Parents Newsletter, September 2012
Dear Parents,
We've had a terrific opening to the 2012-13 academic year. It's been a true joy to witness our newest students gaining comfort as they take their place in the Franklin & Marshall community. One of the more moving moments during recent weeks was our Convocation program, held the day before classes began. Convocation is the College's formal welcome to the first-year class.
Professor Curtis Bentzel P'10, associate professor of German, expertly delivered a thoughtful speech filled with encouragement, comedy and wisdom. President Daniel R. Porterfield, in his talk, celebrated the 225th anniversary of the College's founding by discussing some of its leaders. He inspired the audience by focusing on Maj. Richard "Dick" Winters '41, the central hero in Stephen Ambrose's book and celebrated miniseries produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, "Band of Brothers."
Two extraordinary students, Melissa Sandoval '13 (recent winner of the prestigious Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship) and Akbar Hossain '13 (recent winner of the esteemed Harry S. Truman Scholarship) also spoke and advised the new students to create the experience here that allows them to become who they want to be.
I encourage you to watch highlights of Convocation or the full ceremony here and to read President Porterfield's speech here. Enjoy!
All the best,
Maura Condon Umble ‘83
Director of Parent Relations
Franklin & Marshall College
maura.umble@fandm.edu
717-291-3888
P.S.: Don't forget to register for
Homecoming & Family Weekend (Oct. 19-21)
and make your hotel reservations today (using our
list of accommodations in
which we've blocked rooms).
Music is alive and well at F&M this fall.
Mark your calendar to enjoy these free concerts in person in Barshinger Center for Musical Arts or via webcast.
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Friday, Oct. 19, 8 p.m.: Homecoming Family Weekend Choral Concert
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Saturday, Oct. 20, 8 p.m.: Homecoming Family Weekend Instrumental Concert, "Spectrum"
Our Orchestra, Jazz Ensemble, Philharmonia, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Chamber Music Society and soloists present a unique performance, moving from piece to piece with no pause. -
Saturday, Nov. 3, 8 p.m.: Philharmonia, "Music of the Night"
Beethoven, "Coriolan Overture"; Persichetti, "Serenade"; Mozart, Serenade No. 6; Gounod, Symphony No. 1; Vivaldi, "Piccolo Concerto" -
Friday, Nov. 9, 8 p.m.: Symphonic Wind Ensemble, "Angels"
Hazo, "Chorus Angelorum"; Grainger, "Lincolnshire Posy"; Schuman, "Chester"; Ticheli, "Angels in the Architecture"; Spark, "Sunrise at Angels Gate"; Yagisawa, "Marchu Picchu, City In the Sky" -
Saturday, Nov. 10, 8 p.m.: Orchestra, "Morning, Noon and Night"
Nielsen, "Helios Overture"; Rossini, "Cinderella Overture"; Higdon, "Sky Line"; Debussy, "Prelude to an Afternoon of a Faun"; Kalinnikov, Symphony No. 1 -
Saturday, Nov. 17, 8 p.m.: Jazz Ensemble
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Sunday, Nov. 18, 3 p.m.: "An Afternoon of Chamber Music"
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Saturday, Dec. 1, 8 p.m.: Orchestra and Symphonic Wind Ensemble, "Movie Music/Music of December"
F&M Counseling Services is offering a new outreach program called Starting Off Right, devoted to the development of positive study habits. This program launched with presentations by Susan Schultheis of Counseling Services about the "Science of Habit Formation" on Sept. 4 and 7, followed by an ongoing five-week group. As part of this program or through individual appointments, Counseling Services (717-291-4083) is a great source of support for students who are eager to develop new and effective study habits.
Keeping Up With the New Office of Student and Post-Graduate Development
F&M's new Office of Student and Post-Graduate Development is rolling out more robust services, opportunities and resources for your students. Keep up with the new office and its offerings by "liking" its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/OSPGD. Visit the F&M News page to read more about the office.
Celebrate Your Student's Birthday
It can be hard for students (and their parents!) to spend a birthday away from home. Our Catering Services office has recently introduced an online ordering system that parents can use to order a birthday cake. To order a cake, you must first create an account. Please call Catering Services with any questions: 717-291-4322.
To learn about other local sources of birthday cakes, click here.
William McHale has been named F&M's director of public safety. He joined F&M on Sept. 10. McHale was most recently a major with the Pennsylvania State Police, where for 20 years he worked in emergency services, legislative affairs and drug enforcement. He earned his B.A. in political science and history from Ursinus College and is currently pursuing his masters of administration of justice at Wilmington University. McHale replaces Mike Rossano, who served in the role for three years before resigning this past spring to take a position in Philadelphia.
Ever wonder how you can get involved in support of Franklin & Marshall
College, especially in this 225th anniversary year? A very meaningful way to
volunteer is to devote an evening to a regional phonathon in your area.
These are fun, community-building events during which, alongside other
parents and alumni, you would contact other parents to ask for support of
the Franklin & Marshall Fund and to promote upcoming regional Franklin &
Marshall happenings.
You are invited to participate in the following
regional phonathons taking place from 6 to 9 p.m.—we would really appreciate
your help! Dinner will be ready when you arrive; calling begins around 7
p.m.
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Tuesday, Oct. 9: Washington, D.C.
At the office of Jody Haller Drake, Esq., '77
Sughrue Mion, PLLC
2100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Suite 800
Washington, DC 20037-3213
RSVP: DJ Korns, 717-291-4113 or dj.korns@fandm.edu -
Tuesday, Oct. 9: Lancaster, Pa.
Office of College Advancement
Franklin & Marshall College
RSVP: Mary Risner, 717-358-4560 or mary.risner@fandm.edu -
Thursday, Oct. 11: Baltimore, Md.
At the office of Al Ingraham '72
Millennium Financial Group, Inc. dba Mlend
1306 Bellona Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21093
RSVP: DJ Korns, 717-291-4113 or dj.korns@fandm.edu -
Thursday, Oct. 11: New York
At the office of Neil Davidowitz, Esq., '78, P'14
Orsid Realty Corp.
1740 Broadway, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10019
RSVP: Mary Risner, 717-358-4560 or mary.risner@fandm.edu -
Tuesday, Oct. 16: Philadelphia
At the office of Fran Lane '79, P'15
Deutsche Bank
24th Floor
1735 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7241
RSVP: DJ Korns, 717-291-4113 or dj.korns@fandm.edu
When's the last time you received a text from your dryer? Franklin & Marshall partners with Mac-Gray, a company that provides commercial laundry equipment, products and services (where the executive vice president of marketing is our own alumnus, Sheff Halsey '72!) to provide a high-tech laundry experience for our students. LaundryView shows students a 3-D view of their laundry room allowing them to check the status of machines before hauling their laundry basket to the site. "Text Me" is a unique system that allows students to be alerted via text when their laundry is finished washing or drying. Mac-Gray also offers The Campus Clothes Line, an interactive resource for all things laundry. Times have changed!
Of course, more traditional laundromats continue to function around the neighborhood and one of them, Festiva Laundry, even provides a delivery service to campus. Some parents, including many athletes' parents, take advantage of this opportunity to take a bit of stress off their students.
One of the closer dry cleaners to campus is Yorgey's & Filling's (1598 Columbia Ave.; 717-394-7146) which offers a 15 percent discount with an F&M ID and provides a free delivery service (details must be worked out between the driver and the student).
Sobering Words From Counseling Services
Lauren Firestone, assistant director of Counseling Services, offers this important reminder for F&M families:
While alcohol abuse and binge drinking still top the list of substance-abuse issues on college campuses nationally, F&M's Counseling Services offers this reminder that the non-medical use of prescription drugs -- most notably stimulants, sedatives and pain relievers -- is a serious and growing problem. According to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, college-age adults have among the highest rates of prescription drug abuse. About one in four adults ages 18 to 20 report using these medications non-medically at least once in their lives, and many more have been offered these medications by friends or fellow students.
Research conducted by Amelia Arria at the Center for Young Adult Health and Development in 2008 has shown that by sophomore year in college, about half of students' classmates will have been exposed to the opportunity to abuse a prescription drug. The concern is that many students may not even realize that they, their roommate, teammate or friend are misusing or abusing these medications. Students taking prescription medications are encouraged to store their medications safely and not share their medications with others.
If you or your student has a question about prescription drug use, please contact Counseling Services: 717-291-4083.
Question of the Month: Flex Dollars, Ben's Bucks—What Does It All Mean?
Students' meal plans come with a certain number of flex dollars per semester, depending on the plan. These flex dollars can be used in any of our on-campus dining venues.
Ben's Bucks is a program that allows money to be placed in students' accounts by sending a check to the Business Office for any amount. Students can then spend their Ben's Bucks with a swipe of their F&M ID card in on-campus and many off-campus venues. It is like having an F&M debit card.
