Trumbull has two events scheduled today!
#1 Master’s Tea with Frederick Lawrence today! (Monday, Sept. 21). This afternoon we gather in the Master’s House for our first tea of the year. Frederick Lawrence, our new resident fellow, the former Dean of George Washington Law School, former President of Brandeis University, current legal scholar at Yale Law School, and constitutional law expert, will review and comment on the decisions the Supreme Court made in its last session. The tea will be hosted by Associate Master (and lawyer) Frederick Polner. Enter through the back door of the house or from Rose Court walkway.
Those selected to attend the dinner afterwards, should convene with Frederick Lawrence and Frederick Polner afterwards (5:30) to walk over to that dinner afterwards.
#2 Today, at 6 p.m. in the dining hall. (Monday, Sept. 21). Sara Samuel wrote to us as the Woodbridge Fellow in the Office of the Secretary. She is part of a committee working on gathering student feedback for the Schwarzman Center. Members of the committee have scheduled a listening session in the Trumbull Dining Hall tonight, Monday September 21 from 6-7 pm. Join them to share your ideas for the new student center.
The Slifka Center arranges for Yom Kippur services and we have tickets (no charge) available in the Trumbull office. Contact the center for information about all services available to Yale students. Ask an aide or Debbie Rueb for one (or more) if you need tickets. They are available now.
This past weekend was beautiful, some gratitude for those who made our weekend events possible (and a warning about upcoming weather!) I hope all of you are savoring our wonderful weather. It will continue this month and next. Yet for those of you who are from areas of the country where there is temperate weather throughout the year, let me warn you, New England does get cold. There will be snow and ice – perhaps lots of it. You’ll need a serious winter coat, gloves, a hat, and water-proof shoes! Now is the time to prepare. If the expense of acquiring such gear is an issue for you, know that you can contact me) confidentially for help.
Thanks to all who helped with and attended our initial Trumbull events this past weekend. I thank the TCC for organizing the bonding event with our new fire pit in the Trumbull Courtyard on Friday evening. I thank all our seniors (and Dean B and Matt Regan as well) for attending our Senior Reception on Friday evening in the house (it’s hard to believe you are all seniors already!!) as well Karen Eisenman, our service assistant, along with all our aides for making that possible.
Thanks to everyone who got up early on Saturday, had breakfast in the house (at 7:30 a.m.!) and went sailing with us. Thanks to Deborah Bellmore, our Operations Manager for organizing the trip and supplying us with things to eat and to Debra Rueb, my senior administrative assistant, for organizing the list of attendees and for alerting me to last minute switches in who would be there and who would not. All went smoothly. It was a beautiful day and spot.
Thanks to an unnamed freshman for being a model of calmness in dealing with a missing cell phone. I was impressed. (Note to all: cell phones and laptops are sufficiently valuable and sufficiently portable that they can be targets for theft. Do not leave laptops out and visible in an unlocked suite! Be careful with cellphones in public areas.) Do report any thefts to the Yale Police (and me) if they occur. Fingers crossed that they will not occur!
“GRANADA” – a photo exhibit. Thanks to Devon Geyelin, TC ’16 for the photo exhibit in our Trumbull Art Gallery. It’s terrific. Everyone should know that we like to keep our art gallery active and enjoy seeing the work that you do. Let us know if you (or a group of you) would like to prepare an exhibit.
Family Weekend: Reception #1. Next weekend is family weekend. There will be a Trumbull Reception in the Master’s house on Saturday, September 26th from 4:30 until 6:00 P.M. All Trumbullians and family members are welcome. This reception will be hosted by Associate Master, Frederick Polner. Enter through Stone Court or from Rose walkway through the gate.
Family Weekend Informal Brunch: Reception #2, Sunday Sept. 27, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There will be an informal, Sunday morning brunch in the house from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with coffee, pastries and juice. (Our regular brunch in the dining hall will be going on as well.) Enter through Stone Court or from Rose walkway through the gate. Trumbullians and family members are welcome.
Whereas I try very hard to avoid conflicts in schedules, there are times when I, like many of you, are overbooked. Next Saturday, is one of those times. (I had agreed to serve as the president of my own professional society, the Society of Experimental Social Psychologists, for 2015 long ago – before I came to Trumbull as master.) Thus, I will be in Denver, Colorado to give a talk and to preside over SESP’s annual meeting on Saturday. That is why Mr. Polner is hosting the Saturday reception. However, I don’t want to miss Family Weekend completely so I’ll be back (for Sunday when I will host a family weekend brunch for you and parents who wish to meet me on Sunday, Sept. 27th at 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. I look forward to it.
Family Weekend Apple Picking – Sunday, Sept. 27th: Trumbull is sponsoring a fall apple picking adventure to (nearby) Bishop’s Orchards in Guilford, Ct. The bus Leaves TC at noon on Sunday and returns to TC around 2:00 to 2:30 P.M. Sign up in the Master’s Office. Family members are welcome to join you. Our group leaders will be our graduate affiliates: Jennifer Hirsch and Katie Oltman. They are experienced Bishops fruit pickers (having already visited Bishops earlier this year themselves to pick peaches.) I thank them for their leadership. There will be refreshments at the orchard. Think: Apples, apple cider donuts, apple cider, and caramel corn. It’s fall! TC will cover the cost of a small bag of apples for each you to bring back and enjoy. Take some pictures to share. Bishops Orchards a beautiful spot and we have our fingers crossed for good weather.
A message about overcommitment.
Having too many commitments can be stressful! I’m thinking about my own over-commitment in having to be in Colorado for a professional meeting next Saturday and then rushing home (on an overnight flight) for family weekend. It’s easy to become over committed. This is a common Yale problem. When there are conflicts, you’ll need to make decisions regarding balancing those commitments and to accept their stressful nature. In my case, coping with my own conflict involved making sure the Saturday family weekend reception was covered, letting the Dean of Yale College know about the conflict and getting his approval to be gone, and then making reservations for an overnight flight home next Saturday so I can be here on Sunday. Next weekend will be stressful for me.
Over commitment will happen to most of you as well. Do try to avoid over doing things. When mid-terms and finals hit, this may become especially salient to you. It’s fine and often very wise to decline invitations to do things that sound great but will interfere with other things. (My own rule is to ask myself, whenever a nice opportunity comes up, “If I do this, what won’t I do?” If what you won’t do is more important than whatever is being offered, decline the new opportunity. (In other words, don’t just think about the new opportunity at hand in isolation and agree quickly. You may regret that.)
Importantly consider sleep, exercise, maintaining your personal relationships and your own overall well-being in your calculations. Those can seem to be mundane considerations but, often, they are the most important things to consider.) While I’m gone know that Dean B., our resident fellows, and the associate master Mr. Polner are in the college. They can be contacted in emergencies. They all have my contact information should you need to be in touch with me.