British-American Students Association (BASA)

Officer Meeting Tommorow

2006-10-25T14:08:00.000-04:00

There will be a mandatory officer meeting Thursday the 26th at 4.00 pm in GC 314.

Calendar of Events

2006-10-12T17:13:00.000-04:00

Spring 2007

January 13 - 24th Annual Scottish Festival & Highland Games
March 4/5 - (Sat/Sun) Dance Marathon 2006

Future revivial of MG in North America

2006-07-13T02:35:00.000-04:00

China

's oldest carmaker plans to build an assembly plant in southern Oklahoma to help revive a historic English automotive brand MG. Click the link below for more info. For pictures of classic MG cars, please click on the link "British Car Club of Miami" on the left-side link bar.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13826030/from/ET/

England: World Cup 2006

2006-06-15T20:16:00.000-04:00

10 June 2006 England vs Paraguay (win 1-0)
15 June 2006 England vs Trinidad & Tobago (win 2-0)
20 June 2006 England vs Sweden (tie 2-2)
25 June 2006 England vs Ecuador (win 1-0)
1 July 2006 England vs Portugal (loss 1-3 penalty kicks)

Officer elections for 2006-2007 school year

2006-04-18T19:54:00.000-04:00

If you wish to become more active on campus and enhance your undergraduate years with priceless opportunities and experiences, consider joining a club or society and become active.

We are now accepting nominations for officer positions. These are the positions available:

President

The president is the head officer who's primary task is to effectively run the organization, working with fellow officers in progressing the club and its mission. The president conducts meetings and meets with fellow officers regularly to assess duties and plan activities.

Vice-president

The vice-president is second in charge. He/she is just as involved as the president and is responsible for communication to members through email and the blog.

Secretary

The secretary keeps accurate minutes of all general meetings, or "food nights" as we call them. He/she maintains general club records.

SOC Representative

The SOC Rep. represents BASA at Student Organization Council meetings once a month for a total of four meetings. Meetings are always at 5:30 PM and run for one hour.

Webmaster

Maintains the BASA web site and updates with current events and photos. We have a web site "how to" guide by the way.

The following people are currently running for positions:

President: Brent Capley

Vice-president: Jesica Thavarajah

Secretary:

SOC Representative:

Webmaster:

* interested parties should contact fiubasa@aol.com no later than April 26 for a brief overview of the benefits of participation in the British-American Students Association. Election results will appear by May 1.

2006-2007 Board Update (6/15/06)
Student Advisor: Helyett Harris
President: Brent Capley
Vice-President: Jessica Thavarajah
Secretary: Robert Dunn
SOC Representative: William Sotomayor

Upcoming European Conference

2006-04-05T23:49:00.000-04:00

Conference this Friday and Saturday (7 and 8 April) titled “The European Union Constitution: Where are We Now?” including a visit from the Vice President of the European Commission.

Please see the following website for a detailed program, which you will find on the left-side link bar. The British Consul of Miami, Keith Allan, will also be in attendance.

BASA in the press

2006-03-28T00:00:00.000-05:00

You can disregard this entry for the time being; in the future we'll be updating it with links and whatnot -- a scrapbook, of sorts -- pointing to news mentions and other miscellaneous recognition BASA receives.

Don't worry, you'll always be able to find a link to it in the blog's sidebar.

We were featured in FIU's Beacon newspaper on 2/20/06.

Pub Nite @ the Playwright

2006-03-08T19:48:00.000-05:00

This coming Friday, March 10, we're having a very special event at The Playwright Irish Pub & Restaurant in Miami Beach @ 7 PM with live music, pool, and great food (not limited at all to British cuisine...they have a very diverse menu).

The ambience of the pub is very lively (lots of TVs) and its sure to be a great event. Check out their website at www.playwrightirishpub.com.

Pub Night Photos

2006-03-02T21:20:00.000-05:00

Just a little heads-up: photos from last Friday's Pub Night are up, and it looks like good times were had by all... but me. Because I didn't make it out.

But you don't have to be like me. Be like Brent over there. C'mon out next time. Watch this space, or sign up for our mailing list and we'll let you know when it's coming up.

And then there's no excuse for missing it.

FIU baseball this Friday!

2006-03-01T22:25:00.000-05:00

BASA will be meeting this coming Friday (March 3) to see the Golden Panthers bust the New York Tech Bears at the FIU Baseball Stadium. We'll be meeting at 6:45 PM for the first pitch at 7 PM. FIU students have free admission. Look for the BASA shirts!

Club celebrates British culture - News

2006-02-20T11:55:00.000-05:00

May also be found at this link

A scan of the article can be found here.

By: Jose Pagliery / Contributing Writer
Issue date: 2/20/06

Section: Beacon / News

With Scottish highland games, Curry Nights and the occasional Cricket game, the FIU British- American Student Association embodies culture and diversity. "I've always thought that this club offers something different," Helyett Harris, president of BASA said. "You'll actually learn something along the way."

Harris is one of the original founders of the club, along with students Brent Capley, Robert Dunn and Mariel Garcia. They met at the Student Organizations Council club fair during the 2003 Fall semester. They decided to start a club that embraces British culture.

Harris, whose father served in the British Royal Navy, had always been interested in British culture, but hadn't found a club that embraced that passion."When I couldn't find one, I decided to create one myself," Harris said. So began the dive into a sea of pub nights, polo games, British car shows and Indian Curry Nights, an activity otherwise known as "hitting the Punjab."The monthly Pub Night always falls on a Friday, usually at John Martin's in Coral Gables.

"We do it religiously," Harris said.

This outing allows club members to socialize in a British-influenced environment, exemplifying what the organization is all about: A chance for students living in a diverse city to experience and celebrate a culture they may know little about.

The same applies for the Curry Night, where club members visit either the Punjab Palace or House of India in an attempt to get a taste of the food that Harris describes as "colorful and not as spicy as most people think."

There, members of all ages get the chance to enjoy foods ranging from 'sausage and mash,' a delicious combination of sausage, mashed potatoes, peas and gravy, to 'sticky toffee pudding,' where a sugary syrup is poured onto a small cake, allowing it to sink to the bottom. Another perk to membership is the chance to take part in the annual Scottish Highland Games, full of strange events such as 'tossing the caber,' where a player sees how long he or she can toss and flip a 20-foot-long, 18-inch thick log.

Members also enjoy the art of highland country dancing, piping and massed bands, in which about 150 musicians march with pipes and drums for minutes at a time - for free.

"It's good to volunteer," Harris said.

Knowing that his club members will get in without being charged. The arts also play a large role in the BASA.

"We support the FIU theatre and try to get a good British movie once in a while," Phillip Church, the club's advisor said.

The British-born Church is one of the head faculty members of the Theatre Department, and is quite supportive of the initiative. Even British music plays its part in the cultural experience.

"I've been the most involved with music," Harris said. Harris introduces club members to bands like Keane, The Doves, The Verve and Travis, while enjoying well-known bands such as Radiohead and Coldplay and inviting fellow members to attend concerts with him.

Harris, who is majoring in international relations, now enjoys the fruition of starting a club with others over their common interest in British culture, although things weren't always so easy.

When asked about starting his own club he said that, "it's not easy if it's an undermanned club. Most clubs at FIU have trouble finding members because it's often seen as a commuter school."

He explains that students regularly find themselves packed with credits, trying to graduate as quickly as possible, therefore not finding the time to join clubs that may interest them.

Still, he believes that the club will gain students' interests over time. "We've met each other as strangers and we've all become friends," Harris said.

BASA to be featured in the Beacon Newspaper

2006-02-14T16:16:00.000-05:00

The Beacon, FIU's student newspaper, will be publishing an article on the British-American Students Association this week. Make sure to take home a copy and check out what you've been missing!

http://www.beaconnewspaper.com/

Update 2/19/06 - The exact date of publication will be Monday, February 20. It will also be available on the Beacon website noted above.

Upcoming "Club Night" and "Pub Night"

2006-02-13T14:18:00.000-05:00

After a return long overdue, we'll be having our February "Club Night" on February 21, 2006 at University Park, 4:30 PM, with food included. All free with your attendance. Come visit the most 'interesting' club on campus! The room will be announced towards the end of the week.

In addition, we welcome the news of a NEW British Pub in Miami. Resulting from this breaking news, and you saw this coming, we've planned a PUB NIGHT at the "Firkin and Friar" in Coconut Grove on February 24, 2006. Here is the info: 3148 Commodore Plaza, 305-443-2774. We'll meet at University Park around 6:30PM, leaving by 6:45PM.

Update 2/19/06 - "Club Night" will take place in the Graham Center on the third floor in room 314. In addition, our advisor, Professor Church, is planning to go to PUB NIGHT this coming Friday so those who haven't met him, and plan on attending, can finally do so = )

Club Fair

2006-01-12T22:23:00.000-05:00

Club fair will be January 25, Wednesday, from 10 AM to 2 PM in the Graham Center. The theme this semester is Egyptian. Tough theme for a British-themed club!!!

Welcome back!

2006-01-10T23:04:00.000-05:00

Hi all! Welcome back to Spring 2006. We'll soon have our events schedule finalized. Look for an email very soon. You will also find the events on our site calendar. Join the email mailing list. We hope to have a very fun semester with the Scottish Highland Games coming up in April and the many events we'll have throughout the semester.

Curry Night Friday!

2005-11-16T10:58:00.000-05:00

Curry Night this Friday at the House of India in Coral Gables for Indian cuisine!

Meet there at 7 PM. If you're not sure how to get there, CALL! It's tricky. Use Mapquest or Google Local!

Take money for parking just in case...this is Coral Gables.

ADDRESS:
22 Merrick Way
Coral Gables, FL 33134-5307
(305) 444-2348

UPDATE (11/17/05)

Thanks to William Fong for this...

www.coralgables.com

Sign up and pay for metered parking on your cell phone for Coral Gables. Look for the link on the leftside, close to the bottom of the Gables homepage.

Coldplay in West Palm... in photos

2005-10-18T14:02:00.000-04:00

As we promised a few entries back, we've more photos from the Coldplay concert a few of our members attended last month.

Check them out right here; there are some truly amazing shots to behold.

I have mine, do you have yours?

2005-10-15T13:14:00.000-04:00

Depeche Mode were one of the first bands of the new romantic movement of the early 1980s, featuring an entirely electronic sound. Considered one of the best British synth-pop bands, they embark on a North American tour, supporting their new album "Playing the Angel," in Sunrise, FL on November 2, 2005.

New York post-post New Wave outfit, The Bravery, will be hitting the road as the supporting act. Find tickets @ www.ticketmaster.com

Pub Night Recap

2005-09-19T20:21:00.000-04:00

On Friday, Sep. 16, the usual gang, plus a few, went to John Martin's Irish Pub and Restaurant in Coral Gables for our September eating social, or as we call it, Pub Night.

We enjoyed live music, Big Daddy jokes, and a few unexpected surprises (doesn't Helyett look like goose in picture 741?). Our waiter, or actually the guy who decided to weigh our table was "the Man." Our first waiter disappeared right after we ordered. Robert was Done by the end of the night, and the food was very good, as always. We had a splendid time and thank those who made it so. More pics here.

Coldplay y'all

2005-09-15T18:55:00.000-04:00

Coldplay was fun! We drove up to West Palm Beach in three separate cars. Rilo Kiley, a female led rock'n'roll group, opened the show. They were quite good. Here's the view from where some of us were sitting. Note, only some, namely 'four.' Nice huh? The other 'three' were not far off in the first row of section D, and the other 'two' were in one of the nosebleed seated sections.

A fireworks display ended the show. Thanks to Robert M. for making available a few extra tickets. More pictures soon.

Cricket News : : England wins Ashes

2005-09-15T00:49:00.000-04:00

England have won the Ashes back for the first time since 1989 after batting themselves to a draw in the fifth Test at The Oval to secure a 2-1 series win. For more information, please follow this link.

First Fall 2005 Meeting -- UPDATED

2005-09-07T01:50:00.000-04:00

Due to an FIU room-assignment issue, the BASA meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 8 will now take place on Thursday, September 15 at 6:30 PM in room OE102.

Because of this, our plans to attend the soccer match on Saturday, September 10 have also been cancelled. We plan to attend one next month.

The day following the rescheduled meeting will be our first Pub Night of the semester, located at John Martin's Irish Pub in Coral Gables. As you can see, our group had a good time there on our last Pub Night in April.

We apologize for any inconvenience this rescheduling may cause you.

First Fall 2005 Meeting

2005-08-31T10:21:00.000-04:00

The first British-American Students Association meeting of the semester will be next Thursday, September 8, @ 6:30 pm in the GC (Graham Center). We hope to catch up with some familiar faces and see many new ones! The first meeting is going to be a fun and informative one...expect lots energy and friendliness!

We will update this post soon confirming the location which will be somewhere on the second floor of GC = ) .

NOTE: Please see the following entry for updates to this meeting.

Membership Guidelines

2005-08-31T01:21:00.000-04:00

The British-American Students Association (BASA), the British culture club of FIU, aims to foster the love of Great Britain and to share in the knowledge of British culture, history, traditions, and ideals.

The Association is not restricted to students and faculty of British descent, but also invites our Commonwealth friends and those with an active interest in British culture. There are two forms of membership in BASA:

Full Membership

Full members pay a non-refundable $20.00 for the entire school year, fall and spring. In most cases, dues will be paid in full by the second meeting of the fall term for those wishing to join in the fall. Membership recruitment is all year round, fall and spring, with no change in admission for those entering in the spring term.

Membership includes but is not limited to the following:

Club t-shirt
UK/USA Dictionary
UK patch, name tag, and pins
Membership folder
Food (NOT snacks) at our monthly meetings, four per semester
End-of-year awards and prizes based on membership participation at club events
Ability to vote for and run for office

Associate Membership

Associate members, as well as full members, belong to the general listserv mailing list, which announces general club participated events such as meetings, social gatherings (such as Pub and Curry Nights), and sporting events.

To join, sign up to our mailing list (look for the link on the left-side link bar titled "Mailing List") and either email basa@fiu.edu or join us at our next meeting by checking the events calendar.

Coldplay Concert

2005-08-08T18:27:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday, 13 September 2005, a group of us (9) will be going to see the English act COLDPLAY at the Sound Advice Amphitheater in West Palm Beach. Tickets range from $35-70 plus tax.

Tickets sold out rather quick BUT we do have one (1) spare ticket ($60) that's up for grabs if anyone from the FIU community is interested. It is seated next to three others from our party. Interested? Email us at this address.

As an alternative, Sound Advice may have squeezed in some more space (lawn) so tickets may still be available via ticketmaster. Good luck!

Coldplay's third album X&Y (2005) has reached the top of the album charts and is on course in becoming one of the biggest sellers of all time.

It is believed 464,000 copies were sold by Saturday, 11 June, making it the second fastest-selling album since records began in the early 1990s.

Only the 1997 Oasis album, Be Here Now, has ever performed better in its first week, with 695,761 copies sold.

X&Y knocked Oasis' newest album, Don't Believe The Truth, from the top spot (haha : P ).

HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: "This has been an important event for the industry, we've been waiting for this release for a long time."

Coldplay's earlier albums, Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head, also re-entered the chart on Sunday, 12 June, at numbers 19 and 23.