December 5, 2013
Dear Harvard College students,
What has happened to the semester? Reading period is here and in another week, final exams begin. The holiday break will soon be here. As I have mentioned periodically, it is important that you are taking care of yourselves and each other. Now that we are in the final weeks of the semester, and approaching real winter weather, this is important now more than ever.
I want to remind you that our wonderful community has a wide array of resources available and I urge you to utilize them should you feel the need:
- The Center for Wellness is coordinating chair massages and other activities in the Houses to help relieve tension brought on by studying and writing papers. Be sure to check with your House wellness tutor/proctor for more information as spots are limited and fill up very quickly.
- You could also visit the Center’s virtual relaxation room.
- Another example of valuable resources is this list of workshops hosted by the Bureau of Study Counsel. You will see upcoming sessions on how to make the best use of reading period and the best strategies for effectively taking exams.
I also plan to make my way around campus during reading period. And you never know, I may be bringing treats with me. It is the holiday season after all. (Hint: see the subject of this e-mail)
When possible, I like to highlight the work of our undergraduates. Lance Katigbak and Krithika Varagur, are working as social media assistants for the Division of Arts and Humanities. This fall they created a Facebook page and Twitter account for the Division, which are full of news and events. Good work Lance and Krithika.
As I mentioned, the holiday season has arrived and I am very much looking forward to attending Festivus, the annual holiday celebration being held at Cabot House this evening. I just hope I am not too often the target during the “airing of the grievances.”
You might be wondering what we professors and administrators are doing while you are preparing papers and studying. I have a final to write, of course, and I have several manuscripts on my desk that I promised to read for editors. I continue to work on several of my own papers for publication. For reading I have been dipping into Caroline Alexander’s “The Bounty: The true story of the mutiny on the Bounty” and, a mystery, “The Wings of the Sphinx” by Andrea Camilleri. Lots of reading of various sorts!
I do have office hours next Monday, and you can sign up by sending me an e-mail: hcd...@fas.harvard.edu. I will be happy to see you!
Sincerely,
Dean Pfister
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