Summer @ CMU Newsletter: Issue III
Welcome to Issue III of the Summer Studies newsletter! If you’re a summer two student joining us for the first time, welcome to summer at CMU! We’re so happy that all of you have decided to make this summer a #VirtualCMUSummer.
The Summer Studies newsletter showcases on and off campus resources, events, workshops, and contests. In this issue we’re featuring CMU Libraries, the Mattress Factory Museum, introducing you to the fascinating history of the Northside, and announcing the winner of round one of our Instagram contest!
Want to find more summer resources? Check out our Welcome to (Virtual) Summer @ CMU webpage.
On Campus: CMU Libraries
The Carnegie Mellon University Libraries are one of our most valuable campus resources. The Libraries’ wide array of remotely accessible content, including e-books, videos, curated reading lists, and more, makes it easy to find the information you need, no matter where in the world you’re studying.
Follow Us!
To get updates throughout the weeks about events and important deadlines, follow us on social media!
Stay up to date
- The Summer 2020 Updates page contains information about the shift to remote learning.
- The Welcome to (Virtual) Summer @ CMU webpage is your virtual welcome fair, with helpful information from various CMU and off-campus organizations about summer resources and online events.
- To stay up to date on the latest COVID-19 information, visit Carnegie Mellon's Coronavirus Information page.
July Academic Calendar Dates
- July 15: Session Two Course Drop Deadline
- July 27: Session Two Withdrawal Grade Deadline and Pass/Fail Grade Deadline
To keep track of important dates and deadlines, visit the Academic Calendar webpage.
Ask an Expert
The Libraries have gone remote due to COVID-19, but you can still connect with librarians and subject specialists who can help guide your research:
- Have a question? Use the Ask Us chat function during regular business hours for on-the-spot remote assistance from a librarian.
- Librarians and subject specialists are also available to answer questions and consult on research via phone, email, and Zoom.
Research & Study Guides
- Looking for information about a specific subject? These research guides are broken down by area of interest.
- Students studying for admissions tests including the GMAT, MCAT, GRE, and TOEFL can check out the online practice tests and study guides housed within the Testing & Education Reference Center (TERC), which is accessible via the A-Z Databases list.
Find more information about remote resources and the libraries’ response to COVID-19 on their Coronavirus FAQ webpage.
Stay up to date with the latest library news and information by following them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
Off Campus: The Mattress Factory Museum
If this is your introduction to the Mattress Factory Museum, you may be wondering…was it ever really a mattress factory? The short answer is: yes! Formerly a derelict mattress warehouse, the building was purchased in the mid-70s and converted into a museum of contemporary art, with a focus on site-specific installations. Featuring work by artists like Yayoi Kusama, whose interactive sculptures include mirrors, mannequins, and black lights, and Greer Lankton, whose life-sized dolls interrogate themes of gender and sexuality, the Mattress Factory has been on the cutting edge of installation art since its founding.
The Mattress Factory is closed due to COVID-19, but the museum offers virtual installation tours, like this one of Yayoi Kusama’s famous mirror rooms:
Instagram Contest: Round One Winner & Honorable Mentions
The results are in! We are excited to announce the winners of round one of our Instagram contest: Violet She and her sweet cat Bambi! Violet is a graduate student in the Heinz College Master of Entertainment Industry Management Program. Bambi is four months old and enjoys licking his tail, destroying his toys, exploring hidden places, and taking lots of naps.
We also had two excellent honorable mentions: Mary Cundiff, a Neurobiology PhD candidate, and her very fashionable dog Daisy, and Jessi Figard, a Mellon College of Science student, and her studious dog, Dr. Aladin.
The theme for round two of our Instagram contest is Views from Home. Show us your favorite thing about home, whether it's the view of the sunset from your bedroom window, the lake where you go to swim, or the cozy spot in your livingroom where you like to read. Post your favorite photos from home using the hashtag #VirtualCMUSummer by July 27 to enter. Winners will be announced in Issue IV of the newsletter, posted to our website, and shared on social media.
Bambi
Daisy
Dr. Aladin
Tag the Summer Studies Virtual Graffiti Wall
We may not be on campus together this summer, but that doesn’t mean we can’t build a strong Summer Studies community from a distance. That's why we're asking you to "tag" our virtual graffiti wall.
How it Works
Post a kind note to a fellow Summer Studies student on social media. Use whichever platform you prefer: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter...anything goes! Get creative: post a photo of the two of you together, hand write your note and upload a photo, leave a note or a gift on your friend's Animal Crossing island and take a screenshot.
Tag your post #VirtualCMUSummer and we'll add it to a virtual graffiti wall webpage, where we'll compile all of your kind words. Let's keep our community strong, thriving, and supportive, even at a distance.
Pittsburgh History Spotlight: The Northside
Fun fact about the Northside: for decades, it was its own, tiny city. Incorporated as Allegheny City in 1880, the area wasn’t annexed by the city of Pittsburgh until 1907, when it was renamed the North Side—though many Pittsburghers write it as one word.
Before its annexation, the Northside was the site of major historical events. Along with the Hill District’s Arthursville neighborhood, the Northside is said to have been a significant stop on the Underground Railroad; one likely station was the Felix Brunot mansion on Stockton Avenue, which was constructed atop a warren of secret tunnels and entrances. In the late 1870s, minister Charles Taze Russell founded a bible study group at a Northside home, which eventually grew to become the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Inventor and civil engineer George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. dreamed up the Ferris Wheel while living on the Northside, in an attempt to create a structure that rivalled the Eiffel Tower. In 1903, the Pittsburgh Pirates faced off with the Boston Americans (now Boston Red Sox) for the first ever World Series.
Church on the Northside's Mexican War Streets. Image via Wikipedia by Ainulindale.
Life on the Northside is just as rich in the present-day. The Mexican War Streets (formerly the Buena Vista tract) is a historic district lined in ornate row houses dating from the late 1800s, and is perfect for a scenic walk. Around the corner from the Mexican War Streets, you’ll find City of Asylum: Pittsburgh’s House Publications. These rehabilitated houses provide sanctuary for writers fleeing persecution in their home countries, and are decorated with poems, murals, and sculptures.
House Publications. Image via City of Asylum: Pittsburgh.
While City of Asylum’s in-person programming is suspended due to COVID-19, they are now hosting The Show Must Go On(line) Pittsburgh, a webcast featuring concerts, plays, readings, and film screenings by Pittsburgh’s many arts organizations, all free of charge.
The Mattress Factory and City of Asylum aren’t the only places on the Northside where you can find quirky houses and installation art: Randlyland, Pittsburgh’s most colorful house, is a little bit of both! Created by folk artist Randy Gilson, Randyland is part community garden and part art installation, in addition to being Gilson’s home. While Randyland is currently closed for renovations, you can still take a virtual tour by watching Randyland TV or following Randy’s Instagram account.
Randy Gilson poses in his garden at Randyland. Image via Roadside America.