Volunteers Clean Up Owu Room Library

There is a room in Sidney-Pacific hidden in plain view.  Though few are aware of its existence, those in the know find it immensely useful for everything from salsa dancing to martial arts to music practice to simply quiet introspection.   There is no concealed door or secret password, and it is conspicuously marked on the SP floor plan; in fact, you’ve probably walked past it way more than three times on the way to check your mailbox.

For years, the Michael Kobina Owu Room (named for the manager of the construction of Sidney-Pacific) has duteously served the needs of Sidney-Pacific residents.  But until recently, it resembled the Hogwarts Room of Requirement in more than just its obscurity.  For years, SP residents have been depositing their unwanted paperbacks and textbooks in the room originally designated as a library, creating a dizzying array of clutter that has grown exponentially with disuse and neglect.  With books strewn haphazardly across the shelves and stacked in teetering towers, browsing for a casual beach read or a quals-prep textbook can be a task more daunting than, well, digging for a mysterious diadem in a heaping mound of relics and junk.

Volunteers sort through novels piled on the “Fiction Couch.” On the right is the accompanying “Textbook Couch.” (L-R: Chelsea He, Annie Gai, Isaac Oderberg) (Courtesy of Roland Tang)

Yvonne Yamanaka sorts the non-fiction books into different categories. (Courtesy of Roland Tang)

Recognizing the potential to transform a packrat’s haven into a bibliophile’s paradise, Associate Housemaster Roland Tang led a group of intrepid volunteers on a mission to create order from chaos.  On Sunday, August 7, seven volunteers worked diligently for two hours, pulling every single book off the shelves, wiping away years of dust and grime, and sorting the volumes into categories such as Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Classics, Historical Nonfiction, Foreign Language, and Textbooks.  If we assume that the books in the Owu Room reveal the reading preferences of SP residents past and present, some trends can be observed.  Unsurprisingly, volumes on computer programming and economic policy dominate the textbook category, while selections are ripe among science fiction and thriller novels.  Perhaps less expected, however, are the countless romance paperbacks, which make up the largest (by far) of the fiction categories.  Once sorted, the next step was to reshelve the books into the appropriate locations.  To avoid clutter, books that were obsolete or in poor condition were marked for recycling, and those that were deemed outdated or esoteric were packed away for donation.  In total, four boxes of books were recycled, and an additional eight boxes were donated to charity.

Tatyana Shatova organizes the textbook shelf as Toddler Housemaster Samuel Tang looks on. (Courtesy of Roland Tang)

The book cleanup is just the first step in plans to revamp the Owu Room library.  More improvements are on the way, including reading lamps, new signage, and reading recommendations.  We encourage you to browse the collection at your leisure, or even add to it with your own books; all we ask is that you please help us keep it neat for the benefit of all SP residents.  And we hope that on those shelves you will uncover your next great adventure, be it historical (see: The Iliad of Homer in Classics), geographical (see: Guide to the Jersey Shore in Travel), romantic (see: Dating Boot Camp: Conquering the Dating Obstacle Course in Self-Help), astronomical (see: 3001: The Final Odyssey in Sci-Fi/Fantasy), or gastronomical (see: The Joy of Cooking in Cooking).  Happy reading!

By Chelsea He

Starting Your Eco-friendly Journey at Sidney-Pacific

Welcome to Sidney-Pacific! We are one of the most eco-friendly student communities on campus, and we count on you to continue make a difference in our everyday lives. Here are the tips for an eco-lifestyle at SP:

Recycling:

  • Don’t leave your recyclables in front of your door.
  • Dispose your recyclables into the big recycling bins conveniently located in each corridor.
  • Make sure you rinse the bottles and containers if needed. Contaminated items ruin other recyclables and make your corridor smelly.
  • Single stream pick-ups at SP are twice a week, usually Mondays and Thursdays. Before pick-up times the recycling bin in your corridor might disappear for a day or so, be patient — it will come back! Single-stream recycling includes glass products, plastics 1-7, paper and cardboard.
  • Bring reusable bags to the grocery store! Note that used plastic bags CANNOT be recycled in single stream. Observe that they do not actually have a plastic recycling number. Instead, they are collected in a special bin in the main lobby and sent back to be recycled into new shopping bags.

Composting:

  • Get a compost biodegradable bag from the main lobby by the front desk and once you have filled it up, simply leave it in front of your door. The cleaning staff will take it to the compost bins located outside the building for you. Please make sure the bag is not leaking!
  • If you prefer to take it out yourself, the compost bins are located behind the courtyard, at the west entrance of the parking lot. Also, don’t hesitate to use the compost bins available in every common kitchen!
  • We now compost ALL food and plant waste, including meat and dairy, as well as napkins, tea bags, coffee residues and other compostable products.

Techno-cycle:

  • Techno-cycle bin is located in the main lobby.
  • Read the label on the bin carefully for qualifying items.
  • NO light bulbs, batteries, monitors, CPUs, toner cartridges! ABSOLUTELY NO single stream recyclables!

Batteries:

  • Battery collection bin is in the main lobby, located next to the techno-cycle.

Energy Efficiency:

  • Use stairs when you can, challenge yourself! Walk or bike to your lab!
  • Use drying racks available for check-out at the front desk to dry your laundry.
  • Turn off A/C when you leave your room for the day.

Reusing:

  • Use the SP-MORE service (see details in this issue) and obtain free household items donated by previous residents instead of buying new items at the store!
  • You have something you do not wish to use anymore? Don’t trash it! Send an email to the SP ‘reuse’ interest group at sp-igroups-reuse@mit.edu!

Other Sustainable Efforts:

  • Bring your own eating ware to the SP food events like coffee hours or brunches. Save disposable, single-use stuff and win prizes in the Green Raffle every week! Note that all provided utensils at brunches and coffee hours are compostable, do not trash them! Instead use the red bins for compost!

For more information about recycling, composting and techno-cycle:

Questions? Contact sp-environment-chair@mit.edu

Don’t miss our visit of the recycling center on August 31st! Look out for posters!

By Ece Glusen and Jean-Philippe Coutu, SP Environment Committee

New Fine & Rental Fee Collection Policy

Sidney-Pacific is changing the way we collect fines and rental fees.  From now on, residents pay fines directly to the front desk either by cash or check.  Residents will have 4 weeks to pay off fines and rental fees.  At that point, he or she will be unable to check out items until they pay off their fines and fees (spare keys will always be available).  Alternatively, if a resident has unpaid fines above $20 they will also be locked out until they resolve them.  Email reminders will be sent out before that happens, and you can always check your “My Account” page on the Sidney-Pacific website.  We’ll be rolling this system out in the next few weeks, so look out for posters and an email announcing the start of the new collection policy.  If you have any comments or questions send sp-vp-info@mit.edu an email.

By George Tucker, SP VP of Information

Let’s Get the Summer Party Started!

Leila Pirhaji, SP Social Chair

Stephen Morgan, SP Social Chair

Getting bored of the summer?  Wish you had more exciting activities outside?  Look no further! The Sidney-Pacific Summer BBQ/Dance Party is just around the corner.  Come join us Saturday (July 23th) at 6pm for some amazing food, drinks and dancing in the SP courtyard.  Meet the new social chairs, Stephen Morgan and Leila Pirhaji.

As the new social chairs we want to do our best job to make Sidney-Pacific a fun and exciting environment for the graduate student community on campus. So if you see us around S-P come talk to us; please tell us how you feel about the current social events and what kind events you would like to see in the future.  This event is a perfect opportunity to get to know us; we want to know how you feel!

The event is tropical themed so bring out your grass skirts and coconut attire for the first summer event organized by the SP social chairs.  There will be plenty of foods (burgers, chips, fruit, etc.) and activities (water guns, volleyball, dancing) so come and tell all of your friends to join!

For more information, contact sp-social-chair@mit.edu

By Stephen Morgan, SP Social Chair

Are you ready for some BBQ and dancing? Come to the event on 7/23!

Karaoke Fun

Some singing talents from SP. Courtesy of SP Photofile Chair.

Delicious Food provided by the Thirsty Ear's kitchen, as well as several contributions from SP hall councilors. Courtesy of SP Photofile Chair.

The SP Karaoke night is a new event that we tried for the first time this year, and it was a big hit! The inspiration came from watching SP’s very own rock star, Yu-Pu Wang, sing at a regular Thursday Thirsty Ear karaoke night. The goal was to build community by showcasing the talent within SP, and by having fun watching people go wild on the stage. There was a raffle from among all singers and a peoples’ choice sing-off at the end of the night. Chen Lu’s performance of O-Zone’s “Dragostea din tei” took first place in the sing-off, with David Rosen’s performance of Queen’s “Fat Bottom Girls” taking second place. Yu-Pu was a constant fixture on the stage throughout the night, bringing his characteristic energy and choice of pop songs to the stage. There were a couple of humorous performances of songs written by Weird Al and Lonely Island, along with diverse selections from more conventional tunes such as “Kryptonite” by 3 Doors Down and “Tutti Frutti” by Lil Richard. Isaac, Chen and Ramesh’s performance of “Still Alive” (from Portal) was a fun choice out of left field. There was cake. (Well, actually, there was yummy food provided by the Thirsty Ear’s kitchen, as well as several contributions from SP hall councilors.) The night concluded with a group singing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing.”

By Mark Chilenski, SP Music Chair

A night of fun! Courtesy of SP Photofile Chair.

Capturing the Beauty Around SP

Drawing in the SP courtyard.

Grad students relax in the courtyard after drawing in the sun.

SP residents eager to try their hands at art have been celebrating the summer weather by breaking out sketchbooks and meeting weekly to draw outdoors – or, when defeated by heat or thunderstorms, in the SP library. Subject matter has ranged from portraits of fellow residents to sketches of trees, which means getting familiar with both human and vegetal inhabitants of SP.

Lately, SP resident Bomy Lee has volunteered as a model, transforming the gatherings into informal figure-drawing lessons. Residents start with quick “gesture drawings” – 15 seconds to as “long” as one minute – as warm-ups, then work on capturing long poses of up to 20 minutes. Accolades go out to Bomy for her impressive skill set of sitting still, standing still, and holding various contorted poses, occasionally while reading or discussing Russian novels with the artists, while said artists are staring at her continually and intently. Thanks, Bomy!

Model and the drawing.

Art gatherings will be continuing throughout the summer, so anyone interested in doodling, chatting, and snacking with fellow SP-dwellers is welcome to join! No supplies required, and absolutely no experience or expertise necessary, as we provide both extra supplies and some informal instruction. Invitations go out weekly through the SP arts interest group, or drop a line to sp-outing-chair@mit.edu to be added to a mailing list.

By Diana Chien, SP Outing Chair
Photos are courtesy of Zhandos Orazalin and David Ly

Artists at work try not to laugh (and fail) while drawing each other.

Model for the gesture drawings.

An artist plus his drawings of the model.

New Look for Newsletter

Hi, SPeaker readers! I’m Steven, the SP Newsletter Chair for this year. The Sidney-Pacific SPeaker is a monthly published newsletter that connects SP residents with the news around SP. As you may have noticed, we are making several changes to the Sidney-Pacific SPeaker in order to make this connection even stronger. In this article, I am going to introduce to you some of the changes and ideas we have for the newsletter this year. Also, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in the newsletter survey recently. Your comments and suggestions are truly valuable as they provide us directions to make the newsletter even better.

Introducing the E-Newsletter

In the survey, many of you mentioned that an electronic newsletter would be a good alternative way to deliver the newsletter. In response to that, we have worked very hard to make this become reality. It was challenging because we did not want to simply send the newsletter as an attachment in e-mails. Instead, we spent a lot of time designing a reader friendly version of the electronic newsletter. In this issue of the SPeaker, you will receive a summary of articles via e-mail. By clicking on the title link of each article, you will be directed to the newsletter website where you can read the article of interest in full. We hope this will be a convenient way for you to enjoy the articles on the newsletter and at the same time, eliminates the need to print out copies of the newsletter every month. I would also like to thank Sharon Paradesi, the Web Chair, and George Tucker, the VP of Information, for working with me to make the electronic newsletter possible.

Interactive Newsletter

One advantage of the e-newsletter is that it can be far more interactive than the traditional newsletter. We have included many new features on the newsletter website which were not possible in the paper version. One of the features you will find is the icons in the end of every article which allows you to share your favorite article on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or via email. So go ahead and read it, like it and share it. You can also comment on each article to share your opinion. We hope this will make the newsletter more fun to read than ever before.

To make the newsletter even more interactive, we plan on having polls and surveys on SP events or just SP in general in some of the future issues. Sidney-Pacific is a graduate community and to establish a strong community, it is important to have a two-way communication between the officers and residents. Therefore, we view this newsletter as a way for the officers not only to communicate to the residents but also to hear feedback and suggestions from the residents. With all of these improvements, we hope to actively engage readers of the SPeaker.

Article Variety

Many of you also mentioned that you would like to see more articles on the news impacting SP residents and on upcoming events. In addition to those types of articles, we will also try to include articles on outdoor activities you can do around SP, Cambridge, or Boston. What would be fun to do on a summer day at SP? Where are the places to go around SP during the weekends? Where to go for hiking, biking, etc.? We hope you will find useful information in those articles and give those places and activities a try sometime.

Read and Be Read

With that being said, the Sidney-Pacific SPeaker needs input from you! If you have been somewhere fun near Cambridge or tried an interesting activity, please share it with the SP community! The types of articles you can submit are not limited those mentioned above. Write to the SPeaker if you have interesting stores to share, hobby to promote and so on. We need your articles to make the newsletter fun and exciting to read! To promote submissions from residents, we are planning to award prizes to writer in future issues. If your article is chosen to be published on the SPeaker, you could win a gift card! So be sure to keep an eye out and submit your articles for prizes.

More Improvements Yet to Come

This month is the first time we are trying to make the SPeaker electronically available. We have not totally abandoned the paper version of the newsletter but we will certainly be shifting towards the electronic version if this is successful. We have worked very hard to establish this electronic version from scratch and there are certainly more improvements that can be done. You can help us to make the website better by giving us feedback on how to improve it.

Lastly, we hope you support the newsletter and our effort of making Sidney-Pacific a better community. The simplest way to support us is by simply reading the newsletter. In addition, you can give us comments on articles and submit your own articles. We hope you will find the SPeaker fun to read and get involved as a writer too.

So, do you like the electronic version of the Sidney-Pacific SPeaker? Please comment below to tell us what you think and give us some feedback!

By Shiou-chi (Steven) Chang, SP Newsletter Chair

Upcoming Events! July & August 2011

Sunday, July 17th – Sunday afternoon Jazz @ Café Luna

Wednesday, July 20th  – Coffee Hour

Saturday, July 23rd  – Summer Dance Party

Saturday , July 30th  – Asian street food summer market

Wednesday, Aug 3rd – Coffee Hour

Saturday, Aug 6th – Hall Councilor BBQ

Sunday, Aug 7th – August Brunch