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INSIDE THIS WEEK’S NEWS@COMCOL (details below)
+ Democracy Matters General Interest Meeting, Dec 1
+ Upcoming ALANA Events, Dec. 2,3 and beyond
+ Craft Fair to Benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters, Dec 4&5
+ Witches Speak: A History Club Performance, Dec 6
+ E2M—An Economic Model for Millennium 2000-Forum, Dec 8
+ Fundraiser for ServiceNet Seeking Volunteers
+ Fellowship Announcement, NASA Graduate Researchers

Previously Noted & Still of Interest
+ A Year at Trinity College Oxford, Apply by Dec 1
+ UMass Oxford Summer Seminar
+ A Cappella on Campus, Dec 2 and Dec 10
+ Northvalley Special Olympics Jolly Jaunt, Dec. 4
+ Frank Santos, X-Rated Hypnotist, Dec. 6
+ Honor Society Scholarships for Juniors & Seniors
+ Native American Congressional Internships
+ New Community Service Learning Courses
+ Sustainable Living Course Offers Honors Colloq
+ Winter Course in Mexico, Honors 397I
+ Alternative Spring Break Culminating Experience
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GENERAL INTEREST MEETING FOR DEMOCRACY MATTERS! DEC. 1
Commonwealth College Lounge, 504 Goodell

5:30PM
Do you constantly ask or are asked "why should I vote?" or "Does my vote really matter?" Do you feel that our political system is corrupt due to private, corporate influences on politicians and their decisions? Are you tired of convincing people that their vote really matters and we as citizens still have power to do something about our system? Want to do something about it but have your undies in a bunch because you don't know how? JOIN UMass' DEMOCRACY MATTERS! Come to our General Interest Meeting. Refreshments will be served. COME FIGHT THE POWER! It's time for a revolution baby!

UPCOMING ALANA EVENTS & UNITY JAM II, DEC 2&3
ALPHA PHI ALPHA Week
Thursday, December 2:  Movie Night with EPOCH Program:  "School Daze" at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, December 3:  JUNGLE FEVER Party with the Gentlemen of ALPHA PHI ALPHA and the Ladies of DELTA SIGMA THETA, Top of the Campus Center, 9:00p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Ladies Free before 10:30 p.m., $5 for non-Greeks, $3 for Greeks with Para. Music by D.J. Rome of Cease Entertainment.  Cash Bar until 1:00 a.m.  I.D is a must!! For more info visit: http://people.umass.edu/akchap/AlphaWeek.htm and http://people.umass.edu/akchap/JungleFever.htm. And for a complete listing of ALANA events in December, see http://www.comcol.umass.edu/news/texts/ALANA.pdf.

CRAFT FAIR TO BENEFIT BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS, DEC. 4 & 5 Need one-stop shopping for unique holiday gifts? Look no further than the 24th Annual Northampton Winter Craft Fair, formerly at Smith College, which will be held at its new bright and spacious location, Northampton High School Gym, on Saturday and Sunday, December 4 & 5, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Featuring wonderfully creative handmade crafts by 65 local and regional artisans, a tasty selection of food catered by State Street Deli, a beautiful silent auction, a bake sale and plenty of FREE parking, this high quality fair is one of the oldest and best established in all of New England. Don't miss out on all the fantastic holiday shopping! The Northampton Winter Craft Fair benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County. For more information call Ashley Dennis at (413) 253-2591.

WITCHES SPEAK! DEC. 6
Four students of History 388H: American Women's History to 1890, bring to life the tales of four women accused of witchcraft in seventeenth-century New England. Sponsored by the History Club. Monday, December 6 at 7 PM, in Herter 601. Refreshments provided.

E2M-ECONOMIC MODEL FOR MILLENNIUM 2000-FORUM, DEC. 8
E2M—An Economic Model for Millennium 2000—calls for the creation of unique for-profit business entities, known as ‘E2M certified businesses,’ which include the employees and the community as shareholders. “By simply purchasing goods and services from E2M certified businesses, consumers can guarantee that these businesses will grow and provide a significant and steady flow of wealth to their communities,” says Michael Garjian, a commercial entrepreneur turned social entrepreneur and founder of E2M.org.
To learn more about this refreshing new economic initiative, attend the E2M forum at UMass to be held on Wednesday, December 8 from 4-5:30pm in room ­W-24 of Machmer Hall­­. All are welcome to attend. For more information about E2M, see http://www.comcol.umass.edu/news/texts/E2M.pdf or visit their site at http://www.e2m.org/.

FUNDRAISER FOR SERVICENET INC. SEEKING VOLUNTEERS
ServiceNet Inc. is an organization based in Northampton which strives to "provide a wide array of effective, accessible, and sensitive human services" and runs several homeless shelters and drop-in centers in Northampton and the surrounding areas to this end. At this time of year, ServiceNet creates and sells an "Art with Heart" Calendar, which contains art donated by local artists, as a fundraiser for their programs. They would like to get some UMass students involved in this project, selling calendars in the Northampton and Amherst area. Interested students can contact Brooks Reinhold, Administrative Coordinator for the Housing and Shelter Division, at (413) 582-4284. Additional information about the calendars can be found at <http://www.servicenetinc.org/index.php?id=76>.

FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT, NASA GRADUATE RESEARCHERS PROGRAM
Year 2005 NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program
Deadline: February 1, 2005.
Fellowship Overview: The NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program offers fellowships to students attending or planning to attend graduate school who are seeking research-based masters or doctoral degrees in the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering if the student's research perspectives are related to NASA research and development. Each fellowship consists of a student stipend of $18,000, a student allowance of $3,000 and a $3,000 university allowance. Upon satisfactory progress the award may be renewed for a total of up to three years. NASA awards approximately 90 GSRP fellowships per year. For complete information see http://www.comcol.umass.edu/news/texts/NASA.pdf or visit the NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program Web Site at http://fellowships.hq.nasa.gov/gsrp/program/index.cfm.

****** Previously Noted and Still of Interest ******

YEAR AT TRINITY COLLEGE OXFORD, APPLICATION DEADLINE DEC. 1
By agreement with Trinity College at Oxford University, each year one student from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is accepted to spend a year studying at Trinity. Commonwealth College has been asked to nominate students to be considered for this opportunity during the 2005-2006 academic year. The fields of study available for a one-year visiting student at Trinity College are English, History, Physics and PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics).
Applications for this opportunity can be obtained from Commonwealth College. Along with the application form, you must submit two letters of recommendation from faculty members in the field of study as well as a formal essay stating your interest in the Trinity program. The deadline for completed applications is December 1, 2004. Your application should be returned to Dean Slakey at Commonwealth College.
Upon receipt of the applications, the College will review materials and pass them on to a selection committee. The committee will interview the candidates and select up to three students whose applications will be sent to Trinity College. Trinity will choose one student from among the UMass Amherst applicants.
The standards for admission to the Oxford colleges are extremely high. It is recommended that applicants have a grade point average of 3.75 or higher, as well as substantial background in their major field of study.
The Kathleen and David Scott Scholarship is available to provide assistance to the student selected by Trinity College.
Interested participants may wish to consult JoAnn Bernhard in the International Programs Office for more information about this opportunity (545-4984, jbernhar@ipo.umass.edu). They may also wish to consult the Trinity College website at http://www.trinity.ox.ac.uk/.

UMASS OXFORD SUMMER SEMINAR
The Summer Seminar, which will run from July 3—August 12, offers courses in literature, international law, history, film and politics. All students reside in Trinity College, one of Oxford’s most beautiful colleges, and all faculty members are British academics, most of them currently teaching at Oxford. Students may earn up to eight undergraduate credits. Tuition, room and board for the six-week program is $5500. A limited amount of merit-based financial aid is available. For more information about the program, visit http://www.umass.edu/oxford/ or email the program at oxford@english.umass.edu.
[A few additional notes on this program from the Dean: Commonwealth College students who have done this program have given it very high praise. One of the courses you take will carry honors credit. Also, this year for the first time, if there is enough demand, we will organize so that students may use this opportunity as part of their culminating experience, by using one of their Oxford courses as the launching point for a thesis. If you are interested in this possibility, email me (dean@comcol.umass.edu) or the program director, Professor Leheny (jim.leheny@chancellor.umass.edu) so we can judge possible demand.]

A CAPPELLA ON CAMPUS, DEC 2 AND DEC 10
The University of Massachusetts Doo-Wop Shop will hold two a cappella concerts before the end of the semester. The first will be Thursday, December 2nd, at 7PM in Herter Annex. This concert will cost $2. The final concert of the semester will be on December 10th at 8PM in Mahar Auditorium. The final concert will cost $5 and feature Alabaster Blue from UNH and the Six Minutes from the University of Massachusetts. Come get involved in the UMass a cappella scene!

NORTHVALLEY SPECIAL OLYMPICS JOLLY JAUNT, DECEMBER 4
This fundraiser consists of a 4k run or 1k walk starting at the Basketball Hall of Fame. The registration fee is $30. With your registration you get a free T-Shirt and a pass to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For more information on the run and how you can help us raise more by getting sponsors to help pay your registration fee, please visit our website at http://www.jollyjaunt.org/ .

FRANK SANTOS, X-RATED HYPNOTIST, DECEMBER 6
Southwest Area Government announced that Frank Santos-the X-rated hypnotist-will perform at the Fine Arts Center on December 6th, 2004. Doors will open at 7:00pm with an opener scheduled for 7:30pm and Frank Santos expected to perform at 8:00pm. Tickets are $5.00 for students (both graduate and undergraduate) and $10.00 for the general public. For more information please see http://www.franksantos.com/ or contact Mina Safain at msafain@student.umass.edu

HONOR SOCIETY SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED TO JUNIORS & SENIORS
The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi offers three scholarships/awards for juniors and seniors:
  - A fellowship for the first year of graduate study worth $8,000. Deadline Feb 1.
  - A study-abroad award worth $1,000. Deadline Jan 15.
  - A teaching literacy award worth $2500. Deadline, Feb 1.
Forms may be picked up in the Office of National Scholarship Advisement, 408 Goodell Building. Additional information about the awards, and down-loadable forms are available from the society's website at http://www.phikappaphi.org/.

NATIVE AMERICAN CONGRESSIONAL INTERNSHIPS
Each year 12 Native American students have the opportunity to learn about the federal government from the inside through a ten-week internship with a congressional office or federal agency in Washington, D.C. Round-trip airfare to D.C., dormitory lodging, a daily allowance and $1,200 Education stipend are provided. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national or permanent resident; Native American or Alaska Native; college junior, senior, graduate or law student, or graduating from a tribal community college; have a minimum "B" average; and have an interest in tribal government. Additional information and application materials are available at http://www.udall.gov/p_internships.asp or contact: Monica Nuvamsa, Internship Coordinator, nuvamsa@udall.gov.

NEW COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING COURSES FOR SPRING
Check out this new course: Honors 397R Mentoring with Big Brothers Big Sisters Become a Mentor, Learn about Leadership and Mentoring, Get Credit, Make a Difference. Find the complete list of CSL courses for spring semester at http://www.comcol.umass.edu/news/texts/new_csl.pdf

SUSTAINABLE LIVING COURSE OFFERS HONORS COLLOQUIUM
Turn PLNTSOIL 290S, Sustainable Living, into an honors course by also signing up for one of the associated honors colloquia. Visit the course website at http://www.umass.edu/umext/jgerber/sustliving.htm.

WINTER COURSE IN MEXICO - HONORS 397I
With Professor John Gerber
For more information, see http://www.comcol.umass.edu/news/texts/mexico.htm

ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK CULMINATING EXPERIENCE
Grassroots Community Development (Anthro 397H) is an intensive four-credit Honors course that includes spending SPRING BREAK in a rural community in VA and working side by side with grassroots organizations there. For more information, see http://www.comcol.umass.edu/news/texts/anthro397h.htm.