to simultaneously gamble and help those in need? Pizza will be provided for all participants, and prizes will be awarded to the top 5 players in the tournament. To reserve a seat in the tournament, please RSVP to peers@comcol.umass.edu or call 545-2483 by February 21 st.
Forget or don’t know how to play poker? Show up at 7:15 p.m. for a review of the rules, techniques, and more!
If you are unable to attend but would like to contribute to the food drive, there will be a collection box in 504 Goodell until the day after the event. Any and all contributions are welcome!
12TH ANNUAL UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE, APPLY NOW!
Being held -- Thursday, April 27th, 2006, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm at The Colonnade Hotel, Boston. For more info and to register, go to the Conference website:
http://www.comcol.umass.edu/conference/
The Undergraduate Conference is an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your work in a professional setting. Undergraduate students present their research and creative work in oral or poster presentations to fellow students, faculty and other invited guests. Presentations can be based on one's thesis research, creative work in the visual or performing arts, independent study, community service or study abroad.
APPLY ON-LINE NOW!Application deadline: March 2, 2006.
** CAMPUS & COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS **
PLATANOS AND COLLARD GREENS, FEB 15
THIS Wednesday, February 15th 2006 @ 8pm Bowker Auditorium
*Free* and Open to the Public
In honor of Black History Month, we would like to invite you to join us for a performance of Platanos and Collard Greens: an intellectual, romantic comedy that examines stereotypes, cultural differences and similarities between Blacks and Latinos. Click here for complete information.
CROSSING CULTURES: THE AFRO-SEMITIC EXPERIENCE, FEB 15
Explorations of the Sacred and Secular Music of the African and Jewish Diasporas
Wednesday, February 15 at 7:30PM
Student Union Ballroom, UMass Amherst
Free for UMass and Five-College students; $7 general admission at the door. For more information contact Larry Goldbaum at the Office of Jewish Affairs 413.545.9642.
GRATEFUL DEAD PUBLICIST DENNIS MCNALLY:WRITERS WORK, FEB 22
Biographer, Historian, and Publicist for the Grateful Dead
Wednesday February 22nd 4-5pm
135A Butterfield Hall
Dennis McNally, who received his Ph.D. in American History from UMass Amherst, is the author of A Long Strange Trip: The History of the Grateful Dead and Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation, and America, which began as his doctoral dissertation. He has been publicist for the Grateful Dead since 1984. Join us as Mr. McNally discusses his experiences as a writer and historian, and the unique ways he's applied his skills and passions. Please note the special location: 135A Butterfield Hall, located at the top of Clark Hill Road in the Central Residence Area. (It's easy to find! For a campus map, visit: http://www.umass.edu/umhome/visit_campus/maps.html)
Writers Work is a program of the Juniper Initiative and is made possible by support from the MFA Program for Poets and Writers, the English Department, Commonwealth College, and the Umass Arts Council.
FAITH ADIELE READING IN WRITING BUTTERFIELD, FEB 23
Thursday, February 23 at 7:30pm in Butterfield Lounge
The Women of Color Leadership Network is excited to bring Faith Adiele to UMass. She has been a Buddhist nun, community activist, diversity trainer and “petty bureaucrat,” and has lived and traveled in Southeast Asia, West Africa, Latin America and Europe. She currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she is Assistant Professor of Creative Nonfiction at the University of Pittsburgh. She also teaches travel writing at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and nonfiction at National University's (L.A.) on-line and Gettysburgh College's low-residency MFA programs.
Faith Adiele, the daughter of a Nordic-American mother and Nigerian father, holds a BA in Southeast Asian Studies from Harvard College, an MA in Creative Writing from Lesley College, and MFAs from the University of Iowa in both Fiction and Nonfiction.
Her current projects include Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun in Thailand (Norton, April 2004), and "My Journey Home," a PBS documentary based on her writings and travels to find family (airdate April 2004). The film was produced by award-winning filmmaker Renee Tajima-Peña and written and narrated by Ms. Adiele. If you would like more information, you should visit her website at http://www.adiele.com.
Faith’s reading in Butterfield will be followed by an informal question and answer session.
GROWING ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN THE U.S., LECTURE MARCH 2
Several departments and organizations are co-sponsoring a March 2nd lecture about growing economic inequality in the U.S. The speaker is Felice Yeskel, Director of Class Action (see their excellent website at http://www.classism.org/). She will focus particularly on how our cultural inability to talk openly about class differences impacts students and the campus community. Mark your calendars: March 2nd, 4:30 PM, Campus Center!
** STUDENT LIFE **
DO YOU WANT TO BE A RESIDENT ASSISTANT?
RA Position Information...what’s in it for you?
-Meet new people
-Create an inclusive community
-Work on a diverse team
-Direct students to campus resources
-Enhance your time management skills
-Respond to student crises and emergencies -Build your resume -Mediate roommate conflicts -Promote and enforce safety policies -Organize fun and educational community activities
Minimum Qualifications:
-GPA 2.4 or higher
-Be free of current University judicial sanction -Have lived in a residence hall for one semester
Information Sessions: Date Time Location
Mon 2/13 7:00PM Mary Lyon Classroom
Tues 2/14 7:00PM Webster Classroom
Wed 2/15 5:00PM Washington 12th Floor
Thurs 2/16 6:00PM Lewis Main Lounge
Thurs 2/16 8:00PM Coolidge 19th Floor
Tues 2/21 6:00PM Gorman 2nd Floor
Tues 2/21 8:00PM Cashin Main Lounge
Wed 2/22 5:30PM Hillel House
Wed 2/22 8:00PM Leach Basement
Thurs 2/23 6:00PM Melville Main Lounge
Thurs 2/23 8:00PM Greenough Basement
Mon 2/27 7:00PM Cance Main Lounge
Tues 2/28 6:00PM Campus Center 904-08
Wed 3/1 5:00PM New Africa House
If you want to be an Apartment Living Advisor in the new apartments, attend this special info session: February 16 at 7:00p.m. in Webster Classroom.
ATTENTION FUTURE FEMALE LEADERS! MULTICULTURAL SORORITY
If you're interested in the empowerment of women through higher education, raising multicultural awareness, community service, friendship, and sisterhood, consider becoming a member of a growing and unique organization dedicated to bringing women of diverse backgrounds together. Carpe Diem!! Become a sister of Delta Xi Phi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. For more information contact resmilee@aol.com and visit http://www.geocities.com/~deltaxiphi/.