Advice on Olin, Life & Love

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This past year, I put a lot of time and energy into finding the answers to the question “How can I get the most out of Olin, life, and love?” In last year’s SERV auction, two sophomores won an item donated by the entire class of 2013 in which the then-seniors promised to address any query to the best of their collective ability. This was the question posed, and it struck a chord with us all. Who hasn’t asked themselves at some point: “How can I be sure I’m getting things right?” Really, how can one tell? Dear reader, how do you?

I took it upon myself to track down my friends and peers in order to collect each of their responses. I can’t share what they said (it’s a trade secret, you see), but I can say what insights I gained from the process. It was an enlightening process – most SERV auction experiences are, and I suggest that any and all Oliners engage in it – and it highlighted to me the true worth of giving advice.

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GO Bike Program Revamped

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Olin is a unique community, and as such, it has unique opportunities and resources, including Olin’s GO bike program. Very few other colleges trust their students enough to have bikes that students can just take out and ride, and I immensely appreciate the easy access I have to GO bikes at Olin. My appreciation for the GO bikes led me to become involved in the program, and I’d like to share with you some of my thoughts. Recently, due to increasing concern about the use and treatment of the GO bikes, CORe has proposed some changes for the program.

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Newspapers Require Writers

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Many of you probably don’t know that Frankly Speaking was originally created three years ago as a means of fighting back against censorship by the Olin administration and promoting open dialog within the Olin community. As such a small school with a relatively small body of administrators as compared to the average college, it is not always easy for us, as students, to get our messages across to the right people. Often, I hear students expressing frustration about something without knowing any obvious path of remedying that frustration. Frankly Speaking hopes to bridge the divide between the students and the administration and to provide a forum for communication about issues facing our community.

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The State of Politics in MA

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Massachusetts held a special election this past June to fill the vacant Massachusetts senator position left by new Secretary of State John Kerry. Obama selected Kerry for the position after Hilary Clinton stepped down from her post at the end of January.

This marks the second time in the past four years that a long-held senate seat was up for election. Ted Kennedy and John Kerry served as Massachusetts senators for 47 years and 28 years, respectively.

Since Kennedy passed away in 2009, his senate seat has been well contested; he was followed briefly by interim senator Paul Kirk, then Scott Brown and finally Elizabeth Warren today.

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Boston Mayoral Election

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oct2013_bostonMayorBoston is looking to elect a new mayor in November. The current mayor, Mayor Thomas Menino has been in office since 1993 for five consecutive terms, and has decided not to run for a sixth.

In late March, Menino revealed his decision: “I’m here with the people I love, to tell the city I love that I will leave the job that I love.”

Since this announcement, there has been a flurry of movement among potential mayoral candidates who would like to take Menino’s seat. What kind of mayor will succeed Menino? He is known for being an excellent mayor, who developed many neighborhoods, touted pro-equality politics, created highly successful programs like “Boston Bikes,” and turned “Beantown” into “Greentown.”

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A Writer’s Rant on Gender

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oct2013_iGiveUpWhen writing, one thing is consistently difficult: choosing a character’s gender.

I mean, what are the factors to consider? We live in a world where diversity is demanded, and offending someone seems far too easy. Countless arguments persist in the media over how certain personas are portrayed as inaccurate or demeaning. And I, personally, am more than conscious of the push for equal gender balance, or “why are there no females?!” discussions.

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Extremely Accurate and Serious Horoscopes

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Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22): Be careful to tell the truth in the upcoming weeks, because your lies will come back to haunt you.

Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21): Mimic a trait you admire in others.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21): Be cautious of taking out your frustration on your friends. Remember they have your best interests at heart.

Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19): Go into Boston. It will be exceptionally easy this month. You will be able to enjoy the city in a new way.

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Meet the Oliner: Ian Hill

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oct2013_meetIanHillClass of 2017
From Northfield, New Hampshire

  • Founded his own company, “Ian’s Wicked Good Donuts,” and ended up meeting lots of donut-loving politicians.
  • He invented a realistic country in middle school with his friends. They had currency!
  • Part Scottish, Portuguese, and Australian. Can you see it in his face?

Updates from the Illustrious SERV Board

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Happy October from the SERV board! First, some good news – thanks to your votes, we have elected our two new general members from the first year class: Maddy Fort and Shrinidhi Thirumalai! We are super excited to have them join our team.

Now that the semester is well underway, we are looking for larger impact service projects that we can do over the course of the next few months. As always, if you have any ideas, let us know and we’ll see what we can figure out!

Here’s what we’ve been up to and what’s on the horizon as we enter the fall season:

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