WDCSA Newsletter – March 2009

Sun 3/8 Stanford Book Club Meeting
Thu 3/12   Pac-10 Men´s Basketball Tourney Happy Hour
Sat 3/14 Community Service at Washington Parks
Fri 3/27 Ivy Singles Kick-Off Spring
Fri 3/27,  Sun 3/29 Stanford Women’s Lacrosse
Sat 4/25 Community Service: Hands on DC Work-a-thon
Sun 4/26  Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point Horse Races
Sat 5/2 Stanford at the Opera
Sat 5/16 WDCSA at the Arena Stage

*Calling Stanford Softballers*
*Stanford Alum Looking for Housing*
*Alternative Spring Break Assistance*
*Stanford in the News*


Stanford Book Club Meeting
Sunday, Mar 8  5:00pm

The book group is meeting on Sunday, March 8, at the home of Walter and Diana Wilson in Fairfax Station to discuss the novel The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai.
The April book  is The Discovery of Freedom by Rose Wilder Lane. In April, the group will meet on the third Sunday of the month.

People interested can join the yahoo group site, or e-mail alisoncolew@hotmail.com for information.


Pac-10 Men´s Basketball Tournament Happy Hour
Thursday, Mar 12 5:00pm
Regional Food and Drink (RFD),
810 7th St NW,
Washington DC

Join all Pac-10 alumni clubs on March 12 for the Pac-10 men’s basketball tournament party.  The first game starts at 3:00 pm at RFD.

The #7 through #10 seeds in the Pac-10 must win Wednesday night to advance to a Thursday match-up. At this point, it is likely that Stanford will be playing Wednesday night. Please check Wednesday’s results for Thursday’s Stanford game time.

Special thanks to the UCLA Club of Washington DC for organizing this event.  Please contact Jim Arrison at J_ARRISON@msn.com should you have any questions.


Community Service at Washington Parks
Saturday, Mar 141:00-4:00pm
Marvin Gaye Park,
601 Division Ave NE,
Washington, DC

Does this winter weather make you wish for spring and a chance to spend time outdoors? On Saturday, March 14 from 1:00-4:00pm, join other WDCSA volunteers for an afternoon of sprucing up the local area. Our group will be working in Marvin Gaye Park. Weather permitting, we may be involved in stream cleaning, fallen log and fallen tree removal, some painting, graffiti removal, trash removal, and possibly the placement of bollards (to prevent cars from illegally entering the park). We may also be helping with some indoor renovations to the Parks’ cafe area. More details will be available closer to the event. To sign up, please contact Tracy Williams at tracyw@gmail.com or Christina Russell at carussell17@comcast.net.


Ivy Singles Kick-Off Spring
Friday, Mar 27 6:30-9:00pm
Kiplinger Gallery, Editors Building
1729 H St NW
Washington, DC

The Cornell Club of Washington DC is pleased to host the Ivy Singles Social Club Beginning to Spring event. As the city trees turn green and the sun outlasts the dark, come out of hibernation and join us for our first event of the Spring with hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar.

We return once again to the Kiplinger Gallery, the longest running venue of all our events.  The Kiplinger Gallery includes maps, political portraits, photographs, prints, and paintings, most of which feature Washington architecture. This expansive collection originated in the 1920s when W. M. Kiplinger, a young reporter new to Washington, bought a single old Washington print for his small office. As the success of Kiplinger’s newsletter grew, so did his collection of Washingtoniana.

Prepaid Reservations: $25 by check to Steve Piekarec, 2535 West Meredith Drive, Vienna, Virginia, 22181, by Monday, March 23rd. Make checks payable to “The Cornell Club of Washington¨ and note your school on the check. $35 for email reservations (spiekare@verizon.net), phone reservations (703-281-4311), and walk-ins. Online pre-payment is also available on the Cornell Club
website.
http://www.cornellclubdc.org/events/2009/03/27/ivy-singles-march-event-kiplinger-gallery
Please RSVP to avoid lines at check-in and allow us to plan adequately.

The Kiplinger Gallery is accessible by Metro. Take Farragut North (Red Line) or Farragut West (Orange/Blue Lines). For those driving, street parking is available nearby after 6:30pm and there are also parking garages nearby (check on closing times).


Stanford Women’s Lacrosse
Friday, Mar 27                      4:00pm
Sunday, Mar 29                     12:00pm

Come watch the Stanford Women’s Lacrosse team take on Johns Hopkins at Homewood Field at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore on Friday and the University of Maryland at Ludwig Field at the University of Maryland in College Park on Sunday.  Further information will be e-mailed to WDCSA members later this month.  For further information, please contact Chris Shinkman at c.shinkman@verizon.net or 301-229-4427.


Community Service: Hands on DC Work-a-thon
Saturday, Apr 25

Come volunteer with fellow WDCSA members at the annual Hands on DC Work-a-thon! The WDCSA team will be part of an all-volunteer, community-wide effort to create better schools and brighter futures for students at one of more than 30 DC public schools in this day of service. We’ll be helping to refurbish a local school through a variety of projects requested by the school principal, which typically includes painting and landscaping projects. All supplies are provided and no experience is necessary. Register for the team by signing up at http://handsondc.kintera.org for the "WDCSA – Stanford Alums" team, or by emailing Tracy Williams at tracyw@gmail.com.


Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point Horse Races
Sunday, Apr 26 1:00pm
Glenwood Park,
Middleburg, VA

Get out your hat and binoculars out for a day at the races! Join WDCSA near the finish line for the Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point Horse Races.
 
The cost is $35 per person, which covers admission, a tasty tailgate picnic and libations, patron space near the finish line, and a souvenir program. Children under 10 are free. The event is held rain or shine.
 
Limited space is available so please purchase your ticket by April 19.  Reserve your ticket below or by sending a check payable to WDCSA to Margaret New, Middleburg Group, P.O. Box 933, Middleburg, VA 20118-0933. Tickets and directions will be mailed to you.

For further information call Margaret New at 703-298-2525 or email at Margaret@middleburggroup.com.



Stanford at the Opera
Saturday, May 2 6:00pm

Siegfried – Wagner
Saturday, May 2 at 6:00pm
Your only chance this year to hear Wagner in Washington – the third in Francesca Zambello’s American Ring Cycle with Alan Held (The Wanderer) and Heinz Fricke (conducting).  Very few tickets remain.
Deadline for ordering is April 3.  Tickets will be mailed week of April 13.
1st Tier and Orchestra: $111.50.  2nd Tier 1: $76.50.

For tickets – send a check payable to WDCSA to Betty Byrne, 1822 Ingleside Terrace NW, Washington, DC 20010.  Please contact Betty Byrne at bettybyrne@stanfordalumni.org or (202) 483-4048.


WDCSA at the Arena Stage
Saturday, May 16 2:00pm
1800 South Bell Street,
Arlington, VA 22202

Join WDCSA as we host an afternoon at the Arena Stage, Crystal City with a presentation of "Legacy of Light" a world premiere drama written by the Class of 1991’s very own Karen Zacarias. 

It’s the age of Enlightenment and Emilie du Châtelet, the dazzling, brilliant physicist of Voltaire’s dreams, suddenly realizes she is with child. At 42, and faced with a deadline, Emilie fights to finish her experiments to ensure her mathematical immortality. Jump to the present day, and fiery Olivia, on the verge of an unprecedented scientific discovery, abruptly feels an astonishing pull towards motherhood. Unable to conceive, she hires the charming and lively Millie as a surrogate. The growing light inside Millie connects the three women across the generations as they learn to balance domestic maternity, insatiable intellectual curiosity and the quest to have it all.

After the presentation, Karen will talk to us exclusively to take your questions about the play, the process of researching it and writing it, and how being a Stanford student continues to influence her writing.

Tickets are $20 for WDCSA members and young alumni (class of ’04 – ’08) and
$41.25 for non members.  Tickets are limited, so purchase yours as soon as possible but
no later than Friday, May 8.  Please contact Kimberly Loffer Coerr, ’91 at
kcoerr@stanfordalumni.org with any questions.



Calling Stanford Softballers

The Washington DC Stanford Association is one of the most active chapters in the Capital Alumni Network, an umbrella organization for college and university alumni clubs in the DC area. Among other activities, CAN manages a co-ed, slow-pitch softball league of 70 teams which play games at 6:30pm between April 15 and August 15 on the Washington Monument grounds. The fee for participation will be $20-25 and players are expected to make a commitment to play in as many games as their schedule will allow. To join the team, or for more info, contact Chris Shinkman at 301-229-4427 or c.shinkman@verizon.net.


Stanford Alum Looking for Housing

I’m a Stanford alum looking for a room to rent on a month-to-month lease for 3 nights a week. I work in Baltimore and DC in healthcare, and currently live in Baltimore. I would like to rent a
second place in DC so I have a nice place to sleep for the days that I work in DC. I’m responsible, considerate, friendly, and will keep your kitchen and bathroom clean. Price range: $400-700. Please contact me at tiag@jhmi.edu or at (650)799-2355.


Alternative Spring Break Assistance

Each year the Haas Center on the Stanford campus supports Alternative Spring.
Break trips for students to learn about and serve a community/public issue. This year a trip is going to Washington DC to learn about
veterans health issues. They are looking for support from alumni for:

– Evening meals for one or more of the following nights: Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and/or Friday.
– Housing in Washington, DC, or ideas for hostels and/or discount hotels. Students have sleeping bags and need a large space to sleep, and access to a shower and kitchen to make breakfast and pack lunches.

– Additional suggestions for stakeholders in the Veterans Administration system or contacts for service projects in the DC area that support
veterans.

More information about the trip can be found at:
http://haas.stanford.edu/index.php/item/2284

If you can provide assistance, please contact Megan Fogarty at megan.fogarty@stanford.edu.


Stanford in the News

– Stanford Political Science Professor Michael McFaul has been tapped by President Barack Obama to serve as Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs of the National Security Council.

– Stanford received 30,349 applications to the Class of 2013, a 20 percent increase over last year’s total and an all-time high.