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FRESHMAN MAILER 2009 2010

WELCOME, FROM OUR PRESIDENT AND MASTER

On behalf of Slivka Hall, we would like to welcome you to the Residential College of Science & Engineering. Our goals are to promote interactions between our students and the faculty in more casual settings beyond the confines of classroom walls; to offer our students a wide array of exciting intellectual, cultural, sporting, and social events; and to actively involve our students in a friendly, comfortable living and learning community. Slivka Hall is a state-of-the-art facility with such features as high-speed Internet access, a cyber cafe, a music room, and a Discovery Center stocked with scientific equipment and computers for exclusive use by Slivka's residents. The large, kitchen-equipped, second-floor commons area is a favorite meeting place for students to unwind by playing billiards, ping pong, or foosball with professional-quality equipment, or simply to have munchies while watching their favorite show on the big screen TV. This room is also used to host academic firesides by Northwestern professors, and a wide range of other special events. Slivka's residents are some of the best, brightest, and most talented young men and women to be found anywhere. Included among us are students pursuing majors in science and engineering as well as in the humanities and music. This creates a group of shared, yet diverse interests, which fosters a sense of belonging in our community. Slivka's official mission is to encourage a humanistic view of science and engineering. We interpret this in many ways. Our activities include trips to Chicagos renowned museums, theaters, and comedy clubs. We also have fun camping, biking, BBQing and attending professional sporting events. Back within Slivka's walls, we host a range of events, from social, to academic, to philanthropic, and even technological (we are the Science and Engineering dorm, after all). We eat meals with professors in the dining hall at weekly Prof to Peer Lunches and at the quarterly Student Faculty Receptions. Additional activities for the academic year may include special for-credit tutorials (in the past, topics included American Sign Language, Visual Basic, and AIDS and Society). The key to all of our events is that they grow out of student interest. We encourage you to take advantage of Slivkas activities, and to personally get involved in organizing additional activities of your own. We hope you will forge new and enduring relationships and have the time of your life while here at Slivka. We look forward to meeting you in the fall!
Best Wishes, Art Schmidt Master of Slivka Ryan Brock President of Slivka

CONTENTS
The Executive Board2 Letter from the Masters..4 Other Members.4 Big Sib Little Sib..5 Useful Links..5 Slivka Vocabulary5 What to Bring....6 Week One...6

Ben Slivka Ben earned BS and MS degrees in the early 1980s from NU and joined the board of trustees in 1998. He spent 14 years at Microsoft, where he worked on OS/2, MS-DOS, and Windows, and started the Internet Explorer team and led it through the release of IE 3. He is currently Chairman and Co-Founder of DreamBox Learning, and he and his wife Lisa Wissner-Slivka (WCAS 85) have three children and live near Seattle. Slivka Hall was made possible by a gift from the Wissner-Slivka Foundation in 2000, and Ben was a member of the design team.

President Ryan Brock

Hey, Im Ryan, and Im your President for the upcoming year. Im from Lisle, IL, and went to Naperville North High School. This year Ill be a Junior in Materials Science Engineering , and when Im not in lab, working on problem sets, or going to Slivka events, youll find me either hanging out in the rec lounge or around my suite either way, Ill probably be playing a game of some sort. I also play for all of our intramural sports teams. As the President, I serve as the leader of the executive board and also as the leader of Slivka in general. This means Im generally involved with most of the things Slivka does. Over the next year, Ill be your go-to guy for all things Slivka. If youre already super excited about living in Slivka and have burning questions for me, feel free to shoot me an email! E-mail: ryanbrock2011@gmail.com

Vice President Kushal Amin

Slivkans! My names Kushal (Koo-cial) and I come from the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Ill be a junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering (and possibly Economics, Biomedical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, MaDE, or any combination of the above). As a VP, I mostly deal with the internal affairs of Slivka, including things such as points, the housing process, non-resident membership, the constitution, etc., and during my spare time, I enjoy watching cricket, playing Risk, participating in philanthropic events, or just spending quality time with friends. Enjoy your summer, and Go Cats!

E-mail: kushalamin2007@u.northwestern.edu Treasurer Tyler Boschert

Why hello there! My name is Tyler Boschert, I'm from Colorado, and I love baseball--the rest is just details. I'm the Treasurer of Slivka, which means that I handle all of the college's financial records and interact with the Student Organization Finance Office (SOFO) on an almost-daily basis. Whenever the college needs money to make a purchase, I'm the man to talk to. It's my very sincere pleasure to welcome you to Slivka, and I encourage you to come talk to me if you feel like it--especially if you're thinking about majoring in chemical engineering ;). See you in September!

E-mail: tylerboschert2007@u.northwestern.edu Academic Chair Alex Zhukhovitskiy

My name is Alex Zhukhovitskiy, and I will be your Ukrainian Academic Chair for next year. The main responsibility of the Academic Committee is setting up fun and educational events for you and other Slivkans, from going to the zoo to getting to know the "Knight of nanotechnology." I myself am a rising junior majoring in chemistry, math, and ISP. During my free time, I enjoy both playing and watching football (the real one), watching The Office, playing board games and, most of all, doing pranks. If you're ever curious, let me know - I've got plenty of good stories to tell.

E-mail: aleksandrzhukhovitskiy2007@u.northwestern.edu Faculty Chair Rachel Wang

Hello! Originally from Peoria, Illinois, I am a sophomore in Weinberg, majoring in Biology with a Neurobiology concentration and minoring in Global Health. I enjoy shopping, going on adventures in downtown Chicago, and playing the piano. My favorite flavor of ice cream is pistachio, and my favorite color is blue. Large stuffed animals are my weakness (if you ever get the chance to stop by my room, you would know what I mean). I am studying abroad this summer in Beijing, China, with the Public Health in China program. I am really excited to be Faculty Chair! As the new liaison, my plan is to foster more relationships between the Fellows and Slivkans through the Fellow Liaison program! My events include Prof-to-Peer (P2P) lunches, where our Fellows come to eat lunch with us two times a week, small group dinners with the professors either at their homes or at area restaurants, occasional weekend brunches, and the Student Faculty Reception (SFR), where the Fellows and Slivkans have a very delicious, catered meal and the chance to bond and form friendships. As you can see, most of my events revolve around food...but who doesn't like food? =) I look forward to meeting you all!

E-mail: rachel.wang@u.northwestern.edu

Social Chair Michelle Pineda

Hi everyone and welcome to Slivka! I'm Michelle Pineda, Slivka's Social Chair. As social chair I'm in charge of organizing activities for our dorm to do including various munchies, movie nights, karaoke, BBQs, and a wonderful formal that will happen sometime during the year. I'm majoring in biomedical engineering. One of my favorite things to do is run. I am also a huge fan of motivational quotes with my recent favorite being, "there are no traffic jams on the extra mile". I'm super excited to meet you all! If you have any questions please to do not hesitate to ask!

E-mail: michellepineda2012@u.northwestern.edu Philanthropy Chair Martha Golonko

My name is Martha and I am in charge of organizing and planning philanthropic events for you. Though most events my committee focus on entail fundraising for NU's Dance Marathon and The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, we also give Slivkans the opportunity to participate in weekly volunteering trips that range from tutoring children to visiting animal shelters. To tell you about myself, I am a Polish, female, Chicago-native, rising junior math major at WCAS, and I hope to graduate within the next couple years to pursue my goal of obtaining a Masters in Education and teaching at the high school level. Like I mentioned, my family is Polish, so if you ever have a craving for some pierogi or nalesniki or just need some cleaning supplies, you can count on me. I love reading Russian literature, travel, and animalsespecially my dog, Abby. Other than that, when in Slivka, you can find me watching episodes of "The Office" or around anyone with a good sense of humor. Hope to meet you soon.

E-mail: t3q4g8@u.northwestern.edu Facilities Chair John Regan

Born in 1988 in a Chicago suburb, John spent his early years in the peaceful bliss of ignorance. He went to a private Catholic high school named Montini. There John played football and baseball. He finished high school and decided to go to Northwestern. He is also a biomedical engineer. He is also the facilities director of Slivka. As the director of facilities, he has the responsibility of overseeing all the equipment inside of Slivka. This includes the recreation equipment and the TV in the rec lounge, the music room, the first floor kitchen, as well as the discovery room. In addition, he makes sure that the other Exec members have access to these supplies and his committee helps set up and clean up after events. The most important part of the job, however, is that of a voting member of the Executive Board, he has the responsibility to make sure that the best interests of Slivka are upheld.

E-mail: johnregan2007@u.northwestern.edu IT Chair Alex Zylman

Hi, my name is Alex Zylman and I'm from Mound, Minnesota. I'm a computer engineer with a quirky sense of humor. I was elected with 100% of the vote to the position of IT chair last March (editor's note: Alex ran unopposed). The IT committee hosts gaming tournaments, LAN parties, and technology firesides. In the past we've done things such as a Super Smash Brothers tournament, a Quake 3 gaming event, and a fireside on how to save money online. We also maintain the technology around Slivka, such as the printers and the computers. In addition, we also oversee management of Slivka's several listservs and the website.

E-mail: azylman@u.northwestern.edu Historian Eli Bader

Salutations! Im Eli Louis Bader, the current Historian of Slivka. I am a Biology major in the Weinberg College of Arts and Science specializing in molecular biology and genetics. I am a sanguine individual, and nearly always in high spirits. In my free time I enjoy playing games of nearly any sort, and partake in light-hearted shenanigans of varying nature. As Historian, its my job to document the goings on in and around Slivka and keep all the members of our community well informed of events past, present, and future.

E-mail: elibader2007@u.northwestern.edu

A Letter from the Master Staff

I am enjoying my fourth year as the Master of the Slivka Science and Engineering Residential College. Among my goals are to be actively and visibly engaged in the Slivka community, and to be readily availability to Slivka residents as their advisor, mentor, advocate, and friend. To help me fulfill these goals, Slivka has a graduate student Assistant Master. This was our current Assistant Masters last year at NU, and our new one has yet to be determined at the time of this documents publication. Also to assist me is my Associate Master, Owen Priest, who is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry. Owen Priest has been with Slivka for several years and is always willing to help out a Slivka resident in any way necessary. So, do contact any of us with your questions and comments. Usually, that's as easy as sitting down to lunch or dinner, since one of us will generally be enjoying your company at the Slivka tables in Sargent Dining Hall. But, we're also readily available at other times via telephone, email, and person-to-person visits. We share an office in Slivka just to the right as you come in the main entrance on the west side of Slivka. Feel free to drop in any time, our door is open.

Arthur Schmidt Distinguished Senior Lecturer (Physics and Astronomy) Master, Slivka Residential College Office: Tech E-mail: aschmidt@northwestern.edu Owen Priest Distinguished Senior Lecturer (Chemistry) Office: Tech L-212 AIM: OPPorgo E-mail: o-priest@northwestern.edu

Arthur Schmidt Master

New Assistant Master (Were getting a new one for next year) Graduate Student Office: To be announced E-mail: NewGuy@u.northwetern.edu

Owen Priest Associate Master

Other People You Should Know About

Community Assistants (CAs)
The role of the community assistant is to help members of Slivka adjust and interact within the residential college. They are responsible for making sure everyone respect the rules set forth by University Housing, and make an excellent resource for advice on all matters of university life. CAs are fellow undergraduate students, and Slivkas three CAs live on the second, third, and fourth floors of the building.

Suitemates
Rooms in Slivka are structured in suites, allowing residents to develop a unique relationship with their suitemates. Suites typically share single and double rooms, a lounge, and two bathrooms. Upperclassmen and underclassmen are mixed in each suite, allowing new additions to our community a ready resource of knowledgeable neighbors. Be sure to try and contact your suitemates before moving in so you can bring some cool stuff for your suite lounge.

Fellows
There are several professors and Northwestern staff members affiliated directly with Slivka. These individuals are known as Slivkas fellows. You will frequently see them attending P2P (Professor-to-Peer) lunches, where theyll sit in Slivkas room at Sargent (the closest dormitory with food facilities, and therefore the most popular Slivka dining location) to talk and eat with Slivkas residents. Theyre an excellent contact for questions about classes and interesting conversations about research, and many will be your professors at some point during your Northwestern career.

Big Sib / Little Sib Program

Upon arriving at Slivka, you will be paired up with an upperclassman as a part of the Big Sib/Little Sib Program. They will be there to help you and advise you throughout the year regarding any questions you might have about Slivka or college in general. Please send Michelle (michellepineda2012@u.northwestern.edu) an email with the following information: Name: School: Major: Home State/Country: Interests: Favorite Food: What kinds of social activities would you like to see Slivka Host? Do you know anyone in Slivka who you would like to be your Big Sib?

*Also, please send me a picture of yourself (funny or serious)

How to get to Slivka:

http://www.slivka.northwestern.edu/ - Look under Directions on the top left pane under About the Building. Provides directions to the Northwestern campus by train, car, or plane. Also provides colored maps and photos to direct incoming residents to the proper parking lot and into the building.

Campus Map:
http://www.northwestern.edu/visiting/maps/ Useful once on campus to locate New Student Week events and classrooms.

NULink:
http://asg.northwestern.edu/nulink/basic.phpnulink/ The standard website link for Northwestern students. Provides information regarding campus-wide events,

NUCuisine:
http://www.northwestern.edu/nucuisine/ Provides information and weekly menus regarding food on campus. Also offers descriptions of meal plans and dining locations.

Slivkas Website:
http://www.slivka.northwestern.edu/ Slivka Residential Colleges website: provides information on facilities usage, a calendar of upcoming events, pictures of the dorm, useful local businesses, and many other items of interest to Slivkas residents.

Evanston Dining:
http://restaurant.asg.northwestern.edu/ Useful link for finding dining places in Evanston, Northwesterns home city.

Norris Bookstore:
http://northwestern.bncollege.com/ The third tab down along the left sidebar allows you to enter class information to determine which textbooks youll need. Norris University Center hosts a bookstore in which these books can be purchased new or used, although it is typically less expensive to purchase these books online or through a used book retailer such as Becks in Evanston. Note that you will learn more about course selection during your first week here, so you wont be able to purchase these books until then.

Slivkan: Your new title. Used to refer to residents of Slivka Residential College. Fireside: Presentations given by various people discussing topics from astrophysics to cheesecake preparation. IM Sports: Slivka forms teams for the intramural sports of the quarter: Fall is football, volleyball & dodge ball. Rec Lounge: The recreation room on the 2nd floor with a Plasma TV, Ping Pong, Pool, and Foosball. Lisas: The Caf connected to our building providing sandwiches, laundry detergent, and other sundries.

Slivka Vocabulary

What to Bring and What not to

General Stuff in Slivka Refrigerators: 1 per floor, first and second floor share one, you might want your own as they fill up Microwaves: 1 per floor, first and second floor share one Vacuum: You might want your own as this one breaks occasionally Laundry Room: Washers and dryers Trash Cans Two Chairs, a couch, and a table: In each suite Feel free to coordinate and bring more stuff for your suite TV: In the Rec Lounge Printer: You will need to bring your own paper, you might want an extra as his one runs out of ink. Provided for Each Resident (In each room, double this for doubles) 1 Desk, 1 Chair, 1 Bed (Can be lofted for storage space beneath), 1 Closet Space, 1 Dresser, 1 Bookshelf. Each room also has one ceiling light and an air conditioning/heating unit. Do Not Bring Pets (of any sort, including fish), Microwaves, Coffee Makers/Water Heaters, Alcohol (if underage), Firearms/Explosives, Illegal Substances. Consider Bringing Clothes (casual and formal): Formal attire will be needed for dances and the Thanksgiving dinner. Additionally, the weather will be cold by thanksgiving, so you may wish to bring your winter coat. Toiletries: (hand soap, shower curtains, and toilet paper is provided) Shower Items: Shower sandals are useful, and towels need to be brought by residents. Many students use shower caddies to transport soap and shampoo. Computer/Laptop: (depending on your note-taking preferences, laptops are frequently used to take notes in class. If you bring a laptop, consider bringing a laptop lock as well. Both Macs and PCs are popular with students. There are outlets in many classrooms (if you look carefuly) and most get internet. Ethernet Cable: Wireless Internet is accessible in all parts of Slivka, but its not always reliable. Alarm Clock: Dont want to miss your classes now do you? Extra Lighting: Desk lamps, flashlights, and floor lamps are useful. Hangers: If you feel like hanging anything up in your closet. Cooking Utensils: If you wish to cook in one of out kitchens. Cups, plates, plasticware: Always nice to have on hand Spare cash: ATMs are available on campus. Additionally, accounts with US Bank may be linked to your student ID. www.univsvcs.northwestern.edu/WildCard/faq.html has more information on this process Pillow, Blankets, Extra-long sheets, Comforter: Beds are about 82 in by 40 in. Additional Storage/Shelving: Make the most of what you have, 1-2 milk crates fit stacked on the top shelf in closets, so you can get a little more storage space in them. Bike: Convenient for fast travel between north and south campus. Bikes must be registered with the campus police, who also sell excellent bike locks at cost. Bike racks are abundant everywhere on campus, and Slivka has a bike room in the basement for indoor storage. Doorstop, and those other things you wouldnt think of Check the Website for more ideas and information about Slivka!

Your First Week at Northwestern

Your first week at Northwestern will be busy with activities to acclimate you to your new life. Northwestern will provide you with a peer advisor to answer questions and lead you through a set of mandatory activities during the day. At night, youll be entertained by a variety of shows and performances from different groups at Northwestern. Youll also have the chance to meet with your academic advisor (a professor from your school), to discuss graduation requirements and course selection. The Slivka exec board is planning its own orientation to the campus and the building, which should entertain and inform you. On Friday, sophomores, juniors, and seniors will move in, giving you the chance to meet your suitemates. This sounds like quite a lot, but keep in mind that, with every event, there is an associated group of people present with the only purpose of assisting you in your adjustment. Make sure to ask us as many questions as you can think of, no matter how silly they seem. Were very excited to have you here, and are looking forward to learning about each of you! Over the summer, if you have any questions regarding what to pack, how to get here, or what life at Northwestern will be like, you can email any of the members of the exec board. We all remember how stressful our pre-freshman summers were, and we want to make this transition as easy for you as possible. There is also a Slivka Facebook group, so you can ask questions and discuss your new life there. Enjoy your summer, and good luck packing for school! See you this fall,

Eli L Bader