Nelson Barden, BU’s organist and restorer-in-residence, appeared after the piece ended and he was happy to see a listener. I asked him what he had just played and he said it was “Go BU”.

I asked if I could record a piece and he gladly obliged.  He produced a ladder that I could use to get a steady hand for an iPhone recording.  Off he went to go press a button and out came the Third Movement from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, Pathetique. Don’t let the “Pathetic” title dissuade you. It was a moving and intense performance for an audience of one.

According to Nelson, Dr. Metcalf, who was Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 1976 to 1994, wanted to preserve and combine two acquisitions and bring them to what is now Metcalf Hall: A 12-rank 1930 Skinner organ from the home of Percy A. Rockefeller in Greenwich, CT and a 23-rank 1930 Aeolian organ from the Winchester home of candy-maker William E. Schrafft.

Shortly before Dr. Metcalf’s death in 1994, Nelson played Shubert’s March Militaire and the Battle Hymn of the Republic for Dr. Metcalf and BU Academy students. Dr. Metcalf, watching from the back row said, “This is what I always dreamed of; something for the kids. Something that would catch their attention.” Nelson and Dr. Metcalf always assumed the organ would become engrained into the university culture beyond simply an impressive restoration project.

The keystone of the organ’s uniqueness is a computer known as the Boston University Symphonic Organ Recorder (BUSOR), which was installed in 1993. BUSOR was created because the player rolls became deteriorated every time they were fed through the organ. BUSOR’s editing power allows the player to unleash an endless stream of recordings. Music can be constructed on screen, which allows for stronger musicality than faded player rolls.

Not many buildings these days come equipped with a fused 1920s symphonic residence organ with an original computer from 1916. It is quite a rare and wonderful machine that took 16 years to complete.

If you’re here this summer, be sure you stop by Metcalf and listen to this marvelous instrument. Nelson will be here throughout the summer to work on organ maintenance and he hopes to offer more performances in the coming year. He also leads a group called the Friends of Boston University Symphonic Organ. If you’d like to learn more, send him an email at nbarden@aol.com.

Take a listen and come see this treasured piece of BU history!

-Patrick Devanney, Retention Program Specialist

The Student Ambassador position will serve both offices in the new Center for Student Services.

As a Student Ambassador, you will:

• Coordinate and present workshops
• Stay up-to-date on the centers’ specific resources and events
• Help raise awareness of both centers
• Participate in university-wide annual events

All Ambassadors will be trained to support both offices, but may also be trained in specialty areas specific to one office or another.

Read more about this opportunity and learn how to apply on the Student Ambassador page of the ERC website.

It’s that time of year again-summertime. But, before that, we must all get through finals, a torture that we pay the university to inflict on us. This weather certainly is not helping our moods. It just makes me want to crawl in bed next to my heater and waste my day away watching tv. But, alas we must all resist the rainy day urges and drag our butts to study. Here are a few study tips that have seemed to work for me in past years.

1. Make a study schedule. It is highly important in this schedule to take breaks, include ALL of your classes, even the ones on the VERY last day of finals. It’s important to spread your study time out. CRAMMING IS THE WORST THING ANYONE CAN DO! And, cramming does not just include the day before. I suggest beginning your studying at least 4 or 5 days before your exam, and study a little each day.
2. Use you breaks to be productive. During your breaks, don’t just sit down and watch TV, sitting down studying is lethargic enough. But, instead, get up, go do laundry. Doing productive things around your room or apartment will help you feel more accomplished.
3. Go to the gym. I know it is easy to neglect the gym in times of stress. But, these are times that it is every more important to go. You don’t have to do your normal workout routine. In fact, it will probably help you more to do something different. If you normally do the elliptical, run instead. Little changes will help get some variety in this seemingly mundane study period.
4. Go to any review sessions you may have. Even if you have no questions yourself, other students bringing out questions might make you realize you don’t understand something so well, or it might bring up issues with the material that you were not aware you had.
5. Balance your junk food with and equal amount of water and veggies. I am not against stress eating, at times it can help. But, stress eating for a week often does more harm than good. So, every time you eat a candy bar, let the next snack you grab be an apple or carrots with ranch.

These are a few of my suggestions! I hope some of them work for you!
-Katie K. CAS’12

Coffee @ Finals will take place from 4pm to Midnight from Thursday, May 3 to Saturday, May 5 in CAS 319. The best part is that tutors will be available from 4-8pm each day to help answer any lingering questions you may have, or help clarify a tough course topic that’s still not quite crystal clear.

Tutors will be available in the following subjects, however please know that the schedule changes for each day so not all courses will be available each day:

So stop by to get some guided help, have some coffee, form a study group, or enjoy another quiet space to study on campus. We hope to see you there!

Information sessions about the position will be held on Thursday, April 19th 3:30-4:30pm and Friday, April 20th noon-1pm at the CCD, 19 Deerfield Street

Position Description:

Both offices will be co-located in the new Center for Student Services by fall 2012 and will have multiple reception and telephone stations.  Students who serve in this position will be the primary contact for anyone visiting, calling, or e-mailing the two centers.  Answering questions, directing traffic, and routing a heavy call volume are key responsibilities of the position.  Additionally, students will assist staff with administrative projects as needed.  Successful candidates will have experience in an office, customer service, and/or hospitality setting, will exhibit maturity and dependability, and will be prepared to be an energetic, enthusiastic member of our team. Please note these positions are usually filled by undergraduate students.

Please complete the application and attach a copy of your resume and  cover letter.  In your letter, please describe your interest in the Student Desk Assistant position and how your  skills from previous work/volunteer experience demonstrate your fit for this position.

Applications and any questions about the CCD/ERC Student Desk Assistant position should be directed to Nora Burnham at norasb@bu.edu

When it hit me over the summer that I only had one year left at BU, I started to remember all of the things I had meant to do as an eager freshman. I imagined myself doing something adventurous every weekend; checking out a museum or rocking out at some hole in the wall concert venue. With a friend, I wrote down everything we wanted to experience about BU and Boston before we graduated and (possibly) moved. Here are some ideas to get you started with your own list:

Amanda, CAS’12

While your classes are important don’t miss out an opportunity to get more involved in the University while you are here. BU has a lot more to offer than just what you experience in the classroom. Involvement on campus will help you meet people outside of you major/college and provide a nice resume boost.  So don’t spend all your free time holed up in your room instead check out some of the great experiences the University has to offer outside the classroom.

YouDo@BU

Check out the Bulletin Board of Events happening on campus or sort through the exhaustive list of over 500 student clubs and organizations.  Everything from club sports, to Greek life, to Residence Hall Associations, to service and professional associations are listed (and categorized so you can easily find what you are looking for!).

BUCENTRAL

http://bucentral.wordpress.com/calendar/

From comedy shows to a great concert series, BU Central hosts a variety of great programming that is worth getting out of your dorm room to go see!

Research your Professors
http://www.bu.edu/reslife/about-us/faculty-in-residence/
http://www.bu.edu/urop/
Go to department websites, read your professors bios and learn about their research.  Building rapport with a professor whose discipline and career you admire could potentially lead to research opportunities, graduate school or career advice or UROP project ideas. If the conversation continues after BU, you may have discovered a mentor in the process who could possibly write a recommendation down the road. Don’t forget to check out the Professors who lives on campus (Faculty in Residence).  Not only are they great resources for students but they often hold fun events!

Student Employment
http://www.bu.edu/seo/students/getting-a-job/
Another great way to get involved on campus is by working on campus.  You’ll learn a whole other side to the University and get paid while you do it!

I have always been hesitant about networking. I just never have been good at going up and introducing myself to people, so I was rather scared of the career fair. However, the atmosphere of the career fair made it really easy to just go up and talk to employers, and it was super helpful in attempting to find which career path I want to take. I got 2 interviews out of just talking to people!

Katie K.
Office Assistant

I really enjoyed working at the Career Expo yesterday. It was great to see so many people come out and take advantage of this great opportunity to network and gain experience interacting with recruiters. It’s so nice that the Center for Career Development puts these expos together for BU students and alumni– I don’t think many other schools have career expos with over 100 companies present… makes me really appreciate where I go to school!

Laura G.
Office Assistant

For week three we have one of our ESL Workshop Leaders, Samantha Jones. She’ll talk about some of the changes happening this semester as well as what has stayed the same.  Just in time for the first Workshop of the semester which is happening today, February 3rd, at 4pm in GSU315. Register for sessions here.

Last semester’s ESL Workshop Series welcomed the addition of the workshops “Sources from the Library and On-Line” and “Intro to Academic Writing in English.” This semester we are pleased to announce the continuation of these workshops as well as the addition of a workshop called “Citation Styles” where we will focus on the many different ways that sources can be cited.  If you’ve ever wondered what APA, CMS or MLA stand for, or what the difference is, or how to cite in engineering or biology, then this workshop is for you! We will of course be continuing our tried and true workshops including “Sentence Structure,” “Verb Tenses,” “Prepositions and Articles,” and many more.

The ESL Workshop Series will run on Fridays (beginning February 3^rd) and Tuesdays (beginning February 14^th) from 4pm to 5:30pm.  For more information on locations, dates, and workshop descriptions, check out our ESL Workshop Series page!

Samantha Jones, CFA
ESL Workshop Leader

In our second installment we have one of our Orgo Prep Leaders, Andrew Lai.  He’ll give you an idea about the way the program works and hopefully get you excited to sign up for Orgo Prep on January 30th.

The fall semester of Organic Chemistry is creeping up–it’s hard to believe. Even the thought of taking Orgo next year is stressful, isn’t it? Luckily, starting January 30, 2012, you can register for the Spring 2012 Orgo Prep program!

The plan is to start the curriculum with a brief introduction to nomenclature and stereochemistry. It’s a great way to ease into the more difficult concepts such as Infrared Spectroscopy (which we will cover!).

I think what is so effective about Orgo Prep is that it is a peer-to-peer learning environment. After having taken organic chemistry and having taught with Orgo Prep for two years, I can’t wait to pass on the little tricks I have for remembering things like E/Z and S/R Configurations.

Many of the concepts seem abstract or like they lack real-world applications. Let me shed a little light by example: when a manufacturer synthesizes the compound ibuprofen, two compounds are actually purified into the pill that we swallow to make the pain go away. The only distinction between the two compounds is the “S” or “R” configuration. So who cares? In fact, one happens to be the effective pain-killer, while the other can cause fetal mutations. By week 4 of the OrgoPrep program, we will have taught you how to distinguish the two. (By the way, manufacturers don’t bother separating the two–it’s why the bottle of pills costs $6 instead of $20.)

Anyway, that’s just a taste of the things we hope to share through the OrgoPrep program. As Orgo Prep Leaders, Greg and I have been working hard adapting our curriculum to fit the new changes made in the CH 203 fall course. We and the rest of the Orgo Prep Leaders are extremely excited for this upcoming semester! Hope to see you all then!

Andrew Lai, CAS ’12
Orgo Prep Leader