WDCSA Newsletter – February 2015

WDCSA NEWSLETTER
February 2015

Boomers to Busters Vintage Game Night
Wednesday, February 4 5:30-8 pm
Woodrow Wilson House,
2340 S St NW,
Washington, DC

Boomers to Busters is teaming up again with the Woodrow Wilson House to host Vintage Game Night! Enjoy a unique game night experience with all-you-can-play vintage board games, gaming munchies, and two drinks.

After serving as the twenty-eighth President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson moved to S Street to reflect on his career as educator, president, and world statesman. The house gives a special glimpse into the private life of President Wilson and has authentic 1920s furniture. It is a 15-minute walk from the Dupont Circle Metro’s north exit and the closest parking garages. Street parking is limited but the N2, N4 and N6 buses go along “Embassy Row.”

To purchase tickets for $25 or for more information, please visit www.uchicagodc.org/boomerstobusters. Tickets will be sold at the door but guests are encouraged to register in advance.

Ivy Singles Happy Hour
Friday, February 13 6:30-9 pm
SoBe’s,
3100 Clarendon Blvd.,
Arlington, Va

Following a well-attended and fun evening last February, Ivy Singles is returning to Sobe’s in trendy Clarendon. Enjoy a buffet of hearty hors d’oeuvres and linger over drinks at the cash bar. The cost is $25 if you pre pay and $35 at the door.

Send $25 check, payable to CUCDC, to Nancy Tate, 901 N. Monroe St., Apt. 705, Arlington, VA 22201 by Monday, Feb. 9. Please note your school on the check.

Take orange line metro to Clarendon station, cross Clarendon Blvd. Entrance is off the street, in the courtyard. Park in area garages or very limited street parking.

Questions? Contact Charlotte Perry ’81, charmperry@gmail.com , 202-341-8799.

Ivy/Seven Sisters Winter Indoor Mixed Doubles Tennis Party
Saturday, February 28 6:45-11:45 pm
Four Seasons Tennis Club,
3010 Williams Dr, Merrifield, Va

The Harvard Club of Washington DC invites Stanford alumni to join the Ivy schools plus the Seven Sisters for one of its most popular events. Celebrating its 20th year, the Winter Indoor Mixed Doubles Tennis Party is an enjoyable way to socialize, meet potential partners, and network with alumni members and their guests.

Admission for players with advance registration is $25. Door admission for players is $30 and is payable by cash or check, no credit card. Admission is $10 for non-players. Register at www.harvard-dc.org by February 27 to receive the advance registration rates. Refund requests must be received by 3pm on February 27.

For any questions, please contact Kuni Matsuda at KMatsuda@konterra.com.

Stanford Men’s Basketball Game Watch
Sunday, March 1 7pm
Irish Channel,
500 H Street, NW,
Washington, DC

The Cardinal men’s team has just made it to the top 25 rankings and is in pursuit of the PAC12 title and a trip to the NCAA tournament. Come and join Stanford and Oregon fans for a joint game watch as the two teams battle. We’ll be joining the DC Ducks for this game watch. No RSVP required. Food and drink specials provided. Wear your Cardinal colors.

Questions? Contact Chris Shinkman 301-229-4427 c.shinkman@verizon.net

DC Book Club Discussion
Sunday, March 8 5 pm

The book group will discuss The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. The April book is the novel, A Hero of Our Times, by Lermontov.

Email Alison Westfall at alisoncolew@hotmail.com for more information. New people are welcome.

Stanford at the Opera
Friday, March 13 7:30 pm
Kennedy Center Opera House,
Washington, DC

In March, we sail with Wagner’s ‘Flying Dutchman.’ All Stanford ticket holders are invited to a backstage tour before the opera.

In Richard Wagner’s retelling of the nautical legend, formidable bass-baritone Grammy Award winner Eric Owens, one of the most in-demand American opera stars of our day, returns to the Washington National Opera to make his stage debut as the Flying Dutchman, condemned to wander the seas on a ship of ghosts. He can only venture ashore once every seven years to seek his salvation: a woman’s unconditional love.

Prime Orchestra tickets are $152; Second Tier Prime tickets are $103. For tickets – send a check payable to WDCSA to Betty Byrne, 1822 Ingleside Terrace NW, Washington DC 20010. Contact Betty at 202.483.4048 or bettybyrne@stanfordalumni.org.

WDCSA Afternoon at the Gridiron Club’s 2015 Reprise
Sunday, March 15 2-5 pm,
Washington Renaissance Hotel
999 Ninth St NW,
Washington, DC

Join WDCSA members and their guests for a special invitation to The Gridiron Club’s 2015 Reprise at the Washington Renaissance Hotel. Watch Gridiron members such as Al Hunt of Bloomberg, John King of CNN, Andrea Mitchell of NBC, Judy Woodruff of PBS, Bret Baier of Fox News, and Stanford’s very own Doyle McManus (’74) of the Los Angeles Times perform songs and skits in costume!

The Gridiron Club is the legendary press club that has performed an annual musical show for Presidents and members of Congress since 1885. The Reprise recaps the formal white-tie Gridiron dinner and musical show held the previous night. The Reprise’s orchestra is conducted by the director of the U.S. Marine Band, Lt. Col. Jason Fettig. The Sunday performance is traditionally given exclusively for Gridiron members’ friends and family, but Mr.
McManus and the Gridiron Club have extended a special invitation to WDCSA members and their guests once again.
Meet Doyle McManus and his fellow Gridiron Club members during the reception starting at 2pm (look for the Stanford banner). Enjoy an open bar and light
hors d’oeuvres during the reception hour. The show begins at 3pm. Tickets are $70 and can be purchased by visiting: http://alumni.stanford.edu/goto/event17038. Dress is business casual.

Not a WDCSA member? Become a member for $15 by clicking "Join" at https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/groups/overview/?group_id=0038990539

Baltimore Book Club Discussion
Wednesday, March 18 7:30 pm
Mother’s Federal Hill Grille,
1113 S. Charles St.,
Baltimore, Md

The March selection is The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman. This book won the 2012 Goodreads Choice Award under historical fiction, and rated 4.4 out of 5 stars by over 8,000 Amazon readers. DreamWorks Pictures is producing the film, and Touchstone Pictures is scheduled to release it in 2016. The May selection is A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

Questions/RSVP: Helene Myers, Ph.D., P’14, at cedarhouse@comcast.net or at (301)655-5871

Who Bleeds, Who Pays?
The All-Volunteer Force and the Growing Civil-Military Divide
Monday, March 23 6– 8:30 pm
Ft. McNair Officer’s Club,
4th and P Streets SW, Building 60
Washington, DC

In 1973 the United States gave up its military draft system and transitioned to the all-volunteer force. Now, more than four decades later, Americans warmly honor their warriors and take pride in their nation’s fighting machine. But do civilians fully understand the nature of the modern military’s missions? Are the burdens of service fairly shared? Perhaps most importantly, has the all-volunteer force, by its very nature, weakened civil society’s authority over the force that fights in its name and its behalf?

Please join us for an evening reception and lecture by Pulitzer Prize-winning Professor Emeritus David Kennedy ’63, Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus, who has spoken about this topic as part of TedxStanford.

A lauded professor for 40 years, Professor Kennedy received the Pulitzer Prize in History (2000) and Hoagland Prize for Undergraduate Teaching (2005) and is the founding Co-Director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford
According to History Prof. Jack Rakove, following Kennedy’s retirement in 2008, "David has been virtually a legendary figure at Stanford. His participation in University affairs has been across the board and he has really been a ‘Mr. Stanford’ and overall University citizen. Very few of our colleagues have contributed as much as he has to the University."

Doors open at 6:00. The Main Gate will close to event attendees at 7pm sharp. If you arrive after 7:00 we’ll be unable to provide a refund. From 6:30 – 7:30pm, there will be a reception- heavy hors d’ouevres, cash bar followed by remarks, Q & A from 7:30 – 8: 30pm.

Register online through March 19th at https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/events/details?event_id=17027

Early Admission, through March 6: $15 for Stanford alumni and guests, $10 for alumni ’05 – ’14
Regular Admission, beginning March 7: $20 for
Stanford alumni and guests, $15 for alumni ’05 – ‘14

Registration ends March 19th.
Traveling to Ft. McNair:
Google Map
Ft. McNair Map (Officer’s Club is at the bottom in the middle, right above the words "Washington Channel")
Driving instructions.

When you arrive at the Main Gate, you will be asked for a photo ID. Once inside the gate, drive straight on 3rd Avenue to a ‘T’ intersection at an open field. Follow a sign that directs you to turn left onto B Street, right onto 4th, and right onto C Street. You will be heading toward Building 60, the Officers’ Club, a two-story brick building with four columns marking the front entrance. Parking is ample and free.

Metro and walking? Take the Green Line to Waterfront Station. Walk south on 4th Street to P Street. Turn left and the Ft. McNair Main Gate will be to your immediate right and you are halfway! Once
inside the gate, head straight toward an open field, and walk to the far right/southeast side of the field to Building 60, the Officers’ Club. Allow thirty minutes to walk from the Metro station, through Security and to the event.

Please contact Rachel Dolkas, rdolkas@stanford.edu, 650-497-3099 or Risa Shimoda, risa@theshimodagroup.com, 301-502-6548 with questions.

Boomers to Busters: Songs of the 1980s Cabaret
Saturday, March 28 7:30-11pm
Atlas Theater,
1333 H Street NE,
Washington, DC

If you have ever taped songs off the radio, come listen to the first songs of Prince, Madonna, and Whitney Houston that hit the air waves while Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera were opening on Broadway. Let the Congressional Chorus bring you back to the songs and dance of the decade of leg warmers and headbands.

Tickets are $60 for Reserved Seating and $45 for General Admission. For more information and to reserve your tickets, visit:
www.uchicagodc.org/boomerstobusters. This show has always sold out so get your tickets as soon as possible.

Boomers to Busters is sponsored by the University of Chicago Club of DC. It is targeted for undergraduate and graduate alumni of Chicago and other schools who were undergraduates from the 1970s to 1990s, and their spouses, partners, and guests.

Rock Creek Park Trash Clean-up
Saturday, April 11 9 am – 12 pm
Under the Taft Bridge Near the Woodley Park Metro
Washington, DC

Come spend a morning helping to keep our District and the Potomac River Watershed clean by volunteering to pick up trash. As part of the Alice Ferguson Foundation’s Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, the Washington DC Stanford Association is hosting a clean-up site. To RSVP please fill out this webform (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1-YmOqO2Znjr-D_N5p6b23KeYpGhlGCUQpAiixAzIQgQ/viewform?usp=send_form). If you have any questions, please contact Amy Kroll, Class of 2012, at akroll@alumni.stanford.edu.

Stanford Black Alumni Summit
May 1-3,
Atlanta, GA

The Stanford Black Alumni Association – Washington, DC cordially invites local alums to attend the 2015 Stanford Black Alumni Summit. The previous Summit in New York, 2013 was amazing! This year it will take place in Atlanta, Ga and the theme is Rising to the Occasion: Answering the Call for Leadership in the
Black Community. Black alumni from across the globe, classes, schools, eras, professions, and walks of life will convene in Atlanta to network and celebrate. For more information about the Summit, click here:
www.stanfordblackalumni.org/. The registration fee is $350 and $250 for classes 2010-2014.
To register, visit this link: http://alumni.stanford.edu/goto/2015sbas.

If you have any questions about the Summit, visit the FAQ page here: www.stanfordblackalumni.org/2015-black-alumni-summit-faq/ or send an email to sbaanational@stanfordalumni.org.

Get Involved

WDCSA Elections
• WDCSA is led by a team of four officers: President, two co-Vice Presidents, and Treasurer. We will be conducting an election for the first time in many years, and hope you will consider nominating an enthusiastic alum to help us move the organization forward! We are seeking candidates for two offices, President and one of the VPs, for a term of two years. The other two officers will remain to create staggered terms to encourage continuity when people leave office. The following describes the position responsibilities:

PRESIDENT
-Liaison to Stanford Alumni Office and other Washington, DC-based Stanford alumni organizations
-Sets planning meeting dates and location
-Sets agenda for planning meetings
-Insures there is a hard copy of the agenda and the Treasurer’s Report and other materials intended for sharing at meetings, in absence of a board Secretary
-Conducts, facilitates planning meetings
-Oversees all (Board) WDCSA sponsored events –
-Delegates the planning, implementation of events
-Serves as an ex-officio officer for six months to one year, as agreed upon, after her/his term attends
-Attends Alumni Leadership training on Stanford campus

VICE PRESIDENT
(When there are two Vice Presidents, the following describes their collective responsibility)
-Conducts, facilitates planning meetings in absence of President
-Brings or arranges for snacks and beverages for each planning meeting
-Prepares and posts minutes of meeting
-Chairs events of special interest, ongoing activities
-Steps in to fill an absent presidential position and is favorable to running for President during the subsequent cycle
-Attends planning meetings, keeps weekly communication with President
-Serves the President on special assignments

If you are interested in running for one of the two positions, email a short Bio and Statement of Interest that is 100-150 words in length to Risa Shimoda at risa@theshimodagroup.com by Friday, February 13th. The polls will open the following week, and voting instructions will be emailed to WDCSA members. The online voting will be open until March 2.

Thank you for your interest and support for WDCSA and our incoming team of awesome officers!

Stanford In the News

• A Stanford researcher found that students in highachieving communities who spend too much time on homework experience more stress, physical health problems, a lack of balance and even alienation from society. More than two hours of homework a night may be counterproductive, according to the study.
• The results from a long-term collaboration between Stanford scientists and indigenous people in Guyana suggests that traditional remote sensing techniques might be undervaluing the region’s carbon storage potential by as much as 40 percent. The work could influence how indigenous people in Guyana and elsewhere manage their forests and lead to greater opportunities for these communities to engage in carbon offset programs.

This month’s newsletter is available for download in PDF format.