Sidney Pacific Newsletter

Crowd-sourced content from our graduate student community
We crowdsource content from residents to bring you bi-monthly news about our graduate community. If you’d like to contribute content for our next newsletter, please email Cherry at sp-newsletter-chair@mit.edu! 
SP Christmas Tree Decoration Evening (11/30)
Happy Holidays! The SP community and the House Masters' families came together in the lobby for decorating, snacks and hot chocolate in preparation for the holiday season.
SP update:
New clothing donation bins
Did you know that SP has new clothing donation bins in the parking lot behind the building (see map)? It’s a sustainable and convenient alternative to tossing your old clothes! The program is managed by the Epilepsy Foundation of New England, which reinvests proceeds into research and community support for the ill.
–by Karthik Sastry; more info here
Event Report:
The Music Room
by Andrew Licini
Tucked away between the Seminar Room and the gym, there’s an unassuming room labelled 187. However, if you check out the key at the front desk, you will find yourself in a world of unparalleled enchantment! Yes, this is the fabled S-P Music Room (not Narnia, sorry), and it’s got a lot of great resources all musicians or music enthusiasts will enjoy!
See full article here
Event Report: 
Roommate Dineout Program (October 2018)
The Roommate Dineout Program is an annual fall semester tradition at SP. Roommates are reimbursed to have a meal out together as a fun way for them to get to know each other early in the year before the semester gets busy. This year, 55 pairs of roommates participated in the program!
–contributed by Olivia Fiebig
 
Event Report: 
SP goes ice skating! (11/17/2018)
SP introduced its residents to the MIT ice skating rink in the nearby Z-center. We wanted to make graduate students aware of this amazing resource, which is available to them for free during the winter season. More than 60 people joined the event, with 5 students also volunteering to teach their peers to ice skate. Skates were made available for free for SP residents, encouraging everyone to enjoy 2 hours of social and athletic time!
–contributed by Francesco Sciortino
Featured SP Resident:  
Geeticka Chauhan
"Before MIT, I was an undergrad studying CS and doing classic AI research. Now at MIT, I work on Natural Language Processing in CSAIL. When I arrived at SP, I was able to form a community of friends by being a Helper in my first year, starting by helping for brunch and then for coffee hour. SP is important to me because it helped me feel more accepted in the MIT community. I am also part of the Grad Rat and I helped design the new ring this year :) I teach yoga and generally enjoy art."

Do you have feedback on the newsletter? Do you want to contribute content to the next newsletter? Feel free to reach out at sp-newsletter-chair@mit.edu!
Contact the SP Newsletter Chair:
sp-newsletter-chair@mit.edu