I made my way to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, January 19th, meandering through New England byways and the length of the New Jersey Turnpike (122.4 miles, according to Google) along the way. On the trip down, I reflected on my eight months of knocking on 2,000 doors and phoning 500 households. I did not expect that my canvassing efforts would result in two tickets to the Inauguration, courtesy of my Congressman.

I imagined these throngs of people, the crowd’s energy, thousands of people moving in a single mass as what the New Year’s Eve ball drop  in  Times Square must be like. The flow of people on Inauguration Day was as organized as an event involving half a million people could be. The  assembly  of Orange Gate ticket holders was as wide as First Ave., NW. By the time I reached the metal detectors just below the Robert A. Taft  Memorial  and Carillon, I had been waiting for more than two hours. For security purposes, we were told by officials to leave our cell phones and cameras on while we passed through the metal detectors.

Once through, I made my way up the lawn of the Capitol to the North Standing Area and found a sparse spot among some holly and rose bushes. The picture below is from that spot.

A few  friends laughed at the picture saying it looks as if it were an inaugural address for one. Though when President Obama spoke, it almost did seem like he was talking to everyone individually. It was a beautiful speech, and I’m glad to say that I had tickets to this once in a lifetime event. He spoke of hope, faith and brighter days ahead. Cheers to that.

I ended my trip with a visit to Gettysburg; the perfect bookend to a weekend that will go down in history.

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

To start us off we have our Russian Language Link Leader, Julia Sinitsky.  It just might inspire you to go register for one of our Language Link groups.

Language Link is a program that allows students to improve their speaking ability in a specific language while interacting with a native speaker and other students.  The focus of the group is on speaking, pronouncing, listening and understanding each other.  Language Link leaders also provide insight in to the culture of the country or countries where the language is spoken and explain cultural norms and proper etiquette.  While attending Language Link students will not only be learning the language, but also be exposed to an array of foreign cuisines, movies, cartoons, works of poetry and literature, musical pieces, etc.  The purpose of each session is to enrich the mind with linguistic and cultural knowledge.  A typical session can be anything from a discussion on public education to a debate about mainstream television.  The object of this is to get students to hear some new vocabulary, and go beyond typical, mundane topics. The goal of Language Link Leaders is to get students a bit out of their comfort zones, to get them to try something new, and most importantly to not be afraid to speak.  Language Link is a multifaceted experience and is for everyone interested in learning a new language and a new culture.

Julia Sinitsky, CAS’14
Russian Language Link Leader