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[Campus-columbia-staff] planning an event for next semester

Shauna Gordon-McKeon shaunagm at gmail.com
Tue Aug 27 16:34:11 UTC 2013 

Hi Zach,

Pleased to virtually meet you.  We're looking for a space that meets the
first six criteria listed here:
https://openhatch.org/wiki/OSCTC_space_checklist

We want to run the event on either Saturday Oct 19th or Sunday Oct 20th,
and will need the space from 9am-6pm (with some flexibility on either end.)

best
Shauna



On Tue, Aug 27, 2013 at 10:55 AM, Dina Lamdany <dinalamdany at gmail.com>wrote:

> Great!. From here on out, my friend Zach (cc'ed), another member of ADI,
> will be coordinating this event for you. I'll be responsible for the WICS
> end of it, so shoot me an email when you want WICS to start advertising,
> but he'll be taking care of booking the space, choosing a date, etc. with
> you.
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 27, 2013 at 9:16 AM, Shauna Gordon-McKeon <shaunagm at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Great!  We'd like to book a room that can hold the max attendees (35 + 8
>> mentors - so 43ish) but we'll be happy with much smaller attendance.  We've
>> done small events before and they've been just as rewarding as large ones.
>>
>> We should pick between Saturday Oct 19th and Sunday Oct 20th.  Do you
>> have a preference?  Generally we've found people tend to prefer Saturdays,
>> but we're up for either.
>>
>> Once we've got the day, we can get started on publicity.  It's a little
>> early to actually send publicity, but we can figure out where we want to
>> send to, and I can set up the publicity website/sign up form so it's ready
>> when we are.  If you can help us brainstorm student groups, clubs,
>> departments to send publicity emails to, that would be great.  I've added
>> you to our planning folder, which is currently pretty empty, but there is a
>> doc labeled 'Publicity Spreadsheet' in there.  Asheesh and I will be adding
>> places to send publicity emails over the next few days, feel free to add as
>> well.
>>
>> Let us know if there's anything we can do re: getting the space.  Just a
>> reminder, you can use this checklist to pick an appropriate space:
>> https://openhatch.org/wiki/OSCTC_space_checklist
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 27, 2013 at 12:02 AM, Dina Lamdany <dinalamdany at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Sure, we'd be down for a smaller event, we just wanted to make sure that
>>> we all had the same expectations.
>>>
>>> Ok, so, cool. WICS will advertise this, ADI will advertise this, and ADI
>>> will book a space for the 19th. What other things need to be done?
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Aug 26, 2013 at 9:01 PM, Shauna Gordon-McKeon <
>>> shaunagm at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Dina,
>>>>
>>>> I understand your concern about getting 20-30 people for a day long
>>>> event.  I was pretty surprised myself the first time I saw 30+ people show
>>>> up on a weekend to spend all day learning about open source.  :)
>>>>
>>>> We've run smaller events and still found them highly rewarding.  We
>>>> want to make sure we can accommodate a high turnout, but we wouldn't
>>>> consider a smaller event - say, 10 people - to be a failure.  That said,
>>>> there are a number of things we can do to improve turnout, such as working
>>>> with other student groups, advertising to women in computer science from
>>>> other campuses in the city, and structuring the event so that attendees who
>>>> can only attend for the afternoon can do the tutorials ahead of time.
>>>>
>>>> Are you still interested in helping us run the event?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Mon, Aug 26, 2013 at 11:56 AM, Dina Lamdany <dinalamdany at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Getting a space should be no problem--we can get it pretty easily.
>>>>>
>>>>> The biggest concern right now is the timing. Trying to get 20-30
>>>>> people to come to an event for five hours, let alone seven, would take an
>>>>> immense marketing blitz. Given the number of other long-term events we have
>>>>> in the fall, I think we should take a rain check for now, but
>>>>> definitely revisit the option once we feel more confident in our membership
>>>>> coming out for such a large event.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 9:27 PM, Shauna Gordon-McKeon <
>>>>> shaunagm at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Are you confident enough that we'll get the room that we could do a
>>>>>> save the date beforehand?  Although the event is still pretty far out, we
>>>>>> probably wouldn't want to do a save the date for another couple weeks.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> We were actually planning to do seven hours (10am-5pm) but we can say
>>>>>> pretty explicitly that folks who feel they have a handle on the tutorial
>>>>>> sections can skip them.  We can also make sure people know that they're
>>>>>> free to leave at any point during the workshop period, or even phrase it as
>>>>>> "the workshop goes until 3, but mentors & the space will be available until
>>>>>> 5 for anyone who wants to continue" in order to make it clear that
>>>>>> attendees should not feel awkward about ducking out after trying out
>>>>>> submitting patches.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Mon, Aug 19, 2013 at 5:27 PM, Dina Lamdany <dinalamdany at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Booking space is pretty easy, if ADI does it--we just put in a space
>>>>>>> request and it gets approved. WICS has more trouble booking space, but it
>>>>>>> won't be a problem.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Are you still thinking five hours? I think Saturday would be better
>>>>>>> for an event, regardless of time, but five hours will decrease turnout.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Sun, Aug 18, 2013 at 11:44 PM, Shauna Gordon-McKeon <
>>>>>>> shaunagm at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I think we're going to go ahead with the weekend of the 19th/20th -
>>>>>>>> Asheesh won't be able to make it, but he'll help remotely.  Which do you
>>>>>>>> think would be better for turnout, Saturday or Sunday.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> So what's the process for actually booking space?  When does that
>>>>>>>> happen?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On Sun, Aug 18, 2013 at 9:32 PM, Dina Lamdany <
>>>>>>>> dinalamdany at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The weekend of the 26th/27th will probably be bad for
>>>>>>>>> turnout--it's the weekend right before midterms/the last weekend before our
>>>>>>>>> fall break, so I'm not sure that would be good. The 2/3 is our fall break,
>>>>>>>>> and then the 9th we're holding a hackathon--would you be interested in
>>>>>>>>> moving to the week after? It's a bit deep in November.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Aug 16, 2013 at 10:58 AM, Shauna Gordon-McKeon <
>>>>>>>>> shaunagm at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I think Asheesh may be busy that weekend.  Without ruling it out
>>>>>>>>>> - we'll wait for him to get back to us - is there another weekend that
>>>>>>>>>> might work?  The weekend of the 26th/27th?
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 12:45 PM, Shauna Gordon-McKeon <
>>>>>>>>>> shaunagm at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> If you're willing to open the event to other campuses, I'd be
>>>>>>>>>>> optimistic at finding at least 15 women who want to attend.  We've had
>>>>>>>>>>> similar numbers of women at other events.  That said, all we want to do
>>>>>>>>>>> extend the invitation to as many women as possible.  If it ends up being
>>>>>>>>>>> majority male, c'est la vie.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> We've played with the format before.  We could split the event
>>>>>>>>>>> into two days, 2-3 hours each - one tutorial, one working-on-patches
>>>>>>>>>>> workshop - but I'm not sure if that's preferable.  We've gotten a full
>>>>>>>>>>> house of attendees before.  It's just a matter of picking a good date,
>>>>>>>>>>> publicizing well, and having a big enough base of potential invitees to
>>>>>>>>>>> begin with.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> The weekend of Oct 19/20 would be fine for me.  Asheesh, can you
>>>>>>>>>>> chime in on whether that would also work for you?
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> - Shauna
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> On Mon, Aug 12, 2013 at 11:04 AM, Dina Lamdany <
>>>>>>>>>>> dinalamdany at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi Shauna,
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> We think it would be difficult to get 25-30 females to an event
>>>>>>>>>>>> like this. That being said, WICS would be happy to work on this event as
>>>>>>>>>>>> well, and advertise it to our list-serv (we also do have Barnard students
>>>>>>>>>>>> in WICS and on our board.) But it is unlikely that the event will be
>>>>>>>>>>>> majority female, if that many people are expected, given the demographics
>>>>>>>>>>>> at our events.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Is there a possibility to make a shorter event? Like an hour or
>>>>>>>>>>>> two, rather than five? That would probably help attendance.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> If ADI is going to collaborate on the event, which it would
>>>>>>>>>>>> like to, October 12/13 is probably a bad date, since ADI is hosting a
>>>>>>>>>>>> startup career fair on the 11th. Would the weekend after work?
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Dina
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Aug 9, 2013 at 4:12 PM, Shauna Gordon-McKeon <
>>>>>>>>>>>> shaunagm at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi Dina,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> No worries - I hope your internship went well, and that your
>>>>>>>>>>>>> trip back to the east coast (whenever you do it) is safe and stress-free.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> re: turnout, we usually aim for 25-35 attendees.  If you'd
>>>>>>>>>>>>> like to collaborate with other groups/schools, then great!  We love
>>>>>>>>>>>>> collaboration.  One of our main goals, though, is to reach out to women -
>>>>>>>>>>>>> to that end, we're most enthusiastic about collaborations with
>>>>>>>>>>>>> women-in-CS/STEM type groups and with women's colleges.  For instance, we
>>>>>>>>>>>>> have contacts at Barnard and would love to be able to invite them to this
>>>>>>>>>>>>> event.  This doesn't mean we can't collaborate with other groups, just that
>>>>>>>>>>>>> we'd like to prioritize making sure women who want to attend can attend.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> When do you think we could get a definite time & space nailed
>>>>>>>>>>>>> down?  And what did you think of Oct 12/13th as a potential weekend?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> - Shauna
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Aug 9, 2013 at 3:58 PM, Dina Lamdany <
>>>>>>>>>>>>> dinalamdany at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hey Shauna,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Sorry for the super slow response time--I've been finishing
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> up an internship in San Francisco this week, and the past week has been
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> crazy. Kathy has graduated, so he's no longer a good point-person, but I am.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> WICS would be interested in this event, but given the nature
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> of the event (a pretty big time commitment for attendees) we think it would
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> be best to collaborate on this event with some other CS groups on campus to
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> get a bigger turnout. WICS would definitely advertise the event to our
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> list-serv, however.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I'm also a board member of the Application Development
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Initiative, which will have an easier time booking a space, and which would
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> be happy to collaborate on this event. We'd also potentially be interested
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> in reaching out to a tech group at NYU and collaborating with them. What do
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> you think?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Thanks!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Dina
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Fri, Aug 9, 2013 at 12:50 PM, Shauna Gordon-McKeon <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> shaunagm at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi Kathy and Dina,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Just wanted to follow up.  I'm CCing Melanie just in case
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> our point people have, in fact, changed.  Asheesh and I will both be out of
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the country and fairly unavailable later in August, so it would be great to
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> figure this out beforehand.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> best
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Shauna
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Sat, Aug 3, 2013 at 3:23 PM, Shauna Gordon-McKeon <
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> shaunagm at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi Kathy and Dina,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> We're looking forward to doing an Open Source Comes to
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Campus event at Columbia this semester.  Are you ready to start planning
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> again - this time, hopefully, with better luck finding space?  If you're no
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> longer the best point people for organizing this, just let us know.  :)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> As far as timing, we've pinpointed the weekend of October
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 12th/13th as a good one, though we're flexible.  How does that sound to you?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> best,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Shauna
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Campus-columbia-staff mailing list
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Campus-columbia-staff at lists.openhatch.org
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> http://lists.openhatch.org/mailman/listinfo/campus-columbia-staff
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>
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