Graduation Ball Coming Up! 
The 2005 Graduation Ball will be held on May 30 and 31 at the Bilkent
Hotel's Sakarya Ballroom at 8 p.m., and will feature a live concert by Turkish pop
singer Nalan.
Monday, May 30:
FEASS, FBA, FMPA, FS, SATM-VSTHS
Tuesday, May 31:
FADA, FE, FHL, SAL, VSCTOM, BUSEL
The ticket price is 100 YTL per person until May 13, and 110 YTL beginning May
16.
Tickets are now available at the Alumni Office in the Student Council Building. For
further information, please contact Sena Özel in the Alumni Office at ext. 2236.
Genç
Birlik Kulübü Visits Gaziantep Schools
Genç Birlik Kulübü, one of
the newest student clubs at Bilkent, aims to assist economically disadvantaged people and
increase sensitivity to social issues among Bilkent students. The club's most recent
activity was a campaign to assist disadvantaged children in Gaziantep. The club collected
items such as shoes, clothing, books and other educational materials for children aged
10-13.
On Saturday, April 23, Erkam Çömez
from Student Council, along with Genç Birlik club members, took the materials to
Gaziantep's 30 Ağustos İlköğretim Okulu and Vehbi Dai İlköğretim Okulu.
The principals of the two schools thanked the Bilkent students for their efforts, as did
Büyük?ehir Belediye Ba?kanı Aslım Güzelbey, who also promised support for future Genç
Birlik projects. Genç Birlik's president Haluk Kalyoncu declared that Genç
Birlik would continue to carry out similar activities, and that the group welcomed
participation from all Bilkent students.
Necatigil Symposium Held at Bilkent
A
symposium was held at Bilkent University on April 27, 2005, to commemorate the 25th
anniversary of the death of Behçet Necatigil, a leading poetic figure.
Organized by the Center for Turkish Literature, the symposium featured a number of
activities, including presentations of academic papers. Dr. Orhan Tekelioğlu, Dean of the
Faculty of Communications at İzmir’s Economics University, Dr. Rahim Tarım, Associate
Professor at Istanbul’s Mimar Sinan University, Dr. Mehmet Kalpaklı, Acting Chairman of
the Bilkent University Department of History and Dr. Laurent Mignon of the Bilkent
Department of Turkish Literature spoke about various aspects of Necatigil’s poetry.
There were also presentations by Mahmut Temizyürek, Can Bahadır Yüce, Emre Zeytinoğlu,
Hilmi Yavuz, Alphan Akgül and Şehnaz Şişmanoğlu. In addition, Necatigil’s poems
were read by the acclaimed actress Ayten Gökçer.
The winners of this year’s Behçet Necatigil Poetry Award, Betül Tarıman and Akif
Kurtuluş, received their awards from Huriye Necatigil, the poet’s widow. Members of the
Necatigil family were guests at the symposium.
The award ceremony was followed by a panel of friends and pupils of Necatigil. Prof. Dr.
Hikmet Sami Türk, Hilmi Yavuz, Doğan Hızlan, and Dr. Mustafa Şerif Onaran were the
main speakers.
Also in this issue:
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A Warm Welcome for 30 Student
Teachers from Turkey in Ames, Iowa
Iowa State University's College of Education recently hosted 30 M.A. students from
Bilkent University's Graduate School of Education. The Turkish Student Teacher Internship
Project, supported by a grant from the U.S. State Department, was aimed at cultivating
mutual understanding between the two different cultures. The Bilkent M.A. students also
had the opportunity to complete a six-week-long internship in five Iowa high schools.
The internship experience provided Bilkent students with an immersion in current applied
teaching methodologies and classroom technologies. "Experiencing technology-rich
educational programs, observing a firm commitment to student-centered teaching settings
and witnessing how the progressivist approach to curriculum design is translated into life
was a highly enlightening experience," said Sarp Erkır, the group's leader during
their eight-week long stay in the U.S.
The project was structured as a blend of on-campus experiences, such as seminars at ISU;
teaching practice; and cultural trips to other cities like Washington, D.C., Chicago and
Des Moines. The 30 students were also organized into smaller groups according to subject
areas.
Ufuk Genç, of the Mathematics group, pointed to the program's intercultural aspect,
saying, "We tried to promote cross-cultural understanding by organizing a Turkish
Student Day event on the ISU campus, which was attended by more than 300 Americans from
all walks of life." History group member Hasan Tahsin Özkaya remarked that their aim
was now to help create a ripple effect by sharing the vision they gained in the U.S. with
their colleagues here in Turkey.
Bilkent Team Takes Part in Model United Nations
The
Bilkent University Model United Nations (MUN) team participated in the World MUN 2005
conference held recently in Edinburgh, Scotland. Each year, the World MUN conference is
organized by Harvard University in a different country to encourage cultural and political
interaction among young people by simulating the real United Nations. Through lively and
informed debate, exciting social events, and a unique conference spirit, the World MUN
experience reaches across cultures and borders to inspire both cooperation and friendship.
This year the University of Edinburgh hosted the conference, in which over a thousand
students participated. During the model UN sessions, the Bilkent team--Ayşe Nil Ada
(LAW/II), Alper Erdem (LAW/I), Çiğdem Çımrın (LAW/I), Ezgi Talı (LAW/II), Beste
Demir (LAW/II), Barış Çakmak (PHYS/I), Oytun Süllü (LAW/I) and Ali Tünay (IR/III)
--represented Israel. (Teams from the various nations are assigned to represent other
nations during these conferences.)
The Bilkent MUN group was founded this year as a subcommittee of the Bilkent University
Law Club. It has participated in several conferences, such as TIYA (Turkish International
Youth Assembly) and MUN-TR, and looks forward to attending similar events in the future.
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