Chapter News

• The Broadside Alumni Association
• The Creative Writing Alumni Group
• Graduate Creative Writing Program
• The George Mason University School of Law Alumni Association

The Broadside Alumni Association is retracing steps of the past, looking for alumni who worked on the student newspaper while at George Mason University. The association, which held its first official meeting in May, was established to provide a network between past and current Broadside staff and those interested in journalism. Even though the group is geared toward Broadside alumni, it is not exclusive to those who served on the student newspaper. The association will also serve as a vehicle for anyone interested in the field of communications.

In August, the association helped coordinate a Broadside alumni and staff ice cream social as part of the newspaper's recruiting effort for the 1998 fall semester. "The reception was a perfect opportunity for past, present, and future Broadsiders to network with one another," says current Broadside editor-in-chief Stephanie Ogilvie.

Future projects include a new members social and an awards presentation to current Broadside staff members. The association is also working with current Broadsiders to plan a staff retreat in January, featuring workshops on writing, editing, ethics, and production.

"Whether they remain in the field of journalism or not, many people keep in touch with one another after they leave George Mason. What we hope to do is something more--something positive, not only for them, but for the newspaper and for George Mason," says Broadside Alumni Association president Michelle L. Hankins.

The Broadside Alumni Association has estab lished a website at http://members.aol.com/apstyle/ broadside.html and encourages anyone interested in joining to visit the site for further information.

The Creative Writing Alumni Group is seeking nominations for Writer of the Year. The Writer of the Year award is given to a publishing alumnus at the George Mason Alumni Association's annual Celebration of Distinction in April. Previous winners have included Barbara Esstman and Anthony Grooms. The deadline for nominations is February 1, 1999. Nominations should be sent to the alumni group at George Mason University, MS 3B3, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444, or by e-mail to group president Colleen Kearney at ckearney@gmu.edu.

William Miller, M.F.A. alumnus and administrator of the Graduate Creative Writing Program, is seeking M.F.A. alumni who are interested in interacting with students who are considering George Mason's program. This interaction can be via telephone or e-mail. Interested parties should contact Miller by phone at (703) 993-1185 or by e-mail at wmiller@gmu.edu.

The George Mason University School of Law Alumni Association has scheduled the following CLE courses for the spring of 1999:

• May 12, 1999: Handling Rear End, Low-Speed Impact Automobile Accident Cases (3 CLE credits)
• May 13, 1999: Computer-Assisted Online Research in the New Millennium (3 CLE credits)
• May 19, 1999: Ethics for Attorneys (2 CLE credits)
• June 9, 1999: Preparing and Winning Automobile Accident Cases (6 CLE credits)
• June 14, 1999: Virginia Adoption Law and Procedure (6 CLE credits; 1 Ethics credit)
• June 21, 1999: Writing Winning Briefs (3 CLE credits)
• June 24, 1999: Negotiate Like the Pros (6 CLE credits; 1 Ethics MCLE)