January 12, 2009

Dear students,
Welcome back! In the spirit of beginning the semester right, SASgov is hosting
SAS Cafe Live this Thursday at World Cafe Live from 5-8 pm, with food, live
music, and an open bar! We hope to see you there!

Best,
Caroline Bishop
President, SASgov

SASgov Weekly Announcements

1. SAS Cafe Live
2. Interdisciplinary Event Funding
3. New Website
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1. SAS Cafe Live!
SASgov welcomes you back to campus with a bang! Join us at World Cafe Live for a
fun-filled evening of food, drink, and music. We’ll provide the live music and
open bar 5-7, and you provide the good times with your friends and colleagues.

FREE for SAS grad students with SAS and gov’t IDs
$5 for guests

WHAT: SAS Cafe Live! - SASgov’s biggest event yet!
WHERE: World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut St.)
WHEN: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 5-8 (open bar 5-7)
WHO: Free for all SAS grad students with SAS Grad ID AND Photo ID; Non-SAS grad
students pay $5
WHY: To get the semester started right!!
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2. Interdisciplinary Event Funding
The deadline for spring applications for interdisciplinary event funding is
approaching. SASgov’s interdisciplinary event funding is dedicated to
encouraging interaction between graduate students from different departments.
Whether academic or social, if the event is organized by and will bring
together grad students from more than one department within SAS and/or LPS, it
is eligible for inter-departmental event funding.

Application Deadline: January 30th

For details and application form, visit:
http://www.sasgov.org/funding/interdepartmental-funding
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3. New Website
SASgov’s website has been updated and is now a great source for up-to-date
information on social events, meetings, funding, and more. Visit us at
http://www.sasgov.org to stay in the know!
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GAPSA Weekly Announcements
1. Upcoming Events
2. Penn’s Farmer’s Market Survey
3. Landlord Survey
4. Call for Spring Applications-GAPSA Non-Academic event Funding
5. GAPSA International Council
6. South Street Bridge Closure
7. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Mentors Needed
8. Apply to be a GA in a College House
9. A Course for Penn Graduate Students
10. Unspoken Borders Conference 2009
11. Gender and Sexuality Studies State of the Field Conference
12. Graduate Student Center Programs
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1. UPCOMING EVENTS

* Wine Dinner at Lacroix Rittenhouse: Part II

Location: Rittenhouse Hotel
Address: 210 West Rittenhouse Square
Date: January 12, 2009
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Cost: SOLD OUT!

(estimated value of $140; includes 3-course meal paired with 3 glasses of
wine from Southwestern France)

Must be 21+ with valid Penn grad card and state ID.
** Happy Hour at Tinto*
Date: January 13, 2009
Time: 6-7:30PM
Location: Tinto Restaurant
Address: 114 South 20th Street
Cost: $5 cover (includes red and white sangrias)
Must be 21+ with valid Penn grad card and state ID.

** Happy Hour at Distrito*
Date: Thursday, January 15, 2009
Time: 4:30-6PM
Address: 3945 Chestnut Street (entrance on 40th St.)
Cost: $5 cover (2 happy hour beers and appetizers)
Must be 21+ with valid Penn Grad ID and state ID.

* Seeking Sustainability: Penn Confronts the Local and Global Challenge

Celebrate Ben Franklin’s 303rd Birthday at a Founders Day Symposium
moderated by President Amy Gutmann
Date: Friday January 16th, 2009
Time: 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (reception 5:00 - 6:00)
Location: Claire M. Fagin Hall, School of Nursing, Ann L. Roy Auditorium
Information: http://www.upenn.edu/faculty_senate/announcements.html
Details: The Faculty Senate is sponsoring its 4th annual Founders Day
Symposium. This year the symposium is a conversation with 5 scholars on
sustainability (Gary Bernstein, Eugenie Birch, William W. Braham, Robert
Giegengack and Eric Orts) and moderated by President Gutmann.

* 2009 Presidential Inauguration Trip

GAPSA, in coordination with the Undergraduate Assembly and Office of the
Vice Provost for University Life, is organizing a FREE bus trip to the *2009
Presidential Inauguration in Washington DC* on*January 20, 2009*. About 20
graduate and professional students have been selected via lottery to
participate in the event which will include…

  - A pre-event meeting on Tuesday 1/13 (please note the date change)  from
  5:30-6:30pm
  - An overnight bus ride on Inauguration Day
  - Observation of the parade and inauguration ceremony*
  - An academic reading assignment
  - A post-inauguration talk given by a prominent Penn Alum in DC (TBD).

The bus will leave Penn at midnight on 1/20 and return late in the evening
the same day. *Note that the trip will *not* include tickets to the actual
inauguration ceremony. The lottery is closed and all determined participants
have been notified.

* Philadelphia Wings vs. Boston Blazers Party with Unlimited Drinks
Come join us for appetizers, great drinks and great seats (Section 107)!
Tickets will sell out fast!
Location: Wachovia Center
Date: January 23, 2009
Happy Hour: 6-8PM  Game Time: 8PM
Cost: $25 (includes appetizers, unlimited happy hour from 6-8PM and game
ticket)
Tickets will be available starting Jan 14 at 11AM
Must be 21+ with valid Penn grad card and state ID.

** Wine Tasting Social at Pinot Boutique
Date: Thursday, January 29, 2009
Time: 7PM-9PM
Location: Pinot Boutique
Address: 227 Market St, Philadelphia PA 19106
Details: This real wine tasting event will feature tastings of 2 red wines,
2 white wines and a champagne complemented with Pinot’s re-known Cabernet
Chocolate covered strawberries and Chardonnay Wine brittle!  There will be a
short informal wine introduction and tasting presentation by a sommelier
followed by plenty of time to taste and socialize.  Pinot Boutique (
www.pinotboutique.com) is a unique wine accessories boutique that holds wine
tastings regularly and will host this event exclusively for UPenn Grad
students!
Cost: $10.  Tickets go on sale at the Graduate Student Center on Wednesday,
January 14, 2009 at 11AM.
Limit 4 per person, per ID card.  You and your companions MUST BE 21 at the
time of the event with the legal state or country ID on you!  Tickets will
sell out fast!

* Jorge Cham of PhD Comics comes to Penn Campus!
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2008
Time: 6:30 p.m. -8:30 p.m.
Location: Cohen Auditorium and Terrace
Room<http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_map.php3?id=223>
http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_map.php3?id=223
Hosted by GSEG (Graduate Student Engineering Group), Co-sponsored by GAPSA
* Annual GAPSA Moonlight Boat CruiseSail away on the Spirit of Philadelphia
for our annual moonlight boat cruise!  Every year, 500 grad and professional
students take part in this special evening of dining, drinking, and dancing.
 Tickets always sell out fast so make sure you are one of the first to
purchase your tickets!  Formal wear requested.
Date: Saturday, May 2, 2009
Time: 11:00PM-2AM
Cost: $35 (includes dinner, dancing, and open bar); 2 ticket limit
Tickets go on sale April 1, 2009 at 11AM at the Grad Student Center.
Must be 21+ with valid ID and Penn grad card.
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2. Penn’s Farmer’s Market Survey
Penn has its very own Farmers’ Market at 36th and Walnut every Wednesday
from late spring through fall. Penn Dining would like to hear your feedback
and suggestions about how to make the Market even better. Please click here
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=m50hXWZehOnKH_2bqjmHonJA_3d_3d to
participate in a quick online survey!
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3. 2008-2009 Landlord Survey
The Penn Landlord Survey has found a new home on the GAPSA website! To
access the survey, go tohttp://www.gapsa.upenn.edu/gapsa-landlord-survey.
GAPSA, with guidance from Off-Campus Services and in collaboration with the
UA, is now collecting survey data to be released in spring 2009. With your
help, we’ll be able to publish statistically significant results on landlord
ratings which will provide incoming and current students with the
information they need to make better-informed decisions about housing.

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4. Call for Spring Applications-GAPSA Non-Academic event Funding
GAPSA’s Finance Committee is now accepting applications for Non-academic
Event Funding for the spring of 2009. Guidelines for group funding, an
application, and a sample can be found on GAPSA website:
http://www.gapsa.upenn.edu/engage/funding/gapsa-funding-for-student-groups
All applications can be submitted electronically by emailing the Vice Chair
of Finance at gapsa.finance@gmail.com
The deadline for applications is Sunday February 1st.
Please direct all questions to the VC finance email.
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5. GAPSA International Council
Interested in knowing how to advocate for International Students on issues
such as career employment, student loans, and just getting around campus and
Philadelphia? Join the GAPSA International Student Council. This is the
student government council where your voice can be heard. Meetings are twice
per month. E-mail gapsa.ia@gmail.com, for more information.
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6. South Street Bridge Closing 12/08/08
The City of Philadelphia has notified Penn that the South Street Bridge will
close for reconstruction beginning Monday, December 8, 2008. The demolition
and rebuilding project will have considerable impact on accessing the
University and the Health System and most likely lead to increased traffic
congestion on and around campus. As a result, the University is urging all
faculty, staff and students to begin making a plan for commuting to and from
campus during the 24-month reconstruction.
The University has created a website to help you prepare for the Bridge
closure. Visit:www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/ssbridge for updates on the Bridge
construction, maps of campus, recommended detours and other information
about the impact of the Bridge closing on campus as well as University
benefits for those who use public transit. As the City releases more project
details, updates will be provided on the website.
We also urge you to think about the following:
Instead of having a car on campus, consider using PhillyCarShare. Membership
is free to any person age 18 and older. For details visit:
www.phillycarshare.org.
If you commute, consider using public transportation. The PennPass program,
sponsored jointly by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
(SEPTA) and the University, offers discounted transit passes to full-time
Penn students. For obtain a pass go to “My Transportation” at
www.campusexpress.upenn.edu.
If you absolutely must drive to campus, consider choosing classes that are
held during non-rush hour periods.
A choice not to drive to campus will relieve traffic congestion and allow
for easier access to campus and the Health System for emergency vehicles,
patients, families and visitors. It will also support Penn’s commitment to
sustainability and lowering the University’s carbon footprint.
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7. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service Mentors Needed

The 2009 MLK Executive Committee is recruiting graduate students to serve as
mentors for ONE day, on January 19th, for the MLK Day of Service. They would
like 20 more mentors, so that each Upward Bound high school student will
receive one-on-one attention during their service experience.

A short training, less than an hour, will be held for mentors on Wednesday,
January 14th, 5pm, at the Fireside Lounge (2nd Floor) in the ARCH Building
at 3601 Locust Walk. Food will be provided.The actual service project will
be about 4 hours on Monday, January 19th. The day begins with a
complimentary breakfast at Houston Hall. At that time, all mentors will be
completing one of the many service projects alongside an Upward Bound high
school student. Please come partner with the community youth and  to make
this a day on, not a day off!

Please email Rorujorona Ferrell at ferrellr@sp2.upenn.edu to confirm
commitment and attendance at the Wednesday training.
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8.  Apply to be a GA in a College
House<http://www.gapsa.upenn.edu/archives/1066>

College Houses and Academic Services is seeking graduate and professional
students to become Graduate Associates for 2009-2010 in the undergraduate
dorms. APPLY ONLINE BEGINNING DECEMBER 1, 2008. Complete information and the
2009-2010 application is available on-line for GAs at
http://www.collegehouses.upenn.edu/. GA selection is a rolling application
process.

INFORMATION SESSION

  - Thurs, January 15@ 7:30PM, Du Bois College House, Multi-Purpose Room
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9. A Course for Penn Graduate Students
Art of Living Foundations (http://us.artofliving.org/index.html
<http://us.artofliving.org/index.html>is
a non-profit organization that aims to uplift society through courses that
focus on strengthening the individual, as well as develop programs that
encourage people from diverse backgrounds to come together in celebration
and service.  Accredited as a United Nations non-governmental organization
in 1996, AOLF is now one of the UN’s largest volunteer-based NGO’s with
regional centers in more than 140 countries.

*YES!+ course at the University of Pennsylvania* *
YES!+ is an innovative, educational life skills program over five days, that
provides the individual with techniques and processes that aim to decrease
baseline stress, reduce negative emotions, heighten awareness and increase
mental focus.  The program includes the presentation of novel breathing and
meditation techniques, yoga exercises, as well as interactive processes to
increase confidence during problem-solving and conflict resolution.  A video
description can be found here:
http://www.change.org/art_of_living_foundation/videos.
* YES!+ is being offered at UPENN, but is not a university accredited
course.
Selected testimonials regarding the course can be seen here:
http://www.artoflivingyouth.org/collegezone_testimonials.html

Course date:  February 18, 2009, 6:30pm - February 22, 2009, 9:45pm
Location:  UPENN campus (location to be emailed following registration)
Weekday Timings:  6:30-9:45pm; Weekend Timings:  1:00-7:00pm
Course Fee:  $350, Student Fee:  $250, Repeater Fee:  $50
Registration contact email:  rajwaj@yahoo.com
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10. Rethinking Sex: Gender and Sexuality Studies State of the Field
Conference
Date: March 4-6, 2009
Location: University of Pennsylvania

The conference will feature panels, conversations, and roundtable sessions
on Wednesday evening, Thursday, and Friday. Topics will include activism and
scholarship, sexuality studies and academic disciplines, global sexualities,
the relations between feminism and LGBT/queer studies, queer of color
critique, historiography, sexual practice and community, scholarly
generations, new forms of kinship, transgender studies, queer media, gay
neoliberalism, disability studies, queer diasporas, affect, and pedagogy.

Sponsored by Penn’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center, Women’s
Studies, and the Alice Paul Center for Research on Women, Gender, and
Sexuality.

* For more information, please visit the web site at <
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/wstudies/rethinkingsex/>.*
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11. Unspoken Borders Conference 2009

3rd Annual Unspoken Borders Conference
ECOLOGIES OF INEQUALITY
The Future of Design in Race, Space and Politics
April 3-4, 2009

Location: Penn School of Design, 210 S. 34th Street

This year’s Unspoken Borders Conference theme, “Ecologies of Inequality”,
takes on an investigation of the systems, which create or maintain inequity
within societies and of how these systems interrelate to each other. In the
face of the growing global necessity for sustainability in all undertakings,
the conference asserts that inequalities are unsustainable, not only in
terms of socio-economic injustices, but also in regards to the amount of
resources invested in maintaining or creating these inequalities.

We propose a three-tiered approach: 1) Expose concealed systems, existing
and historical, that reinforce or promote stratification of society; 2)
Examine the mechanisms of recognized systems; 3) Recommend proposals to
re-engineer existing systems or to create alternative systems that promote
socio-economic and environmental sustainability.  These investigations are
organized around five topics:

-The Environment (constructed, cultivated or untended)
-Public Health
-Mobility and Access
-Communication
-Race, Class, and Culture

Unspoken Borders is brought to you by PennDesign Black Student Alliance and
UB09 Student Conference Committee, University of Pennsylvania.
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12. Graduate Student Center Programs

*Navigating the Dissertation: Dissertation Boot Camp Winter 2009

Weekdays, January 9-23, 2009

Offering an environment and support for intense, focused writing time,
Dissertation Boot Camp provides participants with the structure and
motivation to overcome typical roadblocks in the dissertation process. Cost:
$20 supply fee and a separate $50 penalty if a camper does not complete Boot
Camp.  Tickets go on sale Wednesday, November 26 at the Grad Center.
http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/ <http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/navdiss/bootcamp.php>
navdiss/bootcamp.php <http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/navdiss/bootcamp.php>

* Navigating the Grant

Peer-to-Peer Grant Application Advising:
http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/navgrant/advisee.php /
<http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/navgrant/advisee.php>Upcoming
Grants & Fellowships: http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/navgrant/rfp.php

Won a grant or fellowship?  Want to make some money helping out fellow grad
applicants?  Sign up to be an advisor at
http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/navgrant/advisor.php

* EVOLUTION EXHIBITION– CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Deadline: January 21

The Grad Center is calling for artistic submissions for our spring
exhibition focused on ideas and concepts related to the University-wide Year
of Evolution. We encourage submissions conveying the theme of evolution, as
interpreted by the individual artist. Works of art can be from the areas of
painting, drawing, photography, lithography or other print media. Read more
at http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/activities/exhibitions.php

* DISCOUNTED TICKETS for *AN EVENING WITH IRA GLASS*

Saturday, January 24; 8:00PM; Kimmel Center, 260 South Broad Street

Discounted tickets are available for *An Evening with Ira Glass*, featuring
the award-winning host of the beloved radio show *This American Life*.
Discounted tickets are on sale now at the Grad Center for $20.  Limit 2
tickets per student with Penn Grad ID.

* Navigating USBs, 2 GB - LIMITED TIME ONLY!!Price: $5 each, limit 1 per
Graduate PennCard (ID) http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/tickets/

* Mentor a Penn Undergrad

Help an undergrad learn first-hand about preparing for, applying to, and
succeeding in graduate school.
http://www.gsc.upenn.<http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/mentoring>
edu/
<http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/mentoring>mentoring<http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/mentoring>