These last couple weeks have really been a blur. With our cross country team placing 2^nd at Regionals (qualifying them for Nationals in the coming weeks) and the newest wave of midterms, I have been swamped with homework and tests. But fear not, even after the hardest of weeks, there is always room for a little fun. This weekend was the Mayur-SASA cultural show.

 

            The show was titled the Mumbai Mystery, and basically is a smorgasbord of campus groups performing between skits outlining a rather funny and interesting plot. We had a few hip hop numbers, some classical Indian dancing, and yours truly performed with the Chak De Carnegie Mellon bhangra team.

 

            Bhangra is a folk style of Indian dance that originated in the Indian state of Punjab. The dance was traditionally done to celebrate the harvests, and has since then evolved from its traditional roots. Its become a popular style of dance for college-age South Asians and competitions happen each year across the country including a few in Canada. While universities often put together teams to compete, the best teams are often independent regional teams.

 

            At the Mayur Show, we got to showcase our first full-out choreographed routine since Orientation week. During Orientation week we performed for the incoming freshmen, but since then, we have been having practices weekly, all in preparation for this show!

 

            Unfortunately the video of our performance is not available yet, so instead, I have attached the video of this year's senior dance! Congratulations seniors on another great show, and you guys will be missed!

 

Meeting Bill Gates...oh and a Little Bit About Our New Building

 

Yes, fellow readers, I indeed got to meet Bill Gates. Actually, I even got to shake his hand! You might be wondering which global conference I had to travel to or how I managed to get the time to meet with one of the pioneers in computer science and now a pioneering philanthropic genius as well.

 

First, let me backtrack and talk a little bit about our new Gates and Hillman Centers on campus. These are two brand new buildings that provide an exclusive home to our School of Computer Science. The Gates building was made possible by a 20 million dollar grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, while the Hillman Center was funded partly by a 10 million dollar grant from the Henry L. Hillman Foundation. These two buildings are for a lack of better word...awesome.

 

It has 310 offices...all with windows. 11 conference rooms, 10 new large lecture spaces, and the Rashid Auditorium which seats 250. There is also a large 8000 sq. ft. open space for projects of all kinds. The building is also LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified. It boasts a "green" roof garden, and has 300 new trees and a new Rain Garden and Winter Garden.

 

Classes have been going on in the Gates Center since the start of this semester, but September 22, was the official date of inauguration. While numerous SCS alumni, and other esteemed faculty were present, the highlight of the day was the much-anticipated arrival of Bill Gates.

 

Bill Gates was going to be giving a short lecture on modern computing and its effects on the developing world, which would be followed by a question and answer session and the formal inauguration of the Gates and Hillman Centers. With the help of our President, Jared Cohon, I secured a seat in the main Wiegand gym and got a chance to listen to Bill Gates's lecture firsthand!

 

Turns out Gates is both smart and funny. He kept the crowd quite entertained and even when answering questions, he added some good humor into his responses. He spoke a great deal on the progress of modern computing and its impact on our daily lives. He commented on Twitter, open source software, and microfinancing, providing some thought provoking answers.

 

After the Gates Center was opened, I attended some fun events held in the Gates-Hillman Complex. A SnackBot provided me with some delicious treats, and got to learn about GigaPan, a new hi-def form of panoramic photography (gigapan.org). After all these wonderful events, I did a bit of exploring on my own, and was amazed by the various colors, and modern rooms in the building. It is truly a piece of art as much as it is an efficient workplace. I'm sure no student or faculty at Carnegie Mellon can disagree; the Gates Center is one fantastic building that is a wonderful addition to campus.

 

Shout-out to President Jared Cohon for getting me an excellent seat in the main gym on such short notice. I really appreciate it!

The Freshman Fifteen (Part 3): Off-Campus Dining

 

In addition to the many interesting places to eat on campus, Pittsburgh is still a college city, filled with small eateries and well-priced meals. Here is a run down of some of the most popular eateries from across the Pittsburgh area!

 

Squirrel Hill

 

Panera Breads (Oakland, Squirrel Hill)

 

Another popular chain bread and soup place, Panera Breads offers a great selection of sandwiches and a number of delicious soups. They even have some new paninis worth checking out. Additionally, they sell excellent bagels and rolls of their own store-baked bread. Not exactly a cheap meal, but its definitely under $10 a person and will fill you up with a healthy lunch/dinner.

 

Grade: B+

 

Pamela’s (Oakland, Shadyside, Squirrel Hill)

 

Feeling hungry on a weekend, and Schatz’s somewhat crumbling pancakes aren’t doing it for you? Pamela’s is then the breakfast place for you! Try their delicious delicious hotcakes, thin fluffy pancakes with various toppings. Their most popular item, the strawberry hotcakes, are standard hotcakes wrapped around brown sugar, strawberries, and sour cream. Its both sweet and sour, and really fills you up. Aside from their popular hotcakes they also offer standard breakfast selection, and have great eggs!

 

Grade: A

 

Rita’s Italian Ices (Oakland, Squirrel Hill)

 

While Rita’s doesn’t really offer a real meal, its just so delicious I couldn’t leave it out. They have great ices with new flavors that rotate on the menu daily. With a Rita’s Card you get a free Italian ice every 10 purchases, and often you can pick up Buy 1 Get 1 Free coupons around campus. A quick bus trip, or walk downtown gives you one refreshing treat during the first few months and last few months of school.

 

Grade: B+

 

Ben and Jerry’s/ Coldstone Creamery/ Baskin Robbins

 

I group these ice cream shops together cause they all offer some pretty diverse flavors and are all in the same price range. All of them are located right down Forbes Ave, in Squirrel Hill within two blocks of each other. Conveniently located and offering a good variety of frozen treats, this is another nice spot to go after dinner, or on a hot spring or summer day.

 

Grade: B+

 

Craig Street

 

There are so many good places to eat on Craig Street, it deserves its own section. Craig Street is two blocks downtown from the Forbes and Morewood intersection of Carnegie Mellon. It’s a perfect five-minute walk, and a simple two bus stop ride from Carnegie Mellon’s campus.

 

Orient Express           

 

A trendy Chinese food location. It is easily the best value around. They have the best lunch special where you get a main entrée, fried or plain rice, and a spring roll all for under $6. Even if you are hungry you will probably have leftovers that will cover as a late night snack or pre-dinner munch. It has arguably better tasting food than Lulu’s, but I’ll let you the diner make that decision.

 

Grade: A+

 

Subway

 

Everyone knows about this famous submarine sandwich shop. Subway is one of the few places in the campus area that accepts DineXtra dollars, which give it an extra edge over the other local eateries. For $5 you get a foot of delicious but sometimes boring sandwich, so the value is still pretty high. If you are in a rush, or feel like having something fresh, this is the place for you.

 

Grade: A

 

Maximum Flavor Pizza Shop

 

Maximum Flavor is exactly that, full of flavor. With menu items ranging from the traditional pizza, to a wide variety of hoagies, pasta dishes, and sides like French fries and chicken wings, Maximum Flavor has a whole lot of variety for a very low price. My personal recommendation, the Student Combo Platter, for $5.75, choose from a main dish, a side order, and a fountain drink. A full dinner for under six bucks, count me in! Also, they deliver to any of the campus dorms, so if you are really feeling lazy, call them up and they can drop your order off within 30 minutes.

 

Grade: A

 

Lulu’s Noodle Shop

 

Lulu’s is pretty much a more expensive, higher quality version of Orient Express. It offers the same great selection of Chinese food, but with sit-down service and a more restaurant-style atmosphere. The service can be a little slower during the busy dinner hours, but the food is quite tasty. Makes a great location for a first date, and a night out with a few friends.

 

Grade: B

 

Eat Unique

 

Interesting food, it is indeed unique. It offers a lot of healthy alternatives, but the price is a little high for a college student. If offers a huge selection of sandwiches and soups, and thus is definitely the best place on Craig Street to go to if you are into that. However, most places on campus are pretty good about offering good sandwiches, and you could really think of this as a not-so-good off-campus Ginger’s Deli.

 

Grade: B-

 

Oakland

 

Chipotle

 

If there were an Olympics for the best place to eat in the world, Chipotle would win, hands down. Okay, to be honest, it has the best burrito in Pittsburgh, and will probably fill you up for a solid 6 hours. Though located a ways down Forbes Avenue, right in the heart of Oakland, a bus can get you there in five minutes and the walk isn’t too bad either. Between the delicious steak, chicken and black beans, you can’t go wrong. Top it off with one of their four delicious salsas, lettuce, guac, and sour cream, and you realize that simplicity is bliss. If you are interested in spending very little (under $7 a person) and want the full stomach feeling, Chipotle never fails to satisfy!

 

Grade: A+

 

Qdoba Mexican Grill

 

Another Mexican food location, it is competitively located right across from Chipotle. It offers quesadillas, taco salads, tacos, and burritos, giving it more variety than Chipotle, but at the same time, it loses a little on the quality side. Qdoba does have distinctly fresher guacamole though. I am a full out Chipotle fan, but with Qdoba’s Rewards card, you can often get a free burrito and nachos making the trip totally worth it. If you are in the mood for anything other than a standard burrito, Qdoba is the place to go. At Chipotle however, you will often leave with your wallet and stomach a little bit fuller.

 

Grade: B+

 

Joe Mama’s

 

A number of restaurants in the Oakland area offer a special known as Half-Price. At 11 PM they slash the prices on their most popular items. Burgers for $3, and pasta dishes for $5. It’s a deal that can’t be beat. Joe Mama’s is an Italian-based restaurant that offers burgers, pastas, and delicious artichoke and cheese dip. A good place to eat during the day, it really goes up in value when you eat there after 11 PM. Grab a group of friends and go out to Half-Price and you will find the bill for each person to be under $5 – 7 after ordering some pretty excellent food. Remember though, you have to add a tip as if the order was full-priced!

 

Grade: B-

Half-Price Grade: B+

 

Fuel and Fuddle

 

Another restaurant that offers the Half-Price deal after 11PM, they serve some of the best nachos in town, and after 11PM it will only cost you and your friends three measly dollars! Burgers, fish, chicken, and a host of interesting pizzas and wings make Fuel and Fuddle full of variety and value. Be sure to try the Smashed Potatoes pizza, which is filled with bacon, mashed potatoes, and covered with cheese and sauce. Another crowd favorite is the Wings order with Swamp Rub sauce. Fuel and Fuddle also offers a delicious Sunday brunch, and the unique atmosphere of the restaurant makes it worth coming back over and over again.

 

Grade: A

Half-Price Grade: A+

 

Five Guys

 

This burger and fries joint has some of the best Cajun fries ever. Cooked in 100% no cholesterol peanut oil, they are also vegetarian friendly. Well before I talk anymore about their amazing fries, I guess I should mention the burgers. They offer a variety of burgers all for under $5.50. You are sure to leave with a bill less than $8 and some fries for the road.

 

Grade: B+

 

 

Are you looking for a group of friends who embody excellence and value camaraderie? Might you be interested in joining a group that hosts numerous events to benefit the university, community, and encourages personal growth?  Perhaps you are looking for an edge in the alumni network and job search? If you answered yes or even maybe to those questions, then you might be interested in Greek Life at Carnegie Mellon University!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Greek Life?

For those of you unfamiliar with the American fraternity and sorority system, a fraternity or sorority is a formal student organization that takes members and creates a bond of brotherhood or sisterhood. In American culture, fraternities and sororities are known for their rituals, loyalty, long-lasting friendships, and service. Of course they are often misconstrued and exaggerated in movies to be partying all the time. Fraternities and sororities are not always exclusively male or female, and can differ in whether they are simply social organizations, or for a field, such as business fraternities and community service fraternities. Also there are historically ethnic fraternities and sororities.

At Carnegie Mellon we have 12 IFC Fraternities including 2 MGC fraternities and 2 NPHC fraternities, which include a business, service, and ethnic fraternity. There are 5 Panhellenic sororities, 2 MGC sororities, and 1 NPHC sororities. By the way, MGC stands for Multicultural Greek Council and NPHC stands for National Pan-Hellenic Council, traditionally African American.

How do I become a member of a fraternity or sorority?

The process differs for fraternities and sororities.  

For IFC fraternities there is traditionally a period of two weeks known as “Rush” during which you have the opportunity to attend any number of fraternities and their house events. This is a good way to get a feel for the kind of house it is and what kind of members it draws. During these two weeks, I recommend you attend their Rush Events, or house sponsored events that give interested freshmen and upperclassmen a chance to learn more about the fraternity and the values it embodies. Most fraternities also invite you to join them for lunch or dinner, which is another great way to meet the Brothers of the fraternity. The Brothers of each fraternity will then evaluate your interest in their organization and extend a formal bid to you. You then have the choice of joining the fraternity.

For Panhellenic officiated sororities you go through a process called FMR, or Formal Member Recruitment. This process is a formal introduction to each of the five Panhellenic Sororities on campus. You will spend four days visiting the houses. You will be paired with a Recruitment Counselor, or a Rho Sigma, who is an unbiased, temporarily disaffiliated member of the sorority community. She will assist you in narrowing down your choices throughout the four days of FMR. This process of releasing houses is based on mutual selection, that is both your preferences and the houses’ preferences will be taken into account to make the best match possible.  On the fifth day, you will be extended a bid from one of the houses, which is an invitation to join their house.  

What do Greeks do?

Greek organizations are unique in the activities they do, but most will hold numerous events for their members with a social, academic, and/or cultural focus. Most hold community service events each year. Greek organizations are traditionally known for their social aspect. They provide a large network of friends who you can count on through thick and thin. They can become your second family, or your place to de-stress from the rigorous academics at Carnegie Mellon.

Greeks have a unique level of participation in Greek Sing in the Spring, and Booth and Buggy during Carnival.

As I mentioned earlier, service is one of the most important standards of the Greek community. Last semester, the community contributed over 10,400 hours of community service and raised over $53,000 for local and national philanthropies. Greek Sing is the largest of all of the service events in the Greek community. Greek Sing 2009 raised over $36,000 for the Lustgarden Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research in honor of the late Professor Randy Pausch. While Greek Sing is an opportunity to hone dancing skills and earn bragging rights, it is recognized mainly as the time of the year when members of our community get together to raise money and support charity.  

For more information about Booth, check out my older entry about Carnival, and you will get a little taste of what I think is the most epic part of being at Carnegie Mellon.

Will Greek Life affect my GPA and/or academics?

I believe that time management is key to being successful at Carnegie Mellon University. If you plan ahead and spread your work out over the time you have to complete it, there is no reason why you cannot take the time to commit to Greek Life. Most houses have a minimum QPA to retain membership and take elected positions. A lot of houses have mentor/tutor programs, study hours and last semester 8 Greek organizations had house GPAs higher than the campus average. In addition, many chapters have their own academic advisors. I found that my academics actually improved after joining a fraternity. I made time to complete my academics before I attended social activities with my fraternity house.

Fast Facts on Greeks: Greeks accomplished some awesome things in Spring 2009!

-60% of Greek members are active in other campus organizations

-45% of Panhellenic sorority members hold campus leadership roles and 25% of IFC fraternities hold campus leadership positions

-The Greek community’s individual chapters contributed 4,576 hours of community service and raised $28,419 for charity

-Many of your HOCs, OCs, CAs, and RAs are Greek!

Shoutout to Danielle Fisher, Kelly Chang, and Emily Boncek for their help writing and editing this article!

So for those of you eagerly awaiting the solution to our sometimes truthful fraternity brothers problem, let me explain, with a little recap of the problem:

The famous math fraternity on campus is having a special ceremony today. It is their "induction ritual." Each brother either always tells the truth, or always lies. Each other brother also knows whether each other brother is lying or not. In this ritual, n brothers brothers stand in a line and say the following.

    * For each integer  i, from 1 to n-1, brother i says, "Brother (i+1) is a liar."
    * The last brother, brother n, says, "At least one brother from 1 to (n-1) is telling the truth."

So the question is, for what values of n, is brother 1 telling the truth. Basically if the first brother tells the truth, what can you tell me about the number of brothers participating in this ritual?

Solution: Lets look at a really simple case of 3 fraternity brothers. We know the first brother is telling the truth. He says brother 2 is a liar. Thus when brother 2 says "Brother 3 is a liar" We know he is actually saying Brother 3 is telling the truth. This checks out because Brother 3 says "A least one brother from 1 to 2 is telling the truth." Now with 4 fraternity brothers, the first tells the truth, meaning the second is a liar, meaning the third is telling the truth. This implies that Brother 4 is lying and "At least one brother from 1 to 3 is not telling the truth." However this is false, as Brother 1 did tell the truth. Hmmm...There is a pattern here.

Basically using mathematical induction, you can prove that only odd numbers of total brothers will be telling the truth, write it out a few times, to understand it. If you are curious about induction you can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductive_reasoning

Now, to explain more about my blog's title, I present to you...

THE FRESHMAN FIFTEEN!

Fifteen articles about fifteen topics incoming freshmen and potential students should be aware of. Greek Life, Housing, What to bring for your rooms, What to expect from Orientation, Getting a Campus Job, etc. etc. This is going to be part 1 in what should be a nice long series of articles. As I continue to post on these different topics, please feel free to leave comments and questions, and I'd be more than happy to help you out.

1. Orientation

For all you incoming freshmen, be prepared for quite possibly the best seven days of your life. Carnegie Mellon offers a unique six day program (seven if you count the day you move in) filled with student activities, house orientation, and student orientation. Be prepared for a crash course in living by yourself, dealing with academics at Carnegie Mellon, visiting the city of Pittsburgh, and meeting many many new people. I think I met over 600 fellow freshies in my Orientation, and don't be afraid to just say "Hello" in those first few days, its not weird, I promise.

• Orientation Counselors

A little overwhelmed, fear not, there are some fantastic Carnegie Mellon students here to help you make this amazing transition to college life. Almost 120 volunteer students have been selected to help represent the different living areas and assist first-years in making the transition to college life. These are arguably the most motivated and enthusiastic students at Carnegie Mellon. Expect Orientation Counselors, OCs for short, to be constantly excited, and always there to answer a question or help you out with moving in. Two OCs will personally greet you in your floor community and will be constantly available to aid you in getting to know Carnegie Mellon and Pittsburgh. They are completely there to help make the transition process more comfortable. They are also in charge of helping set up and run all of the student events during campus.

Now from personal experience, I have to say, OCs don’t just make you feel at home in Pittsburgh, and your new university, but they become great friends. In fact one of my Orientation Counselors, Jake Mohin and I are still fantastic friends. Of course we are also brothers (Sigma Phi Epsilon), but even before I rushed, we talked about everything, and he was a great friend all through the school year. OCs have a strong impact on you during Orientation, but if you befriend them, you can create a friendship that lasts all through your years at Carnegie Mellon.

•  Resident Assistants

Similar to the OCs during Orientation, the Resident Assisstants, or RAs, are there for your entire first year making sure your first year is as healthy and comfortable as possible. They develop floor community and really help bring you and your floormates together. They are also in charge of running lots of the in dorm activities during the year. Each hall has one RA, who you will see plenty of during Orientation, but definitely make a better connection with them throughout the year.

• Head Orientation Counselors

Every meal, every program, every pamphlet you read, every single thing you do, has been meticulously planned by these 6 special OCs. The Head Orientation Counselors, or HOCs, represent one of the six living areas, Stever, Mudge, Morewood E-Tower, The Hill (McGill, Boss, Hammerschlag, Scobell), Donner, and Oakland (various apartments in the Oakland area). They are the great minds behind your Orientation planning and activities, so be sure to thank them for the great time you are going to have at Orientation.

•    Housefellows

The Housefellows are the employed full-time caretakers of the dorm community you live in. Each Housefellow is in charge of managing the RA staff as well as running the day to day events in your residence hall. Get familiar with your Housefellow as they are always around to answer questions and help you out with navigating Carnegie Mellon.

That is a pretty simple introduction to the different people you will meet during Orientation. I could go on and tell you even more about the crazy happenings at Orientation, but some things should be left as a surprise. Get psyched Class of 2013, less than two short weeks before Orientation kicks off!

Look forward for my next blog entry on Housing (Part 2 of the Freshmen Fifteen)!

Though I have been seriously enjoying my time back in Pittsburgh, I am taking a class that I usually wake up at 9 AM for. Its basically the fanciest counting class you will ever take.

Concepts of Counting Mathematics

21-127-This course introduces the basic concepts, ideas and tools involved in doing mathematics. As such, its main focus is on presenting informal logic, and the methods of mathematical proof. These subjects are closely related to the application of mathematics in many areas, particularly computer science. Topics discussed include a basic introduction to elementary number theory, induction, the algebra of sets, relations, equivalence relations, congruences, partitions, and functions, including injections, surjections, and bijections.

Well...if you read that and are still at a loss for what this class is really about, its okay. Its probably going to be your first introduction to theoretical math: mathematics that doesn't require calculators as much but instead uses logic, and proofs to discuss numbers, calculus, whatever. This class is certainly more geared towards number theory, and is basically your first formal introduction to proof-based math when you get to Carnegie Mellon.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, leave your fancy graphing calculators back at the dorm room for this class, you are more likely to see i, j, k, n and summation symbols than x, and y.

This is the book we use. It is filled with example after example of proofs. Want to actually show the square root of 2 is irrational...yeah you can prove that. You can prove even the most abstract concepts like 0 < 1. I bet you took that for granted.


At the moment we are nearly 3 1/2 weeks into the class, and we just finished inductive logic, bijections and cardinality. Some of it is certainly going wayyyy over my head, but with the help of office hours and homework, I'm sure I'll be ready for the test this Friday.

We looked at the possibilities of getting a royal flush (1 in 65,000) and the how many legal license plates Pennsylvania can have (assuming no other vehicle has that plate already). Today we figured out every way to rearrange the letters of MISSISSIPPI and BANANA. Soon we will investigate divisibility rules and see why any number whose digits add up to a multiple of 9, is therefore divisible by 9. Its an interesting class that makes you think about numbers in a whole new way. 

For example, and this was a fun test question.

Ex. The famous math fraternity on campus is having a special ceremony today. It is their "induction ritual." Each brother either always tells the truth, or always lies. Each other brother also knows whether each other brother is lying or not. In this ritual, n brothers brothers stand in a line and say the following.

• For each integer  i, from 1 to n-1, brother i says, "Brother (i+1) is a liar."
• The last brother, brother n, says, "At least one brother from 1 to (n-1) is telling the truth."

So the question is, for what values of n, is brother 1 telling the truth. Basically if the first brother tells the truth, what can you tell me about the number of brothers participating in this ritual?

Edit: Credit goes to my awesome TA, Dan Kilgallin, for coming up with this question!

Try writing it out, maybe lining up a few of your friends and trying to figure it out, I'll post a solution on my next entry.

Hey there,

I'm finally back in Pittsburgh! After a fantastic 6ish weeks of hanging out with friends, running, and lots of sleeping I am back at Carnegie Mellon! The first six weeks I was taking a class at Rutgers University (Macroeconomics), running, and doing a little transcription work on the side.

During the week I stuck to the fairly mundane schedule of going to class (at 8 AM...I know, it sucked waking up that early), running, afternoon napping, running, working and studying...Then again, pretty much every weekend I hopped in my car and drove with friends to see other friends, a novel idea if you ask me. I traveled to Boston, MA, Urbana-Champaign, IL, Philadelphia, PA, and Washington DC seeing fraternity brothers and other Carnegie Mellon friends. I have some super stories to share with you about my adventures around the northeast!

I'm now back at Carnegie Mellon, taking Concepts of Mathematics for Summer Session 2, running for Varsity Cross Country this fall, and working/blogging with the Admissions Department. The goal is to stay really busy till school starts, and keep myself from getting too lazy. The good news is that at least my new class starts at 9 AM each day instead of 8 AM like the Rutgers one...=/

I also just got my new camera. Its a Fujifilm awesomeness ! And with the help of some gift cards, it cost me next to nothing. Now you will be able to enjoy my blog with lots of pictures.

In the meantime, let me know what you are up to this summer, and the question I have to ask:

Do you think summers are for all out relaxation, or is it good to take a class/do an activity/stay busy by working?


 

Hey guys! Since my blog looks pretty blank right now, I wanted to let everyone know that I'll start posting in July when I come back to campus to take a class. I'll be writing entries regularly from that point on, but in the meantime, check out my "About the Author" section to learn a little bit more about me. Feel free to post comments and questions on my blog or any of the other students' blogs too. I look forward to hearing from you!