Dear Members of the Yale Community in Germany,

The Corona Crisis has been described as a global intelligence test. And seeing how differently countries, communities and individuals fare in these challenging times, this may be a good description of what faces us. The right answer seems to be social distancing but the price is high. As much as we all want to "get in touch" again, a safe way to make this happen still eludes us. 

It is hard to believe the lightheartedness we felt at the last "In-Touch-Event" on March 7th at Amerikahaus München with the beautiful music from Yalie Kamilla Arku (https://www.kamillaarku.com) and the visions into the past brought to us with the photography of Callie Shell. The next event Bartley Grosserichter had set up in Munich with Professor Daniel Ziblatt for May 14th had to be cancelled.

We are very happy that Lena Gotteswinter was able to finish her studies at the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Studies of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition just before Corona hit. Lena is a recipient of the Yale Post-Graduate Fellowship 2019 from the Bavarian American Academy which is sponsored by our club. In her project, she analyzed contemporary hipster culture in the context of music, fashion, and performance, with a focus on contemporary manifestations of Black hipness and hipsters. Her research on aesthetic radicalism within the field of Black hipness as a form of cultural and socio-political resistance and critique in the long tradition of Black resistance within the U.S., will serve as an important aspect of her dissertation.

So let's turn to the new normal: meeting with optionally wearing pants.

Dialogues on Democracy will have exciting guests joining us online in 2020, starting with David Frum, who will be returning to our Speakers Series on June 25th at 8:00pm Munich time for an online event to discuss the topics of his new book. The YouTube livestream link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoAV56tutwc&feature=youtu.be

Nina Jankowicz will join us on July 20th presenting her new book "How to lose the information war". Ms. Jankowicz works at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC and has advised the Ukrainian government on strategic communications under the auspices of a Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship. Her writing has been published by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, BuzzFeed News, The Wilson Quarterly, and others. Please check the Yale and Dialogues on Democracy Website for updates: www.dialoguesondemocracy.com

Below you find a link to our post on the Frum Event and the President's Report.

Hope to see many of you at one of the following events.

>< (Elbowbump)

Alexander Schmitt Glaeser

President’s Report

Hope this message finds everyone well. We were lucky to have held our wonderful Yale weekend in Munich just before the danger of gathering in groups was acute: On March 6 the AmerikaHaus held open their “Hope, Not Fear” photography exhibit for us, Kamilla Arzu ’05 flew in from London to play piano music written by African American componsers, and Patrick Hamm ‘04 even brought his bulldog who traces his lineage to one of the “Handsome Dan” Yale mascots. The next day Bartley Grosserichter ’88 hosted the annual meeting in her home, followed activities at the Munich art museum Lenbachhaus.

For those who were unable to attend the meeting, I’d like to share the Yale Club e.V.’s year in review. Open to all Yale alumni in Germany, the e.V. is the smaller group of the Yale Club that works to ensure that the Club can remain a tax-deductible entity. The e.V. was founded with the idea to establish a foundation and use the interest to fund scholarships for German students wishing to attend Yale. 

The Yale Club e.V.’s Constitution lists three main goals: 

1) Support Yale students and instructors when they are in Germany for research 

2) Offer Yale-affiliated public lectures/workshops to contribute to international exchange and understanding 

3) Support students and instructors from Germany during their studies or research at Yale.

This year we were particularly good at promoting activities in keeping with our goals.  

• We awarded 2000€ to Johanna Höhs from the University of Heidelberg, a 2019-20 exchange scholar with the psychology department.

• We awarded 2000€ to Lena Gotteswinter who received this year’s Bavarian American Academy’s fellowship for graduate students researching at Yale.

• We advanced 3000€ for the recipients of the 2020 and 2021 American Academy’s Yale fellowships.

• The Yale Club – affiliated Dialogues on Democracy organized three lectures and one panel discussion free and open to the general public. Yale Professor Timothy Snyder spoke in February and December 2019, David Frum ‘82/Patrick Hamm ‘04 spoke in September, and Daryl Davis on October 8. Thanks to Bartley Grosserichter and her Dialogues team for all their work.

• Yale Club of Germany members conducted 43 interviews for students in Germany applying to Yale College. Thanks to Rebecca Haltzel-Haas for coordinating the interviews.

• The Club also acted as liaison for singing groups and newcomers wishing to have contacts with the Yale community in Germany, primarily through Stammtisch organization and our Facebook page.

Next year our officers’ terms will be up, so if you would like to become more involved, please get in touch with us and think about attending next year’s annual meeting and offering your services. If you would like to contribute to the e.V., so we can continue to award scholarships and support public lecture series, please do make a donation:  Yale Club e.V. c/O Hans Christian Siller, IBAN DE76 1001 1001 2621 3219 84, BIC NTSBDEB1XXX.

Best regards,

Laura Sprague ‘88

The Yale Club of Germany e.V.

• http://www.yaleclub.de

• For up-to-date event information, join our Facebook group.

If you have event ideas, would like to get involved in club activites, let us know!

Interviews

The Yale Club is always looking for alumni to interview local high-school students who are applying to Yale College. If you would like to help out or learn more, please contact our ASC director, Rebecca Haltzel-Haas.

Yale Book Award

If you interested in presenting the Yale Book Award at a high school in your area, please contact the club board.

Contributions

The Club does not assess dues, but asks its members to make an modest annual contribution (€20 suggested, but any amount is welcome) to help fund Club activities such as the Yale Book Award.

To contribute, please arrange a bank transfer (Überweisung) to the following account and be sure to include your email address so we can send you your tax-deductible donation receipt:

Bank (Kreditinstitut des Begünstigten): n26 Bank
Payee (Begünstigter): Hans Christian Siller
IBAN: DE76 1001 1001 2621 3219 84
BIC (SWIFT): NTSBDEB1XXX

For any question regarding contributions, please contact our Treasurer, Hans Christian Siller.

Club Officers