ENews-October-29-2021

October 29, 2021

• Alerts & Notices
• Mason President Marks Anniversary and Hosts Lecture and Forum Series
• Let Summer 2022 be Your Time to Teach at OLLI
• History Club November Meeting
• Humanities and Social Sciences/Current Events Program Planning Group Meeting
• Boo to You!...and Halloween, too!
• Poet's Corner
• Arts & Music at George Mason
• Student Scholarship Spotlight Event
• Meetings & Clubs
• About OLLI E-News

Alerts & Notices

• Note: Starting in 2022, you will need to register for clubs each term (e.g., when you register for 2022 winter term). This allows OLLI to maintain current club rosters and ensures that you receive emails about your club's activities and events.
• The next issue of OLLI E-News will be published Friday, November 5; regular deadline for submission of items is Tuesday, November 2, at 6:00.

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Mason President Marks Anniversary and Hosts Lecture and Forum Series

The month of October marked the first year since Dr. Gregory Washington’s investiture as George Mason University’s eighth president. In celebration, Dr. Washington hosted a series of lectures and forums to discuss the “Grand Challenges” and “Issues of Our Time” which highlighted many scholars familiar to OLLI classrooms, including Dr. Stephan Crew, Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Dr. Steve Pearlstein, and Dr. Virginia Espina, to name a few.

These scholars shared their research on our environment, immigration policy, media, and social issues and provided their thoughts on the impact of these topics for Mason students, the United States, and the world. I encourage you to check out GMU TV at https://gmutv.gmu.edu/ to view video recordings of these terrific events. At OLLI, thanks to the tireless work of OLLI program coordinators, we are fortunate to enjoy lectures from our wonderful Mason professors as part of our regular programming.

Let Summer 2022 be Your Time to Teach at OLLI

  

By Camille Hodges, Humanities and Social Sciences/Current Events Program Planning Group Co-chair
 
If you have ever thought about volunteering to share your expertise on a subject with OLLI members, now is the time to submit your course idea(s) for our 2022 summer session. OLLI invites you to share your expertise on topics that reflect your knowledge in any area including:

• Classes with a multicultural focus
• The 4th and 5th estates (news media and social media)
• International culture and issues
• The psychology of social media.

History Club November Meeting

 

By Elizabeth Lambert, History Club Coordinator


The November Zoom meeting of the History Club will take place this coming Wednesday, November 3, at 4:00. Our speaker is Elva Card, OLLI member and teacher, who will give us a brief history of Korea and discuss that country’s modern divided situation. As Elva aptly describes Korea’s place: “It is sometimes called a shrimp caught between two whales.” The two whales, of course, are China and Japan.

Elva’s particular interest in Korea began with a three-week teacher seminar in Korea that included lectures at Yonsei University and a tour of South Korea. Based on her experiences and ongoing studies of Korea, Elva’s presentation will shed light on a country that is unique in many ways. It is, indeed, timely; we hope you will join us on November 3.

Boo to You!...and Halloween, too!

 
By John Nash, E-News Editor


We know the line from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Ode to the West Wind: “O, Wind! If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” Let’s paraphrase that a bit: ”O, Leaves! If Fall comes, can Halloween be far behind?”

Halloween is this Sunday and the weather in our area promises to be good for bringing out all those ghosts and goblins and trick ‘r treaters. This is one of my favorite holidays as it is for many people. Statistics show that over the past years Halloween has grown in importance as a holiday celebration, with a large commercial boost from costumes, decorations, parties, and – yes – candy!

My wife always put me in charge of dispensing the treats when the doorbell rang. When confronted with a chorus of “trick ‘r treat” I’d sometimes look serious and say, “What kind of tricks can you do?” There was usually a stunned, puzzled look, but then creativity kicked in. I’ve had some Robinson cheerleaders doing cheers on my front yard, many wobbly cartwheels, and some pretty bad singing. But all laced with lots of laughter…and candy!

Once, my son and grandson dressed up as Batman and Robin and came over to trick ‘r treat us. They were sitting in the living room when I went to answer the doorbell. There was a little guy all dressed up as Batman. “Wow! You look great! But I’ve got the real Batman in my house!” He looked around me, saw my son still in costume, and shot right past me into the house! Fortunately, his parents were nearby, laughing, so there was only a fleeting moment of panic of having a young child enter my house unaccompanied!

Sadly, my neighborhood has “matured” and there are fewer trick ‘r treaters that come out now. So if you see a tall, gray-haired guy behind a Covid mask saying "trick ‘r treat," give him some candy or something stronger! But don’t expect a trick…those days are over!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

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