Fall 2011

Readings for Orientation

1. Letters from Prof. Sternberg and Prof. Stinchfield

Orientation 2011

Over 150 Bonchek students arrive on campus, and were led by our HAs and PAs through 5 days of learning about academic and social life at the College, celebrating with classmates, and getting prepared for what we hope is a rewarding first year at F&M.

Check out this slide show showing some of the events.

Scholars Reception

An afternoon reception was hosted on September 8 for some of our students with the highest academic accomplishments last semester and overall.

Fulton Theatre

Bonchek House paid for tickets for students to attend the musical review The All Night Strut at Lancaster's beautiful Fulton Opera House on September 10.

Welcome Back, Bonchek House

You have to be your don's age or a devotee of re-runs to get this pop cultural reference. We had a lunch to welcome students back for the year on Tuesday, Sept. 13, during the UnCommon Hour. We had such a good turnout, we ran out of food. We'll try to estimate better next time. We had presentations by Tanya Arora '12, Eli Schneck '14. Brittany Guidos '14, and Abby Benkert '14 about their respective experiences with: study abroad at Oxford University; summer language program in Italy; volunteering at a health clinic in East Timor, and a summer Hackman research project.

Family Weekend, Bonchek House style

We had a lively morning reception on Saturday, Sept. 24, with breakfast for families of Bonchek House students, like Rachel Codkind. We even successfully enforced our plastic water bottle ban, and along with the coffee had large containers of water rather than the notoriously silly F&M bottled water. In the afternoon, there was an off-off-Broadway production by the Bonchek House players of You'll Never Wash alone, written by our own playwright, Dean Stameshkin.

Apple picking

Forty students boarded a bus to Cherry Hill Orchards on October 1st, a cool Fall day, to pick apples. Next week we'll use some of them for bobbing and baking.

Dinner before Amy Tan lecture

Dinner was provided to students attending the annual Hausman Lecture by novelist Amy Tan on Oct. 20. And we ended up with an autographed copy of her book for the House library.

Bonchek returns to Dutchland Derby Rollers

As we did a year ago, Bonchek house sponsored a trip on Oct. 22 to see Lancaster's own Dutchland Derby Rollers, accompanied by F&M alum and roller derby athlete and Stony Brook astrophysics postdoc Jennifer Donovan Meyer '03, who also gave a physics colloquium while she was visiting F&M. And we met and sat with last year's F&M Interim President John Burness '67 and his wife Anne.

Reception for Rajesh Gopie

Bonchek House provided a reception at the Philadelphia Alumni Writers House on Nov. 1 after the craft talk of Rajesh Gopie, a director/performer/writer from South Africa. In his play presented at F&M, Out of Bounds, he took audiences into the life and times of a South African Indian family, bringing to life some twenty-eight characters in this one-man show.

Trip to Hawk Mountain

On Nov. 6, a beautiful Fall day, Bonchekers went to Hawk Mountain to look for migrating raptors. Alas, in our time there, nary a hawk was spotted, but we had a colorful view to enjoy.

Visit of climatologist WIlliam Ruddiman

Bill Ruddiman dined in the House on Nov. 10 with students who had been reading his book: Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum, which hypothesizes an influence of early human agriculture on climate beginning 8,000 years ago.

Guyland reception

After an entertaining and informative presentation by Guyland author, sociologist Michael Kimmel, during the Nov. 17 Common Hour, Bonchek House hosted him for a reception and discussion. Add Guyland to our collection of author-autographed books for the Bonchek House library.

Community Outreach Dinner

Once again, a wonderful dinner in the catering suite was provided on Nov. 19 for Lancastrians for the Thanksgiving season as students donated meal swipes. Bonchekers organized the meal, and served our guests.