WDCSA Newsletter – September 2000

President’s Welcome
Sept 13 Drama Discussion Group

Sept 16 Tubing

Sept 21 Third Thursday

Sept 21 The Great White Hope

Sept 24 Peabody Open House and Tour

Sept 29 Orioles vs. Yankees
Events in October and Beyond

President’s Welcome

As the incoming president of the WDCSA, I want to thank outgoing President
Bob Krahe for his extraordinary commitment and wise leadership for the last two
years. Bob’s efforts have been unparalleled, and his hard work has kept the
WDCSA in fine shape this fall. From the entire Board of Directors, and the
entire Washington, DC Stanford Association, Bob, we thank you warmly.

This year we are renewing our commitment to serving our members, and thus we
will continue to host even more fun, educational, and exciting programs and
events, and when possible, to provide these programs at a discounted rate for
our members.

In addition to our favorite programs (the Big Game party, the Adopt-a-School
Embassy Reception, the Holiday Party, trips to the Washington Opera, Faculty
Speaker Events, Third Thursdays, and others), we are planning some new programs:
a second Adopt-a-School Reception for recent graduates, a day college program,
and the first annual Washington, DC Stanford University Gala Dinner.

As you know, the WDCSA is an entirely volunteer-run organization, and your
membership dues allow us to provide this newsletter and the annual membership
directory, and to continue to host a wide range of activities and programs.

This year, we invite you to get involved in the WDCSA. There are a number of
options for involvement: Join the Board of Directors. Volunteer at an event.
Offer to be a career mentor. Try out a new event or program. Or, simply drop me
a line at callista@stanfordalumni.org, and let me know your great ideas for
events and programs.

Thanks again for your interest and support. We hope that this year’s calendar
excites you as much as it does us.

Callista Chen
WDCSA President 2000-2001


Modern Drama Discussion Group
September 13–The Great White Hope (discussion)
September 21– The Great White Hope (performance)

In September the Modern Drama Discussion Group begins a new series, Survival
of the Fittest, with The Great White Hope (1967), Howard Sackler’s Pulitzer
Prize-winning bioplay about Jack Johnson, the first African-American world
heavyweight champion.

The drama group will discuss The Great White Hope 7:30-9:30 pm Wednesday
September 13 (dinner at 6:30) at Luna Books, 1633 P St., NW (Dupont Circle
metro). Director Molly Smith will join our discussion. To RSVP for the
discussion call Betty Byrne at 202-483-4048 or e-mail painews@bellatlantic.net.
The drama group will attend The Great White Hope at 8 pm Thursday September 21
at Arena Stage, 1101 6th St., SW (Waterfront metro). Tickets are $28 and include
a post-performance cast discussion. For tickets call 301-897-9314.

The Modern Drama Discussion Group, a joint project of the Stanford, Cornell,
and Chicago Clubs of Washington, meets monthly to discuss modern theater. For
general information, contact Betty Byrne BS ’55 (202-483-4048 & BettyByrne@stanfordalumni.org) or visit
www.footlightsdc.org. You can
get regular updates by sending any message, even blank, to join@footlightsdc.org.


Tubing at Harper’s Ferry
Saturday, September 16, 2000

What: Sitting in a comfy inner-tube floating down the Potomac near Harper’s
Ferry, WV. Non-Stanford friends welcome. You can be back in plenty of time for
evening events, so don’t use that as an excuse! Plan to leave about 9:30 to
arrive at 10:45. For those who want to carpool, meet at the Lyon Village Giant
at Lee Highway and Spout Run in North Arlington at 9:15. You can buy food there
if you arrive a little early (we eat either on the river or at picnic tables
afterwards). Tubing itself lasts 2 – 4 hours, depending on how many trips you
make.

Where: Butts Tubes. http://www.buttstubes.com/Tubes.htm

Cost: About $12-15 net. You actually buy your tube from them for around
$15-18. You can then sell it back for $3-5 or keep it if you want to come again.
If you go again, it’s only $5 for the bus ride to the tubing site.

What to Bring: Swim suit, lots of sun block, dry shorts/shirt, sandals or old
tennis shoes to go in the river with, water bottle or other beverage of choice on the river, lunch for afterwards. Note that the tubing company
frowns on public consumption of alcoholic beverages. Contact the company for
more information on laws governing alcoholic beverages on the river.

RSVP: Please drop Eric Sword a line by early Friday the 15th if you’re
coming, at ericsword@grouplogic.com. If you decide to come at the last minute or
get lost or something, call me on my cell at 703-508-9668.

Directions: Butts Tubes & Appalachian Whitewater Express is about an hour
from Washington D.C. and Baltimore, MD. Follow 70 west or 270 north towards
Frederick. Follow 340 west for about 16 miles to Harpers Ferry. Make the first
left in Virginia onto 671, by the Amoco station. We’re located 1/4 mile ahead on
the right.

Directions from Northern Virginia: Take Rt. 7 west to Leesburg, or take the
Dulles Toll Road to Leesburg. Follow 7 west to Warrenton/ Winchester, or from
the Toll Road to Rte 15 south towards Leesburg. Stay on 7 west for 4 miles to
Rt. 9 Charlestown, follow that for 8 miles to Hillsboro. 5 miles out of
Hillsboro, the road forks, veer RIGHT on 671/Harpers Ferry Rd. We’re just ahead
8 miles on the left.


Third Thursday
September 21, 2000, 6-8pm

Young Alums: Join us for a new 3rd Thursday experience at Ozio Martini and
Cigar Lounge, 1835 K St NW, Washington, DC (202) 822-6000. Metro: between the Farragut
North and Dupont Circle stops on the red line.

For more information, contact Nicholas Mahrt – nicholas.mahrt@iwpnews.com, Work 703-416-8536 / Home 703-683-1197.


WDCSA Tour of Peabody Conservatory of Music and Open House
Sunday, September 24, 2000

Baltimore’s Peabody Conservatory of Music will be holding its annual open
house on Sunday Sept. 24, from 2-5 pm. The open house is open to the public, and
there is no admission charge.

Established by George Peabody in 1857, the Peabody Institute is located at
the corner of Charles St. and East Monument St. at One Mount Vernon Place, in
the historic and cultural heart of downtown Baltimore.

Peabody faculty, students and alumni have taken top prizes in the world’s
most prestigious music competitions from the Tchaikovsky in Moscow to the Queen
Elisabeth of Belgium. They have won Pulitzer Prizes, Grammys, Emmys, Guggenheim
and Fulbright Fellowships, ASCAP and BMI Awards, Prix du Monde, and Rome Prizes
among others, and are featured in hundreds of recordings on all major labels.
Many Peabody faculty members are world famous performers.

At the open house, there will be performances by the Peabody Symphony
Orchestra and the Peabody Concert Orchestra in the Friedberg Concert Hall. There
will be organ recitals throughout the afternoon in Griswold Hall. In the
historic George Peabody Library there will be performances by Conservatory
guitar students and Preparatory ensembles. Outside, in the Plaza, there will be
demonstrations by the Prep dance department and participatory Early Childhood
Music programs.

There will be a special tour for our group at 2:15 pm. After entering the
security gate at the Peabody on the Charles Street side, you should see a
Stanford sign in the interior plaza where I will be assembling our group for the
tour. The tour will last about 30 minutes. After the tour, our group will go to
the main concert hall to listen to a few performances. At about 4:30, we will
leave the Peabody and walk across the street to Hackerman House. Hackerman House
is a part of The Walters Art Gallery and houses many fine pieces from Asia
displayed in an intimate setting. At any time, feel free to split from the group
and enjoy the other happenings. Please try to reassemble at 5:00 in front of the
Peabody Charles Street entrance. At that point, some will meet their rides home
while others may wish to stay and dine at some of Baltimore’s fine restaurants
of which I will have a few suggestions and maps and directions to get there.

Transportation:

Directions from Washington: Head north on I-95 to Baltimore. Exit onto I-395
to Downtown. Continue to the end of I-395 and turn right at the first stop light
onto Conway St. Turn left at the second light onto Charles St. Turn right on
Pratt. Turn left on Calvert. Turn left on Monument St. Turn left on St. Paul St.

The Peabody underground parking lot is at Monument and St. Paul. If the lot
is full, continue south on St. Paul. Turn right on Franklin. Turn right on Park
Ave. Turn right on Center St. There is another pay lot at Cathedral and Center
St. If you lose your bearings, The Peabody is next to a really tall circular
monument (about 150 ft. tall) which should be visible from Charles St.

Alternatively, I will be departing from Stanford in Washington at 12:30pm,
and I will have room for 5 passengers; others may also follow me from that
point. If you are lost or separated from the group, I will have my cell phone
with me. Just call 800-264-5552. Please RSVP to Tom Hwang, email: tom.hwang@alumni.stanford.org
or tel 410-884-3533, as a rough number of attendees would be helpful to me. I
especially need to know if you need a ride or are willing to provide a ride.


Orioles vs. Yankees
Camden Yards
Friday, September 29, 2000

Join us up at Camden Yards for the Orioles vs. Yankees game Friday September
29th. If you want to buy tickets (we reserved 29 together) please contact Nick
Mahrt at nicholas.mahrt@ipnews.com or 703-416-8536 (work);703-683-1197 (home).


Entrepreneurship Networking
October 11, 2000 (tentative)

The WDCSA is planning an informal networking event for those in or interested
in entrepreneurship positions in software, IT, Biotech, or any other field. The
event is aimed at letting those who left Silicon Valley after Stanford meet and
learn from others with similar interests and experiences. The tentative date is
Wednesday, October 11th at 7. More details to follow in the next newsletter. If
you have ideas about what you would like to see at such an event, or would like
to help organize it (possibly with links to other alumni groups), please contact
Eric Sword at ericsword@grouplogic.com.


Stanford DC GALA Welcomes New Members

The Stanford DC Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association (GALA) welcomes Stanford
alums new to the transient DC area. The DC GALA group, active since last fall,
has grown to more than 30 members. GALA provides a unique opportunity for gay
and lesbian Stanford alums to socialize, network, find support, and learn about
the DC gay and lesbian community.

Past events have included happy hours and a Millenium March Weekend Reception
with the Harvard DC GALA group. In August we held a reception and dinner with
the Duke GALA group. At this event Duke Professor and Stanford alumnus John
Younger (BA ’67) spoke about how his experience as an activist at Stanford in
the late 60s influenced his fight to create the Program in Sexuality Studies at
Duke.

For more information about GALA, please contact Jason Husgen (AB ’97) at j.husgen@stanfordalumni.org or (202) 887-0781.


Don Quichotte
Thursday, October 26 at 8:00 PM

Opera lovers and first-timers: We still have several tickets for Don
Quichotte on October 26 (prime orchestra seats at $118). (All our seats for Il
Trovatore on November 16th are sold). Don Quichotte features renowned
basso Ruggero Raimondi and Washington’s own Denyce Graves. For tickets, please
send a check made out to WDCSA to Julie Campbell, 2601 Klingle Road NW,
Washington DC 20008. Questions? Contact Julie at 202-244-0206 or juliecampbell@aol.com.

For forward planners: We also have tickets for Turandot and Don Carlo next
March. Please watch for details in subsequent WDCSA newsletters.


The WDCSA Wants You

The WDCSA is still looking for Board members to help organize the following:

Big Game Party
Holiday Party
Sports Events

If you are interested in getting involved, contact Callista Chen at callista@stanfordalumni.org
or (202) 319.1841.


Looking Ahead …

Keep your eye out for more information on the following events;

October 2000 Breakfast Briefing with Dr. Jim Baker, (Stanford Ph.D.), Under
Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Wednesday, November 8, 2000 Breakfast Briefing with Darryl Wold (Stanford
LL.B.), Chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

Thursday, November 9, 2000 Adopt-a-School Reception at the Embassy of Finland