Trying to stay sane and connected
JULY 17th ISSUE, 2020 | ISSUE 23
In this Issue:
A Note from Carson
Social Distancing Network
Echols Council News
New Knowledge Nuggets
Want to Change the World?
Short Story of the Week
Buzzfeed Quiz of the Week
Your Pantry is Calling
Riddle Me This
Solutions from Last Issue
Hello Echols,

Everyone in my father’s family went to Princeton. In fact, they would frequently visit Princeton, West Virginia: a low-income, coal-country city where the Lambert family originated. As a child, I remember being driven down those Allegheny roads and feeling fascinated by the natural beauty. A couple weeks ago, with my newfound free time, I decided to go for a solo camping trip back to the mountain state.

Well, really more of a hiking, birdwatching, sleeping-in-my-car trip, but I had one special stop planned. A remote spot that lives up to its Lord of the Rings-esque name, the Sinks of Gandy appears on Google Maps as a spot where a river disappears and then reappears a mile away. In fact, the river has carved out a limestone cavern that is accessible to even the most novice spelunker.

The first memorable moment involved brushing away the cave spiders and sitting on a rock, then turning off my flashlight and sitting in complete darkness for 10 minutes, in a subterranean chamber the size of the McLeod lecture hall. The second memorable moment came after 2 hours of slogging through mud, water, and claustrophobic passages, when I could again see the sun shining on golden fields and green mountains. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in a long time.

I was going to try to force a metaphor out of this story, but you all can probably think of a better one than I could. Stay safe out there,

Carson Lambert
Echols Council VP for Academic Affairs
Class of 2021
As always send things our way via email
Social Distancing Network
If would like to introduce yourself through future issues of the Quarantimes, please send your submissions to echolsprogram@virginia.edu
Jackson Appelt
Rising 4th year Pre-Med, 
Echols Interdisciplinary Major: Translational Medicine (Biology, Physics, Public Health)


Two truths and a Lie:
  • I love writing poetry
  • I love spicy foods
  • My family got a quarantine puppy 
Me and my two younger siblings, Harry (17), Izzy (13). Family is so important now more than ever. 
-Jackson
Lucy Hirshland
Rising First-year from Needham, MA
Prospective M athematics major and possibly minor in CS

Two truths and a Lie:
  • I've been vegetarian for 10 years
  • I've been skydiving
  • I have a pet goat
My volleyball team made it to our league's championship game! We ended up losing :( but this was the farthest our team has ever gone which was cool
-Lucy
Echols Council News
New resources have been added to our website!
Students have submitted more resources for educating yourself about the Black Lives Matter movement! We have curated the ones here . These new resources include radio segments about mass incarceration, the police system, and books to read about the Black community, the criminal justice system, and more.

We want to continue sharing resources with the Echols community so please submit any recommendations for action items or for educational resources here (form at bottom of page).
New Knowledge Nuggets
Help all of us keep learning cool new things!
Send all New Knowledge Nuggets to echolsprogram@virginia.edu
to be featured in future issues.
" Coriander and cilantro come from the same plant"

Simone Schumaecker
Rising First-year


To learn more about this polarizing plant, including the chemistry that makes it taste like soap to some, check out this article
" A baby puffin is called a Puffling "

Lydia Newman
Rising First-year


Did you know that you can tune into a live stream from inside a puffin burrow on Seal Island, Maine?

Want to Change the World?
Write to your elected officials about an issue that is important to you!
A safe, easy, and surprisingly effective way to flex your advocacy muscles is sending a letter to your congressional (or local government) representatives urging them to take action on the issues that matter most to you. Not only is this a great way to ensure your voice is heard by those in power, writing a a persuasive letter is also a powerful exercise for you to organize your thoughts on a particular issue and to synthesize key points from research you may have done into the matter.

For some great tips on how to write an effective letter to send to your representatives, check out this handy guide from the ACLU.

If you would like to find your local, state, and federal elected officials' contact information, you can use this handy tool.
Short Story of the Week
(Translated by Martin McLaughlin)
This short story, written in 1968 by famous Italian writer Italo Calvino, describes what happens when the moon becomes degraded in a hyper-consumerist society. Beautifully written and translated, “Daughters of the Moon” feels like it could have been written this year about some of the major problems of our time. This story will change the way you look at the moon in the night sky.
Buzzfeed Quiz of the Week
Are you Moana or Rapunzel? We love the Disney princesses and oftentimes wonder who we are most similar to. Two of the most adventurous of the Disney princesses are Moana and Rapunzel. Who do you more closely match? Take this quiz to find out if you are the Princess of Motunui or the Princess of Corona.

Your Pantry is Calling
Anna's Hummus
Fourth-year physics major Anna Wolz has generously shared her hummus recipe! Anna shared that she often makes this hummus in bulk and keeps the extra in the freezer for later!
How it's done:
  1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process for 30 seconds more. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making the hummus smooth and creamy.
  2. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process another 30 seconds or until well blended.
  3. Open, drain, and rinse the chickpeas. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then add remaining chickpeas and process until thick and quite smooth; 1 to 2 minutes.
  4. Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until you reach the perfect consistency.
  5. Taste for salt and adjust as needed. Serve hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and dash of paprika. Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.
Ingredients
  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas or 1 1/2 cups (250 grams) cooked chickpeas
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) well-stirred tahini, see our homemade tahini recipe
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) water
  • Dash ground paprika or sumac, for serving

Let us know if you try this recipe out!

Send us a picture of your culinary adventures by emailing it to echolsprogram@virginia.edu and we may feature it in an upcoming issue!

Enjoy!
Riddle Me this
Send your answers to echolsprogram@virginia.edu, subject line "Riddle".
Respondents with correct answers will be entered into a raffle to win a random item from Kelsey's home! ...we're serious.
Four golfers named Mr. Black, Mr. White, Mr. Brown and Mr. Blue were competing in a tournament. The caddy didn't know their names, so he asked them.
One of them, Mr. Brown, told a lie.

  • The 1st golfer said "The 2nd Golfer is Mr. Black."
  • The 2nd golfer said "I am not Mr. Blue!"
  • The 3rd golfer said "Mr. White? That's the 4th golfer."
  • The 4th golfer remained silent.

Which one of the golfers is Mr. Blue?
Solutions from the Last Issue
Did you miss the last issue?
Check it out  here!
Karen Sun
Rising First-year from Katy, TX
Prospective Religious Studies/ Political Science Major

Two truths and a Lie:
  • Despite growing up in the South, I have never had mashed potatoes.
  • I tore my ACL in my left knee when a small child dared me skate down a slide on my penny board at a playground. LIE
  • I am devastatingly good at minesweeper.
Charles Ellison
Rising First-year from Wilmington, DE
Prospective Global Studies Major

Two truths and a Lie:
  • I've met Derek Jeter
  • I've hit a ball over the fence at drive-shack
  • I'm allergic to Kiwi
Last Week's Riddle
What should the top shape be?

The Answer:
An Octagon!
Each shape has the same number of sides as the sum of the sides of the two shapes below it. If the number is over 10, then the last digit is used instead. For example, 9 + 8 = 17 so the brick above is 7-sided. The top shape is an 8-sided octagon because there are two 4-sided shapes below it.
Last Week's Riddle Raffle Winner



Deanne See!!!

Deanne will receive 10 postcards that are perfect for writing your elected officials a brief yet stirring message about issues that need attention!
(see the "Want to Change the World?" section above for tips)

Congratulations and enjoy Deanne!
Have a great weekend!





Appreciate the small things and stay well friends!