Cooking Made Easy, Part II

By Jenny Wang,

Having a good stock of fast, easy recipes is probably the most important part of saving time in the kitchen. Here are two of my favorite recipes to help you start or grow your own collection:

No Knead Flat Bread

No knead flatbread, toped with pear, gorgonzola and arugula. Courtesy of steamykitchen.com.

(also good for pizza crust)

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 3/8 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoon granulated yeast
2 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar if desired
2 1/2 to 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour depending on how thick you like the dough.

The day before, mix oil, water, yeast, salt (and sugar if using) in a large bowl. Then, mix in the flour. This is a no knead dough so it will be quite a bit stickier than normal bread doughs. Make sure there is room in the bowl for the dough to rise to two or three times its original volume.
Leave the dough at room temperature for about two hours to rise. After it has risen, you can store the dough in the fridge (cover the bowl with plastic wrap) for up to a week. It may develop a beer-like smell (due to the live yeast) if you store it for too long, but it should still cook up fine. The dough can also be frozen if necessary. I like to prepare the dough in a large tupperware for easy storage.
To cook, line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread a fist-sized chunk of dough on the paper. The parchment paper prevents the dough from sticking to the baking tray and makes clean up a lot easier. Spread the dough as thin as you can without making holes.
Gently brush the dough with olive oil if you’d like. You can also add toppings like shredded cheese and arugula. Essentially, anything that works well on pizza should work here.
Bake in the oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 to 15 minutes until the dough is cooked through. If your oven doesn’t go this high, use the highest temperature setting and bake for a bit longer. The first few times you try this recipe, check on the bread during baking to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Easy Miso Soup

Miso Soup. Courtesy of www.steamykitchen.com.

Traditional miso soup is make from dashi (fish stock) and miso (fermented soy bean paste), but there are now plenty of packaged instant soup mixes. However, by adjusting the traditional recipe, you can make miso soup from scratch just as easily as from commercial mixes. The ingredient amounts are not critical in this recipe so you can adjust to suit your own tastes.

1/2 teaspoon bonito flakes (can omit if you don’t have it, but it gives the soup a more complex flavor)
2 teaspoon miso paste (I like white miso for this, but you can also try other types for a different flavor)
1 teaspoon dried wakame seaweed
chopped scallions, cilantro, and/or other herbs for flavoring
2 cups hot water

* bonito, miso, and wakame can all be found in Chinatown or Whole Foods.

Set the water to heat before prepping the rest of the soup. If you have one, an electric kettle is likely the fastest way to heat water. Microwave and stove top works too. The water should be very hot, but doesn’t have to be boiling.
Mix the miso paste with a bit of water to soften it. If you don’t use miso much, just soften the miso directly in the soup bowl. I make this soup a lot so I just keep a jar of softened miso in the fridge and add a couple spoonfuls to the soup bowl. In it’s original form, miso paste will last months in the fridge. The softened miso doesn’t last as long, but should stay good for at least a couple weeks.
Crush the bonito flakes as small as you can into the soup bowl.
Add in the wakame and herbs. Although not authentic, I like to add some Thai basil and vinegar. Feel free to experiment with herbs or to leave them out altogether.
Pour the hot water into the soup bowl. The hot water will rehydrate the wakame and cook the herbs slightly to draw out more flavor. If the water cools too quickly to properly rehydrate the wakame, cover the bowl. Once the wakame softens, the soup is ready.

This recipe also makes a good base for noodle soups.

Greetings from the New Housemasters!

By Berit Johannes and Andreas Schulz

From left to right: Berit, Felix and Andreas.

Dear new and returning members of the Sidney-Pacific community:

It’s our great pleasure to welcome you (back) to the Sidney-Pacific Graduate Residence. However, we just returned from a year-long sabbatical abroad and assumed our new role of SP housemasters only a few weeks ago. We would therefore like to take the opportunity to also thank you all and especially the house government for the warm reception and for helping us with the transition. We are honored and proud to be part of the SP community and to succeed Dottie and Roger Mark, who have been SP’s first housemasters. We are every bit as excited as the new residents among you to learn more about SP’s culture, to help organize and participate in community activities, and to get to know all of you better. Our resident community is amazingly diverse, and provides a wonderful opportunity to complement academic training with an enriching social and cultural experience. We encourage you to make the best use of it. Before we tell you a little bit more about ourselves, we thought that some of you might wonder how MIT defines the responsibilities of graduate community housemasters. First and foremost, we are here to support you in all aspects of your development, prepared to act as advisor, advocate or mentor. We also provide academic and social support through community events, cultural and educational programs, and we advise SP’s executive council. Perhaps most importantly, we are your neighbors, and we hope you will stop by our apartment, be it to just say `hello,’ to engage in some good discussions on a random topic, to have someone listen to your concerns, or to play with and learn from our three-and-a-half-year old son.
Here is some additional information about us.

Andreas is Professor of Mathematics of Operations Research and Holder of the Patrick J. McGovern Chair at the Sloan School of Management, which he joined as a member of the faculty in 1998. He is also a faculty member of MIT’s Operations Research Center, former head of the Operations Research and Statistics Group at Sloan, and a former member of the Singapore-MIT Alliance. He has held visiting research professorships in the Institute of Theoretical Computer Science at ETH Zurich and in the Department of Quantitative Economics at Maastricht University. Other visiting positions led him to the University of British Columbia, to Eindhoven University of Technology, and to Technische Universität München. He got his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the Technische Universität Berlin in 1996. His research interests include algorithmic game theory, approximation algorithms, combinatorial optimization, computational complexity, integer programming, network flows, polyhedral combinatorics, and scheduling theory. In his spare time, he likes to play badminton, beach volleyball, soccer, squash, table tennis, tennis and ultimate frisbee, and he is an avid hiker and skier.

Berit also holds a PhD degree in Applied Mathematics from Technische Universität Berlin. She was a visiting PhD student as well as a postdoc at MIT. Her research revolves around computational complexity and robust optimization. She also is a freelance consultant, and she has industrial experience as an Operations Research Analyst. Berit has been deeply involved in the MIT community since coming here with Andreas. Among other things, she has taken an active part in the ceramics studio of the Student Art Association, and she has practiced American Jiu-Jitsu Self-Defense at MIT since 2002, where she now is an instructor. She regularly plays volleyball in the Z-Center.

Cooking made Easy

By Jenny Wang.

Courtesy of culinaryschools.com.

Now that orientation is over, the supply of free food has dwindled, and you might have to fend for yourself when it comes to eating. You might have to fend for yourself when it comes to eating. In addition to generally being cheaper than restaurant fare, home-made foods are often far healthier. Even if you don’t make everything from scratch, you’ll at least know what you’re eating from the ingredients and nutrition labels. In this article, I will share some tricks I use to make things a bit easier in the kitchen so you can enjoy nutritious meals without spending too much time cooking.

The key to easy cooking is thinking ahead and planning. Stock up on long-lasting pantry staples like pasta and canned goods when they go on sale. Then, before each trip to the grocery store, consider how many meals you’ll have to cook in the next week so you know how much to buy. I like to make sure I always have a selection of longer-lasting fruits like pears and apples on hand for easy snacks and canned soups and noodles for easy meals. (Tip: Use a creamy soup as a sauce over noodles or rice for a heartier meal. If you have a rice cooker without a timer, convert it to an automatic cooker with a cheap timer outlet. Set the timer to also turn off after a certain period so the rice does not dry out from being warmed too long.)

Planning ahead so you can pre-prep commonly used ingredients can save you a lot of time when cooking on busy evenings. When you have some time (for example as a study break or while waiting for pasta to cook), be your own sous chef and prep herbs, vegetables, and fruits ahead of time. Even if I’m not using them that day, I like to wash produce when I’m waiting for something to cook in the kitchen. This way, I’m not wasting time standing around and the produce will be ready for whenever I use them. However, not all vegetables and fruits keep well after being washed, so you may have to experiment a bit. I like to reuse plastic salad mix boxes to store washed vegetables. Line the container with a cloth napkin (or clean kitchen towel or paper towel) to keep washed produce fresh longer. The napkin soaks up excess water so the produce does not sit in a puddle. (Tip: Keep washed fruits in the fridge as grab and go snacks. You can put them in a bowl in the produce bin to keep them from drying out.)

While cooking, do everything you can to expedite clean up. Be neat when transferring ingredients from the cutting board to the pot (Tip: A flexible cutting board can help prevent spills when dumping ingredients into the pot.) For recipes that require precise amounts, consider using a food scale instead of measuring cups and spoons. Cover the scale with plastic wrap to keep it clean. If the food is too hot to eat right away, put it aside and clean up while waiting for it to cool.

Of course, having a good stock of fast, easy recipes is probably the most important part of saving time in the kitchen, so check out next month’s SPeaker for some of my favorite easy recipes.

Warning: Do not leave food that is cooking unattended. Also, do not let smoke out into the hallway outside your room unless there is an actual fire.

Sidney-Pacific Room Review

By Stephanie Nam

The SPeaker is starting a new series exploring different rooms and lifestyles in the community. It is interesting and inspiring to see some of the creative wall decorations, furniture layouts, storage ideas as well as other hobby-related collections. This series is intended to share some of the coolest apartments with other SidPacians. If you are aware of awesome candidates for this series, please do not hesitate to let us know!

Lab-in-a-room, Matt and Mark’s apartment

The first visit of the SPeaker was to Matthew D’Asaro and Mark Chilenski. Matt and Mark are both in their 4th year at MIT, Matt in EECS and Mark in Nuclear Engineering. They agreed to be roommates on visit day, and they have been sharing an apartment in Sidney Pacific ever since they started at MIT. Why Sidney Pacific? When SPeaker asked, and Matt told us that SP had the maximum bedroom square footage/price ratio, and Mark added that he also like the ratio of living space/ bedroom in order to set up “the equipment” in their bedrooms.

Matt and the 3D printer.

Before going into each bedroom to see the equipment set up, you can’t fail to notice the huge 3D printer in their kitchen. Matt shared the story of how the giant machine made it to their kitchen; from an email alert on MIT-reuse mailing list to running up four floors of stairs to beat the group of people who took the elevator. They managed to clean the tubes and download the new software, and of course printed a block of “Hello World” in 3D. Unfortunately, the printer is not working at the moment due to some software issues. Maybe the 3D printer will be fixed for the next Open Doors Night?

Mark has set up a workstation in one side of his bedroom using a long side table from IKEA and a lab-like tool organizer drawer stands in the corner. The SPeaker was lucky enough to see the Geiger counter that Mark has designed and built himself, along with other vintage and modern Geiger counters. He also has a miniature robotic arm that was a birthday present from Matt. He connected it to a computer and wrote a python program to control it. Eventually, he hopes to be able to use the arm to paint pictures. There is also a collection of paints and delicate brushes for his hobby of painting little figurines. Additionally, Mark is also a drummer but for the sanity of his roommate he does not practice in the room.

(CW from the top right) Mark with the Geiger counter he designed and built, his work station, brushes for figurine coloring, The robot arm, and some wall decorations.

Stepping into Matt’s bedroom, one would be surprised at the scene of so many measurement devices from oscilloscopes to a spectrum analyzer. Quoting a visitor at Open Doors Night, this is “a lab with a bed in it.” The IKEA table had to be reinforced with a thick metal column to withstand the weight of all of the instruments. Matt says studying electronics and doing projects outside of school have been very educational and helpful for his research. He is also a collector of vintage electronics, which he enjoys restoring to working order. Among the collection is a working example of one of the earliest television models, which is hooked up to an analog signal transmitter so it can be used to watch TV.

(CW from the top right) Matt’s set up of all instruments, a vintage electronics collection on top of the bookcase, a behind-the-door wire rack, another collection on the wardrobe, and the black and white analog television from 1949.

It was a great fun to talk to Matt and Mark, and to hear some stories of their collection. Their enthusiasm about their hobbies was quite inspiring too. Thank you to the M&M duo from the SPeaker!

Welcome to Sidney-Pacific! Dive in!

By SPEC

SPEC 2013. From left to right: Fabián Kozynski, Boris Braverman, Rachel Harding, Bernhard Zimmermann and Steven (Shiou-chi) Chang. Courtesy of SP Photofile.

SPEC 2013. From left to right: Fabián Kozynski, Boris Braverman, Rachael Harding, Bernhard Zimmermann and Steven (Shiou-chi) Chang. Courtesy of SP Photofile Committee.

The Sidney-Pacific Executive Council (SPEC) and the House Council would like to warmly welcome all of our new residents. You’re joining an amazingly diverse, active graduate community of almost 700 students. In order to serve and unite a community this large, SP has a wide variety of traditions and institutions, some of which we’d like to introduce here:

Hall Councilors and Hall Dinners: Sidney-Pacific is divided into 13 halls, and hall councilors are your floor’s representative. If you have any questions, concerns, or issues, they’re a great first resource to turn to. Plus, they organize monthly dinners and outings – basically, excuses for everyone in your hall to come together, hang out, and enjoy some free food. During orientation, each hall will be holding a mandatory hall meeting for all of its new residents to go over housing policies, roommate agreements, etc. Afterward, both new and returning residents are invited to the first hall dinners of the new academic year – please talk to your hall councilor for more details.

Sidney-Pacific Orientation: The next few weeks of Orientation are very exciting, and there are many can’t-miss events:

Our three staple large events – the Orientation BBQ & Movie (Aug 27^th, 6:00-11PM), the Orientation Brunch (Sep 1^st, 12:00-1PM), and our Orientation Dance Party, named “Are You Ready?” (Sep 6^th, 9:00PM-1AM). These are open to the entire graduate community and usually attract crowds of up to 400-600 people. SP is generally known around campus for its large social events (we have 2-3 every semester, in addition to Orientation), so keep your eyes open for announcements during the semester. Some of the great events we held just this past year included the Wine & Chocolate Party, a Halloween masquerade, an Iron Chef competition, and a large Cultural Festival.
During our first week of orientation, residents get to know each other better with Open Doors Night (Aug 31^st, 8:00-11PM), an event where 30-40 residents, both old and new, host small room parties for an evening. It’s a great chance to break the ice, meet your new neighbors, and maybe even show off some of your culinary skills. We’re currently recruiting hosts. Contact your Hall Councilor for more information!

In addition to our large events, SP organizes a number of smaller events, such as a Scavenger Hunt, a sports competition and a bike trip to a nearby farm (where residents get to enjoy amazing ice cream). All of these great events are organized by members of the Sidney-Pacific House Council. For the full list of events, please check out the orientation calendar in this newsletter, the official SP orientation guide, or our online Google calendar (http://goo.gl/P2FA3T^[a]) and orientation map (http://goo.gl/maps/o0km1).

Residents and friends enjoy the orientation brunch last year. Courtesy of SP Photofile Committee.

Monthly Brunch: Every month, Sidney-Pacific and Ashdown each provide a free Sunday brunch (12:00 – 1:00 PM, Mark Multipurpose Room on the 1^st floor) that’s open to the entire MIT community. From scrambled eggs to chocolate-chip banana pancakes, and from roasted potatoes to fresh seasonal fruits, our brunches are not to be missed. Just don’t forget to bring your own silverware – we’re all about sustainability here! We have an enthusiastic, committed team of residents who volunteer every month to cook brunch mostly from scratch for over 300 people. As always, volunteers get to skip the lines and eat first. If you’d like to help out behind the scenes, come down to the MP Kitchen anytime between 8 AM – 12 PM.

Weekly Coffee Hour: Every Wednesday night (9:00 PM – 10:00 PM), SP residents are invited to the MP room for free fresh fruits, snacks, and of course, coffee – there’s tea and other drinks, too. Occasionally, we’ll have specialty menu items (such as a seasonal soup) or additional programs (such as a bike auction or a hobby fair). Once a month, we partner with a student group for a larger, culturally-themed coffee hour; last year, groups of students from India, Egypt, Turkey and France, among others, came to show their traditional foods, dances and music.

Sidney-Pacific Inter-Cultural Exchange (SPICE): Even though SP residents represent more than 50 different nationalities, we believe that merely assembling a “diverse” group of people is not enough. The benefits of diversity come from actively sharing and learning about each other’s different cultures, beliefs, and worldviews. SPICE is a dinner discussion program that facilitates this cultural exchange. At the beginning of the year, residents who sign up for SPICE are assigned to groups of 10-12 people. Over the course of the year, these groups meet about every other week for a subsidized dinner; at each dinner, members of the group discuss a particular topic, such as “How does your family celebrate various holidays, such as the New Year?”or “What do you and your family consider to be taboos?”

Housemaster Dinners: We’re very fortunate to have Professor Andreas Schulz and Berit Johannes as our new Housemasters to support our residential programming and development. New residents will have the chance to meet them, along with our adorable “Housemaster-in-Training” Felix, during our Housemaster Welcome Dinners in the middle of September. Please check your e-mail for your personal invitation. In addition, over the course of the year, residents will receive special invitations to other Housemaster gatherings, such as the Thanksgiving and Holiday dinners, dinners with professors, and so forth.

SP Interest Groups: Are you interested in attending a Boston sporting event? Do you often play Settlers of Catan and other board games late into the night? Would you be interested in learning about new places to eat or going out to a movie with your fellow SP residents? Over the past year, SP residents have organized these and many other great activities through SP Interest Groups. Basically, these are open, opt-in mailing lists that residents sign up for to connect with other residents of similar interests. In addition, if you can get a group of SP residents together for an activity, you can receive funding – that’s right, SP will partially subsidize that restaurant or concert trip. Go to https://s-p.mit.edu/myacct/interest_groups.php to learn more.

Volunteering at SP: All of the programs and resources run by the House Council would not be possible without the help of resident volunteers like you. Come on out, get involved, and meet other SP residents. There are many ways to get involved, from grilling at the barbeque to spearheading environmental initiatives, or even writing for this newsletter. No experience is required! You can find out about ways to get involved by signing up for the Volunteer mailing list in your “My Account” settings here: https://s-p.mit.edu/myacct/resident_edit_entry.php

Our vision for this year is: “Sidney-Pacific: Dive in”. SP is a great opportunity for people from various backgrounds to meet and exchange ideas, and we want to foster community and togetherness within the building, for residents new and old. We encourage you to get involved and make SP yours by joining us in some of our traditions. More importantly, we look forward to creating some new traditions – if you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas, please contact us at spec@mit.edu. Enjoy orientation, and we look forward to meeting you!

Interest Groups: connect, meet new friends, plan events!

By Vadim Smolyakov (SP Interest Groups Chair)

Sidney-Pacific is without doubt the best graduate residence in the universe! This is largely due to the talented community of graduate residents such as yourself with a diversity of interests. But how do you connect with peers who share the same passion for activities and interests you enjoy? Interest groups were created just for that: to bring together students with similar interests. With interest groups you can connect, meet new friends and plan events!

Interest groups have over 15 main groups with over 20 subgroups. To sign up: check and save the “I’m interested” box next to each interest under your account page, and you’ll be added to the group e-mail list. Also check out the main interest group page for an overview of the most popular groups: https://s-p.mit.edu/myacct/interest_groups.php Are you a Star Trek fan and want to catch a movie? E-mail the movies mailing list. Do you prefer the outdoors and a weekend-long hiking or a cycling trip? E-mail the trips, cycling and hiking mailing lists. Interested in discussing the controversial topics of modern day education? E-mail the academics list or an SP officer chair. You can reach any officer in person or by e-mail at: http://s-p.mit.edu/people/officers.php

Subsidy amounts for interest group events. Courtesy of the author.

Interest groups negotiate funding for group activities each semester. Claim it! Interest groups provide a subsidy of: $5/person for 2-5 people, $7/person for 6-7, and $10/person for 8-15 people. Advertise an event through interest groups, save itemized receipts, and e-mail sp-interestgroups-chair@mit.edu for reimbursement. It’s as simple as that! More SP participants equals more funding for activities you enjoy! For more information visit the interest groups main page: https://s-p.mit.edu/myacct/interest_groups.php

Dive In!

Amount of residents in each interest group category. Courtesy of the author

Number of residents in each interest group category. Courtesy of the author

SP Orientation 2013

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

Oh, the Things You’ll Learn!

by Fabián Kozynski, VP of Residential Life

Welcome to Sidney Pacific!

As you can see by the posters everywhere, this community is brimming with life. Being part of Sidney Pacific provides many things in addition to what you can get just by studying at MIT. By attending events at SP, you can learn from other cultures, or acquire different skills that you wouldn’t learn in the lab. However, that’s only one side of the SP coin.

Boris Braverman and David Rosen volunteer at the 2012 Orientation Brunch. Courtesy of SP Photofile committee.

To be the “greatest grad dorm in the universe” (in the words of our beloved retired housemaster Roger Mark), more than good will is needed. All of our events and initiatives are run by volunteers, residents just like you that have decided to step up and participate in the making of this community. The House Government is comprised of officers who volunteer part of their time during the year to improve Sidney-Pacific and make it a true community.

But even with that help, not everything can be accomplished. It takes many hands and many hours to throw some of our big events (and even the smaller ones). That’s where YOU can help! Even if you’re not in the House Government, you can volunteer to make this happen. Whenever there’s an event that needs some prep time, you can show up to help. You don’t have to go to all events, nor be there all the time, but your help is greatly appreciated.

Our volunteers get first hand experience in how to prepare large events, as well as the details that go in the making of them. From learning how to make our amazing french toast or our dorm renowned coffee hour guacamole, to being able to hoist our massive screen for outdoors movies, volunteering at SP teaches many important but often overlooked skills. More importantly, some of the people you meet while volunteering at these events may become great friends in the long run (this is an experience that many volunteers will be able to share with you).

Even if you think you don’t know how to cook (believe me, I can barely cook for myself), no previous skills are needed. Come, volunteer and the people in charge of the event (or other seasoned volunteers) will teach you the tricks of the trade. Additionally, there are many committees that, even though they don’t throw any events, will greatly appreciate your help: if you know how to code a webpage, contact the web chairs; if you want to know more about the plants and fish you see around SP, contact the plants chair or the aquarium chair; if you have a knack for writing, contact the newsletter chair.

After all this, I’m sure you’re thinking: how do I find out about these amazing opportunities for volunteering? For all of our events, officers will post a request in our mailing list sp-helpers@mit.edu. If you want to help other committees, and don’t want to wait for a call, you can go to our officer webpage and find out how to contact them.

Come and volunteer during Orientation (yes, even your own) to get a first hand experience in massive burger flipping and get to know many of the amazing people that make up SP.

I hope to see you around during the year.

Volunteers at the 2012 Orientation Brunch. Courtesy of SP Photofile committee.

How to add your name to the helpers account?

Go to the SP website (http://www.s-p.mit.edu).
On the left upper corner, go to “My Account”.
Go to “Edit my Information”.
Select the option that says “I would be willing to help out at S-P events”.

Useful links

Different ways to volunteer at SP: http://s-p.mit.edu/about_sp/getinvolved.php
Officers calls for volunteers: http://s-p.mit.edu/about_sp/volunteers.php
Officers contact info: http://s-p.mit.edu/people/officers.php

SP Officer Profile: the Brunch Chairs, Jenny and Sherrie

This year, the SPeaker will be printing a series of articles profiling the officers that work for the Sidney-Pacific house government and the work that they do. This month, we find out about the Brunch Chairs, Jenny Wang and Sherrie Hall.

Jenny Wang

Our first brunch co-chair, Jenny is a third year graduate student in mechanical engineering (course 2). She was born in China, but moved to the US when she was 8 and is now a naturalized US citizen. She spent a little time in Buffalo, NY, but quickly moved to Wellesley, MA, a Boston suburb which is home to Wellesley College.

Jenny is beginning her third year living in SP and her second year as an officer. Last year, she was the SPICE chair. She originally became an officer to meet more people in the SP community, and she enjoys being able to positively influence life for all residents at SP as an officer.

When she is not planning next month’s brunch or conducting molecular dynamics simulations of heat transfer in carbon chains, she watches Bones, Sherlock or Chinese dramas on TV, reads Wuxia novels in Chinese, and listens to classical music, especially the works of Rachmaninoff and her favorite piece, Brahm’s Hungarian Dance #5.

Sherrie Hall

Our second brunch co-chair, Sherrie Hall, has come a long way from almost burning down her kitchen as a child! To prevent this from happening again she took cooking classes and now she has been put in charge of SP’s famous brunches along with Jenny. Sherrie is from Athens, Georgia home of many well-known music groups including REM, Counting Crows, and Of Montreal*. She is a second year student in Aeronautics and Astronautics (Course 16) and is advised by former Space Shuttle Astronaut Jeff Hoffman!

Sherrie has lived in SP for one year and has volunteered extensively in her time here. She decided to become an officer to stay involved in the community and to continue spending time with the other officers. When she is not volunteering or studying, Sherrie enjoys watching Dr. Who, as well as reading and rock climbing.

What to look forward to

Keep an eye out for Jenny and Sherrie’s helper emails, which tell the story of Alabastor Pale, the Bacon Fairy, and their arch-nemesis, the Empress of Academia. Additionally, Jenny and Sherrie are improving the kitchen and will be preparing some new dishes and updating some of the staples of SP brunch using the new tools and skills they have acquired.

Get Xfinity, watch ESPN on campus at MIT!

By Patrick Blonigan, Newsletter Chair

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

If you have a TV in your room hooked up to MIT cable, you may have noticed the alarming lack of ESPN. But fear not, there is a way to get your fill of Sports Center and Monday Night Football here at SP (and everywhere else on campus). Just turn on your computer and follow the steps below:

Make sure you have Microsoft Silverlight 5.0 installed on your computer.
Go to http://university.xfinity.com/
Click “Install and Experience” and enter your MIT kerberos ID and password when prompted to.
Name your device and click “submit”, you now have Xfinity!

If you already have Xfinity and it is no longer working, check out the following link, which explains how to uninstall and reinstall Xfinity step by step:

http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/display/istcontrib/Steps+to+fully+uninstall+and+reinstall+the+MIT+Xfinity+IPTV+Application

Then sit back and enjoy some ESPN and/or ESPN 2 (channels 49 and 50 or channels 849 and 850 for HD).

A number of other great channels are available, including AMC (channel 59 or channel 859 for HD), home of the critically acclaimed series “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad”, the latter of which is highly recommend by the author!

SidneyPacific SPeaker

Newsletter for the Sidney-Pacific Graduate Community