Hello UHPers! In an effort to keep the Townhouse alive during the virtual learning period, we are starting a Tik Tok account for UHP-related content! Our username is @gwuhp. While we will be posting some of our own content, we can’t do this alone. Please send us your best memes and renegades and we will be sure to post them. The link to submit a video is here.
Category: Community Life
Digital Townhouse Discussion Forums (Fora?)
Miss the beautiful feeling of sitting in the townhouse and talking about everything and nothing? Well we can’t necessarily recreate that virtually…but we can certainly try our bests! And we are indeed going to do so. We are opening up the blog and the Facebook page for discussions from the serious to the whimsical and from the intimate to the trivial. Some examples:
I’m working on my thesis and I’m having trouble conceptualizing what Plato might say about sustainability. Does anyone have any thoughts on Plato, or honestly on political philosophy of sustainability in general?
Okay, but for real: how much wood could a woodchuck chuck (assuming this woodchuck could chuck wood).
Does anyone have tips for good virtual communal streaming apps? My partner and I were watching Love is Blind together before all this, and we want to keep it up!
Mario (the Nintendo plumber) joins the UHP as a part of the class of 2024. Who and what does he write his final Origins paper on? What grade does he receive?
I’m feeling really alone right now. I’m not really close with anyone in my family, and it’s been a rough time mental health-wise. Anyone have good tips for loneliness right now?
Regardless of what you want to discuss, we will also be REWARDING starting discussions! The first person in a given week to start a discussion on the Blog AND the Facebook page that receives more than three unique replies will receive a coveted Townhouse Token! That’s right– the first eligible post on the blog gets a token, and the first eligible post on Facebook gets a token.
How do you post on the blog? Well, you see the “Submit a Post” link right up top there? Click on that! Then type give your name, type the question, and make sure to select “Digital Townhouse Discussion” in the Categories section (so we know you’re not a random person asking about Mario). Then submit!
How do you post to the Facebook page? Go to the Facebook page, then write a post! And ta-da, you’ve posted to the Facebook page!
Now go forth, dear UHPers, and DISCUSS!
A COVID-19 Message to All Our Students
Note from Brianna:
I was feeling really under the weather the day we filmed so I’m sorry for the miserable face. I love you all! Feeling better now!
Transcript:
Professor Kung: Hello everyone, we hope wherever you are, you’re safe, you’re well, and you’re hanging in there. Clearly, this spring isn’t what any of us expected. From an educational standpoint, for the rest of the semester, my advice is simply to focus as much as possible on your love of learning. Stay in communication with your professors, expectations are clearly quite different now. No one’s gonna be penalized for circumstances outside of their control. You can do this, you can do this well. Eydie…
Eydie: Hi guys, I know this is hard for you, this is hard for us too. But maintain your sanity by taking care of yourself, your parents, your cats, your dogs. Go outside, get some fresh air, throw a ball around. Talk to each other and find a way for comfort. We’ll be back at the townhouse as soon as we can, the coffee will be rolling and will have plenty of snacks when everybody gets back. Miss you guys, see you all soon. Josh, off to you.
Josh: This is a really rough time for everyone, we just want to recognize that as a staff, we want to say that yeah we’re here for you, we care about you. We really care about community as a program, as hopefully you already know, and we are doing our best to translate that digitally with the digital townhouse project. They’ll be another note about that. So yeah, stay connected, stay with us we care about you. Passing it over to Ben…
Ben: Hey everybody! We miss you guys, we hope everybody’s doing well. This is just a note to say Honors advising is still in business. We have advising ability for you scheduled on the UHP website as usual, and we will hop on a WebEx call and be there for you for anything. Don’t be strangers, continue to reach out if you need anything, Brianna and I are here for you. And I’ll pass that on to Brianna…
Brianna: Just wanna echo that we’re here for you guys as well. Just anything at all, just reach out and we’re here for you.
Professor Hammond: Just want to echo what everyone is saying, that we’re here for you in the community. Definitely reach out, whatever you need, whether it be class stuff, non-class stuff. And for me my main thing for you all is making sure you’re taking care of yourself, taking care of those around you, and being mindful of your mental health. Doing what you need to do, and recognizing where you need to step up or step back, and you know, taking care of you. Passing it off to Mark…
Professor Ralkowski: Hey guys, Lola is here as well. She wanted to say that she misses you all, but she also sees a silver lining in coronavirus in that she gets to spend a lot of time with her family, take lots of walks, get lots of attention, but she does miss you all and she’s excited to see you all in the fall. Two thing I wanted to say are: I think it’s really important to stay connected during this time. It’s only been a few days of this social distancing, I’m already feeling it, I can imagine you all are as well. So, when you’re thinking of things we can do for you, one thing that’s easy for us to do is create spaces where we can just get together virtually and just chat. It can be about nothing, sometimes those are the best conversations. And the other thing I’ve wanted to say I’ve forgotten so I’m just gonna pass it off to Eyal next.
Professor Aviv: Hi everybody! So I’m echoing what Mark just said. I’m here, I don’t have anything to do other than be with my family and working, prepare for classes, but I’m really happy to talk to everybody who wants to chat. And I just want to hope that all of you are good in health and spirits, and you’re spending good time with your family, and keeping touch with your friends. I know that these are times of change and they’re really scary. I myself woke up today at 5AM for fear of the world, but I also hope that this is an opportunity for change. And I’m really looking forward to see everybody when we get back and keep making this world and our society a better place. So, thank you, and I’m passing it to Joseph I think…
Professor Trullinger: Hard to follow up on so many wonderful, beautiful things that have already been said. But I guess this is something that i try to remember during hard times, which is not to let school get in the way of your education. I suppose what I mean by that is that all the formal mechanical structures of school that we all get wrapped up in, I think it’s really important to try as best you can to put those to the side and remember the intrinsically good things that are there in learning: the sense of connection, the sense of intellectual discovery, even just the sense of escape. Just being able to imagine a different world, a different way of doing things, a different environment than the one you’re in now. Things will be better, and I do believe we can stick with one another throughout this, I am available just like everybody throughout this. And that’s all I have to say.
Professor Kung: I’ll just wrap up by saying that, unfortunately not everyone could be here today, but all your faculty are thinking of you now. So please be in touch, and good luck!
Professor Christov: Hi everyone, I know this is a very unusual and very stressful time, with the Coronavirus, but Im here to tell you: let’s take care of ourselves and take care of each other. Now I know many of you are quite anxious, I know that I am. How do we learn from our online classes? How do we graduate without even walking? Many of you may even be thinking, the economy’s tanking, how am I going to get a job? What will my future look like? Now I cannot tell you what the answer to these questions might be, but I’m here to tell you one thing: practice kindness. Show accountability and fairness, resilience. Show respect and grow in your fortitude. We all need to practice those things right now, and doing so will also make us appreciate the human contact that truly matters in our lives. And remember the Taoist philosophy in finding your internal peace: “Govern yourself by doing nothing that goes against nature.” Govern yourself by doing nothing that goes against nature. So you can now tell yourself that it is okay to be anxious, it is okay to feel anxious. And doing so will help you lessen your struggles. So go forth, stay strong, and until next time!
COVID-19 Tips and Updates
Hello, UHPers!
We know this is a rough time for everyone due to the COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) outbreak and the precautionary measures everyone is needing to take at this time. We have some updates for you about UHP operations, and then a note from the Director of the program about the shift to online instruction, as well as tips for you as you navigate being students in that context.
UHP COVID-19 Related Updates:
All UHP courses will be taught online from March 23 through April 5.
- The UHP Townhouse will be closed to student socialization during that period, as group gatherings on campus are being discouraged…
- …but, we are going to be launching the Digital Townhouse Project during this time! We want to make sure you can still have spaces to engage in community, even if you aren’t on campus. To learn more about it, click here.
- WebEx virtual one-on-one advising meetings will be available – you will sign up online as usual.
- First-year small group advising will be shifted to online virtual sessions – attendance
remains mandatory. You will receive more information on how to access these sessions from Brianna and Ben soon. - Trivia Night (which would have been held on March 29th ) is cancelled :(.
- If campus does fully re-open on schedule and you are unable to make it back on time (for example, if you become ill or are quarantined), please let your instructors and Ben or Brianna know!
A Note from the Director:
As GW will now be officially moving instruction online from at least March 23 through April 5, let me take a moment to talk about how UHP faculty and staff hope our students will react to this shift. I will also provide some tips for maximizing your learning in the online environment. First of all (as has been said before) please plan to be patient and flexible. Some faculty have never taught online before and so a learning curve is to be expected. For a planned online course, an instructor would have spent many months beforehand training on the relevant technological tools and designing the course specifically for the online environment. Obviously, this won’t be the case for your current classes. That said, please know that your instructors will be doing their absolute bests over the next few weeks to make sure you continue to master course content and skills.
We always talk about the “intellectual omnivorousness” of UHP students – which must, by definition, include a willingness and desire to be a truly self-directed learner. This interest, independence, and self-motivation are key to helping you succeed intellectually for the remainder of the semester. We hope you choose to envision a few weeks of online learning not as a burden or a “less-than” experience, but as an interesting educational experiment and an opportunity to mature and develop as an adult learner. Effort will be required, but if you put in the effort you will be rewarded with knowledge.
Communication is going to be incredibly important in the coming month. Please read all email very carefully and check for Blackboard announcements regularly. Be in contact with all your professors as soon as possible if you expect any technology challenges while off campus (for example, if you won’t have access to a stable internet connection). Some faculty will hold class using synchronous (real time, interactive) online sessions. These sessions can only be held during the standard class time band (e.g. a course that meets M/W 12:45-2pm EDT can only meet online during those exact times) – this is to ensure that no student will have a time conflict between two different online sessions. This means, however, that students who will be living outside the Eastern Daylight time zone may need to attend a session at an odd local time. You should communicate directly with your professor if this is the case, but please realize that faculty members are not authorized to change class meeting times and may still require you to attend.
Even online, collaborative work with your peers is likely to remain an important part of your learning. Working with your peers online requires clear peer-to-peer communication, of course. Plan to use various online tools that are designed for distance collaboration, such as Google Doc and Slides. GW students also have access to WebEx, which will allow you to work directly through video conferencing and desktop sharing.
Finally, a quick guide to being an online learner:
How to be a student in a synchronous online course:
1. Prepare just like you would for any class session (complete the assigned reading, come with questions, etc.).
2. Find a quiet place with a stable internet connection where it is also okay for you to talk aloud if the course will include a discussion component. Whenever possible, use a computer with a camera and microphone (if need be, however, that you can login to Blackboard Collaborate via your computer but then use a phone to call in/speak). Before you activate your camera, check around you to make sure nothing embarrassing will show up with the camera field of view!
3. Login at least 10 minutes early for the first online class meeting to make sure that the software is functioning correctly.
4. In Blackboard Collaborate, you will enter the classroom both muted and with your camera off. Be sure to activate your camera but keep your microphone muted until you need to speak to avoid background noise (e.g. typing, dogs barking).
5. Use the “raise your hand” button if you have a question. Alternatively, you can type questions into the chat function. Remember to unmute yourself when it is time to speak.
How to be a student in an asynchronous online course:
1. Check for new Blackboard announcements and assignments daily.
2. Consider pretending like the class is meeting at its regularly scheduled time and use that “in class time” to complete online assignments and activities. At minimum, keep careful track of due dates to avoid scrambling/cramming at the last minute.
3. Keep in mind that even if a faculty member will not be grading every assignment you have been asked to complete, you are cheating yourself out of learning the material if you do not make an effort to do the work.
4. If you are asked to participate in a text discussion via the Blackboard Forum, here are some tips for participating in an online discussion board.
5. Read all directions carefully and ask questions if anything is unclear.
6. Make use of instructor “virtual office hours.”
The Digital Townhouse Project!
Hello, dear UHPers!
We get that this is a really tough time for everyone right now, and that wherever you end up in the coming days, it may not be the most pleasant of times. So we want to provide you some virtual community! Thus: the DIGITAL TOWNHOUSE PROJECT! We would love for the home-y, welcoming feel of the townhouse to be present with all of you still, despite all the change and anxiety in the air.
That said, we don’t know how this is going to play out at all yet (it’s quite new for us!), and I’d like your help! Below, we’ve got a form with some of the different options we’ve been thinking of. They aren’t things we’ve prepared for yet, but we’d love to get your feedback on all this, and also your ideas!
Advice from the (Peer) Advisors: Humanities Research and Wisdom from the Creative Writing Department
Check out the following post from Peer Advisor Chrissy House (CCAS ’20)!
I’ve spent the last four years facing the infamous “exchange of glances” when I tell people I’m majoring in Creative Writing and English, the glance which means, “Ah, another unemployed English major will soon be released into the world.” And though I have long fallen victim to those glances and often worried for my future, I have an offer of employment for after graduation: an employed English major soon to be released into the world. As the picture I chose to accompany this post signifies, there are some doors you might not see at first glance, but once you push past the undergrowth and daunting requirements lists, you will find the door open to you. Don’t be discouraged from pursing opportunities for which you feel underqualified, apply and you may be pleasantly surprised.
I found myself in a similar position last year when my major advisor pushed me to apply for the GW Undergraduate Research Fellowship. I felt unqualified to pursue research in a sea of SEAS students—what does humanities research even entail?—but decided, what the heck, I’ll apply. I continued to feel unsure of myself as I chose a topic and wrote my research proposal. A section of the application asked about my previous research experience, a field in which I continued to feel underqualified. I’d done an extensive research project in high school on utilizing native pollinators in the face of dwindling honey bee populations, but that had been scientific research, and since coming to college, my only research had been research papers for German history and literature classes, which consisted of reading books and journal articles.
My major advisor and faculty mentor read five different drafts of my application until we were all satisfied. Subtle plug here for utilizing GW staff! I got more excited about the project as we discussed different directions my research could take—beyond just reading books and journal articles, my research proposal included taking advantage of my semester abroad in Germany to further my research on playwright Friedrich Schiller by attending modern productions of his plays and visiting museums and Schiller cultural sites in Germany. And as I got more excited about the project, I began to look at how my past experiences could benefit my application, instead of just seeing how few experiences I’d had. My research in high school prepared me to identify experts and reliable sources, taught me professional email skills for contacting experts in the field, and gave me practice in preparing for and conducting interviews with professionals. Additionally, my prior experiences required me to hone presentation skills that would benefit me in preparation for GW Research Days. My German papers here at GW had already exposed me to German music and cinema, so I wasn’t entering the theater sphere completely ignorant of German culture.
The conclusion of the fellowship saga, as I’m sure you guessed, is a positive one: I received the GW Undergraduate Research Fellowship. I travelled all over Germany seeing plays and visiting museums, an experience I likely wouldn’t have had without the fellowship. I continued my research upon returning to GW and transitioned the fellowship into my Senior Thesis.
What I’m trying to say here is don’t sell yourself short. Even if you feel underqualified, apply for that internship, fellowship, or job; don’t be afraid to take a chance on yourself. Find the strengths in your experiences that will make you a better candidate and highlight them. Believe in yourself. If this English major can get a job, so can you.
Note from the Director on COVID-19 Virus Preparation
Greetings,
I know you have all been hearing from many different campus partners about the University’s response to COVID-19, but I wanted to quickly let you know how the UHP is responding to the challenges raised by this virus.
For the time being, the UHP is open and operating as normal. Spring classes are meeting, and the townhouse is open for study hours. That said, this is obviously a fluid situation and the UHP will adhere to all University recommendations and directives as they arise. In particular, GW has suspended all non-essential, GW-affiliated international travel and is requiring community members traveling within certain countries to self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to campus. Unfortunately, these travel restrictions will impact the spring break and summer plans of some UHP community members. Advisors Brianna and Ben are available to help students navigate any last-minute changes that might affect a student’s four-year plan. In light of COVID-19, please consider your personal travel plans carefully for the upcoming spring break week. In the event that you become ill or are subject to quarantine, UHP faculty members are aware that flexibility will be required and are prepared to make appropriate individual accommodations. Communication is definitely the key here, so please be in email contact with your instructors directly if you are unable to attend class. Please do not attend class if you are not feeling well!
In the event that the University decides that it is prudent to cancel some (or all) face-to-face class meetings, the semester will continue using online resources. We ask students to be flexible and patient as there are bound to be some initial technical hiccups. Also, each faculty member will use different online tools and teaching methods, depending on the course content and format – so follow directions carefully and ask questions if you are uncertain about any course expectations. In the event of campus closures, Brianna and Ben will still be available for advising sessions, which will be held via WebEx.
Let me conclude by echoing the GW Student Association’s message of “stay informed, stay calm, and be kind.” Keep reading your emails carefully, keep washing your hands and keep looking out for one another. Further, the UHP will not tolerate any bullying, scapegoating or demonization connected to the COVID-19 virus. Bias and xenophobia have no place within our community of scholars, so please immediately report any acts of hate or bias that you have experienced or witnessed. If you have any questions, you can also reach out to me directly at bcobb@email.gwu.edu..
Bethany Cobb Kung
Director, University Honors Program
Associate Professor of Honors and Physics
Advice from the Peer Advisors: DC’s Best Bookstores
Check out the following DC bookstore tips from UHP Peer Advisor Chloe Wagner!
UHPers love books, so here is my rundown of the best bookstores in DC (both New and Used) so you can find your next favorite pick.
Capitol Hill Books — Located in Eastern Market, Capitol Hill Books has a wide range of used books and records. The small local shop keeps book foreign language books in the restroom, but it has quite an ~aesthetic~ and has a huge range of history/political books for the poli sci majors among us.
Politics and Prose — You’ve probably heard of this one before because it is a staple among Washingtonians and anyone who worked under the Obama administration. Other than the amazing authors who speak at their venues across town (I’ve seen Pete Buttigieg and Ta-Nehisis Coates there recently), they also have a remarkable selection of social science, African American literature and feminist books for you to dive into.
Second Story Books — Located in Dupont Circle, Second Story has lots of really cool vintage books and maps. The highlight of this store is their fantastic $1 and $2 sales on everything from short stories to cooking books and travel guides on the sidewalk outside.
Potter’s House — Potter’s House is my personal favorite where I could spend an entire day. This nonprofit bookstore, cafe and community event space has everything a college student needs: coffee, baked goods and a wonderful selection of social justice books. In addition, all of their proceeds go back to the Adams-Morgan neighborhood and the organization’s community-centered programming!
Idle Time Books — Another Adams-Morgan staple. I found a book of satirical cartoons about the Arab-Israeli Conflict from 1967 here, and it’s one of my most prized possessions. They have a great poetry selection and lots of fun postcards.
Food for Thought w/ Professor Restrepo!
If you missed our first Food for Thought, have no fear! Our second one is coming right up. Join us for free lunch, next Friday, March 6th at 12pm in the townhouse, and an exciting talk about negotiations in Cuba and differing interpretations of truth and justice. Read the note from professor Restrepo for more details and RSVP with the form below!
Truth and Justice in the Colombian 2016 Peace Accord
After 5 years of complex negotiations that took place mainly in Havana, Cuba, the Colombian government completed a Final Peace Agreement with the FARC in November 2016, thereby ending the oldest conflict in the southern hemisphere. Despite the extraordinary tangible achievements that preceded the signing of the original Accord, a referendum to confirm the people’s approval was held in October 2016. Against all predictions and polls, the original Peace Accord was defeated by a small margin polarizing Colombians and negatively impacting its implementation. In this talk I will argue that a great part of this divide stems from a misunderstanding of the meaning of truth and justice in the Peace Accord.
UHP Trivia Night 2020
Sadly due to the COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) outbreak, we will be cancelling this semester’s trivia night. We’re sad too!! But that’s how it goes sometimes. Please be safe, take care of yourselves, and remember to take care of those you love! This is a stressful time, and we could all use an extra dose of kindness at the moment. Much love to you, UHPers!
Who was the legendary Benedictine monk who invented champagne? What do you call a duel between three people? What is the closest city to the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull?
That’s right, the UHP is hosting a trivia night!
Join us on Sunday, March 29 for UHP trivia from 4-7 PM. We’re bringing in a professional trivia host and filling up the Vern’s Post Hall to give YOU the opportunity to show everyone how much stuff you know! I bet you know SO much stuff!
Tables at the event will hold teams of up to 10. If you’re signing up with a team, each person will need to sign up individually – make sure you decide your team name before signing up! And please, make sure it’s unique enough that you won’t be overlapping with other teams. Single players or smaller teams should sign up and will be grouped together to form a full table. Snacks will be provided, as will prizes for the winning table!
Also…feel free to invite a faculty member that you want on your team! Those faculty truly can be an excellent asset…
Sign up below!
