By Chi Feng and Tamas Kolos-Lakatos, SP Photofile Chairs,

Based on strong interest and on the success of the first camera intro workshop, the SP Photofile Chairs decided to host a series of photography related events in the spring semester.

The first workshop on March 15^th (Saturday) will cover basic camera functionalities and it will give an insight into what makes a photograph successful and pleasing. We will look at a variety of pictures taken by SP residents and will discuss their strengths and weaknesses. This intro workshop will give a brief overview of how to tell a story with images. SP residents interested in submitting their work for the photo critique are encouraged to email submissions to sp-photofile-chair@mit.edu before March 15^th.

Based on the lessons learned from the first workshop, the second part of the series will go on a little urban adventure in Boston on April 5^th (Saturday). We will spend the afternoon around Quincy Market and the North End exploring city life, culture, architecture, and anything else inspiring to take photos of. The plan is to create a short photo essay of the outing that tells a story in many different ways. The photo mission will come to a well-deserved break and a subsidized dinner afterwards.

The camera workshop series will conclude with a slideshow of the Boston outing photo mission on April 13^th (Sunday). We will exhibit the photographers’ images, discuss their stories, and give suggestions for improvements.

Hope you can join us for any if not all of the events!

By You Wu, Orientation Chair

Volunteers grilling at last year’s orientation BBQ. Courtesy of SP Photofile Committee

Dear new residents,

Welcome to Sidney Pacific! Sidney Pacific (SP) is a culturally diverse and socially active community, and we are very excited to have you here. Our lovely SP volunteers, together with the Graduate Student Council (GSC) and the rest of the MIT community, have prepared a long list of orientation events to celebrate your arrival. These are great opportunities for you to make new friends and dive in to the MIT and SP community. I would like to take this opportunity to give you a preview of what to expect in your orientation.

The first popular event is the annual SP Orientation BBQ and Movie night on Tuesday, Aug. 27. Come out to the SP courtyard around 6pm and enjoy a night of magic. The tasty food prepared by the master cooks in our community will bring new residents and old residents together. Remember to bring your ID so you can grab a beer with your new friends at the cash bar. In addition to food and drink, you can also win prizes in the mini games. Among the prizes there are workout products from Force Factor and gift cards from Zipcar. Later that night, see Oz the Great and Powerful on a giant outdoor movie screen! We hope that you will enjoy your very first outdoor movie at MIT.

Orientation dance party. Courtesy of SP Photofile committee

Many new students ask what a weekend at MIT is like. I would like to answer this question by inviting you to the 2013 SP Dance Party on Friday night, Sept. 6. Again this party will be in the SP courtyard. DJ BIG from WPOT Hot 97 Boston radio station is leading this giant outdoor dance party to kick off your new semester. Wear a tie or a costume for a chance to win a free drink. Cash bar for alcohol will also be available. Our SP Dance Cam will broadcast your hottest moves live. Now it is my turn to ask you a question: are you ready for a MIT weekend?

Do you want to know MIT like the back of your hand? Here comes the MITourists 2013: Photo Scavenger Hunt. Starting at 3pm on Sunday Sept 8, teams of participants will be sent to explore the campus and bring back pictures of requested landmarks. You will know MIT campus much better after this Scavenger Hunt. Sign up early on http://goo.gl/bF9RYX so we can put you into teams and prepare dinner for you.

In addition to these three events, there are many other orientation activities to help you get ready for a new life at MIT. Other in-house events such as Orientation Brunch on the First of September and Orientation Coffee Hour on Sept. 4 have been extremely popular in the past, and I strongly encourage you to be there. Be sure to check out the SP calendar and GSC event schedule for the complete list of events. We are looking forward to meeting each and every single one of you!

Sincerely,
You Wu

Orientation Calendar 2013

Dear fellow graduate students,

Welcome to Sidney-Pacific (SP), the largest graduate residence in MIT.  You’ve made a great decision to be a part of our diverse family in SP, so I hope you’re ready for an exciting time here. Between MIT’s infamously engaging student life and Boston’s vibrant metropolitan scene, you are in for an undoubtedly life-enriching experience.  Whether this is your first foray into the world of graduate study or not, we, the SP officers will do our very best to enhance your experience and assist you in matters beyond your academic endeavors.

The SP BBQ on August 28th.  Come for the burgers, stay for the movie.   (SP Photofile Committee)

The SP officers, along with several other residence committees, and the Graduate Student Council (GSC) have put together a series of fun events for orientation to celebrate your arrival. Between August 25^th and September 14^th, you will have many opportunities to form new bonds with fellow students, become familiar with the campus, as well as meet other faculty members and staffs.  Needless to say, these are connections that will develop into lifelong friendships, working partnerships, and are the beginning of endless possibilities.

Our annual barbecue is a revered SP tradition.  This year, we’re calling it The Big Crunch Feast, and it will be held in the SP Courtyard, on Tuesday, August 28^th, from 6:30pm-11pm.  We typically see 400-500 students drop by to partake in the chilling and mingling, and of course the great barbecue and fresh fruits, lovingly prepared by your SP officers and volunteers.  In a historic first, we will also be giving out froyo from Pinkberry to complement these last few days of Summer.  There will also be a cash bar available for those interested in imbibing (responsibly, of course!).   Raffle tickets will be given out and called throughout the event, so join us and you may leave with one of the top three selling workout products from Force Factor, a t-shirt from Facebook , or even $50 in Zipcar vouchers!  At 8:30pm, we will screen a movie at our outdoor cinema – Martin Scorsese’s Hugo.  Get yourself and your friends a good spot!  We welcome mats or pillows for your comfort while enjoying your first outdoor movie screening in MIT.

Come rage at the SP Dance Party on Friday, August 31st (Courtesy SP Photofile Committee).

Little-known fact: SP is known for throwing legendary dance parties – this year’s, The Big Bang Bash, will be yet another!  This event will fall on Friday, August 31^st, from 9pm-1am, right in the SP Courtyard.  Bring your best moves and groove to DJ BIG, resident DJ at Boston’s hottest nightspots, and also Assistant Music Director at WPOT Hot97Boston (87.7 FM).  We will serve snacks and beverages.  Naturally, a cash bar is available for those who are interested in indulging (you know the drill).  Dress to impress, as prizes will be given out throughout the night!

There are more SP specific events, such as the Orientation Brunch, Orientation Coffee Hour, and the French Dessert Outing.  Please don’t forget to check out the GSC orientation schedule and SP event calendar for the most updated event information.  We look forward to meeting each and every single one of you.

See you at orientation!

Cheers,
Mandy Woo
SP Orientation Chair 2012

Sponsors:

SP Graduate Community, GSC, Facebook, Pinkberry, Zipcar, Force Factor

June:

•20: Environmental Coffee hour

•23: Cultural festival

•29-1: Alumni weekend (See “Celebrating SP’s First Decade”)

July:

•1: Brunch, SP 10th Anniversary Party

•3: Coffee Hour

•18: Coffee Hour

•TBD: Hall Councillor BBQ

Did you know that Sidney-Pacific is MIT’s largest student dormitory?  Since SP’s founding in 2002, more than 3000 students have called these halls home.  Many of these students made the most of their time at SP, forming lifelong friendships and making the community their own.  This summer marks the 10^th Anniversary of SP’s founding and we’re planning an unforgettable celebration.

Since September, a group of SP residents and alumni have been feverishly planning a whole weekend of events to mark SP’s first decade.  Over the weekend of June 29-July 1, alumni will be invited back to rekindle old friendships, meet current students, and see how the community has evolved. There has been great interest and we expect over 60 alumni to attend. The program highlights include an Alumni Welcome Reception on June 29^th, Alumni-Student Dinner on June 30^th, MIT Community Brunch Celebration on July 1^st, and a July 4^th fireworks viewing.

One of the two main events is the MIT Community Brunch Celebration.   This event will be SP’s birthday celebration for the entire MIT community and will be a larger version of SP’s already awesome monthly brunch.  In addition to extra special brunch food items, the SP courtyard will be transformed into a great carnival atmosphere with cotton candy, a bounce house, and Tim the Beaver.

Sidney Pacific in all of its glory.

The other main event is the Alumni-Student Dinner on June 30^th.  This is the focal event of the weekend.  At this event, students and alumni will enjoy a delicious catered dinner together.  This is a great opportunity to meet and share stories with alumni, many of whom have influential positions at companies and universities around the globe.  An exciting program has been planned for the dinner including the premiere of the SP documentary.

How can you get on the guest list for this great dinner?  It’s simple, just sign-up to help

out with some aspect of the weekend at http://s-p.mit.edu.  This weekend is a large endeavor and we need help with many small items like greeting alumni at a welcome desk, running small group outings, or helping setup for events.  This is a great opportunity for all of us to come together as a community to celebrate the achievements of the past 10 years and look forward to what the future has to offer.  Where will SP be 10 years from now?  The sky (or the moon) is the limit!

As the academic years comes to close, we’re looking for excited residents to fill the SP officer corp for next year.  So, why should you become an officer at Sidney-Pacific?  All officers are guaranteed housing at SP for the next year, bypassing the MIT graduate housing room lottery.  In addition, officers get extra priorities points in the SP internal room lottery, so you can get the perfect room.  Beyond housing, being an officer is a great way to meet people around the dorm and really get plugged into the community here.  You’ll have a chance to help out and improve upon the events and things that you’ve enjoyed throughout the year.  Lastly and most importantly, being an officer is a great excuse to do what you already love – are you interested in taking pictures? Cooking? Playing sports or working out at the gym? Going on camping trips and hikes? Many of our officer positions match very closely with residents’ own hobbies and interests.  Have a look at the nearly 30 different officer position descriptions at http://s-p.mit.edu/about_sp/officer_positions.php.

There are two types of officers at SP: committee chairs and hall councillors.  Committee chairs are responsible for specific aspects of SP, for example the brunch chairs run the monthly brunches at SP.  Hall councillors are responsible for part of a floor.  They organize activities and encourage interactions among residents at the hall level.  The positions also differ in their application processes. Committee chair applicants are interviewed and appointed by SPEC.  Hall councilor applicants are voted on by the respective halls. Stay tuned for publicity about the applications process and in the meantime, here’s the tentative schedule.

Office Application Timeline

• March 21 – April 10: Applications for Committee Chairs open (both new and continuing officer candidates apply through this process)
• April 3-17: Hall Councilor applications open
• April 10-20: Hall Councilor Elections
• May 1: May House Meeting / New SP Officers Introduced

We highly encourage all residents and especially our super-active first-year volunteers to apply! Please contact SPEC or any of our current officers if you have any questions. Thanks!

By SPEC

Last year, SP donated 1496 pounds of food! This year, we gonna step our game up...

Remarkably generous and sporadically competitive Sidney-Pacific residents last fall raked in nearly 1500 pounds of food for the Greater Boston Food Bank during the House Cup food drive. This year, from November 6 until coffee hour on November 16, we repeat the immensely successful House Cup food drive, now retitled the Food Bank Donation Contest. All residents are encouraged to donate nonperishable food items by dropping them off with their hall councilors or bringing the food items to coffee hours on November 9 or 16 where collections take place. The hall with the most weight donated per resident will achieve eternal fame and glory while five lucky donors will win $10 Flour Bakery gift cards.

By George Chen, SP Inter-Hall Event Coordinator

Wednesday, November 16 – Coffee Hour Food Drive

Saturday, November 19 – SP Fall Resident Concert

Sunday, November 20 – November Brunch

Wednesday, November 23 – Housemaster’s Thanksgiving Dinner

Tuesday, November 29 – Magician Show

Wednesday, November 30 – Coffee Hour

What do you do for fun during your free time at MIT? The Sidney-Pacific SPeaker is holding its first ever writing contest! Write an article describing one fun activity that you do and would recommend to your fellow SP residents. It can be any activity, indoors or outdoors, that you have done in Cambridge or Boston. Some potential examples include: a fun board game that you played, a ski trip that you went to, a bike trail that you explored or a Salem ghost tour that made you scream! Submit your article to the Sidney-Pacific SPeaker and you could win a $50 of Amazon gift card! A three-member judging committee comprising Housemasters and SPEC officers will rate each submission based on content, style and creativity. Be creative to impress the judges! The winner and the runner-up will receive $50 and $25 of Amazon gift cards, respectively. In addition, we will also have a “popular vote” prize – the article with the highest number of Facebook “likes” on the newsletter website will receive a $10 Amazon gift card. So what do you say? Are you ready to share your favorite activity on the newsletter?

The details of the writing contest are listed below:

• The writing contest is limited to the SP residents
• The deadline of submitting your article is 10/24
• Your article should be on one activity that you have done during your free time at MIT
• Choose an appropriate title for your article
• The length of the article is limited to 700 words (excluding title and captions)
• Attach up to 3 photos (with captions) that go with your article for one bonus point (these photos will not be shown to the judging committee, but should your article be chosen to be published, they will be used)
• The writing committee will receive your article anonymously
• Your article will be rated based on content, style and creativity
• The winner and the runner-up will receive $50 and $25 of Amazon gift card respectively
• The top two rated articles will be published on paper
• The top five rated articles will be published on the newsletter website and enter the contest for the “popular vote” prize
• The winner for the popular vote prize ($10) will be decided based on the number of Facebook “likes” on the newsletter website two weeks after the chosen articles are published online
• Submit your article and photos to sp-newsletter-chair@mit.edu

More questions and concerns about the writing contest? Contact the newsletter chair at sp-newsletter-chair@mit.edu

By Steven Chang, SP Newsletter Chair