Issue 10: Summer 2007 Quarter - June 2007

EEP Names in the News

BIG NEWS: New EEP Space! The big news this quarter is the new space EEP will occupy starting in 2008. Once the new Student Union opens (scheduled for January, 2008), the King Hall offices will largely empty out, and EEP is likely to be allotted space in that building. Plus, the University has already promised the EEP Fine Arts space to others! King Hall is Rich's ideal space location -- he likes King Hall since most of the freshmen classes are in King Hall, it is close to the Library, the WPCT is held in King Hall, and it is away from the hustle and bustle of the older students on campus (who will be in the social areas of the new Student Union building). Rich is in process of negotiating for the new space with the University, and there is good reason to believe it will be a much larger space than what EEP has now. When everything is finalized, Rich will have a large wish list of items to make the space suitable for all the EEP needs.

Welcome to our new Academic Advisor Monica!

Farewell Randi, Hello Monica. We all wish Randi Swedenberg well, and hope she loves her new home in Northern California. We are sure her shoes will be ably filled by the new EEP Academic Advisor Monica Marques-Savala. Like Randi, Monica is also a psychology graduate student, and plans to join EEP one year (2007-08) until she graduates.

Welcome to our new office staff -- EEPster Sharon R.!

New EEPster in the front office -- Sharon R. Amanda Jancu is graduating, but her indispensible help in the office will be supplied by elder EEPster Sharon R -- pictured at right with full-time staff Nancy Aguilar.

Class of '07 graduate school plans. Paisley Kadison will be attending Stanford School of Law. Clare Kasper will attend the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Michael Kovshilovsky will attend the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (also accepted to Chicago Medical School and Albany Medical College). Herbert Lee will begin a doctorate program in Computer Science at UC Santa Cruz. Michelle Morales will attend Yale University School of Medicine (also accepted to Vanderbilt, Cornell, UCLA, University of Iowa and Temple). Timothy Ng will attend the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (also accepted to Mount Sinai). Laura Peterson has been accepted to Columbia University's doctorate program in psychology. Andrew Post will attend USC Gould School of Law (also accepted by Harvard and Duke law schools). Geoffrey Yang will attend Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine (also accepted to Jefferson Medical College, University of Rochester and Drexel University). Many other of the 23 graduates are planning to take a year off before attending graduate schools. For the post-grad plans of all EEP 2007 graduates, click here. To read about Timothy Ng's Phi Kappa Phi award, click here.

Rich and some of the orientation crowd

a special thanks to the incredible EEP alumni

61 Provies. We have 61 provies this summer who are trying out for 29 spots (we have one deferral from last year). The May 30th "Pre-Summer Orientation" was the usual success for the Provies and their parents. Besides Rich, presentations were made by the 34 mentors, a dozen EEP alumni and a dozen PEEPs. The alums especially were impressive, not only for their accomplishments, but also for their comraderie.

PEEP Volunteer Opportunities. PEEP volunteers are always needed for computer work (at home), office help (on campus), chaperoning and carpooling duty for EEPC events/activities and, as always, help for the biannual WPCT exams and PEEP general meetings. Please let EEP know if YOU can volunteer by calling 323/343-2287 or sending a note to Rich or EEP.

Chris G. looks in dire need of medical services this exam period!

Services available at the Student Health Center. Just a heads-up to all PEEPs for services their EEPsters may be interested in right here on campus at CSULA's Health Center -- available free or at reasonable prices -- and these are in addition to the Medical Clinic with Medical Doctor and nurses on call:
• Dental Clinic, 9am-1pm Tuesdays, and 1-6pm Wednesdays and Thursdays -- $50 exams, $45 fillings and more
• Chiropractic Clinic, 10:30am-4pm Monday-Thursday, free -- see flyer
• Optometry Clinic, $40 exam, $115+ glasses, and more
• Massage Therapy, $25/hour -- acupuncture, shiatsu, jyutsu, and more
• Counseling Services -- see flyer

Lisa's shower. What fun! The EEP held a baby shower for expectant mom and favorite counselor Lisa Sakamoto on Thursday, May 24th. Lisa is expecting her first child, a baby daughter, in August!

Reminder: PEEP Website and Yahoo Group. The PEEP website is continuously updated with tons of useful links and information, including our private Yahoo PEEP group which contains a private PEEP roster with city and emails so PEEPs can set up carpools, or just get in touch with the parents of your EEPster's friends.

EEF Financial News

2006-07 Annual Giving totals over $17,000! This was our best year ever, and a HUGE thank-you to all the PEEPs who gave so generously. Rich is furiously working on his wish list for this year, so we can outfit our new space, so watch out for our request letter in September. All these donations go 100% to EEP and are 100% tax-deductible.

Our donations go to computers as well as furniture and games

eScrip is Easy! It's simple, it raises lots of money for EEP, it's free and it needs you! Just sign up your grocery cards once (not charge cards, just grocery club cards) -- for your family or even your friends and relatives too -- and EEP gets a percentage back on all the grocery purchases all year long! If you have no charitable organization specified on your cards, the stores just keep all the money. Sign yourself up online (click here) or call (818/905-6249) or email (dhay16301@sbcglobal.net) PEEP Donna Hay for help, information or to let her know you signed yourself up. This year we raised $729. Another BIG thanks to all the PEEPs who joined in! We're aiming for $1000 next year -- please help us out!

ebay Donations. Don't discard, Donate! PEEP Helene Chemel will convert your unwanted collectibles into cash for EEP on ebay through her i-soldit store in Chatsworth. Visit the I-SoldIt website for more information.

Upcoming Events for EEP Families

Summer Quarter 2007 Important Dates. Dates of interest for this quarter are:

EEP's "Fearless Leader" before the Orientation!

Mentors looking ready for business

Catalina Island Camping. This annual end-of-summer favorite EEP-bonding trip will be here before you know it -- on Thursday, Sep. 6 - Sunday, Sep. 9th. The forms were mailed out on June 19th, and are also available online here -- note, they are due back by Friday, July 27th!

New Parent Welcome. The annual New Parent Welcome is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, October 7th; we're looking into a new venue, so this may change. Keep a look out for details!

Volunteer Opportunities. Please get as involved in the PEEP as you can! PEEP has many volunteer positions available, such as organizing October's New Parent Welcome, coordinator of escrip, newsletter-writing, PEEP website maintenance, etc -- please email PEEP Donna Hay at dhay16301@sbcglobal.net.

EEΠX Store

Yearbooks, Sweatshirts, T-shirts and More! We have it all! Just have your EEPster order one, and Rich will send home the item and a bill! With questions, email the EEP Club or call 323/343-5488 and leave a message.

Enjoying the fabulous 2007 Yearbook!

• T-shirts and Sweatshirts, etc. Your EEpster has a choice of two t-shirts, and two sweatshirts, and don't forget that bodaciously amusing license plate frame (it makes a cute picture frame too!)
  • Lemonhead Sweatshirt - just $25 for this one-of-a-kind distinctive outerwear!
  • Lemonhead T-shirts - for $10 cash or check for the companion long-sleeve t-shirt.
  • EEPC t-shirt - guaranteed as unique, this t-shirt features the likeness of EEPster 2006 graduate Neshan! $10 for this limited edition t-shirt!
  • EEΠX Sweatshirts - only $20 for this black-that-goes-with-everything sweatshirt with its oh-so-cool-Greek-EEΠX-logo! Your EEPster will want to show off EEP pride!
  • License Plate Frames - a mere $5 pittance and you can playfully diss everyone ("we're better than you")! And as a special incentive, get one FREE with any order!
• EEP smiley face Mug. It's in a bright yellow, of course! Guaranteed to make you smile every morning! Only $5.
• Rings - EEP class rings, available for 4th year students and graduates, have an EEP logo (pdf drawing) designed by April E. and the insignia of the student's major and year of CSULA graduation. You can get an idea of what the rings will look like at the Jostens website. The rings cost $398 for the women's and $451 for the men's (10K white or yellow gold).

Upcoming CSULA Events of Interest for EEP Families

Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company. Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company performs "La Loteria: Mexico en Fantasia," a new work based on the popular Mexican game. Artistic director Jose Vences’ magical story connects the characters featured on Loteria cards, each brought to life through the richness, color, and expression of Grandeza Mexican’s choreography. At the Luckman Theatre Call the Box Office at (323) 343-6600 for more information. On Saturday, June 16th at 8pm and Sunday, June 17th at 3pm.

Popsicle Days. Celebrate hot summer with cool popsicles! -- FREE too!
• Tuesday, June 19th, noon, Main Walkway
• Wednesday, June 20th, 6pm, King Hall Walkway
• Wednesday, July 18th, noon, Main Walkway
• Thursday, July 19th, 5pm, Salazar Hall Quad

Raiford Rogers Modern Ballet: Bach Transcriptions. Don't miss the world premieres of two original works: Transcription No. 2 (Passacaglia) set to Max Reger’s piano transcription for four hands of Bach’s Passacaglia BWV 582; and Prelude in Green, Adagio in Blue set to Corelli’s Sonata for Violin & Cello, and Bach’s Toccata in C (Adagio). Transcription (Chaconne) set to Busoni’s piano transcription of Bach’s Chaconne in D minor; and Sonata No. 2 set to Martinu’s Sonata No. 2 for Cello and Piano will complete the program. Ticket prices are $40/$35. Saturday, June 23 at 8pm. Call the Box Office at (323) 343-6600 for more information.

The Fall quarter will see many new cultural events on campus! Check out CSULA's Calendar for all events available at http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/calendar/

Articles of Interest

The Ranking Revolt - TIME Magazine, April 2, 2007. Nothing gets college presidents' goat quite like the issue of rankings -- take a complex institution, crunch it down into a single number, and the adjectives start flying: "Silly." "Snotty." "Scandalous." -- and they blame the rank-ordering of diverse schools for much of the current college-admissions frenzy. Click here for complete article.

The Year of Mathemagical Thinking - TIME Magazine, March 26, 2007. Douglas Hofstadter follows up on his 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" -- a rattlebag of art, mathematics, music, philosophy, symbolic logic, computers, genetics, paradoxes, palindromes and Zen koans among many, many other things. Click here for complete article.

1848: When America Came of Age - TIME Magazine, March 19, 2007. Miraculous technology, globalization, marketing spin, violence-glorification, anti-immigration sentiment, cultural decadence, terrorism -- thumbnail sketch of today and surprisingly of 1848! Click here for complete article.

Dmitri Tymoczko has developed a geometric method of representing musical chords

The Geometry of Music - TIME Magazine, February 5, 2007. Borrowing some of the mathematics that string theorists invented to plumb the secrets of the physical universe, Princeton University composer Dmitri Tymoczko has found a way to represent the universe of all possible musical chords in graphic form. Click here for complete article.

For a link to the index of dozens of articles Rich has clipped -- to learn about homework myths, MySpace safety, "crispies", "twixters" and much more -- click here!

Old Favorites! A Nation Deceived - a study summarizing 50 years of research on acceleration and its effectiveness - at this website http://nationdeceived.org/download.html and TIME's "Saving The Smart Kids" - a 2001 study found that 70% of kids who skipped ahead had no regrets. MENSA Bulletin "My Son Is A High-School Dropout -- and Proud Of It."

Links of Interest, Past Issues, Contact Information