home | back bay | beacon hill | boston common | chinatown | downtown boston | fenway | north end | roxbury | south end | south boston | cambridge | other places
Once, long long ago, a small but courageous group of Harvard students and incoming first years went on a walk. A long walk. An 8-hour walk. And they called it "Boston Adventure Day." They perused the neighborhoods of Boston, from the South End to the North End. They showed off the glory of the Emerald Necklace, they gesticulated wildly while ranting about the painful process of gentrification, they strolled respectfully past neighborhood businesses and rows of houses. Today, we continue this fine fine tradition through what is known simply as... Work that City.
We now invite you to work that city, or first check out the background information below on recent happenings in Boston.
Boston Snapshot: September 2003 - August 2004
Marriage Equality: On November 18, 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules in Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health that same-sex couples in Massachusetts must be allowed to marry and requires that the State Legislature comply within 180 days. In February, the Court clarifies that same-sex couples must be granted the right to civil marriage -and not just civil unions. On May 17, 2004, the 50-year anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the first gay marriages allowed by the Legislature took place. In the mean time, the ruling had inspired officials across the country to perform same-sex marriages against the law, as well as attempts to pass constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. An effort to pass a federal constitutional amendment failed in the national Senate, but after repeated efforts the Massachusetts Legislature voted for a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. If further votes by the Legislature and by Massachusetts voters succeed, this amendment would take effect in 2006.
Where? Although it's not technically on the routes, swing by Cambridge City Hall in Central Square, or take a gander at the Statehouse, where protests drew national media attention.
Summer Violence and Response: On July 11, 2004, a small fistfight turns into a brawl between white and Asian teens in the Mary Ellen McCormack housing development (South Boston); 16-year old Bang Mai dies after being stabbed. On July 25, basketball coach William Gaines is shot to death in Ramsey Park (South End / Lower Roxbury) in front of his team. Between August 1 and August 4, 11-year old Jerry Gonzalez is critically injured by a stray bullet in Carter Playground (Roxbury), "one man [is] shot and another stabbed on Boston Common," and high school student Jaime Owens is shot in a Dorchester park while waiting for pizza. These were some of the more visible examples of violence in Boston over the summer. In response, communities held vigils, youth gatherings, and services; the annual National Night Out community events against violence were held on August 3. Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole announced Operation Neighborhood Shield, a collaboration between federal, state, and city agents and police to identify and arrest key players in the recent violence. As of August 29, there had been 46 homicides in Boston during 2004.
Where? Stop either at Roxbury Crossing and point out the Boston Police headquarters towards Ruggles, or stop at Tobin Community Center (big tannish brown building) on Tremont in Mission Hill (South of the Basilica), where several youth events and speakouts ("Silence the Violence") have taken place.
Catholic Church Closings: The Boston Archdiocese (Catholic) announced in May that it would close 60 of its 357 parishes in Boston. The reasons for closure included low attendance of Mass, a shortage of priests and shrinking funds for supporting some small churches. Structurally, Archbishop O'Malley also pointed out a connection with "the movement of people from cities to the suburbs." One of our FUP sites, St. Mary's of the Angels in Roxbury, is also slated for closure in October. Although many parishioners at St. Mary's had moved away from the neighborhood, the parish actively worked in the community to help organize local residents around issues of education, health care, and housing.
Where? While walking up Hanover Street in the North End, stop at Prince Street (just past Mike's Pastries) at St Leonard's church (not closing) and look right at the Sacred Heart Church, which has closed, despite its unique Italian Mass for immigrants.
University Expansions: Harvard and Northeastern: This past year both Harvard and Northeastern announced major expansions into local neighborhoods to allow for an increase in the size of the student body. Harvard is moving into Allston, Northeastern into Mission Hill. These expansions raise a challenging question of gentrification, a process often tied to residential habits of students. For example, housing in Mission Hill is scarcer and more expensive because of the number of Harvard Med, Northeastern, and Wentworth students living in the area. Also, Northeastern is building dorms, not to give housing to students already enrolled, but rather to allow more students to move to the area and attend the school. As a simple (mostly apolitical) definition, gentrification is: "The restoration and upgrading of deteriorated urban property by middle-class or affluent people, often resulting in displacement of lower-income people." (www.dictionary.com) These college expansions certainly play into these definitions.
While Harvard's intentions for Allston expansion have yet to be fully revealed (though much already has), it's interesting to note that last summer, before the announcement of the major move, Harvard sponsored a number of summertime internships in the Allston area. (President Summers openly admitted to students last year that the University sends students to do public service in areas of interest for it. While the longterm effects of Harvard-in-Allston are unclear, its presence in Cambridge suggests a future much like its past: buying land (tax-exempt), holding it for a few years, then building on it, thus commercializing (gentrifying) the area.
Where? - Talk about this in Cambridge (near Dunster), in Central Square, where many recent grads traditionally live, as well as in front of Northeastern and their open-glass gymnasium and health facilities.
DNC and Boston Social Forum: The Democratic National Convention was held in late July in the Fleet Center. Aside from the actual convention itself ("Reporting for duty!"), other major issues surrounding events included bag checks on the T, a fenced-off "Free Speech" zone near the Fleet Center, and 75 new federal surveillance cameras placed in the city to monitor protests and the like. And these cameras still have a long, happy life in front of them: as the police superintendent said, "We own them now. We're certainly not going to put them in a closet." Instead they're being distributed to different neighborhoods in Boston to help "prevent crime." And gather Candid Camera footage. (Not really.) Also, for 3 days before the convention, local and national activists (including a bunch of FUP leaders, past and present) joined forces for workshops and trainings on all sorts of social issues at the Boston Social Forum, held at UMass in Southie. The tab for security exceeded $40 mil. And led to 5 arrests at the convention. Also, Bill Clinton bought a watch at Alpha Omega in Harvard Square, which was perhaps the only fulfillment of the city government's promise for a boon to local businesses. In fact, since much of downtown was closed (as were major highways), business slumped.
Where? While walking through the Haymarket, look to your left and point out the Fleet Center. If you have 10 minutes and feel political, walk over there. Beyonce had a concert there, too.
Boston Bruins: They almost made it to the NHL finals this year.
Where? Everywhere. Forget the Sox, the Bruins are Boston.
Bioterror Research Lab: Boston University (BU) intends to build a bioterrorism research laboratory in the South End/Roxbury where research would be performed on organisms such as anthrax, smallpox, plague, botulism, tularemia, and viral hemorrhagic fevers (e.g., Ebola) that cause deadly diseases for which there is no known cure, that can be transmitted through the air, and that can be used in biowarfare. This would include construction of a BioSafety Level 4 (BSL4) laboratory, the level required for research on the most dangerous and exotic categories of disease causing agents. The federal government will provide $127 million toward construction of the laboratory under its Biodefense Research Agenda with matching funds of about $42.3 million to be paid by BU and BU Medical Center. Community groups in South End, Roxbury and Chinatown are mounting serious opposition to the placement of the BioLab in their communities.
There are three other BS Level 4 Labs in the country; the BU proposed lab would sit in the middle of a poor community of color with 16,721 residents per square mile - the other three labs are located in sparsely populated areas with at most 3,500 people in the equivalent square mile. Residents have voiced concerns over the danger of researching and storing biological weapons in their neighborhood. Indeed, according to ACE (Alternatives to Community Environment), biotechnology research and development laboratories provide mostly employment to highly educated scientists and very few jobs to persons without college degrees. The lab will further intensify gentrification, with its increasing real estate prices. This portends the displacement of local community based businesses that provide blue-collar jobs (despite claims that the lab will bring jobs to the community, since most residents lack training to work in such a lab). Ultimately, the residents were never involved in BU's decision to build a BioLab in their neighborhood. (Tanaka asks, Do you think this would ever be an issue in Wellesley?)
Where? A few good choices here: at any of the hospitals we pass (Harvard Med/Longwood, Tufts/New England, or even point down Mass Ave to Boston Medical Ctr); or consider talking about it in Dudley near Councilor Turner's office is (across from the post office), as he is very involved in the campaign.
The New Majority Coalition and City Council Elections: Defying expectations that he would lose office, Felix Arroyo won second place in the November 2003 City Council election. (The four councilor-at-large candidates with the most votes win seats on the Council.) He was the first Latino to be elected to City Council. Progressives hailed the results - Arroyo's strong showing, combined with the defeat of Patricia White (daughter of former mayor Kevin White) - as a sign of the increasing power of communities of color and progressives in Boston. Since then, a group of community organizers have joined with Councilors Arroyo, Chuck Turner, and Charles Yancey, to form a political and cultural coalition to mobilize across different neighborhoods and ethnic groups in Boston. As of the 2000 census, Boston was a majority-minority city, meaning that whites no longer made up the majority racial background. This coalition is working toward the 2005 elections in hopes of strengthening its representation on the city council. This task is made more difficult with the recent changes in voter precincts.
Where? Chuck Turner's office in Dudley is a good option, or in Chinatown near CPA (corner of Beech and Harrison streets), as their director Lydia Lowe also sits on the Steering Committee for the New Majority.
New Buses and the Silver Line: During the past year, MBTA has introduced a number of new buses that are more fuel-efficient (some using alternative energy sources). Although many buses are parked in lots in Roxbury (Dudley, Ruggles), MBTA's plan originally intended to bring many of these buses into suburbs rather than those neighborhoods with the most bus traffic. (This is intensified by the fact that many Roxbury residents must take a bus to get to the T to get into town.) A group of Roxbury residents, the T-riders Union (TRU), organized against the placement of the new buses by bringing the directors of the MBTA to ride buses in Roxbury. Seeing all the crowding first-hand, the placement decision was reconsidered and bus distribution shifted much more equitably. Also, MBTA reneged on a commitment to extend the Silver Line deeper into Roxbury, instead extending the line from Downtown Crossing to the airport. Different claims have circulated as to the reasons for this decision, but in any case, travel from Upper Roxbury still requires a bus ride before any downtown connections (T or Silver Line).
Where? Dudley Station in Roxbury, or on the bus itself if you happen to ride a new one during your tour.
Big Dig and Parcel 24: Although the Big Dig was slated for completion by this year, it looks unlikely that it will be done until next year. The city already has plans for extensive green space, which is displayed prominently on placards between Faneuil Hall and the North End. Take a look and you'll notice a woman in a magenta dress�she appears over and over. Also, as you walk down Hudson Street in Chinatown, look to your left at the on-ramp. This is Parcel 24, explained elsewhere in the Goldenrod, but this offers a good example of the connections between civic planning (roads, highways, etc.) and housing/neighborhood issues.
Where? Hudson Street in Chinatown as well as the maps heading into the North End.
Budget Cuts: Over the past two years, the Massachusetts Legislature has underfunded state programs by more than $3 billion per year. Last spring and summer, thousands of residents across the state mobilized to rally, protest, lobby and organize against these budget cuts. These cuts most profoundly impact poor communities of color but affect everyone in this state. Public school budgets were cut by over $400 million, over 3000 teachers have been lost across the state and 920 teachers have been laid off in Boston alone, support for MCAS tutoring for low-scoring students was cut by 80%. Sports programs, libraries and after-school programs have been shutdown. Thousands of youth jobs in the City of Boston have also been cut. Meanwhile, the policing and prison budget have remained at an all time high (only supplemented by recent DNC "security" funding and intensified by summer violence) and for the first time, spending for the prison system has exceeded state spending on higher education. State funding for rape crisis centers were cut by 75%, about 10,000 legally present immigrants lost MassHealth coverage, AIDS/HIV programs have been cut by $7.3 million, numerous homeless shelters have been forced to close (it is estimated that about 100 homeless people died in Boston over the winter).
Where? - The Statehouse is a good place, though if you know of any centers that have been closed as a result, that's swell as well.
Boston History Sites
-Boston: DNC 2004
-Boston Historical Society and Museum
-Boston Women's Heritage Trail
-Museum of Afro-American History
Boston: The Built Environment
-Greater Boston Interfaith Organization
-Action for Boston Community Development
-Association of Boston Neighborhoods
-Boston Society of Architects
-PhotoWalks
March 28, 2008
leader.info.
abby brown is a rising sophomore who is STOKED to be on steercom for FUP 2008. She hails from the wilds of Boston, MA (Brighton to be more precise) and she is still learning all about her complex city. She learned a lot this summer as a senior counselor for the S(ummer) U(rban) P(rogram) in Southie where she taught 8-10 year olds about community organizing, local government, and sea creatures. One guess as to what the children will probably remember. She isn't sure yet what she's concentrating in, but she'll probably end up somewhere between Social Anthropology and History of Science. When Abby isn't SUPping or FUPping (and really, will she ever stop FUPping?), she can be found tutoring other children in Roxbury, waging the revolution with SDS (students for a democratic society), going to spoken word workshops, drinking hot beverages/bubble tea, partaking in conversation, listening to German music, reveling in revelry, wishing she had more time to do art, laughing, lounging on the grass or in the snow, and appreciating the myriad ways this world is unexpectedly, wonderfully, and beautifully connected. Abby loves introductions and questions (she asks tons herself), so you'd best be saying hi :)
alexandra alves is a rising sophomore from Easton, MA. She has no idea what she wants to concentrate in or do with her life, but is perfectly ok with that (for now) and is ecstatic to be a member of Quincy house! This summer, Alex got the chance to spread SUP-love all-around in her beloved Roxbury, working to make leaders out of the young ones, spreading the spirit of empowerment and making a difference. Alex loves poetry, hip-hop, combinations of the two, pillows, weekends, writing, being Cape Verdean (hollerrr!), long intellectual conversations, and FOOD--lots and lots of food. Being a FUPpie was one of the best experiences Alex ever had and she can't wait to be a leader this year!
alyssa aguilera is from san antonio, texas. she is studying government and is a resident of the dudley co-op. her favorite activities at harvard include (but are not limited to) the student labor action movement (slam), students for a democratic society (sds), and the phillips brooks house association (pbha). this summer she worked in houston where she organized with janitors and day laborers for better treatment on the job.
ana huang is a second-semester Senior living in the Dudley co-op, majoring in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (and yes, she did say MAJOR, because she likes to believe that she's still in touch with the rest of the world beyond Harvard). Ana was in China again this summer, visiting family, eating lots and lots of lamb kebabs and hot pot, hanging out with older friends who think her name is "kid", and doing a little research on the side on Chinese lesbian communities. She goes through a lot of phases, including orange-color phases, Christian phases, cynical phases and in-between phases. Right now she is dreaming about a queer family of friends.
andrew fine is a senior in Eliot House, a former Fuppie and second time FUP leader, who grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, but loved spending the summer in the Deep South doing thesis research, eating fried green tomatoes, and driving with Girl Talk blasting and the windows down. During the school year, he spends much too time working on the newspaper and idling on Gmail. He is a Social Studies concentrator, loves the New York Times, and wants to be Michael Cerra. He is also addicted to ice cream, and will gladly introduce Fuppies to Cambridge's many ice cream joints (Christina's is his favorite).
ann cheung '09 hails from the ancient island land of Long Island, New York. She is happy to say that she is a Chemistry concentrator (yeah orgo!) and is finally a hopping resident of Leverett House. This past summer, along with fulfulling her dreams by doing clinical research at MGH, she is also fulfilling her idealism through teaching ESL via Refugee Youth Summer Enrichment. Despite the scientific exterior, Ann is a huge fan of the fine arts. During free time (or lack thereof), you can probably find her staring at works by Kandinsky (her hero!) or frantically screaming at the tv while playing her PS2. Nonethess, she can't wait for the FUPping to begin!
What can you say about anselm beach? He's just an all around great guy. His New York Times Bestselling autobiography, Anselm: What More Can I Say?,will tell you that he was born in Frankfurt, Germany on the bright, sunny day of March 21, 1989. Keep reading and you'll find out that Anselm has been raised all over the country due to his father's involvement in the military. He now resides in Woodbridge, VA where he coincidentally lived for about a year when he was three. Still interested? Well, Anselm is currently concentrating in neurobiology and minoring in music, but ask him again next week, it may change. This summer, Anselm was able to fulfill his dream of influencing the young and budding minds of a group of 4th graders while working for the Cambridge Youth Enrichment Program in SUP. You can often find Anselm melodically playing a Duke Ellington or John Coltrane piece on his alto saxophone. Like I said, Anselm Beach is an all around great guy and quite possible the coolest in the world. The only person who is cooler would probably be the person who wrote this.
brandon perkovich wears so many hats. From the fez to the faux-hawk shaped wig he's passed off as his hair for some time to that of a (H-)Bomber. When not FUPping, he generally finds himself H Bombing (this is Harvard for working for our university sex magazine...ask him for a copy). That or jamming somewhere on (and off) campus to his much prized ipod. He's also interested in public health, especially where communicable disease is involved. Geeky, it's true.
catherine ntube is a rising sophomore from Austin, TX, a cool blue city in a (in)famously red state. This summer, when she's not keeping Austin weird, Catherine is studying abroad in Ghana, interning at a law firm (somewhat against her will), and enjoying time with her AMAZING family and friends in the ATX. She's in to music, laughter, engaging in deep conversation, learning new things, and discovering cool new things to be in to (hit her up with any good ideas). She isn't very good at writing bios, but she loves meeting new people and talking to old friends, so please feel free to ask any questions that this bio leaves burning. Seriously, hit her up!
christian starling is from SOUTHEAST SIDE BLACK BOTTOM DETROIT "MURDER MITTEN" MICHIGAN and is a rising junior in Mather House. Since concentrating in Anthro went out of style with most of clothing, he is now semi-concentrating in VES and is planning on spending next semester doing wacky social experiments and passing it off as art, and working at Petsi Pies (he doesn't have a job yet, but he's a shoe in. Right?). Christian is a former PBHA junkie (Mission Hill MISH WHAT, ASB trips, UniLu...ask him about it!) and is going cold turkey this semester...Christian also loves FUPpies, thinks that they're the ish, and wants to hear all about what they think (oftentimes, Christian has found that FUPpies can show their leaders a thing or two about social justice). Christian also really likes FUPples, so come check in with him about that as well.
deji ogunnaike: I'm a rising Junior concentrator in African Studies in Currier house who currently lives in Hockessin DE. You have probably driven through my state on your way to New York or Washington DC. Next time you should stop and take a look around, it's a great state AND we have tax-free shopping! When I'm not talking about how great Delaware is, I'm either talking about how great Africa (Nigeria in particular NAIJA!!!!) or playing soccer. I just spent the summer studying Arabic in Morocco and on tour with my family in Nigeria, and I can't think of a better way to end it than with a fresh batch of Fuppies!
ellie nowak (AKA elliebellie) is so excited to start the school year after a really amazing summer, and even more excited to be starting it with FUP! She spent the past two months with FUP leader Maryam Janani in southern Sierra Leone, working with youth and community building. She has learned many valuable lessons, including how to ride a motorcycle in a skirt, and how to gracefully decline a meal with floating fish heads. If you would like any help with the aforementioned topics, she is here for you! Ellie is involved in a couple of NGOs in Boston, one which fights modern-day slavery and another which works on community-based healthcare in Kenya. She hails from East Aurora, NY, which is the home of the 13th President of the US, Millard Fillmore (the best president of course!), and Fisher Price Toys, Inc. In her free time Ellie braves the Buffalo/Boston winters on her snowboard, and in her room playing the guitar. She is also busy planning her sister's wedding which is coming up in December, and will soon be busy getting to know all of you! She can't wait!!!
emily owens is a senior who deeply dislikes writing about herself in the third person. accordingly: hello! i am a very proud denizen of three/four things/places: 1. the dudley coop. 2. western massachusetts. 3. women, gender, and sexuality studies and african american studies. i also like green spaces (and blue spaces), queer women and queer feminism, farmer's market, sex positivity, and nina simone. i have spent the summer enjoying these prides and likes in various combinations under the heading "thesis research," and am positively delighted to be at my third and final FUP!
gabe unger is a rising sophomore and social studies concentrator. He was born in NYC and has been on the move ever since, He is a proud citizen of Currier, but also of the U.S. and Brazil, and has spent the past couple days kind of worried because he seems to have lost his US passport somewhere during travel and only has his Brazilian one, and is consequently now in fear of la migra. at Harvard he enjoys long conversations in dining halls when he should be writing papers due several hours ago. he is also starting to enjoy referring to himself in the third person, and will probably keep this up throughout the year.
henry agbo is a rising senior in Dunster House, studying Social Afropology (apparently, it’s STILL the new black). A St. Louis native, Henry has literally been flying around the world as of late. After a semester in Amsterdam studying local culture—everything from the squatter movement to government-funded transgender operations—he made his way back to Los Angeles to spend the summer breaking into the entertainment industry via a talent agency. Although he didn’t become a famous actor or musician, he did see a lot of free movies and celebs. He also managed to fall in love with two new-ish music artists, Santogold and Janelle Monae. He urges everyone to jump on board with these AMAZING females. When he’s not kickin’ back in Amsterdam or becoming part of the stalkerazzi in LA, he’s back in St. Louis spending time with his old school Nigerian parents or doing any number of things in Boston, including slangin’ drank at Café Gato Rojo (Dudley House ya’ll!) trying to save the world with the PBHA or the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, or imaginarily (is this a really a word?) shopping on Newbury St. (if anyone wants to buy him a Valentino tux so he can look fly while he is saving the world, he’d definitely appreciate it!) Oh, and one last thing: Hi Haters! Now this is officially full of soon-to-be-dated pop culture references. Yeup, this is why I’m hot.
jess frisina comes from The City (of new york), is a junior in Mather House (Best House), and is concentrating in History and Literature. This summer she lived in Argentina and worked in a civics education organization. In her free time she did things like paragliding through the Andes and contemplating the necessity of putting ham, cheese, and mayonnaise on all Argentine foods. Her favorite things in life are soccer, icecream, and the Mission Hill After School Program, but her guilty pleasures include Olsen twin movies and free food. She is interested in social movements, youth protests in Argentina, civil liberties, and constitutional law. Summer is cute and warm weather is nice, but she's excited and ready to meet the new FUPstars.
jessica ranucci is a rising junior, social studies concentrator, and Leverett house resident. Although she is originally from Indiana, she spent the summer in Boston, working for PBHA's Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment summer program. 2008 marks her third FUP, which is exciting but also a terrifying sign of her old age. She is looking forward to meeting new people and enjoying a great week with the FUPpies.
joe stujenske is a 2010 Dunsterite concentrating in neurobiology. He calls New York his home, but unfortunately he spends increasingly less time there. He spent his summer in Japan doing vision research and taking a class as part of the summer school, and he also got to travel quite a bit as well (the Golden Pavilion is a must see). He also doesn’t speak Japanese, so it was quite an experience (He still does not have a clue exactly what the people in the cafeteria are saying to him). Luckily he likes noodles, rice, and sushi and has a crush on Utada Hikaru, so he got along fine. It is 3 am in Japan as he writes this, but thanks to the time difference (13 hours for Boston), this will be on time!
jose olivarez hails from Calumet City, IL on the south side of the south side of Chicago. He's bi-racial: half Mexican, half Amazing.
lucerito ortiz is a monkey-lover from beautiful Los Angeles, California. Indeed, she loves monkeys so much, she has a turtle named Monkey. He's chill, you should meet him. Lucerito can often be found eating corn nuts with lime in between her activities, which include coordinating for the Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program, PBHA and all its awesomeness, Latino groups, and Ballet Folklorio de Aztlan. Lucerito also loves making handmade tortillas, so if the sound of that makes you drool, be her friend, and she just might hook you up. This Social Studies concentrator from Eliot house is UBER excited about FUP 2008, as it is sure to be full of awesome fabulousness. Oh, and she likes to use the word "poopyhead" as an insult…so don't mess.
maryam janani is a rising senior in grand 'ol Eliot House. She is concentrating in neurobiology (though probably should have concentrated in something non-sciencey) with a secondary in health policy. Along with being a nontraditional pre-med, she is very interested in global/domestic public health and education issues. Though her first love is Latin America (delicious Bolivian saltenas, anyone?), she spent this summer working with youth in a rural district of Sierra Leone by helping to establish a youth center and a summer school. She is currently chilling in London meeting family for the first time ever prior to her cousin's wedding. Indeed, it is very exciting. When abroad, she relies on myspace to provide her with her music fixes. She loves air hockey (the only 'sport' she plays) and challenges you to a game or two, on her.
matt garcia '10, social studies and mind, brain and behavior concentrator, took 4th place at the World Championship of Tic-Tac-Toe in 2005. The walls of his room in Dunster House are adorned with a Texas flag and over 100 feet of purple Christmas lights. Most of his money is spent on vegetarian burritos from Felipe's, which serves the closest thing to authentic Mexican food in the square. Currently, Matt serves as the Programming Chair for the Phillips Brooks House Association, and spent his summer fulfilling the duties of the role. His love for PBHA is surpassed only by his love for his hometown, Corpus Christi. His life's goal is to bring the revolution to South Texas and reestablish the Republic of the Rio Grande. This will be Matt's first year with FUP and is excited to join the family.
mary cate curley hails from the cow-town of Guilford, Vermont yet has come to love to smelly trains and many coffeeshops of Boston. She is a rising junior who is currently switching to an English major because she's into telling stories, and wants to hear yours too! While at Harvard she enjoys being a regular at Petsi Pies and the Cafe Gato Rojo (ex-barista extraordinaire), writing, tutoring at Emerson School in Roxbury, and loving people (esp. FUP leaders). This summer she worked with Rachel and Alex at the Roxbury Youth Initiative, performing surrealist plays with six-year-olds. She's into earning, and teaching, community-building and families. Her dad is an rural undertaker (he prefers the term "overtaker"). As for FUP...let me tell you, it changes ives. You can get your mind changed, heart charged, and spirit refueled...and you might even fall in love. OH YES.
nadia gaber is a History and Literature/ Women, Gender, and Sexuality concentrator (and a closet pre-med). She is stuck Cambridge-side for the second summer straight while her family frolicks (yes, the Gabers are known frolickers) on the beaches of Egypt. She does not speak hieroglyphics, though many have asked. She does like ice cream(/berryline), in case you were about to ask. She is proud to have a ten-year old brother who self-identifies (sometimes before he's even asked) as a Democrat (huge Obama supporter), an environmentalist, a progressive, and a feminist-- without probably knowing what those things really mean. Also, her little sister kicks ass on the soccer field. Nadia would know; she was her coach in the spring of 08, when she took the semester off to frolick around Houston, TX. She also makes jewelry, plays soccer, eats apples, loves irony and coincidence, and makes excessive amounts of parenthetical references (like this one [and this one]).
nworah ayogu is thinking of how to accurately describe himself (in the 3rd person) within the confines of the english language, without spoiling all of the surprise. And he cant (and is feeling lazy). So I will leave it up to you all to find out for yourselves. Yea personal interaction. But as a taste here are my itunes on shuffle: forever, I wish I were a punkrocker with flowers in my hair, a whole new world, I'm in love with a stripper, thriller, lollipop, ajaa nachle, numb, Zulu House music (don't know title), bleeding love, breaking free, no one mourns the wicked, 10 dollar, dey know, calabria, requiem for a dream, puth jatt thaa, I can go the distance, dutty wine.
obi nwachukwu is a rising sophomore from the suburbs of the never shy Chi. Double entendres & aphorisms are his thing, from Shakespeare to Weezy.... so he's thinking Hist & Lit or English, But then again it's a little early to call. If hindsight is 20/20 then foresight must be blindness right? Anyway, he spent a profound summer studying abroad in Israel, spent no money on sunscreen and spent an awful lot on things he just doesn't wanna talk about. Overall, he loved the experience, maybe for the wrong reasons. Interests include history, literature (hmm..), trying to describe yellow to the blind, avoiding bull like i'm a matador... you know. Look for him at Lowell house or in Roxbury with the kids.
(an open letter from) paul nauert: Hey FUP 2008--for first-years, welcome to Harvard/and the rest of your lives---You've chosen well. And a hearty welcome to new leaders and a hearty welcome back to old leaders! It's my final year of FUP-as-a-leader and while folks can say stuff like "FUP will always be in your heart" and "FUP love is eternal," (and that is true), it's still a bit sad this time around. You can't run for another four years of FUP love like Obama will run (and win again--that's right! And my right I mean left :) for another four years of being leader of America in 2012. But, unlike the fourth year of a Presidency this is going to be no lame duck year for FUP or Paul Nauert. This summer, he's been traveling around visiting Catholic Worker communities in the US (radical/progressive/left only sometimes actually Catholic intentional communities usually focusing on homelessness and war resistance), he's got a thesis to write on that, some classes to finish up, and a pending blind date with the Real World. Besides all this, he's gotta soak up some of his favorite Harvard classic spots and scenes for the last time: veggie feasts and parties at the Co-op (his home), tea at the Gato, wandering the stacks of Widener, Students for a Democratic Society/Harvard Anti-War Coalition meetings in the Philips Brooks House basement, the ever-rotating local, organic beer taps at Cambridge Common, biking along the Charles, etc. He'll post times for these things (especially SDS and HAWC) on the lists (what's a list? Ha. Beware the Freshman Activities Fair), and invite you to check it all out so a new generation can learn all these joys. Take care and see you all soon or if you're reading this caused you had to re-read Leader bios to procrastinate over a Human Mind paper in the middle of November, see you around town.
rachel singh is a rising junior concentrating very hard on theories of crime, punishment, and education (i.e. Social Studies). She spend the summer at a summer camp in Roxbury with some of the coolest kids and people she's ever met. She is a native and lover of Boston and looks forward to rambling about the city with FUPpies this year. Rachel is really into veggie burgers, impromptu dance parties, loving herself and others, autumn in New England, her cousin's babies, and transformative conversations at 2 AM.
rashmi jasrasaria is a rising junior (eek, already!) in Kirkland House. She is concentrating in social studies and is also premed (ie. figured out a way to make most classes in the course catalogue count for something) and wants to help get medica,l care and health education to people in developing countries. She is still zonked by a long flight and a full inbox as she settles back into life at home in Boxborough, MA after two months in Tanzania. She loves singing (anything and everything- mostly Indian pop music and classical choral stuff), Bharatha Natyam (Indian classical dance), conversing in Swahili (or attempting to), reading fiction with a purpose, watching Hindi movies/chick flicks/Disney movies, and catching up with friends and family. She is forever intrigued by the fine line between science, religion, philosophy, culture, society, and history, and can't wait to explore the interconnectedness between other random subjects this year. Looking forward to meeting all the Fuppies! Yay Fup 08!
richard kelley is a rising junior in Mather House and one of a rare breed of Folklore & Mythology concentrators. Richard was raised in Carpinteria (an extremely small beach town in Southern California that he is extremely proud of even though it doesn't even show up on most maps). Richard spent his summer in Cambridge, directing CYEP (the Cambridge Youth Enrichment Program), where he had the time of his life! This past FUPpie and second year leader is extremely excited to meet the next generation of FUPpies and is always available for late night chats, random walks around Cambridge, game nights, movies, festivals, or whatever else!
sam enumah is 50% Nigerian, 100% Hot! (and yeah, we have a facebook group too!). Sam is a rising junior concentrating in Neurobiology, and he currently resides in the D-Entryway of D-House. Originally a native of Columbus, GA (read: medium-sized, old money city full of staunch conservatives), Sam has thoroughly enjoyed the past two years in his true home, a small liberal campus located in Cambridge, MA. Sam loves/hates food. Simply put, you can quickly befriend a Sam Enumah by subtly passing him a jelly-filled doughnut sometime after breakfast but before lunch. Due to the number of calories, he'll scold you for tempting his taste buds (he's a closet health and fitness freak), but just know that any visual display of disapproval is actually his own subtle way of showing appreciation. In his free time, Sam enjoys football (soccer), playing video games (Halo), philosophizing (meaning of life?), and being a "team player" (ask for details). Sam is in South Africa for the summer, but anxiously awaits his return to the States to meet the old and the new FUPstars of '08!
tara venkatraman is a rising sophomore who'll be in Pfoho (which her family still can't pronounce or spell). She is largely concentrating on how to graduate while taking as many small, non-required classes as possible, but imagines she'll eventually end up in Social Studies. She also reps India (the Motherland) through Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi and Odissi dance and ceaseless patriotic watchings of Lagaan (best 3.5 hr movie ever--there will be a screening during FUP week). She's grown up in Boston & has hated the cold & the MBTA for longer than you (19.75 years longer, to be precise), but she loves the city & neighboring Cambridge and works to make them more equal communities. She's also really into sustaining the magic of FUP when FUP week is over, so hit her up at any time if you want some FUP love (even in the hell that is January reading period).
terry ding is a rising sophomore in Winthrop House and is the proud self-appointed FUP Hong Kong representative. He is particularly passionate about education for children in rural China and has spent the past three summers teaching in different provinces. In fact, he has just returned from a wonderful time in Sichuan where he worked with kids displaced by the recent earthquake. He is obsessed with British humor, Indian food, Swedish melodic death metal, football of the non-American variety, and most of all good conversations with good friends. He is incredibly excited because he believes there is no better way to start the year than with FUP!
ugochi nwosu is practicing patience, a virtue oft forgotten in our lonely world. For example, if you look at HIV, which Ugo has been looking at all summer, you will notice that it starts out dead, not alive. However, over time, it comes it contact with one receptor on the surface of one cell and everything falls into place. Before you know it, HIV has completely integrated itself into its new host and really becomes part it of, using all of its macro-molecular machinery to complete its goals. Ugo looks to this as a parable for her own life, seeking to finally find a receptor which will signal her return home, return to life. Until that moment she will be practicing the religion of "tea-ism" at Les Ambassades cafe in Harlem pondering the beauty and the ugliness of life, love and parasites.
yuxuan zhuang, also called conrad because his legal name has vowels and consonants just where they should not belong, is a rising senior and economics concentrator in Leverett House. Hailing from Brockton, Massachusetts, home of Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, he enjoys spending time with his younger sister, eating cheesecake, and figuring out how to work a remote. In addition to living in Lamont Library during the academic year, Conrad works with children part of the Mission Hill After School Program. He also pretends to be the Treasurer for the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA) for the tax-benefits. For the summer, when he is not assisting in credit risk management and praying to get a tan from the light of the computer monitor, he is providing support for PBHA's Summer Urban Programs.
zach arnold, junior, is from the beautiful town of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. At Harvard he concentrates in Social Studies and spends his spare time exploring Boston and Cambridge, searching for good food. Zach enjoys gardening, classical music, walking around, cooking and other old-people pursuits. This summer, he spent long days researching clean tech and government climate/energy policy in Oakland, CA and is way excited to talk to anyone who might be interested in these subjects. Zach thinks FUP is pretty spectacular and is looking forward to introducing all the fuppies to Christina's.
meet.the.leaders.
leader bios 2007
Katie Koh is a rising junior who hails from Andover, MA. She adores her on-campus residence also known as CABOT House. This summer, she is immersing herself in the world of organic chemistry at Harvard Summer School (and loving every minute of it). She is a psychology major and pre-med with a strong interest in health and nutrition. In her free time, Katie loves nothing more than spending time with her family and close friends. She is thrilled for another year in the FUP community and is waiting with great anticipation for FUP '07!!!
Tatiana Chaterji is currently buzzing with energy from the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta. She's spending her summer around campus working with Refugee Youth Summer Enrichment, INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, and Boston Progress Arts Collective, with some thesis-ing and LSAT on the side. She's into political and feminist theater, Hindusthani and Carnatic music, ethnic studies, live poetry, popular education, and inspiration for social action. She misses her family, as usual, and cannot wait to meet the new FUPpies in September!
Jess Frisina is a sophomore in Mather House and is unclear about what she will be concentrating in. This summer she is spending her time as a paralegal in a corporate law firm. She plans on saving the world next summer. Her favorite things in life are soccer, icecream, and the Mission Hill After School Program, but her guilty pleasures include all Olsen twin movies and free food. Strangely enough she lives in an NYU dorm with her parents when she is home from college and she trusts that you FUPpies will be cooler than the freshmen swarming around her house right now. FUP love.
Joe Stujenske is a rising sophomore and neurobiology concentrator, but he is a liberal arts guy at heart. He is spending his summer breaking down racial stereotypes as a Polish scientist at Harvard Medical School, but he also plans to get involved with Habitat for Humanity and make it to the beach a few times. Good news for his WTC group, he likes exploring (also known as getting lost) and seeing new things. During vacations, Joe returns home to New York, though you'd never know from his accent (unless of course you force him to say "fab cab"), and during the semester, he will be a peer advising fellow for some impressionable freshmen and a mentor for a high school junior in Roxbury. He is very excited for FUP, especially discussion groups and the intense game of capture the flag!
Jieun Baek is a rising Junior in Pfoho (the bell tower!!), studying government and doing a secondary in history of art and architecture. A native from sunny happy Los Angeles, she's a huge fan of grilled chicken salads with fruit vinaigrettes, grapefruit, pineapples, COFFEE, pedicures, marathon conversations, cocktails, biographies, passionate people, dates, wild flower bouquets, and stories. She's an advocate for human rights (especially about the violations in North Korea), bettering race relations and women empowerment, and would love to learn more about these issues from all of you! She's been slowly picking up the drums, jazz, bossa novait's comin! And although single, she's already building her guess list; Oprah and Dr. Condi Rice rsvp-ed already!
Ana Huang is a second-semester Junior living in the Dudley co-op, majoring in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (and yes, she did say MAJOR, because she likes to believe that she's still in touch with the rest of the world beyond Harvard). Ana in China again this summer, visiting family, eating lots and lots of lamb kebabs and hot pot, hanging out with older friends who think her name is "kid", and doing a little research on the side on Chinese lesbian communities. She goes through a lot of phases, including orange-color phases, Christian phases, cynical phases and in-between phases. Right now she is dreaming about a queer family of friends.
Matt Kessler
I am from beautiful Columbus, Ohio where I'm staying for the summer, working for a basement company (waterproofing, construction, fun stuff) and hanging out with the greatest mom in the world (mine!). That is everything that's going on in my life right now, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. When in Boston, I work at Fair Foods (one of the FUP worksites), which is an amazing place. Currier House, Government, '09. :)
Jessica Ranucci is a rising sophomore and probable social studies concentrator living in Leverett House. She misses summer shenanigans in her home state of Indiana but is enjoying working for the Summer Urban Program as a junior counselor coordinator. She spends her days at SUP helping high-school aged assistant counselors develop leadership and classroom management skills, preparing meals, driving a huge van while listening to the umberlla-ella-ella song over and over, and planning a carnival. Jessica is interested in all sorts of social justice-y issues, especially those relating to labor, class, housing, and education.
Ellie Nowak loves people, and is spending her summer googling her friends during the time in which she should be doing breast cancer research at her place of employment. She is an African Studies concentrator, a sophomore in Pfoho, and is in love with HUDS fried plantains. You will be too, very soon. Ellie enjoys fighting modern-day slavery, and has also started a non-profit that combines photography and fundraising for healthcare development in Africa. In her spare time, she enjoys recreating the dance scenes in her favorite movie, Happy Feet.
Jose Olivarez likes to listen to Jose Olivarez on his Ipod, and he's anxiously awaiting for Jose's album, Assholes in Real Life, to leak. When he is not rapping or speaking the word, this African and African American Studies concentrator is busy reppin the Go (we ain't Chi no more!!!), waiting for Dave Chappelle to make a comeback, and generally buggin out. This summer Jose will be busy reminding folks that there's an accent on the "e" of his name and teaching 12 and 13 year olds the lyrics to Jose's debut album. He will probably teach them math too. But not science, because science makes his head hurt. If you're into throttling capitalism while figuring out how to come away with some nice kicks, poetry, hip hop, or the community, you should talk to Jose.
Jenny Fauci is estactic to begin her senior year with her first official dose of FUP love. At school you might find her dancing, tutoring, protesting, selling flowers with a bunch of old disgruntled men at the local florist, or just roaming the Square and doing her thing, you know, like Jenny from the Block. She enjoys long meals with great friends (especially if avocados or my mom's pasta are involved), the beaming hot sun, unexpected conversations, samba in the street, and people who believe in change. This summer you can find her remembering what its like to be 5th grader while she teaches Social Studies at Summerbridge in San Francisco. While she has been loving the crazy new adventures in hip SF with her cool new shades, her heart belongs in D.C. where she grew up. And we're talkin the real D.C. Remembering what it is like to be 10 is not hard because Jenny still cannot sit in her seat for more than 5 minutes....but that's just because she is so excited for the marathon of FUP lovemaniamadness to commence!
Nworah Ayogu. Ok stop. If you pronounced my name right when you read this then you're automatically my new best friend. Sophomore....Currier House....Neurobiology Concentrator... Nigerian....Columbus, Ohio. I love the Buckeyes and hate gatorade. I'm spending my summer helping set up a Center for Health Disparities here in Columbus and doing Cancer research (science all day everyday). All that is mad fun and mad cool, but my real passion is Disney movies and filming operas. So if you're a fan of Verdi or want to discuss the themes of responsibility, race, gender, or friendship in the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan ect. or feel the need to sing.....find me. I'm also an expert on Muppet Babies and Captain Planet and I've found a solution to one of the most pressing questions of the past century......yes I've discovered how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop.
Angelico Razon (or "Angel or Iko") is a biochem concentrator living in Kirkland House (yes, science people still have time for social justice). This native Southern Californian has been confused for a variety of ethnic backgrounds since he's been in Boston - Dominican, Japanese, Haitian, etc. As the ethnically ambiguous president of the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA), he'll be working for the campus umbrella public service organization with assembling 800 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fixing the PBHA copy machine, driving to Costco to beg for in-kind donations, and chaperoning/chasing youth around the New England Aquarium. If you ever want to talk about campus public service or advocacy programs, visiting Chinatown, debating Asian American issues, being a socially conscious pre-med, craving Filipino food (hint hint), or still can't figure out his ethnicity, just randomly call him up!
Nadia is.
In part, she is a History and Literature concentrator, focusing on postcolonial and women's studies.
In part, she is a pre-med, focusing on Chemistry, which is why she is currently studying for an organic chemistry test instead of sitting on the beaches of Egypt with her family.
Right now, she is eating a grapefruit and making her keyboard sticky.
She is involved with the Harvard Society of Arab Students, the Harvard Progressive Advocacy Group, the Harvard Foundation, and the Harvard Center for College Kids Who Can't Read Good and Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too.
She is a proud Kirklander, class of 2009.
She is a cyborg.
She is convinced her little brother is the most hilarious 9-year old on the planet, and is waiting to write a novel about his mystical antics.
She is sometimes funny.
And sometimes, even to others.
Yuxuan Zhuang, also called Conrad because his legal name has vowels and consonants just where they should not belong, is a rising junior and economics concentrator in Leverett House. Hailing from Brockton, Massachusetts, home of Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, he enjoys spending time with his younger sister, eating cheesecake, and figuring out how to work a remote. In addition to living in Lamont Library during the academic year, Conrad works with children part of the Mission Hill After School Program. He also pretends to be the Off-Campus Outreach Officer for the Phillips Brooks House Association for the tax-benefits. For the summer, when he is not assisting in research on the economic impact of sexual harassment law and praying to get a tan from the light of the computer monitor, he is teaching English and U.S. History as part of the Chinatown ESL/Citizenship program.
Andrew Fine is a junior in Eliot House, a former Fuppie and first time FUP leader, who grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, but is enjoying New York City this summer much more than that tiny suburb. During the school year, he spends much too time working on the newspaper and idling on Gmail. He is a Social Studies concentrator, loves the New York Times, listens to Wilco religiously, and wants to eat a meal cooked by a rat after seeing Ratatouille. He is also addicted to ice cream, and will gladly introduce Fuppies to Cambridge's many ice cream joints (Christina's is his favorite).
Zach Arnold, sophomore, is from the beautiful town of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. At Harvard he concentrates in Social Studies and spends his spare time wandering around Boston and Cambridge, searching for good food. Zach enjoys gardening, classical music, cooking and other old woman pursuits. He is spending this summer learning strangely accented Spanish in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Zach thinks FUP is pretty spectacular and is looking forward to introducing all the FUPpies to Christina's.
Katie Loncke is a senior in Social Studies and Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, and is spending her summer studying white people in teh internets. (She recently learned what " teh" means, and is inordinately excited about it.) Born and raised in suburban Sacramento, California, wintry schooling on the East Coast has deepened her appreciation for sweat, horizons, and encounters with friendly strangers in farmer's markets, gas stations, and funky little subterranean bookstores. She spends too much time blogging and reading political blogs. Ask her questions, and you'll probably get questions in return. She's not trying to be obnoxious; she's just curious!
noa is a senior from seattle, washington. she studies women, gender and sexuality. she was born in israel, identifies as queer, has a nineteen year old brother who she is obsessed with, and likes to cook. she loves the mediteranean sea, neon colors, and local produce. she also would love to chill with you.
Jill Stockwell is a rising senior in Eliot House concentrating in the Comparative Study of Religion; Islam and Modern West. She's in Europe for most of the summer researching new Islamic diaspora communities and women's shelters, back in the States for the rest of it at My Sisters Place in Hartford, CT. She loves FUP & FUPeople, feminism, fire works, and faux pas. This bio brought to you by beautiful Ashley and the letter F.
Christian Starling, from DETROIT, MI, is a rising sophomore concentrating in nothing in particular, but can be most often caught thinking about Anthro and Art (or VES, for the more acronym-inclined). Christian and most of his closest friends can either be found SUPing, FUPing, Mission Hill-ing, or photographing. He is often thought of as Chimaobi's protege, but would like to someday become his own man, and move out from under the big, loving Nigerian's shadow. He also doesn't like addressing himself in the third person more than once per year, so I guess I'll go with the trusty first-person for the rest of this bio. I like Folk tunes, Alt.Hip.Hop, Stevie Wonder, and have recently rediscovered my affinity for Easy-Mac and Goobers. I am also often one of the few people wearing a vest on campus, so if you ever see anyone with a green vest that looks like it's about two decades too late to be cool, it's probably me.
alyssa aguilera is a 21 year old from san antonio texas. she is studying government and is a resident of cabot house. her favorite activities at harvard include (but are not limited to) the student labor action movement, students for a democratic society, and the harvard disorientation guide. this summer she is living and working in buenos aires. she enjoys such things as: kindergarten cop, weezy f. baby, chican@s, zapatistas, and gchat. nworah ayogu is her favorite fup leader.
Mary Catherine Curley studies the United States (its literature, its history...YA KNOW) and will be a sophomore who spends her days working at Cafe Gato Rojo, tutoring kiddos, dancing, going to every coffeeshop in Cambridge/Boston, and writing. Her idols include Rocky Balboa, Howard Dean (ask her to do her impression of the Dean Scream! Oh please!) and whoever the guy is that sings that most beautiful of rural love songs, "I'd Like to Check You For Ticks." She spent this summer being a Guilford girl (i.e., skinny-dipping, dirt-road-jogging, coffeeshop-working, and helping Dad do weird things like install a heavy bag in the barn & run a cremation business), doing very important things in Montevideo, Uruguay, and scribbling for a very long time and calling this "writing."
I, Jeremiah Hendren, am an aspiring young Yogin interested, at the moment, in healthy food, Cuban salsa, my family and lovely girlfriend, reading fiction and meditating. I love learning languages and am currently working most on Arabic. I'm a country boy lost in the big city, constantly yearning for my Humboldt redwoods and Shenandoah valley. I like to play the reeds and the banjo. After several hours of lumber chopping in the mornings, I enjoy taking my dog, Old Yeller, for a walk in the woods. My story has been told in the international bestseller, "Where the Red Fern Grows." My favorite time of year is most definitely FUP. Also, coon-huntin' season.
Sarah Howard just can't get enough FUP. She's a senior who lives in the Dudley Co-op, concentrates in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality AND African-American Studies, and is currently spending the summer at home in central New Jersey, where she divides her waking hours among tying unwieldy tomatoe plants, weeding the radicchio bed, playing with Magna Tiles, and finding reasons not to read for her thesis. On, and she also likes swimming, dancing, baking, queer hiphop, bunnies, and eating hummus.
adaner usmani, first and foremost, condemns the use of capital letters because he believes that such antics help engender the aura of invincibility that envelops the capitalist world-system. partly because he holds a pakistani passport yet has spent the last seven years in frigid new england, he refuses to pledge his allegiance to any entities other than those movements that organize in the name of global revolution. as a senior social studies concentrator who wishes to be a better teammate to his comrades on the dunster intramural soccer team, he is forced to reflect on his own life's contradictions all-too-frequently. even still, he looks forward to a year filled by fup, fanon, and fernando torres. and thankfully, his recent discovery of the work of jacques ranciere has made him more regularly jolly (he believes it is imperative that you type that name into google immediately). please do email him (ausmani@fas) with questions, concerns, and/or blueprints for societal upheaval.
"Steve Lin is a rising senior in Kirkland House and hails from Glastonbury, Connecticut. He will be in Boston for most of the summer doing part - time research and working on music. He finished recording a 4-song "EP" - whatever that means - with his band - The Dharma Seals - a few weeks ago - the CD will hopefully be finished by the end of this summer. Steve does not know why that last sentence had so many hyphens! Steve has also spent time in the past working with The BIG Question - a weekly forum/gathering/discussion event taking on issues regarding Harvard, society, and social justice. Steve is also a media studies fanatic and intends spend the rest of his life reading about, learning, and discussing media and its negative impacts on society. What? He also really enjoys watching, playing, and discussing basketball."
By Steve Lin
Bolaji "Grace" Ogunsola from Baltimore, MD but currently residing in Harford county. Concentrating right now really hard in being undecided, I may be Af-Am/Sociology but I might change my mind-I Thank God for freedom to change my mind! Spending the summer as a senior counselor for the Summer Urban Program-Mission Hill.
This summer, FUP leader Ugochi ("goat cheese") Nwosu is working with parasites. No she is not working with other Harvard undergrads (though relationships with them are just as opportunitistic if not more so) she spends her time with the kind that cause malaria. She assures the reader that the latter are much more fun to play with and she feels herself growing more and more affectionate towards the little vermin. She finds their smiles "infectious" and has picked up various interesting facts about malaria like... one of every two people that have ever lived since the stone age has died of malaria. When a female anopheles mosquito feeds, she takes in three times her weight which is equivalent to a human drinking a bathtub sized portion of milkshake at one meal. Other than pretending to be interested in facts about malaria and pretending to laugh at myriad DNA jokes, you can also sieze Ugochi's heart by cooking for her or pretending to like her food.
Lori Adelman is a senior social studies concentrator in Dunster House. She's from New Jersey and proud of it. At Harvard she is involved in student government, the Black community, and mentoring. She is spending her summer in Santiago de Chile discovering the joys of reggaeton, riding the micro bus A LOT, explaining the ins and outs of her afro puff to the masses, and trying to find out how student-led social movements can impact the world. If you wanna know more, she encourages you to "ASK ABOUT ME"
This summer, Lucerito Ortiz has been a slave to the basement of PBH as she eats chocolate cake and reconsiders her recent marriage to Keylatch and subsequently the SUP community....who are we kidding? She LOVES it...despite the all-nighters and random carbon dioxide balls thrown at her face, Lucerito is amazed at what a strong group of college and high school students can do to educate and enrich the minds of children in Boston. Lucerito is a hardcore so-cal-ian and all about the Lakers...don't hate, you know you're jealous. She also loves spoken word and perforrming at open mics and such with her fellow oreo-nut Jose(accent on the "e"). She holds a mini-obession with her hot roommate "vizzle izzle," who bribes her with bags of corn nuts in exchange for "favors." Lucerito is very much looking forward to working with the Latino community next year, as she is one of the new coordinators for the Latino division of the Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program. Lucerito would like to send out much FUP love to the FUP community, past and present, and is extremely excited about indoctrinating a new class into the mind-blowing amazing-ness that is FUP.
Rapped to the tune "Its Bigger than Hip Hop" by Dead Prez from the Album "Lets get Free"
One thing bout Marcus when you meet you feel the pain/ Cuz he brings that math to your brain/ take it slow like a glass of champagne/ and be ready for that/ problems he's ready to crack/ matta fact, whose got a pad/ and paper and a pen/ damnit he's at the math again/ Back to M there is just something that this man wants you to know/ about how his summer goes/ and the math research he chose/ While at Harvard (vard)/ He studies pure mathematics/ But enjoys ec and physics which both employ statics/ Yes at Harvard/ He also does music all the time/ He plays the saxophone but he rarely kicks a rhyme/ If you're a fuppie, ducky, you're so lucky, jump up like a monkey, and just be thrilled that you're going off to college/ But then if you are yucky, sucky, look like chucky, disrespect your mummy, you're a dummy grab a book and get some Knowledge...
Its bigger than Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Hip Its bigger than Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Hip- Hop
Ashley Pletz wants to upgrade u. She can up, can she up, let her upgrade u. Additionally, Ashley is a rising senior and sociology concentrator in Quincy House, and working this summer on new innuendo-laden phrases that involve the word FUP (like the more benign, "FUP the MAN"). That is her official job as a member of the FUP steering committee; also, making fun of Jeremiah Hendren. Ashley is a fan of ironic clothing and accessories, such as the ironically worn bowtie and fanny-pack (Have you ever heard of an ironically worn pair of Depends). Food too, such as a garden salad ordered ironically for dinner in a restaurant in which one should, in earnest, be ordering the tuna tartar. When not entertaining herself with ironic musings, Ashley eats steak and potatoes. It is the Midwestern way.
Kiah is a high-end jewelry company based in Mumbai specializing in diamonds, with styles that cater especially to Indian women. Kia is a South Korean motor company with the "highest ranked sub-compact car in initial quality" (two years in a row!) by JD Power and Associates. Kiah Alexander was Kia but now is not. We'd ask her why, but she's incommunicado in Ghana. Fear not, however, because she has a very vibrant and regularly-updated Facebook profile which you can peruse for yourself.
Hey FUPpies and everyone! With the rest of the high-quality crew of 2007 Leaders, Paul Nauert welcomes you all into the community of eternal FUP Luv. Make yourselves at home. It is a great, delicious, warm place--like a loft, only not bougie. We also have lots of peanut butter.
On a personal note, Paul is a Social Studies concentrator, will be a junior, lives in Dunster House. Besides all this, Paul is involved in homelessness issues in Boston, the Big Question, and the state of Missouri. There is more to Paul than this. At least, he believes. Talk with him and possibly find out. He likes good convos, listening, and all that jazz. Cheers.
Jamison Hill is a rising sophomore living in Leverett House next year, currently planning to concentrate in History and Literature. While his interests primarily include writing, recycling and tire rotation, he dabbles in non-linear dynamical systems and enjoys rapping about a certain favorite color of his. Considered by most to be the foremost\ leading expert on Disney villains and their sidekicks, Jamison's secret penchant for all things designed for the ten and under crowd has also given him extraordinary skill with tangrams. On most days at Harvard he can be found watching an episode of Scrubs while sipping on a box of HiC fruit punch. He spent this past summer working with eleven crazy, amazing kids from Dorchester and is looking forward to meeting more crazy, amazing FUPpies!
Eleanor Wilking is perpetually cold, but still enjoying Perz immensely. Hailing originally from the frigid and treeless village of Fargo, North Dakota, Eleanor is no stranger to the bottom ranges of the thermometer, but is finding the rapid temperature changes in the Andes to be a whole new ballgame. She is working for the Suramirica Centre Regional Oxfam in Lima, specifically for their "Make Trade Fair" campaigns in Bolivia and Colombia that work with rural agricultural communities to improve access to global markets. Eleanor is a rising junior in Pforzheimer House and is currently concentrating in Social Studies and Economics. During the term, she directs at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter (UNILU!) and hangs out with small but energetic students from non-English speaking families in BRYE. She also enjoys running, recycling, reading newspapers, and is a proud member of the Harvard Boxing Club (in which she is called "The Viking"). Eleanor does FUP for the free t-shirt and to encourage her Fuppies to imbibe more fair trade coffee (or better yet, orange juice)! :)
Katie Koh is a rising junior who hails from Andover, MA. She adores her on-campus residence also known as CABOT House. This summer, she is immersing herself in the world of organic chemistry at Harvard Summer School (and loving every minute of it). She is a psychology major and pre-med with a strong interest in health and nutrition. In her free time, Katie loves nothing more than spending time with her family and close friends. She is thrilled for another year in the FUP community and is waiting with great anticipation for FUP '07!!!
Tatiana Chaterji is currently buzzing with energy from the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta. She's spending her summer around campus working with Refugee Youth Summer Enrichment, INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, and Boston Progress Arts Collective, with some thesis-ing and LSAT on the side. She's into political and feminist theater, Hindusthani and Carnatic music, ethnic studies, live poetry, popular education, and inspiration for social action. She misses her family, as usual, and cannot wait to meet the new FUPpies in September!
Jess Frisina is a sophomore in Mather House and is unclear about what she will be concentrating in. This summer she is spending her time as a paralegal in a corporate law firm. She plans on saving the world next summer. Her favorite things in life are soccer, icecream, and the Mission Hill After School Program, but her guilty pleasures include all Olsen twin movies and free food. Strangely enough she lives in an NYU dorm with her parents when she is home from college and she trusts that you FUPpies will be cooler than the freshmen swarming around her house right now. FUP love.
Joe Stujenske is a rising sophomore and neurobiology concentrator, but he is a liberal arts guy at heart. He is spending his summer breaking down racial stereotypes as a Polish scientist at Harvard Medical School, but he also plans to get involved with Habitat for Humanity and make it to the beach a few times. Good news for his WTC group, he likes exploring (also known as getting lost) and seeing new things. During vacations, Joe returns home to New York, though you'd never know from his accent (unless of course you force him to say "fab cab"), and during the semester, he will be a peer advising fellow for some impressionable freshmen and a mentor for a high school junior in Roxbury. He is very excited for FUP, especially discussion groups and the intense game of capture the flag!
Jieun Baek is a rising Junior in Pfoho (the bell tower!!), studying government and doing a secondary in history of art and architecture. A native from sunny happy Los Angeles, she's a huge fan of grilled chicken salads with fruit vinaigrettes, grapefruit, pineapples, COFFEE, pedicures, marathon conversations, cocktails, biographies, passionate people, dates, wild flower bouquets, and stories. She's an advocate for human rights (especially about the violations in North Korea), bettering race relations and women empowerment, and would love to learn more about these issues from all of you! She's been slowly picking up the drums, jazz, bossa novait's comin! And although single, she's already building her guess list; Oprah and Dr. Condi Rice rsvp-ed already!
Ana Huang is a second-semester Junior living in the Dudley co-op, majoring in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality (and yes, she did say MAJOR, because she likes to believe that she's still in touch with the rest of the world beyond Harvard). Ana in China again this summer, visiting family, eating lots and lots of lamb kebabs and hot pot, hanging out with older friends who think her name is "kid", and doing a little research on the side on Chinese lesbian communities. She goes through a lot of phases, including orange-color phases, Christian phases, cynical phases and in-between phases. Right now she is dreaming about a queer family of friends.
Matt Kessler
I am from beautiful Columbus, Ohio where I'm staying for the summer, working for a basement company (waterproofing, construction, fun stuff) and hanging out with the greatest mom in the world (mine!). That is everything that's going on in my life right now, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. When in Boston, I work at Fair Foods (one of the FUP worksites), which is an amazing place. Currier House, Government, '09. :)
Jessica Ranucci is a rising sophomore and probable social studies concentrator living in Leverett House. She misses summer shenanigans in her home state of Indiana but is enjoying working for the Summer Urban Program as a junior counselor coordinator. She spends her days at SUP helping high-school aged assistant counselors develop leadership and classroom management skills, preparing meals, driving a huge van while listening to the umberlla-ella-ella song over and over, and planning a carnival. Jessica is interested in all sorts of social justice-y issues, especially those relating to labor, class, housing, and education.
Ellie Nowak loves people, and is spending her summer googling her friends during the time in which she should be doing breast cancer research at her place of employment. She is an African Studies concentrator, a sophomore in Pfoho, and is in love with HUDS fried plantains. You will be too, very soon. Ellie enjoys fighting modern-day slavery, and has also started a non-profit that combines photography and fundraising for healthcare development in Africa. In her spare time, she enjoys recreating the dance scenes in her favorite movie, Happy Feet.
Jose Olivarez likes to listen to Jose Olivarez on his Ipod, and he's anxiously awaiting for Jose's album, Assholes in Real Life, to leak. When he is not rapping or speaking the word, this African and African American Studies concentrator is busy reppin the Go (we ain't Chi no more!!!), waiting for Dave Chappelle to make a comeback, and generally buggin out. This summer Jose will be busy reminding folks that there's an accent on the "e" of his name and teaching 12 and 13 year olds the lyrics to Jose's debut album. He will probably teach them math too. But not science, because science makes his head hurt. If you're into throttling capitalism while figuring out how to come away with some nice kicks, poetry, hip hop, or the community, you should talk to Jose.
Jenny Fauci is estactic to begin her senior year with her first official dose of FUP love. At school you might find her dancing, tutoring, protesting, selling flowers with a bunch of old disgruntled men at the local florist, or just roaming the Square and doing her thing, you know, like Jenny from the Block. She enjoys long meals with great friends (especially if avocados or my mom's pasta are involved), the beaming hot sun, unexpected conversations, samba in the street, and people who believe in change. This summer you can find her remembering what its like to be 5th grader while she teaches Social Studies at Summerbridge in San Francisco. While she has been loving the crazy new adventures in hip SF with her cool new shades, her heart belongs in D.C. where she grew up. And we're talkin the real D.C. Remembering what it is like to be 10 is not hard because Jenny still cannot sit in her seat for more than 5 minutes....but that's just because she is so excited for the marathon of FUP lovemaniamadness to commence!
Nworah Ayogu. Ok stop. If you pronounced my name right when you read this then you're automatically my new best friend. Sophomore....Currier House....Neurobiology Concentrator... Nigerian....Columbus, Ohio. I love the Buckeyes and hate gatorade. I'm spending my summer helping set up a Center for Health Disparities here in Columbus and doing Cancer research (science all day everyday). All that is mad fun and mad cool, but my real passion is Disney movies and filming operas. So if you're a fan of Verdi or want to discuss the themes of responsibility, race, gender, or friendship in the Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan ect. or feel the need to sing.....find me. I'm also an expert on Muppet Babies and Captain Planet and I've found a solution to one of the most pressing questions of the past century......yes I've discovered how many licks it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop.
Angelico Razon (or "Angel or Iko") is a biochem concentrator living in Kirkland House (yes, science people still have time for social justice). This native Southern Californian has been confused for a variety of ethnic backgrounds since he's been in Boston - Dominican, Japanese, Haitian, etc. As the ethnically ambiguous president of the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA), he'll be working for the campus umbrella public service organization with assembling 800 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fixing the PBHA copy machine, driving to Costco to beg for in-kind donations, and chaperoning/chasing youth around the New England Aquarium. If you ever want to talk about campus public service or advocacy programs, visiting Chinatown, debating Asian American issues, being a socially conscious pre-med, craving Filipino food (hint hint), or still can't figure out his ethnicity, just randomly call him up!
Nadia is.
In part, she is a History and Literature concentrator, focusing on postcolonial and women's studies.
In part, she is a pre-med, focusing on Chemistry, which is why she is currently studying for an organic chemistry test instead of sitting on the beaches of Egypt with her family.
Right now, she is eating a grapefruit and making her keyboard sticky.
She is involved with the Harvard Society of Arab Students, the Harvard Progressive Advocacy Group, the Harvard Foundation, and the Harvard Center for College Kids Who Can't Read Good and Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too.
She is a proud Kirklander, class of 2009.
She is a cyborg.
She is convinced her little brother is the most hilarious 9-year old on the planet, and is waiting to write a novel about his mystical antics.
She is sometimes funny.
And sometimes, even to others.
Yuxuan Zhuang, also called Conrad because his legal name has vowels and consonants just where they should not belong, is a rising junior and economics concentrator in Leverett House. Hailing from Brockton, Massachusetts, home of Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler, he enjoys spending time with his younger sister, eating cheesecake, and figuring out how to work a remote. In addition to living in Lamont Library during the academic year, Conrad works with children part of the Mission Hill After School Program. He also pretends to be the Off-Campus Outreach Officer for the Phillips Brooks House Association for the tax-benefits. For the summer, when he is not assisting in research on the economic impact of sexual harassment law and praying to get a tan from the light of the computer monitor, he is teaching English and U.S. History as part of the Chinatown ESL/Citizenship program.
Andrew Fine is a junior in Eliot House, a former Fuppie and first time FUP leader, who grew up in Weston, Massachusetts, but is enjoying New York City this summer much more than that tiny suburb. During the school year, he spends much too time working on the newspaper and idling on Gmail. He is a Social Studies concentrator, loves the New York Times, listens to Wilco religiously, and wants to eat a meal cooked by a rat after seeing Ratatouille. He is also addicted to ice cream, and will gladly introduce Fuppies to Cambridge's many ice cream joints (Christina's is his favorite).
Zach Arnold, sophomore, is from the beautiful town of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. At Harvard he concentrates in Social Studies and spends his spare time wandering around Boston and Cambridge, searching for good food. Zach enjoys gardening, classical music, cooking and other old woman pursuits. He is spending this summer learning strangely accented Spanish in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Zach thinks FUP is pretty spectacular and is looking forward to introducing all the FUPpies to Christina's.
Katie Loncke is a senior in Social Studies and Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, and is spending her summer studying white people in teh internets. (She recently learned what " teh" means, and is inordinately excited about it.) Born and raised in suburban Sacramento, California, wintry schooling on the East Coast has deepened her appreciation for sweat, horizons, and encounters with friendly strangers in farmer's markets, gas stations, and funky little subterranean bookstores. She spends too much time blogging and reading political blogs. Ask her questions, and you'll probably get questions in return. She's not trying to be obnoxious; she's just curious!
noa is a senior from seattle, washington. she studies women, gender and sexuality. she was born in israel, identifies as queer, has a nineteen year old brother who she is obsessed with, and likes to cook. she loves the mediteranean sea, neon colors, and local produce. she also would love to chill with you.
Jill Stockwell is a rising senior in Eliot House concentrating in the Comparative Study of Religion; Islam and Modern West. She's in Europe for most of the summer researching new Islamic diaspora communities and women's shelters, back in the States for the rest of it at My Sisters Place in Hartford, CT. She loves FUP & FUPeople, feminism, fire works, and faux pas. This bio brought to you by beautiful Ashley and the letter F.
Christian Starling, from DETROIT, MI, is a rising sophomore concentrating in nothing in particular, but can be most often caught thinking about Anthro and Art (or VES, for the more acronym-inclined). Christian and most of his closest friends can either be found SUPing, FUPing, Mission Hill-ing, or photographing. He is often thought of as Chimaobi's protege, but would like to someday become his own man, and move out from under the big, loving Nigerian's shadow. He also doesn't like addressing himself in the third person more than once per year, so I guess I'll go with the trusty first-person for the rest of this bio. I like Folk tunes, Alt.Hip.Hop, Stevie Wonder, and have recently rediscovered my affinity for Easy-Mac and Goobers. I am also often one of the few people wearing a vest on campus, so if you ever see anyone with a green vest that looks like it's about two decades too late to be cool, it's probably me.
alyssa aguilera is a 21 year old from san antonio texas. she is studying government and is a resident of cabot house. her favorite activities at harvard include (but are not limited to) the student labor action movement, students for a democratic society, and the harvard disorientation guide. this summer she is living and working in buenos aires. she enjoys such things as: kindergarten cop, weezy f. baby, chican@s, zapatistas, and gchat. nworah ayogu is her favorite fup leader.
Mary Catherine Curley studies the United States (its literature, its history...YA KNOW) and will be a sophomore who spends her days working at Cafe Gato Rojo, tutoring kiddos, dancing, going to every coffeeshop in Cambridge/Boston, and writing. Her idols include Rocky Balboa, Howard Dean (ask her to do her impression of the Dean Scream! Oh please!) and whoever the guy is that sings that most beautiful of rural love songs, "I'd Like to Check You For Ticks." She spent this summer being a Guilford girl (i.e., skinny-dipping, dirt-road-jogging, coffeeshop-working, and helping Dad do weird things like install a heavy bag in the barn & run a cremation business), doing very important things in Montevideo, Uruguay, and scribbling for a very long time and calling this "writing."
I, Jeremiah Hendren, am an aspiring young Yogin interested, at the moment, in healthy food, Cuban salsa, my family and lovely girlfriend, reading fiction and meditating. I love learning languages and am currently working most on Arabic. I'm a country boy lost in the big city, constantly yearning for my Humboldt redwoods and Shenandoah valley. I like to play the reeds and the banjo. After several hours of lumber chopping in the mornings, I enjoy taking my dog, Old Yeller, for a walk in the woods. My story has been told in the international bestseller, "Where the Red Fern Grows." My favorite time of year is most definitely FUP. Also, coon-huntin' season.
Sarah Howard just can't get enough FUP. She's a senior who lives in the Dudley Co-op, concentrates in Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality AND African-American Studies, and is currently spending the summer at home in central New Jersey, where she divides her waking hours among tying unwieldy tomatoe plants, weeding the radicchio bed, playing with Magna Tiles, and finding reasons not to read for her thesis. On, and she also likes swimming, dancing, baking, queer hiphop, bunnies, and eating hummus.
adaner usmani, first and foremost, condemns the use of capital letters because he believes that such antics help engender the aura of invincibility that envelops the capitalist world-system. partly because he holds a pakistani passport yet has spent the last seven years in frigid new england, he refuses to pledge his allegiance to any entities other than those movements that organize in the name of global revolution. as a senior social studies concentrator who wishes to be a better teammate to his comrades on the dunster intramural soccer team, he is forced to reflect on his own life's contradictions all-too-frequently. even still, he looks forward to a year filled by fup, fanon, and fernando torres. and thankfully, his recent discovery of the work of jacques ranciere has made him more regularly jolly (he believes it is imperative that you type that name into google immediately). please do email him (ausmani@fas) with questions, concerns, and/or blueprints for societal upheaval.
"Steve Lin is a rising senior in Kirkland House and hails from Glastonbury, Connecticut. He will be in Boston for most of the summer doing part - time research and working on music. He finished recording a 4-song "EP" - whatever that means - with his band - The Dharma Seals - a few weeks ago - the CD will hopefully be finished by the end of this summer. Steve does not know why that last sentence had so many hyphens! Steve has also spent time in the past working with The BIG Question - a weekly forum/gathering/discussion event taking on issues regarding Harvard, society, and social justice. Steve is also a media studies fanatic and intends spend the rest of his life reading about, learning, and discussing media and its negative impacts on society. What? He also really enjoys watching, playing, and discussing basketball."
By Steve Lin
Bolaji "Grace" Ogunsola from Baltimore, MD but currently residing in Harford county. Concentrating right now really hard in being undecided, I may be Af-Am/Sociology but I might change my mind-I Thank God for freedom to change my mind! Spending the summer as a senior counselor for the Summer Urban Program-Mission Hill.
This summer, FUP leader Ugochi ("goat cheese") Nwosu is working with parasites. No she is not working with other Harvard undergrads (though relationships with them are just as opportunitistic if not more so) she spends her time with the kind that cause malaria. She assures the reader that the latter are much more fun to play with and she feels herself growing more and more affectionate towards the little vermin. She finds their smiles "infectious" and has picked up various interesting facts about malaria like... one of every two people that have ever lived since the stone age has died of malaria. When a female anopheles mosquito feeds, she takes in three times her weight which is equivalent to a human drinking a bathtub sized portion of milkshake at one meal. Other than pretending to be interested in facts about malaria and pretending to laugh at myriad DNA jokes, you can also sieze Ugochi's heart by cooking for her or pretending to like her food.
Lori Adelman is a senior social studies concentrator in Dunster House. She's from New Jersey and proud of it. At Harvard she is involved in student government, the Black community, and mentoring. She is spending her summer in Santiago de Chile discovering the joys of reggaeton, riding the micro bus A LOT, explaining the ins and outs of her afro puff to the masses, and trying to find out how student-led social movements can impact the world. If you wanna know more, she encourages you to "ASK ABOUT ME"
This summer, Lucerito Ortiz has been a slave to the basement of PBH as she eats chocolate cake and reconsiders her recent marriage to Keylatch and subsequently the SUP community....who are we kidding? She LOVES it...despite the all-nighters and random carbon dioxide balls thrown at her face, Lucerito is amazed at what a strong group of college and high school students can do to educate and enrich the minds of children in Boston. Lucerito is a hardcore so-cal-ian and all about the Lakers...don't hate, you know you're jealous. She also loves spoken word and perforrming at open mics and such with her fellow oreo-nut Jose(accent on the "e"). She holds a mini-obession with her hot roommate "vizzle izzle," who bribes her with bags of corn nuts in exchange for "favors." Lucerito is very much looking forward to working with the Latino community next year, as she is one of the new coordinators for the Latino division of the Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program. Lucerito would like to send out much FUP love to the FUP community, past and present, and is extremely excited about indoctrinating a new class into the mind-blowing amazing-ness that is FUP.
Rapped to the tune "Its Bigger than Hip Hop" by Dead Prez from the Album "Lets get Free"
One thing bout Marcus when you meet you feel the pain/ Cuz he brings that math to your brain/ take it slow like a glass of champagne/ and be ready for that/ problems he's ready to crack/ matta fact, whose got a pad/ and paper and a pen/ damnit he's at the math again/ Back to M there is just something that this man wants you to know/ about how his summer goes/ and the math research he chose/ While at Harvard (vard)/ He studies pure mathematics/ But enjoys ec and physics which both employ statics/ Yes at Harvard/ He also does music all the time/ He plays the saxophone but he rarely kicks a rhyme/ If you're a fuppie, ducky, you're so lucky, jump up like a monkey, and just be thrilled that you're going off to college/ But then if you are yucky, sucky, look like chucky, disrespect your mummy, you're a dummy grab a book and get some Knowledge...
Its bigger than Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Hip Its bigger than Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop, Hip- Hop
Ashley Pletz wants to upgrade u. She can up, can she up, let her upgrade u. Additionally, Ashley is a rising senior and sociology concentrator in Quincy House, and working this summer on new innuendo-laden phrases that involve the word FUP (like the more benign, "FUP the MAN"). That is her official job as a member of the FUP steering committee; also, making fun of Jeremiah Hendren. Ashley is a fan of ironic clothing and accessories, such as the ironically worn bowtie and fanny-pack (Have you ever heard of an ironically worn pair of Depends). Food too, such as a garden salad ordered ironically for dinner in a restaurant in which one should, in earnest, be ordering the tuna tartar. When not entertaining herself with ironic musings, Ashley eats steak and potatoes. It is the Midwestern way.
Kiah is a high-end jewelry company based in Mumbai specializing in diamonds, with styles that cater especially to Indian women. Kia is a South Korean motor company with the "highest ranked sub-compact car in initial quality" (two years in a row!) by JD Power and Associates. Kiah Alexander was Kia but now is not. We'd ask her why, but she's incommunicado in Ghana. Fear not, however, because she has a very vibrant and regularly-updated Facebook profile which you can peruse for yourself.
Hey FUPpies and everyone! With the rest of the high-quality crew of 2007 Leaders, Paul Nauert welcomes you all into the community of eternal FUP Luv. Make yourselves at home. It is a great, delicious, warm place--like a loft, only not bougie. We also have lots of peanut butter.
On a personal note, Paul is a Social Studies concentrator, will be a junior, lives in Dunster House. Besides all this, Paul is involved in homelessness issues in Boston, the Big Question, and the state of Missouri. There is more to Paul than this. At least, he believes. Talk with him and possibly find out. He likes good convos, listening, and all that jazz. Cheers.
Jamison Hill is a rising sophomore living in Leverett House next year, currently planning to concentrate in History and Literature. While his interests primarily include writing, recycling and tire rotation, he dabbles in non-linear dynamical systems and enjoys rapping about a certain favorite color of his. Considered by most to be the foremost\ leading expert on Disney villains and their sidekicks, Jamison's secret penchant for all things designed for the ten and under crowd has also given him extraordinary skill with tangrams. On most days at Harvard he can be found watching an episode of Scrubs while sipping on a box of HiC fruit punch. He spent this past summer working with eleven crazy, amazing kids from Dorchester and is looking forward to meeting more crazy, amazing FUPpies!
Eleanor Wilking is perpetually cold, but still enjoying Perz immensely. Hailing originally from the frigid and treeless village of Fargo, North Dakota, Eleanor is no stranger to the bottom ranges of the thermometer, but is finding the rapid temperature changes in the Andes to be a whole new ballgame. She is working for the Suramirica Centre Regional Oxfam in Lima, specifically for their "Make Trade Fair" campaigns in Bolivia and Colombia that work with rural agricultural communities to improve access to global markets. Eleanor is a rising junior in Pforzheimer House and is currently concentrating in Social Studies and Economics. During the term, she directs at the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter (UNILU!) and hangs out with small but energetic students from non-English speaking families in BRYE. She also enjoys running, recycling, reading newspapers, and is a proud member of the Harvard Boxing Club (in which she is called "The Viking"). Eleanor does FUP for the free t-shirt and to encourage her Fuppies to imbibe more fair trade coffee (or better yet, orange juice)! :)
reading.packet.
IT'S FINALLY HERE. The one, the only 2008 fup reading packet (don't cry just yet...)!
yes, fuppies, this baby is your first glimpse into a community of thinkers, volunteers, activists, and just really cool people (the fup community of COURSE). read it, cherish it, sleep with it under your pillow. do what you will, but be sure to bring a printed copy with you august 31st (or email us to let us know you'll need one if you can't print it out).
here's the link
people.fas.harvard.edu/~aguilera/fupRP2k8.pdf
(unfortunately, we're between websites this year, so you'll have to copy and paste it into a new broswer)
and here's the table of contents, in case you just couldn't wait until you clicked on the link:
• There is No Hierarchy of Oppression by Audre Lorde. P.1
• Next Door But Across an Ocean by Robert Coles. How does Harvard look from the perspective of neighboring communities? P. 2
• Harvard Homeboy by Ruben Navarette, Jr. Describes one Mexican American student’s struggle to find his identity at Harvard. P. 5
• Poverty Facts and Stats by Anup Shaw. Globalissues.org’s compilation of statistics from 2004. P. 9
• So is My Life by Pablo Neruda. This Chilean author and activist was one of the 20th century’s greatest poets. We like. P. 10
• No Connections from The Night is Dark and I Am Far from Home by Jonathan Kozol. Explores the process by which human connections are made and weakened. P. 11
• Adios, Escuela by David S. Bernstein. Examines how national and local standardized testing requirements are disproportionately affecting the drop-out rates of black and Hispanic high school students in Massachusetts. P. 17
• “Francisco’s Money Speech” by Ayn Rand. An excerpt from the highly popular (1000-page!) novel, which offers a critical exploration of the meaning and the value of money. P. 21
• A View from the Charles by Brent Whelan. An alum and Allston resident considers the implications of Harvard’s upcoming expansion into Allston. P. 22
• To Hell with Good Intentions by Ivan Illich. This speech confronts the pride and complacency of volunteers in areas that are not their own. P. 23
• If Men Could Menstruate by Gloria Steinem. Hm, how would the world change? p. 27
• New Technologies of Race by Evelyn M. Hammonds. The intersection of science, genetics, and social constructions of race, personified in Time magazine’s 1993 cybergenic covergirl. P. 28
• Liberals Speak of Generosity; Conservatives Actually Have it by George Will. Do leftists, Democrats, and atheists have a monopoly (irony noted) on “social justice”? A case for compassionate conservatism. p.35
• White Privilege and Male Privilege by Peggy McIntosh. This women’s studies and anti-racist educator questions race from the perspective of what it means to be “white,” as well as the advantages bestowed upon whites and males alike. P. 37
• Daily Effects of Class Privilege by the Piedmont Peace Project. How many of these are taken for granted? P. 45
• Behind the Counter from Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. A critical look at McJobs. P. 46
• The Third Gender Poem by Kit Yan. Sometimes gender isn’t as simple as a man or a woman... p. 50
• Why We are Hunger Striking by the Harvard Stand for Security Campaign. Read for yourself how and why these 11 students decided not to eat for days in protest of unfair wage contracts for campus officers. P. 51
• Learning about Globalization by Watching a Soccer Game. Think sports aren’t political? Think again. P. 53
• The Singer Solution to World Poverty by Peter Singer. The [in]famous Princeton philosopher hits close to home by explaining what our consumer dollars could do if spent differently.
• Buying into the Green Movement by George Will. American consumerism is counteracting environmental protection, some argue; others think it’s precisely the mass consumers that must be convinced to “go green.”
• Breaking the Silence by Ryan Petersen. One Harvard ‘08er speaks out about his freshman year and mental health at Harvard in general. Is the university prepared to respond to students’ need for support?
• College Faces Mental Health Crisis (Stats) by Katherine Kaplan. The Crimson polled 361 undergrads in Dec. 2003 about their perceived level of depression that year. We put together the snazzy graph.
• A Right to Food? By Frances Moore Lappe. Sure to shed a whole new light on your next trip to the grocery store.
• The Billion Dollar CEO. The average American CEO’s pay is how many times that of a minimum wage worker?
• Stop Trying to “Save” Africa by Uzodinma Iweala. A former Harvard undergrad questions Africa-targeted college activists.
• Big Paycheck or Service? Students are Put to the Test by Sara Rimer. A summer 2008 New York Times article that asks graduating Harvard seniors about the road they have decided to travel.
• What Happened to Changing the World? By Bill McKibben. McKibben entered his freshman year at Harvard thinking it was a hotbed of political activism. Read how he reformulated his own goals in life when he found out it wasn’t.
• LGBT Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Selected facts.
• Meet the World by Icaro Doria. Brazillian artist Icaro Doria, 26, applied data from Amesty International and the UNO to give new meaning to world flags.
• Housing Issues in Boston by Tim Siebler. Background information on the housing inequalities that prompted the Symphony of a City project in 2001.
• The Ethnic Game by Nicole Kuwahara, Lee Ling, and Jonathan Reed. A poem from Forever Foreigners or Honorary White? The Asian Ethnic Experience. Where are you from??
• Asians Suffer Under Model Minority Myth by Matt Grace. A closer look at the idea and its origins.
• I want a 24-Hour Truce During Which there is No Rape by Andrea Dworkin. An Anti-rape activist demands that men end rape now.
• Understanding Gender Terminology. Useful definitions.
• Trannys Talk Back. An excerpt from a Harvard student explaining how to be a better friend to the trans/genderqueer community.
• Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison-Industrial Complex by Angela Davis. A famous prison abolitionist exposes the realities of the US prison epidemic.
• Complex Facts by Patrisia Macias Rojas. An accompaniment to the original Davis article that appeared in print in Colorlines.
• Gendered Assaults: The Attack on Immigrant Women by Syd Lindsley. Considers how ‘pro-environment’ arguments have fronted for anti-immigrant sentiment.
• On the Streets by Crystal Evans. A homeless youth writes about surviving the streets as a young person.
• Soup Kitchen Volunteers Hate College-Application-Padding Brat from The Onion. A satirical look at the world of volunteerism from a humor newspaper.
• The Limits of Charity by David Hilfiker. When do our acts of service hurt more than they help? How do we advocate for structural change in society?
• Heterosexual Questionnaire. How often do these questions come up in conversation?
• Your Revolution by Sarah Jones. An artist-activist shows her convinction to social change through a song that satirizes the misogyny of mainstream hip-hop.
• Stop Saying this is a Nation of Immigrants! By Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Is the “melting pot” idea harmful?
• Deadly Silence on the Middle Easy by James Zogby. With so much time, effort, money, and human resources being spent in the Middle East, why hasn’t there been serious public debate about our foreign policy endeavors there?
• Toxic Soup Redux: Why Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Matter after Katrina by Julie Sze. How has Katrina’s impact on low income communities of color been compounded by hazardous environmental conditions that existed long before the storm?
• The “Boston and Beyond” section of The Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard. This is not included in the packet, but it should be sent to you by the University along with the rest of your orientation materials. It will give you background information on the greater Boston community in which you’ll be living for the next four years.
The Viewing Packet (because non-print should count, too!)
• First Writing Since by Suheir Hammad. A powerful spoken word performance from the premier episode of HBO’s “Russel Simmons Presents Def Poetry.” Suheir Hammad is a Palestinian-American writer and activist, whose poetry has been featured nation-wide. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fhWX2F6G7Y
• Implicit Awareness Tests by ProjectImplicit. What if you really think is not what you think you think? Try a test or two for yourself. Surprised? http://implicit.harard.edu.
• Scorecard. Search your zip code or search by a particular environmental burden or the demographic it most affects (FYI—Harvard’s zip code is 02138). http://www.scorecard.org/community/ej-index.tcl.
yes, fuppies, this baby is your first glimpse into a community of thinkers, volunteers, activists, and just really cool people (the fup community of COURSE). read it, cherish it, sleep with it under your pillow. do what you will, but be sure to bring a printed copy with you august 31st (or email us to let us know you'll need one if you can't print it out).
here's the link
people.fas.harvard.edu/~aguilera/fupRP2k8.pdf
(unfortunately, we're between websites this year, so you'll have to copy and paste it into a new broswer)
and here's the table of contents, in case you just couldn't wait until you clicked on the link:
• There is No Hierarchy of Oppression by Audre Lorde. P.1
• Next Door But Across an Ocean by Robert Coles. How does Harvard look from the perspective of neighboring communities? P. 2
• Harvard Homeboy by Ruben Navarette, Jr. Describes one Mexican American student’s struggle to find his identity at Harvard. P. 5
• Poverty Facts and Stats by Anup Shaw. Globalissues.org’s compilation of statistics from 2004. P. 9
• So is My Life by Pablo Neruda. This Chilean author and activist was one of the 20th century’s greatest poets. We like. P. 10
• No Connections from The Night is Dark and I Am Far from Home by Jonathan Kozol. Explores the process by which human connections are made and weakened. P. 11
• Adios, Escuela by David S. Bernstein. Examines how national and local standardized testing requirements are disproportionately affecting the drop-out rates of black and Hispanic high school students in Massachusetts. P. 17
• “Francisco’s Money Speech” by Ayn Rand. An excerpt from the highly popular (1000-page!) novel, which offers a critical exploration of the meaning and the value of money. P. 21
• A View from the Charles by Brent Whelan. An alum and Allston resident considers the implications of Harvard’s upcoming expansion into Allston. P. 22
• To Hell with Good Intentions by Ivan Illich. This speech confronts the pride and complacency of volunteers in areas that are not their own. P. 23
• If Men Could Menstruate by Gloria Steinem. Hm, how would the world change? p. 27
• New Technologies of Race by Evelyn M. Hammonds. The intersection of science, genetics, and social constructions of race, personified in Time magazine’s 1993 cybergenic covergirl. P. 28
• Liberals Speak of Generosity; Conservatives Actually Have it by George Will. Do leftists, Democrats, and atheists have a monopoly (irony noted) on “social justice”? A case for compassionate conservatism. p.35
• White Privilege and Male Privilege by Peggy McIntosh. This women’s studies and anti-racist educator questions race from the perspective of what it means to be “white,” as well as the advantages bestowed upon whites and males alike. P. 37
• Daily Effects of Class Privilege by the Piedmont Peace Project. How many of these are taken for granted? P. 45
• Behind the Counter from Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. A critical look at McJobs. P. 46
• The Third Gender Poem by Kit Yan. Sometimes gender isn’t as simple as a man or a woman... p. 50
• Why We are Hunger Striking by the Harvard Stand for Security Campaign. Read for yourself how and why these 11 students decided not to eat for days in protest of unfair wage contracts for campus officers. P. 51
• Learning about Globalization by Watching a Soccer Game. Think sports aren’t political? Think again. P. 53
• The Singer Solution to World Poverty by Peter Singer. The [in]famous Princeton philosopher hits close to home by explaining what our consumer dollars could do if spent differently.
• Buying into the Green Movement by George Will. American consumerism is counteracting environmental protection, some argue; others think it’s precisely the mass consumers that must be convinced to “go green.”
• Breaking the Silence by Ryan Petersen. One Harvard ‘08er speaks out about his freshman year and mental health at Harvard in general. Is the university prepared to respond to students’ need for support?
• College Faces Mental Health Crisis (Stats) by Katherine Kaplan. The Crimson polled 361 undergrads in Dec. 2003 about their perceived level of depression that year. We put together the snazzy graph.
• A Right to Food? By Frances Moore Lappe. Sure to shed a whole new light on your next trip to the grocery store.
• The Billion Dollar CEO. The average American CEO’s pay is how many times that of a minimum wage worker?
• Stop Trying to “Save” Africa by Uzodinma Iweala. A former Harvard undergrad questions Africa-targeted college activists.
• Big Paycheck or Service? Students are Put to the Test by Sara Rimer. A summer 2008 New York Times article that asks graduating Harvard seniors about the road they have decided to travel.
• What Happened to Changing the World? By Bill McKibben. McKibben entered his freshman year at Harvard thinking it was a hotbed of political activism. Read how he reformulated his own goals in life when he found out it wasn’t.
• LGBT Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Selected facts.
• Meet the World by Icaro Doria. Brazillian artist Icaro Doria, 26, applied data from Amesty International and the UNO to give new meaning to world flags.
• Housing Issues in Boston by Tim Siebler. Background information on the housing inequalities that prompted the Symphony of a City project in 2001.
• The Ethnic Game by Nicole Kuwahara, Lee Ling, and Jonathan Reed. A poem from Forever Foreigners or Honorary White? The Asian Ethnic Experience. Where are you from??
• Asians Suffer Under Model Minority Myth by Matt Grace. A closer look at the idea and its origins.
• I want a 24-Hour Truce During Which there is No Rape by Andrea Dworkin. An Anti-rape activist demands that men end rape now.
• Understanding Gender Terminology. Useful definitions.
• Trannys Talk Back. An excerpt from a Harvard student explaining how to be a better friend to the trans/genderqueer community.
• Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison-Industrial Complex by Angela Davis. A famous prison abolitionist exposes the realities of the US prison epidemic.
• Complex Facts by Patrisia Macias Rojas. An accompaniment to the original Davis article that appeared in print in Colorlines.
• Gendered Assaults: The Attack on Immigrant Women by Syd Lindsley. Considers how ‘pro-environment’ arguments have fronted for anti-immigrant sentiment.
• On the Streets by Crystal Evans. A homeless youth writes about surviving the streets as a young person.
• Soup Kitchen Volunteers Hate College-Application-Padding Brat from The Onion. A satirical look at the world of volunteerism from a humor newspaper.
• The Limits of Charity by David Hilfiker. When do our acts of service hurt more than they help? How do we advocate for structural change in society?
• Heterosexual Questionnaire. How often do these questions come up in conversation?
• Your Revolution by Sarah Jones. An artist-activist shows her convinction to social change through a song that satirizes the misogyny of mainstream hip-hop.
• Stop Saying this is a Nation of Immigrants! By Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. Is the “melting pot” idea harmful?
• Deadly Silence on the Middle Easy by James Zogby. With so much time, effort, money, and human resources being spent in the Middle East, why hasn’t there been serious public debate about our foreign policy endeavors there?
• Toxic Soup Redux: Why Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Matter after Katrina by Julie Sze. How has Katrina’s impact on low income communities of color been compounded by hazardous environmental conditions that existed long before the storm?
• The “Boston and Beyond” section of The Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard. This is not included in the packet, but it should be sent to you by the University along with the rest of your orientation materials. It will give you background information on the greater Boston community in which you’ll be living for the next four years.
The Viewing Packet (because non-print should count, too!)
• First Writing Since by Suheir Hammad. A powerful spoken word performance from the premier episode of HBO’s “Russel Simmons Presents Def Poetry.” Suheir Hammad is a Palestinian-American writer and activist, whose poetry has been featured nation-wide. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fhWX2F6G7Y
• Implicit Awareness Tests by ProjectImplicit. What if you really think is not what you think you think? Try a test or two for yourself. Surprised? http://implicit.harard.edu.
• Scorecard. Search your zip code or search by a particular environmental burden or the demographic it most affects (FYI—Harvard’s zip code is 02138). http://www.scorecard.org/community/ej-index.tcl.
f.a.q.
I signed up for Dorm Crew's Fall Clean-up. Can I do that and FUP?
Nope. Everything happens at the same time: FUP, FAP, FIP, FOP, Dorm Crew and any other programs they may have offered to try to tempt you away from Mother FUP. But what do they offer? Diamonds and rust. Come to FUP, where we love you dearly.
back to top
When does FUP start?
FUP leaders are required to be on campus on Tuesday August 25th, 2008t for leader training. FUPpies must arrive on Sunday, August 31st, 2008. Please schedule your flight so you arrive on campus between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. (Though we'd love to see you sooner rather than later, we aren't able to accomodate early arrivals, so please plan to show up on the 5th!)
I don't like getting up early, so I scheduled a flight that arrives in Boston at 4:30 p.m. You still love me, right?
Just because we're angry doesn't mean we don't love you. We ask that you arrive at Harvard before 3:00 because we have some icebreaker games scheduled, as well as dinner (yummy!). But some FUPpies each year have legitimate reasons for arriving late, and we will forgive you. Please tell us if you will be late, so we can make sure a FUP leader is waiting to let you into your room and help you find the rest of us.
The only weekly flight from Ouagadougou to Boston is on Saturdays, so I'm going to arrive a day early. What do I do?
We understand that airlines can be, as Karl Marx phrased it, big boogers. Bourgers? Bourgeoirs? Regardless, though it is important to arrive on Sunday, sometimes you can't help but arrive a day early. If this is the case, please notify us RIGHT AWAY by email and tell us why you will be arriving early and what time you will be arriving.
We should be able to negotiate with friends in high places to find you a place to sleep that evening, but FUP will not be able to provide you with any food, activities, or entertainment until Sunday morning, so we recommend that you bring some money to purchase food and friends until then.
AHH! What should I pack?
We strongly suggest that you bring only what you will need for one week. There is no room for storage. Think comfortable. You will be painting, moving, cleaning, gardening, and lots of sandwich making. Bring clothes that you won't mind having splattered with paint, spackle or peanut butter and jelly. Sturdy work-boots are a plus if you have them; sneakers should be fine.
Finally, here's a handy-dandy check list:
-comfortable, grungy clothes and shoes
-bed linens (sleeping bag/extra long sheets & blanket) and towel
-rain gear (optional, but may come in handy)
-toiletries (you know what you need)
-a plastic cup that you can reuse during the week
-about $10 for public transportation (if this is a problem, please contact us)
-sunblock, sunglasses
-work gloves if you have them (the garden variety)
-paint/baseball cap
-alarm clock or alarm watch (crucial! - we have some early mornings and you don't want to wake up to Brandon yelling at you)
-your reading packet (Don't forget! We won't have extras lying around)
back to top
My aunt lives in Boston and gets lonely on Tuesdays. Will I have time to visit her during FUP?
FUP is a 24-hour-a-day program; we promise that you will have no time to visit family or friends, do errands, sleep, or eat for the entire week. Okay, you can sleep on the T.
back to top
I'm allergic to some foods. Do I have to let you know?
YES! If you have any dietary restrictions, please let us know.
I keep kosher. And I'm also vegan. Do I have to bring my own food? What's up?
Dinner is provided through one of the houses and FUP will make arrangements with the dining hall staff to provide kosher meals. It's nothing fancy, just a frozen dinner. (just fyi, Hillel food is GOOD) Breakfast, we usually get stuff donated and it's most likely not kosher. But there's always bread (which is usually kosher) from lunch that you can eat for breakfast.
Vegan entrees as well as other items, such as tofu, soymilk, and rice milk, are available from Harvard University Dining Services. Please let us know in advance so we can make these arrangements.
back to top
How should I get my stuff for the rest of the year to Harvard?
DO NOT bring it to FUP. We have no room for storage and have to run around the Yard with our bags trying not to let dorm crew throw away our clothes anyway; you do not want to be protecting your futon and N64 set as well.
If you live near Boston, we recommend having a parent, guardian or relative throw all your stuff into a station wagon and drive it to Harvard on Saturday, September 8th, 2007 after FUP has ended and you have had a night to rest and digest.
If you live far, far away, we recommend following Harvard College guidelines for mailing your stuff to school. You will want to address it to your Harvard Yard Mail Center address; the college will let you pick it up and take it to your room starting the morning of Saturday, September 8th, 2007. If your parents want to help you move in, they should arrive then.
back to top
Where am I going to live during FUP week? And after?
FUP will be housed in Thayer Hall, one of the first-year dorms in Harvard Yard. On the morning of Friday the 7th (2007), we'll be moving ALL of our stuff into a secure temporary storage site in Harvard Yard. Later in the day, you will be able to move into your dorm room, your new home for the next nine months.
Lest you feel the hankering to unpack, we'll warn you in advance that you really don't have much time to set up your room on Friday, since FUP has events scheduled till late Friday night. (Also, you should wait till your roommates arrive to decide on rooms.) So, if your parents would like to help with the move, please have them plan to come on Saturday morning, the official day of move-in.
back to top
How do I get from the Logan Airport to Harvard? to Thayer?
The easier but more expensive way ($35) is to take a cab. You'll want "Harvard University, Johnston Gate." If your driver doesn't know where the Gate is, just tell him/her it's by the T entrance. Also, if you want to take a cab but don't want to pay that much, let us know and we will try to match you up with other fuppies whose flights arrive around the same time so you can share a cab.
Recently, the public transportation options from the Airport have been greatly improved. Here's what you do: exit the terminal and look for the nearest Silver Line bus stop. Get on the bus ($1.25) and ride to South Station. There, hop off and look for signs to the Red Line. You want to take the train going toward 'Alewife'. Get off at Harvard. In the station, take the stairs up, NOT the ramp down. Then take the "Harvard Yard" exit. And there you are! Johnston Gate! Now, to get from Johnston Gate to Thayer, you can either listen for leaders' whoops of joy or follow these simple directions... Walk through the gate. Umm...duh? Walk directly toward the big grey building. Yes, right through trees. You're a FUPpie and you're magic. Turn left before hitting the grey building or the John Harvard Statue. (Do NOT rub his toe.) Thayer is the building directly to the left of (just north of) the grey building. Welcome to FUP!
I am an international student and I'll have to register with the HIO. Will I be able to do so during FUP week?
Although the HIO wants students to register as soon as possible after arriving, there is no set deadline for registering. It is just easier for them to get organized before the school year begins. Registration takes about 15 minutes - you'll fill out a form and they'll make sure that your passport is in order for academic registration.
The HIO office is open M-F, 9-5 pm. If there are no opportunities to stop by their office during the week of FUP (check with your leaders), you can go on Monday, September 11, 2006. If you have any more questions, you can call them at 617.495.2789.
Should I bring my computer to FUP?
Although there is no actual need for computers during FUP, we understand that you will want to facebook your fellow FUPpies and mysterious leaders as soon as you meet them (if you haven't already). While this is completely understandable, keep in mind that FUP is not responsible for stolen or lost computers. There will be lots of people going in and out of Thayer during the day while we are gone at worksites (Drom Crew, miaintenance staff, etc) and on the last day of the program your luggage will be stored in a truck for most of the day. Nothing has been stolen in recent years but please keep the situation in mind when you're deciding what to bring. back to top
We get showers in our suites, right?
Sorry, but Thayer has common bathrooms on each floor. There will be about six to eight people sharing each bathroom (two sinks, two shower stalls and two toilets). This means bring/buy flip flops and a shower caddy.
What's on the menu for the week?
Breakfast: donated pastries and cereal!
Lunch: PB&J!!!
Dinner: dining hall food (yummy!) at one of the houses
What if I forget to pack contact solution? soap? honey-mustard onion pretzels?
A major chain drug store, CVS, is right across the street from Harvard Yard. And C'est Bon Convenience (which replaced the beloved Store 24) is even closer. And the supermarket Star Market is a T ride or a 15 minute walk away.
I'm interested in doing community service at Harvard after FUP. Where should I go?
Your FUP leaders are your best resource, so just take your paint can and chat a little as you paint a fence or wall. There will be a list (eventually) up on the web of what the leaders are involved in. And we've also set aside an entire page of resources.
Still have questions? E-mail us! (fup@fas.harvard.edu)
Nope. Everything happens at the same time: FUP, FAP, FIP, FOP, Dorm Crew and any other programs they may have offered to try to tempt you away from Mother FUP. But what do they offer? Diamonds and rust. Come to FUP, where we love you dearly.
back to top
When does FUP start?
FUP leaders are required to be on campus on Tuesday August 25th, 2008t for leader training. FUPpies must arrive on Sunday, August 31st, 2008. Please schedule your flight so you arrive on campus between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. (Though we'd love to see you sooner rather than later, we aren't able to accomodate early arrivals, so please plan to show up on the 5th!)
I don't like getting up early, so I scheduled a flight that arrives in Boston at 4:30 p.m. You still love me, right?
Just because we're angry doesn't mean we don't love you. We ask that you arrive at Harvard before 3:00 because we have some icebreaker games scheduled, as well as dinner (yummy!). But some FUPpies each year have legitimate reasons for arriving late, and we will forgive you. Please tell us if you will be late, so we can make sure a FUP leader is waiting to let you into your room and help you find the rest of us.
The only weekly flight from Ouagadougou to Boston is on Saturdays, so I'm going to arrive a day early. What do I do?
We understand that airlines can be, as Karl Marx phrased it, big boogers. Bourgers? Bourgeoirs? Regardless, though it is important to arrive on Sunday, sometimes you can't help but arrive a day early. If this is the case, please notify us RIGHT AWAY by email and tell us why you will be arriving early and what time you will be arriving.
We should be able to negotiate with friends in high places to find you a place to sleep that evening, but FUP will not be able to provide you with any food, activities, or entertainment until Sunday morning, so we recommend that you bring some money to purchase food and friends until then.
AHH! What should I pack?
We strongly suggest that you bring only what you will need for one week. There is no room for storage. Think comfortable. You will be painting, moving, cleaning, gardening, and lots of sandwich making. Bring clothes that you won't mind having splattered with paint, spackle or peanut butter and jelly. Sturdy work-boots are a plus if you have them; sneakers should be fine.
Finally, here's a handy-dandy check list:
-comfortable, grungy clothes and shoes
-bed linens (sleeping bag/extra long sheets & blanket) and towel
-rain gear (optional, but may come in handy)
-toiletries (you know what you need)
-a plastic cup that you can reuse during the week
-about $10 for public transportation (if this is a problem, please contact us)
-sunblock, sunglasses
-work gloves if you have them (the garden variety)
-paint/baseball cap
-alarm clock or alarm watch (crucial! - we have some early mornings and you don't want to wake up to Brandon yelling at you)
-your reading packet (Don't forget! We won't have extras lying around)
back to top
My aunt lives in Boston and gets lonely on Tuesdays. Will I have time to visit her during FUP?
FUP is a 24-hour-a-day program; we promise that you will have no time to visit family or friends, do errands, sleep, or eat for the entire week. Okay, you can sleep on the T.
back to top
I'm allergic to some foods. Do I have to let you know?
YES! If you have any dietary restrictions, please let us know.
I keep kosher. And I'm also vegan. Do I have to bring my own food? What's up?
Dinner is provided through one of the houses and FUP will make arrangements with the dining hall staff to provide kosher meals. It's nothing fancy, just a frozen dinner. (just fyi, Hillel food is GOOD) Breakfast, we usually get stuff donated and it's most likely not kosher. But there's always bread (which is usually kosher) from lunch that you can eat for breakfast.
Vegan entrees as well as other items, such as tofu, soymilk, and rice milk, are available from Harvard University Dining Services. Please let us know in advance so we can make these arrangements.
back to top
How should I get my stuff for the rest of the year to Harvard?
DO NOT bring it to FUP. We have no room for storage and have to run around the Yard with our bags trying not to let dorm crew throw away our clothes anyway; you do not want to be protecting your futon and N64 set as well.
If you live near Boston, we recommend having a parent, guardian or relative throw all your stuff into a station wagon and drive it to Harvard on Saturday, September 8th, 2007 after FUP has ended and you have had a night to rest and digest.
If you live far, far away, we recommend following Harvard College guidelines for mailing your stuff to school. You will want to address it to your Harvard Yard Mail Center address; the college will let you pick it up and take it to your room starting the morning of Saturday, September 8th, 2007. If your parents want to help you move in, they should arrive then.
back to top
Where am I going to live during FUP week? And after?
FUP will be housed in Thayer Hall, one of the first-year dorms in Harvard Yard. On the morning of Friday the 7th (2007), we'll be moving ALL of our stuff into a secure temporary storage site in Harvard Yard. Later in the day, you will be able to move into your dorm room, your new home for the next nine months.
Lest you feel the hankering to unpack, we'll warn you in advance that you really don't have much time to set up your room on Friday, since FUP has events scheduled till late Friday night. (Also, you should wait till your roommates arrive to decide on rooms.) So, if your parents would like to help with the move, please have them plan to come on Saturday morning, the official day of move-in.
back to top
How do I get from the Logan Airport to Harvard? to Thayer?
The easier but more expensive way ($35) is to take a cab. You'll want "Harvard University, Johnston Gate." If your driver doesn't know where the Gate is, just tell him/her it's by the T entrance. Also, if you want to take a cab but don't want to pay that much, let us know and we will try to match you up with other fuppies whose flights arrive around the same time so you can share a cab.
Recently, the public transportation options from the Airport have been greatly improved. Here's what you do: exit the terminal and look for the nearest Silver Line bus stop. Get on the bus ($1.25) and ride to South Station. There, hop off and look for signs to the Red Line. You want to take the train going toward 'Alewife'. Get off at Harvard. In the station, take the stairs up, NOT the ramp down. Then take the "Harvard Yard" exit. And there you are! Johnston Gate! Now, to get from Johnston Gate to Thayer, you can either listen for leaders' whoops of joy or follow these simple directions... Walk through the gate. Umm...duh? Walk directly toward the big grey building. Yes, right through trees. You're a FUPpie and you're magic. Turn left before hitting the grey building or the John Harvard Statue. (Do NOT rub his toe.) Thayer is the building directly to the left of (just north of) the grey building. Welcome to FUP!
I am an international student and I'll have to register with the HIO. Will I be able to do so during FUP week?
Although the HIO wants students to register as soon as possible after arriving, there is no set deadline for registering. It is just easier for them to get organized before the school year begins. Registration takes about 15 minutes - you'll fill out a form and they'll make sure that your passport is in order for academic registration.
The HIO office is open M-F, 9-5 pm. If there are no opportunities to stop by their office during the week of FUP (check with your leaders), you can go on Monday, September 11, 2006. If you have any more questions, you can call them at 617.495.2789.
Should I bring my computer to FUP?
Although there is no actual need for computers during FUP, we understand that you will want to facebook your fellow FUPpies and mysterious leaders as soon as you meet them (if you haven't already). While this is completely understandable, keep in mind that FUP is not responsible for stolen or lost computers. There will be lots of people going in and out of Thayer during the day while we are gone at worksites (Drom Crew, miaintenance staff, etc) and on the last day of the program your luggage will be stored in a truck for most of the day. Nothing has been stolen in recent years but please keep the situation in mind when you're deciding what to bring. back to top
We get showers in our suites, right?
Sorry, but Thayer has common bathrooms on each floor. There will be about six to eight people sharing each bathroom (two sinks, two shower stalls and two toilets). This means bring/buy flip flops and a shower caddy.
What's on the menu for the week?
Breakfast: donated pastries and cereal!
Lunch: PB&J!!!
Dinner: dining hall food (yummy!) at one of the houses
What if I forget to pack contact solution? soap? honey-mustard onion pretzels?
A major chain drug store, CVS, is right across the street from Harvard Yard. And C'est Bon Convenience (which replaced the beloved Store 24) is even closer. And the supermarket Star Market is a T ride or a 15 minute walk away.
I'm interested in doing community service at Harvard after FUP. Where should I go?
Your FUP leaders are your best resource, so just take your paint can and chat a little as you paint a fence or wall. There will be a list (eventually) up on the web of what the leaders are involved in. And we've also set aside an entire page of resources.
Still have questions? E-mail us! (fup@fas.harvard.edu)
work.sites.
We are still in the process of finalizing work sites for 2008
Listed below are some of the Work Sites where we have worked in the past:
Asian Community Development Corp.
Contact: Daniel Stolkowski @ 617.482.2380, ext. 206
Location: 888 Washington Street, Suite 102, Chinatown 02111. Take the Green Line westbound (any train) to the Boylston stop. Exit to Tremont Street, walking a few blocks south (away from Boston Common, and with the flow of traffic on Tremont Street). Turn left on Oak Street. After crossing Washington Street, the Oak Terrace apartment building will be on your right; hunt for a glass door with a piece of paper labeled "ACDC Office." Ask for Daniel Stolkowski. Optional route: Take the orange line to New England Medical Center and walk 200 yards down Washington Street.
Organization: Founded in May 1987 in order to develop affordable housing in Chinatown. Its mixed-housing developments include Oak Terrace (where ACDC's office is housed) and Parcel C (across the street from Oak Terrace). Currently ACDC is part of the fight to reclaim a plot of land called Parcel 24 for Chinatown, and it is fighting to protect the Berkeley Street Community Garden for elderly Asians who are being crowded out.
Project: Possible tasks with ACDC include cleaning and touring the Berkeley Street Community Garden, helping ACDC move offices, cleaning up Hudson Street, and working at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School.
Cool thing: For years, FUPpies have visited Parcel C across from ACDC on Work That City to see a mural commemorating Chinatown's fight to protect the land from urban renewal and being turned into a parking garage. Now, you can see the completed development (opened in August), the Metropolitan, which includes community space and 46% affordable housing.
Notes: Get psyched -- many of the activities will give you a great chance to better understand the Chinatown community and its grassroots efforts!
Cambridge Community Center (CCC)
Contact: Ms. Kay @ (617) 547-6811
Location: 5 Callendar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139. Walk down Mass Ave. towards Central Square. Take a right onto Putnam Ave. and mosey for a while, past Peabody Terrace and the MLK school. Take a left onto Callendar, walk about a block, and you will see the Cambridge Community Center on your left.
Organization: The Cambridge Community Center is one of only three settlement houses left in Cambridge. It was founded in 1921 for the purpose of helping immigrant groups settle into the Cambridgeport area, and in many ways its purpose has not changed. It runs education and enrichment programs for children, teens, and adults, many of whom are immigrants and come from all over the world, though most are people of color. In the summer, CCC runs a camp for low-income Cambridge kids, and during the school year it runs an after-school program.
Project: First you'll paint a hallway or two. Then another. Did we mention painting? Paint part of an auditorium. Possibly, clear stuff from storage and put new furniture into an office.
Cool thing: Wicked cute kids.
Notes: We expect you all to become experts on the history of Cambridgeport by the end of the week.
Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI)
Contact: May Louie @ 617.442.9670, mlouie@dsni.org; or Jose Barros, jbarros@dsni.org; (fax: 617.427.8047)
Location: 504 Dudley Street, Roxbury, MA 02119. Take the #1 or #66 bus from Harvard Square to Dudley Station. Walk up Dudley Street about 10 minutes till you come to DSNI on your left.
Organization: In the late 1980s, DSNI formed as a group of neighbors attempted to reclaim vacant lots for housing and generally clean up their neighborhood. Since then, the Dudley Triangle (the neighborhood area) has experienced an extreme transformation. Although the group has struggled to maintain its vibrancy and strength in recent years, it remains a vital community resource.
Project: The projects at DSNI include: flyering for local festivals and events; cleaning up playgrounds/school yards; graffiti removal; phone banking.
Cool thing: Every year at FUP we watch "Holding Ground" about DSNI and neighborhood renewal. Now you get to experience it first-hand.
Fair Foods
Contact: Nancy Jameson @ 617-288-6185,
Location: 95 Freeport St., Dorchester, MA 02122. [They just moved, so this address is incorrect, but the directions are corrected. They're very close to their old location, though a bit closer Fields Corner.] Take the Red Line inbound Ashmont (NOT Braintree) train to Fields Corner. Get off, go right down the hill on the Dorchester Ave side, and turn left onto Dorchester Ave. Walk for about 2.5 blocks till you pass Chris' BBQ (on the right), then turn right onto Kimball Street. Roll down Kimball till you almost reach Ellsworth Supply, then turn left on Freeport. Fair Foods is a brown warehouse on the corner of Freeport and Kimball, but you have to walk halfway down Freeport toward Kimball Street to get to the door. Nancy says there is a white sign, "BDW"
Organization: Fair Foods recovers and distributes surplus food (including perishables), paint, and clothing to people throughout the Boston area (including FUP!). It runs a neighborhood "dollar-a-bag" program, which provides many people with cheap and healthy groceries, and provides food to pantries all around the Boston area. Nancy also has started a community fundraising program to make and paint benches from surplus lumber. She sells and donates the benches to people everywhere, from local community parks to lands as distant as Paris.
Project: Organizing paint cans, painting benches and signs, heavy lifting, cleaning out the yard, sorting vegetables and fruits, stacking bread and cookies, etc� Cool thing: Nancy Jameson has invented an instrument that can make electricity using only gravity, and also it makes water. She'll show you the prototype, but you have to use your imagination to see it. You can't? Square.
Notes: Fair Foods just moved from an outdoor lot run out of trailers into a posh warehouse. Chris says, "It's not a missile silo, but it's way bigger than this room."
Hawthorne Youth Community Center (HYCC)
Contact: Sam Sadd @ 427-0613
Location: 9 Fulda St., Roxbury, MA 02119. Take the Red Line inbound to Downtown Crossing, switch to the Orange Forest Hills line, and take the T to Jackson Square. Exit the subway station to the left, walk down the bus ramp, and cross Columbus Avenue to Centre Street. Bear right onto Highland St.; walk past HYCC's community ceramic wall mural, and keep walking up the hill. Cross Marsalis. Take a right onto Fulda. Follow up and around the curved road. It is a little yellow building on the left.
Organization: HYCC provides an after-school hang-out for neighborhood kids, as well as other programs.
Project: Work will include weeding, painting, landscaping, cleaning the mural, and organizing the center.
Cool thing: Cool kids, and Sam is absolutely fabulous (especially in her blue hat).
Notes: Look for HFUP (that stands for Harvard First-Year Urban Program) on the mural, in remembrance of a past FUP project. Bring rain gear if there is a chance of rain, as many of the HYCC projects will be outdoors.
Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion
Contact: Lisa Morales @ 617.927.1702
Location: 405 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118 in Villa Victoria. Take the Orange Line to Back Bay T-stop, walk out on Dartmouth Street and turn left. Walk along Dartmouth several blocks past the main plaza of Villa Victoria (on your right) and continue till you hit Shawmut Ave. Turn right and IBA will be on your right.
Organization: In the early 1970s, IBA was the tenant organizing group that rallied residents of the neighborhood against urban renewal efforts that would have displaced them from the area, overcoming significant odds and a language barrier, as most residents are Puerto Rican (Boricua). In recent years, IBA has moved away from strict tenant organizing to a broader cultural agenda including their Escuelita (pre-school program), the Betances festival, and lots of other youth activities.
Project: FUP will help with some community research, cleanup around the surrounding neighborhoods (which aren't covered by IBA's hired grounds staff), and painting in the offices of IBA.
Cool thing: IBA became a national model of community organizing against massive urban renewal still praised today. Come see how that looks and how it's changed since then.
Resurrection Lutheran Church
Contact: Kurt Wallen, 617-427-2066 at church
Location: 94 Warren St., Roxbury, MA 02118. Take the #1 Bus from Johnston Gate all the way to its termination point at Dudley Station. Take a right onto Warren St., and walk uphill. Cross the street and the church is on your left.
Organization: The Resurrection Lutheran Church serves a predominantly African-American and Latino community in historic Roxbury. In the last few years, the ministry has implemented many service and outreach projects in the community, including mentoring programs for youth, a food pantry, a fatherhood program for people leaving the criminal justice system, a college prep program for area youth, a child-care center, a shelter for people with mental health disabilities, a jobs program connecting Roxbury residents with work in the suburbs (and providing transportation), an HIV dinner, and leadership in the Greater Boston Interfaith organizing initiative.
Project: Painting and cleaning up the church and its facilities.
Cool thing: Resurrection Lutheran is a key player in the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), a broad-based organizing movement which has grown into one of the most influential and progressive grass-roots organizing efforts in the region. Also, Kurt's jokes.
Notes: Reverend Heinemeier just left after 30+ years of work at the church.
Solutions at Work: Children's Clothing Exchange
Contact: Macy Delong @ 617.492.0300 ext. 15, cell 857.544.6047; Sonya Darcy @ 617.576.0039
Location: 56 Magazine St., Cambridge MA 02139. Take Mass Ave to Central Square, turn right at the big intersection where Starbucks is. Bear left on Magazine St. Children's Clothing Exchange is in the basement of Grace United Methodist Church, a gray and white building. The entrance is on the corner of Perry and Magazine Sts. You can also get to Magazine St through Peabody Terrace.
Organization: Solutions at Work is run entirely by people who are or were homeless. They run the Children's Clothing Exchange, which allows low-income families to trade in clothes as their children get older, or for volunteer hours at the Exchange, as well as a number of other programs. The Exchange has been closed since last year for financial reasons, but will be opening the day after FUP finishes!
Project: Painting and cleaning space for the re-opening of the Exchange. Also packing up the summer season clothes, then organizing 325 boxes of fall and winter clothing so parents can get school clothes for their kids.
Cool thing: The Exchange has been so short-staffed in preparing to re-open that they've literally waited till FUP could come to open their doors.
Notes: The Clothing Exchange is pretty close, so take a different route each day and get to know Cambridge better.
Solutions at Work: Cambridge Furniture Bank
Contact: Macy Delong @ 617.492.0300 ext. 15, cell 857.544.6047
Location: 391 Evereteze Way, Cambridge, MA 02139. Walk (or take the #69 bus from Johnston gate) up Cambridge Street, past Inman Square, past Columbia St., until you see the Roosevelt Towers housing development on your left. Take a left onto Evereteze Way, which takes you to the heart of Roosevelt Towers, and bear left at the big tree in the middle. The furniture bank is in the basement on your left. Also Metropolitan Storage at 134 Mass Ave, on the corner of Vassar St and Mass Ave (near MIT). Take the #1 bus (or the M2 shuttle) till you cross the railroad tracks past Central Square. Head down Vassar Street (toward Cambridgeport) and the entrance is on the right.
Organization: Solutions at Work is run entirely by people who are or were homeless. They run the Cambridge Furniture Bank, which used to provide free furniture for people moving out of homelessness and a number of other programs. Last year, due to financial struggles, they had to close the entire organization. Some parts have re-opened (see Clothing Exchange) but the future of the Furniture Bank is still uncertain. They're hoping to open early next year.
Project: Moving furniture in a warehouse. A lot of it. Also moving furniture in the old warehouse, cleaning there, and preparing some of the space to be rented out. And maybe a mural to boot.
Cool thing: If you are really lucky, you may have a chance to ride around in the delivery truck. Even if you aren't, this is a unique opportunity for FUP to play a critical role for the existence of an organization. We've worked with the Furniture Bank for years and hope this will continue yet.
Notes: Make sure that at least two people--one leader and one FUPpie--go out on the delivery van at a time. If you have dust allergies, be sure to tell your leader right away.
Women's Education Center
Contact: Chris Womendez @ 617.436.2002
Location: P.O. Box 1154, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. Take the Red Line inbound Ashmont (NOT Braintree) train to Fields Corner. Call Chris from a pay phone on Dorchester Ave., and she will pick you up.
Organization: Women's Ed. is a shelter for battered women and their children. They provide legal advocacy programs and play groups for the children.
Project: Painting several rooms, including rooms for children (think CREATIVE!); re-paining exteriors and heavy-duty cleaning.
Cool thing: Chris Womendez, the founder of this program, was one of the first women to organize the battered women's movement in America. And her name is Chris Women�s-ed-ez. Get it? Huh? Huh? Get it?
Notes: The Women�s Ed Center is at a secret location, for the necessity of protecting guests from their batterers. Lunch is provided, but bring sandwiches the first day just in case.
Mary Ellen McCormack Youth Center
Contact: Kate Johnsen @ 617.308.9121
Location: 7 Sterling Square, South Boston, MA 02127. Take the Red Line inbound to Andrew Square. Cross both Dorchester Ave and Dorchester St (seriously), then head up Preble St. Turn right on Mohawk St, following it across Gen. Devine Way. It then becomes Logan Way. Continue on Logan till you see a Planet Walk on your left. (You'll know it when you see it�planets in the sidewalk.) Follow the planet walk as far as it goes, then look straight ahead for the basement door into the youth center.
Organization: Youth on the Rise is the only youth center in McCormack. It hosts an after-school program, summer activities (as a SUP site), and other community events. In the wake of recent youth violence, the center's role has become even more important to McCormack residents.
Project: Painting and cleaning up the center for the after-school program, which will begin in the middle of FUP week. Also fixing the American flag mural, and generally overhauling the entire space.
Cool thing: The director, Kate Johnsen, graduated from Harvard two years ago and is currently the only youth worker in McCormack. Also, McCormack is the oldest housing development in New England.
El Concilio Hispano
Contact: Sylvia Keber @ 617.661.9406
Location: 105 Windsor St, Cambridge, MA 02139. Take Mass Ave (bus, T, M2, foot) to Central Square and continue down Mass Ave till it forks. Veer left on Main Street and follow it for a couple blocks. Turn left on Windsor and it's on the left side of the street.
Organization: Concilio was one of the first Latino community organizations in the Greater Boston area. Since it was organized in 1959 (officially formed in 1969), the group has worked for better education, health, language services, and community culture. Expect to paint and clean up the grounds around the center in Cambridge, and possibly in Somerville too.
Cool thing: Situated behind Central Square, Concilio offers a very different perspective on life in Cambridge than Harvard Square. Also, Sylvia can't wait to introduce you to the Beastie Boys new album.
Notes: Ask Sylvia about the impact of students on residents of Cambridge.
Listed below are some of the Work Sites where we have worked in the past:
Asian Community Development Corp.
Contact: Daniel Stolkowski @ 617.482.2380, ext. 206
Location: 888 Washington Street, Suite 102, Chinatown 02111. Take the Green Line westbound (any train) to the Boylston stop. Exit to Tremont Street, walking a few blocks south (away from Boston Common, and with the flow of traffic on Tremont Street). Turn left on Oak Street. After crossing Washington Street, the Oak Terrace apartment building will be on your right; hunt for a glass door with a piece of paper labeled "ACDC Office." Ask for Daniel Stolkowski. Optional route: Take the orange line to New England Medical Center and walk 200 yards down Washington Street.
Organization: Founded in May 1987 in order to develop affordable housing in Chinatown. Its mixed-housing developments include Oak Terrace (where ACDC's office is housed) and Parcel C (across the street from Oak Terrace). Currently ACDC is part of the fight to reclaim a plot of land called Parcel 24 for Chinatown, and it is fighting to protect the Berkeley Street Community Garden for elderly Asians who are being crowded out.
Project: Possible tasks with ACDC include cleaning and touring the Berkeley Street Community Garden, helping ACDC move offices, cleaning up Hudson Street, and working at the Josiah Quincy Elementary School.
Cool thing: For years, FUPpies have visited Parcel C across from ACDC on Work That City to see a mural commemorating Chinatown's fight to protect the land from urban renewal and being turned into a parking garage. Now, you can see the completed development (opened in August), the Metropolitan, which includes community space and 46% affordable housing.
Notes: Get psyched -- many of the activities will give you a great chance to better understand the Chinatown community and its grassroots efforts!
Cambridge Community Center (CCC)
Contact: Ms. Kay @ (617) 547-6811
Location: 5 Callendar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139. Walk down Mass Ave. towards Central Square. Take a right onto Putnam Ave. and mosey for a while, past Peabody Terrace and the MLK school. Take a left onto Callendar, walk about a block, and you will see the Cambridge Community Center on your left.
Organization: The Cambridge Community Center is one of only three settlement houses left in Cambridge. It was founded in 1921 for the purpose of helping immigrant groups settle into the Cambridgeport area, and in many ways its purpose has not changed. It runs education and enrichment programs for children, teens, and adults, many of whom are immigrants and come from all over the world, though most are people of color. In the summer, CCC runs a camp for low-income Cambridge kids, and during the school year it runs an after-school program.
Project: First you'll paint a hallway or two. Then another. Did we mention painting? Paint part of an auditorium. Possibly, clear stuff from storage and put new furniture into an office.
Cool thing: Wicked cute kids.
Notes: We expect you all to become experts on the history of Cambridgeport by the end of the week.
Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI)
Contact: May Louie @ 617.442.9670, mlouie@dsni.org; or Jose Barros, jbarros@dsni.org; (fax: 617.427.8047)
Location: 504 Dudley Street, Roxbury, MA 02119. Take the #1 or #66 bus from Harvard Square to Dudley Station. Walk up Dudley Street about 10 minutes till you come to DSNI on your left.
Organization: In the late 1980s, DSNI formed as a group of neighbors attempted to reclaim vacant lots for housing and generally clean up their neighborhood. Since then, the Dudley Triangle (the neighborhood area) has experienced an extreme transformation. Although the group has struggled to maintain its vibrancy and strength in recent years, it remains a vital community resource.
Project: The projects at DSNI include: flyering for local festivals and events; cleaning up playgrounds/school yards; graffiti removal; phone banking.
Cool thing: Every year at FUP we watch "Holding Ground" about DSNI and neighborhood renewal. Now you get to experience it first-hand.
Fair Foods
Contact: Nancy Jameson @ 617-288-6185,
Location: 95 Freeport St., Dorchester, MA 02122. [They just moved, so this address is incorrect, but the directions are corrected. They're very close to their old location, though a bit closer Fields Corner.] Take the Red Line inbound Ashmont (NOT Braintree) train to Fields Corner. Get off, go right down the hill on the Dorchester Ave side, and turn left onto Dorchester Ave. Walk for about 2.5 blocks till you pass Chris' BBQ (on the right), then turn right onto Kimball Street. Roll down Kimball till you almost reach Ellsworth Supply, then turn left on Freeport. Fair Foods is a brown warehouse on the corner of Freeport and Kimball, but you have to walk halfway down Freeport toward Kimball Street to get to the door. Nancy says there is a white sign, "BDW"
Organization: Fair Foods recovers and distributes surplus food (including perishables), paint, and clothing to people throughout the Boston area (including FUP!). It runs a neighborhood "dollar-a-bag" program, which provides many people with cheap and healthy groceries, and provides food to pantries all around the Boston area. Nancy also has started a community fundraising program to make and paint benches from surplus lumber. She sells and donates the benches to people everywhere, from local community parks to lands as distant as Paris.
Project: Organizing paint cans, painting benches and signs, heavy lifting, cleaning out the yard, sorting vegetables and fruits, stacking bread and cookies, etc� Cool thing: Nancy Jameson has invented an instrument that can make electricity using only gravity, and also it makes water. She'll show you the prototype, but you have to use your imagination to see it. You can't? Square.
Notes: Fair Foods just moved from an outdoor lot run out of trailers into a posh warehouse. Chris says, "It's not a missile silo, but it's way bigger than this room."
Hawthorne Youth Community Center (HYCC)
Contact: Sam Sadd @ 427-0613
Location: 9 Fulda St., Roxbury, MA 02119. Take the Red Line inbound to Downtown Crossing, switch to the Orange Forest Hills line, and take the T to Jackson Square. Exit the subway station to the left, walk down the bus ramp, and cross Columbus Avenue to Centre Street. Bear right onto Highland St.; walk past HYCC's community ceramic wall mural, and keep walking up the hill. Cross Marsalis. Take a right onto Fulda. Follow up and around the curved road. It is a little yellow building on the left.
Organization: HYCC provides an after-school hang-out for neighborhood kids, as well as other programs.
Project: Work will include weeding, painting, landscaping, cleaning the mural, and organizing the center.
Cool thing: Cool kids, and Sam is absolutely fabulous (especially in her blue hat).
Notes: Look for HFUP (that stands for Harvard First-Year Urban Program) on the mural, in remembrance of a past FUP project. Bring rain gear if there is a chance of rain, as many of the HYCC projects will be outdoors.
Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion
Contact: Lisa Morales @ 617.927.1702
Location: 405 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118 in Villa Victoria. Take the Orange Line to Back Bay T-stop, walk out on Dartmouth Street and turn left. Walk along Dartmouth several blocks past the main plaza of Villa Victoria (on your right) and continue till you hit Shawmut Ave. Turn right and IBA will be on your right.
Organization: In the early 1970s, IBA was the tenant organizing group that rallied residents of the neighborhood against urban renewal efforts that would have displaced them from the area, overcoming significant odds and a language barrier, as most residents are Puerto Rican (Boricua). In recent years, IBA has moved away from strict tenant organizing to a broader cultural agenda including their Escuelita (pre-school program), the Betances festival, and lots of other youth activities.
Project: FUP will help with some community research, cleanup around the surrounding neighborhoods (which aren't covered by IBA's hired grounds staff), and painting in the offices of IBA.
Cool thing: IBA became a national model of community organizing against massive urban renewal still praised today. Come see how that looks and how it's changed since then.
Resurrection Lutheran Church
Contact: Kurt Wallen, 617-427-2066 at church
Location: 94 Warren St., Roxbury, MA 02118. Take the #1 Bus from Johnston Gate all the way to its termination point at Dudley Station. Take a right onto Warren St., and walk uphill. Cross the street and the church is on your left.
Organization: The Resurrection Lutheran Church serves a predominantly African-American and Latino community in historic Roxbury. In the last few years, the ministry has implemented many service and outreach projects in the community, including mentoring programs for youth, a food pantry, a fatherhood program for people leaving the criminal justice system, a college prep program for area youth, a child-care center, a shelter for people with mental health disabilities, a jobs program connecting Roxbury residents with work in the suburbs (and providing transportation), an HIV dinner, and leadership in the Greater Boston Interfaith organizing initiative.
Project: Painting and cleaning up the church and its facilities.
Cool thing: Resurrection Lutheran is a key player in the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), a broad-based organizing movement which has grown into one of the most influential and progressive grass-roots organizing efforts in the region. Also, Kurt's jokes.
Notes: Reverend Heinemeier just left after 30+ years of work at the church.
Solutions at Work: Children's Clothing Exchange
Contact: Macy Delong @ 617.492.0300 ext. 15, cell 857.544.6047; Sonya Darcy @ 617.576.0039
Location: 56 Magazine St., Cambridge MA 02139. Take Mass Ave to Central Square, turn right at the big intersection where Starbucks is. Bear left on Magazine St. Children's Clothing Exchange is in the basement of Grace United Methodist Church, a gray and white building. The entrance is on the corner of Perry and Magazine Sts. You can also get to Magazine St through Peabody Terrace.
Organization: Solutions at Work is run entirely by people who are or were homeless. They run the Children's Clothing Exchange, which allows low-income families to trade in clothes as their children get older, or for volunteer hours at the Exchange, as well as a number of other programs. The Exchange has been closed since last year for financial reasons, but will be opening the day after FUP finishes!
Project: Painting and cleaning space for the re-opening of the Exchange. Also packing up the summer season clothes, then organizing 325 boxes of fall and winter clothing so parents can get school clothes for their kids.
Cool thing: The Exchange has been so short-staffed in preparing to re-open that they've literally waited till FUP could come to open their doors.
Notes: The Clothing Exchange is pretty close, so take a different route each day and get to know Cambridge better.
Solutions at Work: Cambridge Furniture Bank
Contact: Macy Delong @ 617.492.0300 ext. 15, cell 857.544.6047
Location: 391 Evereteze Way, Cambridge, MA 02139. Walk (or take the #69 bus from Johnston gate) up Cambridge Street, past Inman Square, past Columbia St., until you see the Roosevelt Towers housing development on your left. Take a left onto Evereteze Way, which takes you to the heart of Roosevelt Towers, and bear left at the big tree in the middle. The furniture bank is in the basement on your left. Also Metropolitan Storage at 134 Mass Ave, on the corner of Vassar St and Mass Ave (near MIT). Take the #1 bus (or the M2 shuttle) till you cross the railroad tracks past Central Square. Head down Vassar Street (toward Cambridgeport) and the entrance is on the right.
Organization: Solutions at Work is run entirely by people who are or were homeless. They run the Cambridge Furniture Bank, which used to provide free furniture for people moving out of homelessness and a number of other programs. Last year, due to financial struggles, they had to close the entire organization. Some parts have re-opened (see Clothing Exchange) but the future of the Furniture Bank is still uncertain. They're hoping to open early next year.
Project: Moving furniture in a warehouse. A lot of it. Also moving furniture in the old warehouse, cleaning there, and preparing some of the space to be rented out. And maybe a mural to boot.
Cool thing: If you are really lucky, you may have a chance to ride around in the delivery truck. Even if you aren't, this is a unique opportunity for FUP to play a critical role for the existence of an organization. We've worked with the Furniture Bank for years and hope this will continue yet.
Notes: Make sure that at least two people--one leader and one FUPpie--go out on the delivery van at a time. If you have dust allergies, be sure to tell your leader right away.
Women's Education Center
Contact: Chris Womendez @ 617.436.2002
Location: P.O. Box 1154, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. Take the Red Line inbound Ashmont (NOT Braintree) train to Fields Corner. Call Chris from a pay phone on Dorchester Ave., and she will pick you up.
Organization: Women's Ed. is a shelter for battered women and their children. They provide legal advocacy programs and play groups for the children.
Project: Painting several rooms, including rooms for children (think CREATIVE!); re-paining exteriors and heavy-duty cleaning.
Cool thing: Chris Womendez, the founder of this program, was one of the first women to organize the battered women's movement in America. And her name is Chris Women�s-ed-ez. Get it? Huh? Huh? Get it?
Notes: The Women�s Ed Center is at a secret location, for the necessity of protecting guests from their batterers. Lunch is provided, but bring sandwiches the first day just in case.
Mary Ellen McCormack Youth Center
Contact: Kate Johnsen @ 617.308.9121
Location: 7 Sterling Square, South Boston, MA 02127. Take the Red Line inbound to Andrew Square. Cross both Dorchester Ave and Dorchester St (seriously), then head up Preble St. Turn right on Mohawk St, following it across Gen. Devine Way. It then becomes Logan Way. Continue on Logan till you see a Planet Walk on your left. (You'll know it when you see it�planets in the sidewalk.) Follow the planet walk as far as it goes, then look straight ahead for the basement door into the youth center.
Organization: Youth on the Rise is the only youth center in McCormack. It hosts an after-school program, summer activities (as a SUP site), and other community events. In the wake of recent youth violence, the center's role has become even more important to McCormack residents.
Project: Painting and cleaning up the center for the after-school program, which will begin in the middle of FUP week. Also fixing the American flag mural, and generally overhauling the entire space.
Cool thing: The director, Kate Johnsen, graduated from Harvard two years ago and is currently the only youth worker in McCormack. Also, McCormack is the oldest housing development in New England.
El Concilio Hispano
Contact: Sylvia Keber @ 617.661.9406
Location: 105 Windsor St, Cambridge, MA 02139. Take Mass Ave (bus, T, M2, foot) to Central Square and continue down Mass Ave till it forks. Veer left on Main Street and follow it for a couple blocks. Turn left on Windsor and it's on the left side of the street.
Organization: Concilio was one of the first Latino community organizations in the Greater Boston area. Since it was organized in 1959 (officially formed in 1969), the group has worked for better education, health, language services, and community culture. Expect to paint and clean up the grounds around the center in Cambridge, and possibly in Somerville too.
Cool thing: Situated behind Central Square, Concilio offers a very different perspective on life in Cambridge than Harvard Square. Also, Sylvia can't wait to introduce you to the Beastie Boys new album.
Notes: Ask Sylvia about the impact of students on residents of Cambridge.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
