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AROUND THE QUADSCAMPUS BULLETINSCEREMONIES:The biggest New York City snowstorm in two years provided a perfect backdrop for two Columbia traditions: one relatively new, the other long established. On Thursday, December 5, as six inches of snow blanketed the city, students, faculty, alumni and administrators celebrated the third annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and the 93rd annual Yule Log Ceremony.
Many of the same people gathered later that evening for the 93rd annual Yule Log Ceremony in John Jay Lounge. Gardenia Cercedo ’03 Barnard, vice president of the Blue Key Society, which sponsored the event, introduced the Columbia Gospel Choir, which sang Christmas carols. University Chaplain Jewelnel Davis; Vivian Taylor, sophomore class dean at Barnard; Engineering School Dean Zvi Galil; and Bollinger passed along holiday wishes. College Dean Austin Quigley thanked the Blue Key Society “for keeping this wonderful tradition alive” and read selections from Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales, and Connie Hoch, the mellifluous-voiced source of Columbia voicemail messages (known on campus as the “Rolm phone lady”), read A Visit From Saint Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore (Class of 1798). The first Yule Log Ceremony was instituted by University President Nicholas Murray Butler (Class of 1882) to provide holiday cheer for students who could not go home during the holidays. T.P.C. AWARDED:Gilles Fabien Vonsattel ’03, a political science and economics major, was awarded first prize in the Walter W. Naumburg International Piano Competition, which was held on June 11, 2002. Vonsattel, who also is pursuing a master’s in music as a participant in the Columbia-Julliard exchange program, performed at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall on November 20 in a recital that was organized and presented by the Naumburg Foundation and included works by Bach, Schumann, Prokofiev, Ravel and Xenakis. Vonsattel, who was born in Switzerland and began playing piano at age 4, was a prizewinner in at the 2001 Cleveland International Piano Competition and won first prize at the 1999 Boston Symphony Orchestra Competition. EL REGRESO:
The Latino Alumni Association of Columbia University (LAACU) will sponsor El Regreso, the Fourth Annual Latino Alumni Homecoming, on Saturday, March 8 at 7 p.m. in Low Library. The celebratory event includes the announcement of the recipient of the 2003 Latino Heritage Award, which was established to recognize Latino alumni who exemplify a commitment to the education and advancement of the Latino community. In November, LAACU elected its new board of directors: Alicia D. Guevara ’94, president; Eugenio A. Cano ’95, vice president; Jose Rivera-Benitez ’77, Latino membership chair; German A. Gomez ’90, secretary; and Julie M. Torres ’93 Barnard, treasurer. For more information about El Regreso, please contact Adlar García ’95, assistant director, alumni affairs, in the Alumni Office, at (212) 870-2786 or ag80@columbia.edu, or visit www.laacu.org. EVACUATION STUDY:Columbia researchers are embarking on a three-year study of the evacuation of the World Trade Center twin towers during the terrorist attack to help determine how individual behavior, the structure of the buildings and emergency management procedures affected who survived and why. The injury prevention program at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded a $1.5 million grant to the Center for Public Health Preparedness at the Mailman School of Public Health to finance the study. CCW HONOREE: Friedman directs all facets of the legal advocacy program, which represents domestic violence victims in Family and Supreme Court matters, and supervises advocates in their cases. She also supervises the recruitment of law students and summer associates for CAP, where she has worked since 1998. She previously served as a human rights fellow for the NAACP and as a legislative assistant for the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. For more information on the award reception, which begins at 7 p.m., please contact Heather Applewhite in the Alumni Office at (212) 870-2757 or hh15@columbia.edu. TRUMAN:Phoebe K. Farag ’00 received The Truman Award of Leadership and Innovation by Young Professionals in International Development in November. Farag, who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, won the prestigious award for her work in developing and implementing The Valuable Girl Project, an education program piloted in rural Egypt that uses cross-age tutoring to help girls stay in school and provide them support. “Big sisters” aid “little sisters” in the project by providing positive role models and academic assistance. Farag is the international program manager at Coptic Orphans, the metro D.C.-based organization that funds the project. She monitors the project, which she proposed last January. In addition to her work with The Valuable Girl Project, Farag is midway through a master’s degree in international education at The George Washington University. The Society for International Development presents the Truman Award to honor “leadership, creativity and dedication in the broad fields of international development.” The society’s Washington, D.C., chapter presented the award, which includes a plaque and $500. The society selects recipients for the Truman Award to recognize “positive motivation and inspiration to other young professionals.” P.W.
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