Flood in SP!

A ceiling panel soaked in water on the floor of the multipurpose room. (Photo courtesy of George Chen)

On August 15th, SP experienced a huge flood due to a broken sprinkler head in one of the rooms on the 5th floor.

The fire alarm went off around 7.30 pm and everyone had to evacuate. It turns out that somebody hung a skateboard on the sprinkler, which initiated a chain of fire emergency response and a huge waterfall from the fifth floor. As the building is on a slight incline, the rooms on the east side got more water compared to the west side.

The total cost of damage is estimated to be at least $60,000, including the cost of repair for the damaged multipurpose room floor and ceiling tiles. In addition, some residents had to deal with the odor on their carpets due to the flood. Unfortunately, SP and MIT cannot be held accountable for water damage as per the housing contract.

A letter of apology was sent to us anonymously from the person responsible for hanging the skateboard on the sprinkler:

Dear SP residents,

As the resident responsible for the flooding accident on August 15th, I want to apologize to each and every resident that was impacted by my carelessness.  I’m aware of the damage it caused and I apologize for the same. I regret the losses that you may have incurred as well as the inconvenience that it caused everyone.  I would also like to thank our house manager Jack, the housing team, and the entire support staff in helping us restore our rooms. Without their timely action, the damage could have been much worse. Please be careful not to hang anything on the fire sprinklers in your room, which is the lesson that I have learned.  As this is the beginning of the term, I hope we can move on and I wish you all the best for this academic year.

Sincerely yours,

A fellow SP resident

Iain inspects a large puddle on the floor in the multipurpose room (Photo courtesy of George Chen)

It may be confusing that the sprinkler responds to a ‘physical’ load as well as heat. This is because there is a fragile glass tube within the sprinkler filled with a liquid that expands in volume as it heats up. So the heat causes the glass tube to break, which triggers the water spray. In the same way, hanging something on the sprinkler can break the glass tube without the heat. So please do not hang anything on the sprinkler! See the video below for a demonstration:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/ekGazrZ3fls]

By Stephanie (Ahhyun) Nam

Get up in the air with the MIT Flying Club.

Flying an experimental aircraft (Courtesy of Tamas Kolos-Lakatos)

Dreaming of flying? Ready to start? Already in training? The MIT Flying Club gives you wings to experience the fun and excitement of flying.

In the Fall of 2005, several MIT students banded together to start a new club at MIT dedicated solely to flying. However, the MIT Flying Club has been around since nearly the beginning of aviation. The “Technology Flying Club”, as it was known at the time, purchased its first plane in 1927. Interest in flying reached its peak in the late 1940s, when student members flew several different types of aircraft out of Beverly and Bedford airports. Later that year, two pilots, in an effort to attract new members, attempted to drop leaflets upon incoming freshman announcing the club.

MITFC members at a fly-out (Courtesy Tamas Kolos-Lakatos)

The Flying Club was reborn in 2005 to provide members the opportunity to meet and interact with others who are interested in aviation. Throughout the academic year, MITFC holds a variety of informal gatherings where members can meet to talk about aviation, listen to lectures, and watch movies.  In addition, MITFC organizes airshow visits and airport outings during the summer. Club membership is open to everyone, regardless of age and experience.

The Club also organizes fly-outs to nearby destinations throughout the year. If you would like to fly over Manhattan and loop around the Statue of Liberty, or fly-out to Martha’s Vineyard for a picnic, this is the place for you to find such opportunities. Fly over the MIT campus to experience the bird-eye view of the MIT Dome or spot your room at SP from the air. MITFC will give you the wings to do so!

If you would like to find out more about Flying Club, feel free to contact SP residents Vishnu Jyothindran (vishnu88@mit.edu) or Tamas Kolos-Lakatos (tkolos@mit.edu).

By Vishnu Jyothindran

Review of ‘Car Talk: The Musical’ – A fast-paced and hilarious comedy parodying the clichés of musical theater and NPR’s CarTalk

Car Talk: The Musical! (courtesy berkshireonstage.com)

Written and Directed by Wesley Savick, professor at Suffolk University, Car Talk: The Musical is a fast-paced comedic musical adaptation of NPR’s long running radio show Car Talk, hosted ‘Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers’ (Tom and Ray Magliozzi) which has aired on Saturday mornings on NPR since 1987. The goofy plot pokes fun at the clichés of Broadway Theater, referencing The Wizard of Oz, West Side Story, Chicago, Hair, and pretty much every other musical you have (or have not) seen. The plot follows Rusty Fenders (aka Randy), an overweight, studio-apartment dwelling, divorcee who’s only love in life is his ‘Pride’ – a decrepit and unreliable Kia, and his stable and caring co-worker, Sheila B. Goodfew who is secretly in love with him. Randy is forced to decide between Sheila and Miata C. LaChassis, a sexy younger woman (or sports car depending on your interpretation) in his quest for a loving relationship (or a new car, again depending on interpretation). In a parallel plot, randy is faced with the dilemma of how to get his Kia fixed and ends up seeing the ‘wizard of cars’, an embodiment of the Tappet brothers on their radio show.

Although the plot is (intentionally) silly, cliché, predictable, and ultimately forgettable, this show is spectacular. Well acted, the sets are amazing (especially considering that this is a community theater) and the costumes (especially the ‘wizard of cars’ are outstanding.) Although 90 minutes in length with no intermission, you will be laughing so hard it is over before you notice. My one disappointment with the show was that, despite its name and association with its namesake NPR show, Car Talk has very little to do with cars. One of the charms of the radio show is its ability to discuss, in technical detail, a variety of mechanical and electrical automotive problems, thereby appealing to car nerds and engineers, while maintaining appeal to a general audience. This charm was noticeably absent in the musical which, despite being set in an automotive garage, concerns the creation and maintenance of human relationships, not automobiles.

Time: Through Sep. 15

Location: 450 Mass. Ave., Cambridge, MA (Central Square Theater)

Price: $20-$50

Contact: CentralSquareTheater.org

By Matthew D’Asaro

Work out at the New and Improved SP Gym.

The SP gym. In addition to be being closer than the Z-center, the SP gym is also considerably less crowded (especially at 8:00 am when this photo was taken).

Want to work out without walking (or running) all the way to the Z-center?  The SP gym is the answer for you.  This year, SP athletics has worked hard to improve your workout experience.  A number of new pieces of equipment have been added to the gym.  Firstly, we have added an exercise bike and an elliptical machine.  Also, the missing 15 lb dumbbell set has finally been replaced.  Other new additions include jumping ropes, extension ropes and an inflatable kayak.

Elliptical Machine for cardio, punching bag for stress release.

In addition to all of this new equipment, we now have personal trainers available at SP !!! Anyone who is interested in having a personal training session or a group training session in the SP gym with qualified trainers from the Z center, should contact personaltraining@mit.edu to set this up. This can be set-up as one-on-one sessions or group sessions. The approximate charges for this are $50 per session (typically 1 hour). However, if the sessions are bought in bundles the prices per session would go down. Individual interested in personal training will be responsible for the charges.

This academic year was started by a fitness lecture by Lauren Hanley on How to Create a Workout. The lecture covered key topics such as types of workouts, motivation to work out, benefits of and the need to workout, nutrition, exercise programs etc.

Finally,  SP is now offering weekly yoga classes in the multipurpose room on Sundays from 4 pm to 5 pm.

Keeping in shape (or getting back in shape) has never been easier, thanks to SP athletics!
By SP Athletics Chair Adi Bhujle (sp-athletics-chair@mit.edu)

Welcome to Sidney-Pacific!

SPEC 2012-2013. From left to right: Stephanie (Ahhyun) Nan, Stephen Morgan, Pierre-Olivier Lapage, George Chen and Jennifer Jarvis.  (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:

  • First, SP traditionally kicks off its orientation with Open Doors Night (Aug 27th, 7-10PM), 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!
  • Then, we have our three staple large events – and the Big Crunch Feast (Aug 28th, 6:30-11PM), the Big Bang Bash Dance Party (Aug 31th, 9PM-1AM), the Orientation Brunch (Sep 2nd, 12-1:00PM), 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 include: the Wine & Chocolate Party, a Halloween masquerade, an Iron Chef competition, Dumplings of the World night, and an Asian Street Food festival.
  • In addition to our large events, SP organizes a number of smaller events, such as trips to the Museum of Fine Arts and the Aquarium, an “arts crawl” through Downtown Boston, and sailing on the Charles. 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://bit.ly/sp-mit-calendar).

SP residents enjoying the monthly brunch on a Sunday. (Courtesy of SP Photofile Committee)

Monthly Brunch: Every month, Sidney-Pacific and Ashdown each provide a free Sunday brunch (12:00 – 1:00 PM, MP Room on the 1st 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, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo (Mexico), Holi (India), Chinese New Year (China), Chuseok (Korea) and many other holidays with those respective cultures’ special cuisines.

Sidney-Pacific Inter-Cultural Exchange (SPICE): Even though SP residents represent more than 40 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 Roger and Dottie Mark, and Professor Annette Kim and Dr. Roland Tang as Housemasters to support our residential programming and development. New residents will have the chance to meet them, along with our adorable “Housemasters-in-Training” Joshua and Samuel, 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: Better Together” We understand that SP is a great opportunity for people from various backgrounds to meet and exchange ideas.  From the dorm leadership to the casual resident of SP, we want to foster community and togetherness within the building. We hope you’ll make SP yours as well by joining us in some of these 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!

By SPEC

A Welcome from your Housemasters

Roger and Dottie Mark, Sidney-Pacific Housemasters (Courtesy of SP Photofile Committee)

We are honored to be your housemasters, and we extend our enthusiastic greetings to all residents of Sidney-Pacific, especially to those of you who are joining us this year! We want very much to help build our community into a safe, supportive home where we can grow intellectually and socially. We strongly support the theme for this year – “Better Together!” We wish that each resident would build connections with others through small group activities and the development of new friendships. Don’t be a passive resident here – jump into the active life of SP!

Housemasters are faculty mem­bers who live in community with students in MIT dorms. We are ap­pointed by the President of MIT and report to the Dean of Student Life. Our goal is to facilitate the building of community within the living group, to represent and advocate for the needs and desires of students to the administration, and to communicate the policies of the administration to the students

It is our great pleasure to support and advise the officers of the SP student government, but they take full responsibility for poli­cies, strategies, and programming in the dorm. The officers are a dedicated and talented team, but they are not a “closed” group. We strongly encourage everyone to get to know them, and join in to help!

SP is an unusually diverse and in­ternational community, generally with representatives from more than 50 different countries!  As a resident here, you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from and connect with others from all over the world! We are particularly excited about the SPICE (Sid­ney-Pacific Intercultural Exchange) program! We hope you will get involved in this unique opportunity to build intercultural bridges!  There are other ways to connect as well: check out the interest groups, and take the initiative to propose an activity – subsidized by the house budget! And jump in with your colleagues in helping behind the scenes with the launching of programs. There is no better way to make friends than to work together! Join the SP-Helper email list to be informed of opportunities to volunteer!

As housemasters we are eager to meet each of you, and to be available to you both professionally and per­sonally. We will certainly try to be visible at coffee hours, social affairs, and will host a number of house­master dinners in our apartment. It is our hope that each resident will attend at least one such dinner dur­ing the year.

Housemasters, as experienced MIT faculty mem­bers, are always available to residents for advice or counseling on academic and/or per­sonal issues, and we are particularly pleased when individual students contact us for private discussions. Graduate school can be exciting and fulfilling, but there are also times of high stress, loneliness, disappoint­ment and uncertainty. Sharing a cup of tea to talk over anything would be our pleasure – knock on the door (#568) or email (rgmark@mit.edu or dotmark@mit.edu)!

By Roger and Dottie Mark, Sidney-Pacific Housemasters

Sidney-Pacific Orientation 2012

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 25th and September 14th, 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 28th, 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 31st, 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

[Some of] The Best of Boston-Cambridge Area Outings

Walden Pond

Walden Pond in early November (Courtesy of trekearth.com)

Take a long, leisurely bike ride on the Minuteman Trail or travel half an hour via Commuter Rail, and you’ll reach historic Concord, MA, an important Revolutionary War site and home to literary greats like Nathaniel Hawthorne and Louisa May Alcott. A mile out of Concord is Walden Pond, sometime home to another literary great: Henry David Thoreau, writer, philosopher, abolitionist, notable tax resister, and more. The foundations of his hand-built cabin are still marked out with stones, and there’s a small sandy beach for lounging, a surprisingly expansive pond for swimming, and beautiful wooded trails for rambling and philosophizing in.

Taza Chocolate Factory

Taza Chocolate on display (Courtesy digboston.com)

Many of us have walked by the Tootsie Roll Factory on Main St., but fewer know that Cambridge has its own, local chocolate factory! Check out Taza in Somerville (30 minutes’ walk from SP) for artisanal, super-organic, direct-trade (that’s one step up from Fair Trade), Mexican-style chocolate. For $3 (pick up a discounted voucher from the MIT Activities Committee in Stata Center), you can take a guided tour and enjoy as many free chocolate samples as you can handle – cinnamon, vanilla, chili, chipotle… And since the only thing better than chocolate is chocolate inside of chocolate, be sure to try the choco-coated cocoa nibs!

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Isabella Stewart Gardner Courtyard (Courtesy wordpress.com)

Even if you don’t normally like art museums, you might like to give the Gardner a try. It’s an ornate, turn-of-the-century, Italian-style villa that belonged to socialite and arts patron Isabella Gardner, and it’s still stuffed with her eclectic art collection, spanning antiquity to modernity. SP’s last outing to the Gardner had a few residents wondering if we couldn’t annex the Gardner’s luxurious interior courtyard, to serve students’ relaxation needs.

Boston Harbor Islands

Georges Island and Fort Warren (Courtesy Wikipedia)

Catch a ferry out from Long Wharf in Boston and visit the Harbor Islands. Explore an old military fort, participate in one of the many events hosted on the islands (a Native American cultural festival was being held during last summer’s SP outing), or just relax and enjoy the views of Boston and the Atlantic from one of many grassy hills. Once you’ve returned to Boston, it’s not too long a walk to Haymarket for outrageously discounted produce, or the North End for delicious Italian pastries! (For the record, of the North End’s dueling cannoli bakeries, I for one prefer Modern Pastry to Mike’s.)

By Diana Chien, SP Outings Chair

Boston Area Restaurant Reviews

This year, the newsletter committee and the interest groups are teaming up to bring you monthly reviews of local restaurants,  outings and other activities.  This month, we start with some reviews of local restaurants.

Tango Arlington, a Vegetarian Nightmare

Argentinian Cuisine, 464 Massachusetts Avenue  Arlington, MA 02474

Tango Arlington (Courtesy of tangoarlington.com)

Upon entering the restaurant, we noticed the fine decoration. The skin of a dead animal immediately set the tone for the delicious evening that awaited us. The menu continued the meat theme, with a wide assortment of dishes entirely based on eating some flesh with a side of potato. We saw that the first option on the menu was a variety plate for two people, looked deep into each other’s eyes, and knew that was the chosen dish.

Our food arrived on a grill warmer (much to the envy of other diners) packed to the brim with sausage, ribs, chicken, and unidentified animal organs, all cooked to perfection. And, of course, there was a completely useless side of chips, which mostly served as a distraction from our real meat quest.

Tango Arlington, a carnivore’s dream.

We immediately began to stuff our faces, shoving in kidneys and sausages by the handful. Despite the seeming impossibility of consuming that much meat between only two people, by the end of dinner we were thoroughly satisfied and stuffed. Definitely a recommended stop for our carnivorous colleagues.

Price: Medium, 20-30 per entree

Overall rating: 4 stars out of 5

by Dan “The Mouth” Kolodrubetz and Boris “The Stomach” Braverman

Bon Chon

Korean restaurant at Harvard square, 57 J.F. Kennedy St Cambridge, MA 02138

Bon Chon (Courtesy boston.eater.com)

The restaurant looks somewhat like a fast food place, but it’s clean. Bon Chon doesn’t really look like an authentic Korean restaurant, but the decoration is ok. The most important part is the food. We only ordered the extra large chicken combo (with fried chicken wings and drumsticks) with soy-garlic sauce, which is enough for 5 people to eat. According to the restaurant, the chicken is fried 3 times. The skin is very crispy and the meat has a taste of the sauce and is juicy. The chicken doesn’t taste too oily or unhealthy compared to most of the fried chicken.

Bon Chon Chicken (Courtesy beantownbloggery.com)

I’m usually not a fan of fried chicken because it is usually too dense for me, but I would give 4/5 for this dish. However, it is little bit pricy for fried chicken with an average price of $9 per person.

by Anonymous

Meet the New SPEC

SPEC 2012-2013. From left to right: Stephanie (Ayyhun) Nan, Stephen Morgan, Pierre-Olivier Lepage, George Chen and Jennifer Jarvis.

President: Pierre-Olivier Lepage

Pierre-Olivier Lepage

Hi!

I’m a second year Master’s student in Transportation and Operations Research. At Sidney-Pacific, I’ve been involved as Brunch co-chair and volunteered to many events by cutting fruits, setting up tables or greeting people at the beginning of an event. Through these experiences I became a better leader and I met with many awesome people.

Getting involved at SP was a very good way to work on skills that my research would not allow me to improve upon directly. More specifically, I was able to improve my communication and planning skills.

Another advantage of getting involved is the interaction I got with other residents. As you have probably realized, MIT students are uniquely curious and motivated. I believe that interacting with students in different fields improves my MIT experience as I can learn from their different point-of-views.

I believe our responsibility as House Government is to give residents the opportunity to take a break from work, have social interactions with people with different backgrounds and, as a result, enjoy their time at the Institute even more.

This year, our vision for Sidney-Pacific is best described by this phrase: “Better together”. In fact, we want to focus on 2 aspects. First, we want to improve our community by reflecting on what makes us successful and how we can actually be more efficient at achieving our goal. I feel that it is very important, as an organization, to identify relevant measures of success, innovate and rethink the way we are acting with the community. Second, we believe that the only way to improve our community is to do it as a group. Since our goal is to serve residents and improve their MIT experience, the only way to ensure that our actions are meaningful is to make sure they are involved and interacting with each other.

Therefore, I would like to personally invite you to get involved and I hope we will have an opportunity to make SP better, together!

 Vice President of Resources: George Chen

George Chen

My name is George and in my spare time, I am a second year (third year starting Fall 2012) grad student residing in cafes and lopsided MIT buildings taking as input coffee and producing as output papers or–far more frequently–chicken scratch and malfunctioning, unreadable computer code, which I hope becomes self-aware one day so that it can fix itself and maybe even make my job obsolete (robot grad students!). I also read fiction (only sometimes for research), hit cinemas, pick up metal objects with numbers scrawled on them, teach, and occasionally see the outdoors (usually on a bike). Back when I was still young and promising, I worked on short narrative film and lived in the rosier climates of California, where 50 degrees Fahrenheit is considered ridiculously cold and white powdery stuff isn’t typically associated with snow.

After stumbling into Massachusetts for a one year stint as an untitled avid volunteer at Sidney-Pacific, I secured my previous occupation of organizing competitive dorm events such as but not limited to a photo scavenger hunt, a clothing drive/fashion show mash-up, and a dessert showdown. As for my current occupation, I am now the Vice President of Resources where I manage, by a startling coincidence, resources. These resources include money, money, and more money…and sometimes even the artwork, aquarium, audio & video equipment, bikes, computer room, front desk inventory, music room, and plants in the dorm. Of course, I don’t manage these alone as I have a wonderful crew of ten individuals who help ensure that the aforementioned resources stay alive and healthy. While we try hard to keep manure from hitting the fans, we don’t stop all the manure-fan collisions and we greatly appreciate resident (i.e., your) feedback! So please do let us know if we missed a spot that needs resuscitation or if there’s some secret sauce that our repository of resources should be augmented with. Thanks!

Vice President of Residential Life: Stephen Morgan

Stephen Morgan

The history of how I landed in Sidney-Pacific is a very unique story. Although I am entering my fourth year as a PHD student, this will only be my second year in SP. My first year here at MIT I stayed in the warehouse. Although I really enjoyed living there, you typically move out of the warehouse after your first year. Since I grew up about an hour and a half away, and did my undergraduate at UNH which is also very close, I knew many people living in the Boston area and I figured living off campus would save me some money. So my second year I lived in the Kendall Square area of Cambridge with two undergraduate roommates who were now working in Cambridge.

I found that living off campus was a boring life-style. I really missed being involved and meeting new people on a regular basis, so I came back on campus not only to live in SP but also to be seriously involved! After being a social chair last year I can honestly say that Sidney-Pacific is an awesome place to be a part of. It is a great building and the people in it are what make it so fun.

As the VP of residential life it is my job to help and manage an amazing officer core that is involved with the events and groups which are organized in Sidney-Pacific such as the interest groups, SPICE, coffee hour, and brunch. More importantly, I feel that it is my responsibility to encourage the residents of Sidney-Pacific (YOU!) to get involved and engage yourself in the groups and events that best suit your interests. Sidney-Pacific is a community based on the strength of the relationship that we have with our fellow residents and the best way to meet people is to get involved. Come to the events (or even better come before the events), help out, meet the current officers and let them know what you like about SP and what you would like to see changed in future.

Vice President of Information: Stephanie (Ahhyun) Nam

Stephanie (Ayyhun) Nam

I came to SP two years ago when I started my Masters’ program in Mechanical Engineering department at MIT. From then, I have meet countless awesome friends at SP who shared their enthusiasm for fun as well as inspiration for research. It is really all of them who encouraged me to take a step forward to be more engaged in the community. For example, one of the energetic SP residents I have met in Argentinian Tango class (yes it’s you Ahmed) talked me into being an officer. Another friend (and neighbor, Matt) who was in my SPICE group was Publicity Chair at the time. His work involved creating the very posters in the elevators that made SP’s first impression to me. After serving as a publicity chair for a year, I ended up in the position of VP of Information.

I think of Office of Information as what connects each resident to SP community. We tell you of all events and resources at SP, we preserve the lovely moments with photos and videos, and provide residents of all necessary information from weather to package delivery through the website. This year, we are introducing some exciting changes in SPTV, so keep an eye on our screens

Out of SP, my primary life is (or should be) in research – off campus at MGH. My project is developing an imaging system to visualize the micro vessels in skin without any chemical agent, which involves constructing a system with many optical components and calibrating them. I have constructed a whole system from scratch for the past two years. The fun part of collaborating with doctors is beginning this summer

In the free time, I try to stay active. Apart from enjoying the variety of events at SP, I go swimming in Z center, or workout in SP gym. This summer, I am planning to go sailing in the Charles. I also like cooking, mostly Korean food but I like trying out different cuisine. It is always a great pleasure to dine and hang out with good group of friends, so I often host small get-togethers too. Some other hobbies on the calmer side include watching documentary films (ocean-themed are all-time favorite), and reading.

So now you have heard my short story. I would love to hear yours when I meet you at future SP events!

 Chair of the Halls: Jennifer Jarvis

Jennifer Jarvis

Hello!! I’m Jennifer (or Jen) Jarvis. I’m a third year PhD student in Nuclear Science and Engineering, and this is also my third year in Sidney-Pacific.

To be honest, I didn’t really get involved in SP until the end of my first year. I’d occasionally attend coffee hour and brunch, and I attended my SPICE group, but that was about it.  That spring, my hall councilor was planning on stepping down and was looking for a replacement. I love to cook and bake, and it sounded like a fun way to test out new recipes and get to meet some of my neighbors. So that’s how I became the 9th floor hall councilor for 2011-2012. Under the tutelage of the previous house cup winner, I launched a successful campaign in the house cup (a series of competitions between the different halls in SP). I was planning on quietly serving out a second term as the 9th floor hall councilor- but then I was encouraged to run for Chair of the Hall.

So this year, I’ll be leading our fantastic team of hall councilors. We’re not the RA’s you may have had in undergrad- we’re a group of friendly volunteers who try to foster community within our own halls and act as our hall’s liaison to the SP government.  So even though you’re busy, do try and make an effort to meet your hall councilor- they are super knowledgeable and can help you find your way around all of the resources in SP. And of course, we’re always trying to offer you free dinners.

Living in S-P has been awesome, and it’s only gotten better the longer I’ve been here. I only regret not getting involved earlier.  So even if you’re a really shy person (like me)- I encourage you to step out and see what’s around- from coffee hour to SPICE groups, to outings, to brunch, and of course hall dinners. You really have nothing to lose except a few minutes of your time, and you’ll meet lots of awesome people and probably eat some tasty food too.  I also encourage you to at least once try volunteering at one of the events- we’re always grateful for the help and company. Perhaps I’m biased, but the volunteers here are some of the best people I’ve met at MIT.

The new SPEC discussing how to make SP a better place.