First off, thank you to all the newbies who have registered for the buddy program, signed up for airport pickup, or stalked down Planet Longhorn members via email/facebook prior to your arrival to Texas! Keep it up! We are so excited about the semester…so you should be too! And thanks to the oldies who have been filling out the brochure questionnaire! It’s a world of help.

Hopefully everyone is having a eventful, awesome, exciting summer. Just a few updates on some of your lovely Planet Longhorners this summer:

Liana Depew- Currently studying in Barcelona, staying up too late, and learning about Spanish “culture.”  She is set to terrorize the rest of Europe in a few weeks time.

Katie Chapman- Currently crushing her soul in the corporate world during a 10 week internship in Dallas..noooooo. Good news is that when she gets back to Austin, she will be rich and ready to have a good time.

Vanda Taupradist- Living the dream in South Africa interning at the World Cup! No .. seriously. She even worked security at one game when normal security went on strike. If you know Vanda, you know why this is hilarious/completely absurd.

Dana Yu- Running around Europe eating reindeer and harassing Norwegians. Don’t worry, she’ll get to you too!

James Chiang – Somewhere shirtless and shoeless in California trying to figure out how to turn an accounting degree into a life on the beach.

Natalia Urbanowicz- Also running around Europe getting back to her roots in Poland and enjoying graduated life.

John Michael – Tagging along on Natalia’s trip.

Doug Yacek - Drinking hefeweizen in Germany planning a grand scheme on how never to leave.

Paul McCloud - Working as an indentured servant on an apparent “exchange” in Mexico and helping to turn a farm into a microbrewery! Planet Longhorn Lager? I think so.

We’ve got a huge semester ahead of us so keep checking back for more updates! And feel free to email us with any questions/concerns/general chat/anecdotes/World Cup trash talk.

In our newsletter this month:

Fun at the beach!... ok its not a beach, but Pease Park is as close as we've got!

• Planet Longhorn boasted yet another great success in hosting their second annual Masquerade Ball in the beginning of March. It was a chance for everyone to dress up in their best clothes, look even better than before, and have a classy evening out on the town.
• The plan was to have a massive barbeque in Pease Park on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and follow it up with a huge game of kickball. Everything was organized, the food (and new grill) were bought, and the people were hiking their way through West Campus… but there were problems awaiting…
• Alumni of the Month: Karen Mulhardt – “To all the Fall 08 Internationals, I miss you all and I hope we meet again. To the current internationals, get involved in as many things as you can and make sure you enjoy every moment, cause it goes by really fast.”

Thanks for reading! Click the link below (or right click to save-as) for the Newsletter PDF*:

March 2010 Newsletter

*The newsletter requires Adobe Reader, or a similar program, to read. You can download it here.

PL's ultra-classy Valentine's Day photo-op!

• Creating a new tradition out of last year’s hit, PL invited all their favorite people to come celebrate cupid at the House of Guys. PL assigned everyone a number and a corresponding bag for people to write valentines notes to. We had an awesome turnout with well over 300 attendees!
• Planet Longhorn participated in Dance Marathon this month. Dance Marathon is a charity event put on by The Dance Marathon Executive Team (organization of UT students) to benefit the Dell Children’s Hospital in Austin. PL raised over $300 for the charity!
• Alumni of the Month: Michael “The Mitch” Nobis – “I miss y’all so much I can’t even tell. I think of you EVERY day and tell people stories about the best time I had in my life!”

Thanks for reading! Click the link below (or right click to save-as) for the Newsletter PDF*:

February 2010 Newsletter

*The newsletter requires Adobe Reader, or a similar program, to read. You can download it here.

Su-Yin Chan (Queensland), Carl Burnham (University of Melbourne) partying down at the Midnight Rodeo!

In our newsletter this month:

• Planet Longhorn has its (in)famous Welcome BBQ for all the new exchange students. It was catered by Rudy’s and held in the Block Games Room on the Thursday before school started.
• Planet Longhorn planned a festive birthday celebration on the Block rooftop for Dr. King, complete with home-made cakes and all. In response to the disaster in Haiti, we requested a donation of $2 per attendee. We had a huge turnout, easily topping 250 guests and raised well over $400!!
• Alumni of the Month: Anne Claire Blok – “I had the time of my life in Austin, met the coolest people and I definitely miss it when I think back on all of the good times we had! Props to Planet Longhorn for making it such a success Looking forward to hear from you all and I’d love to see y’all again, even if it’s for a quick visit.”

Thanks for reading! Click the link below (or right click to save-as) for the Newsletter PDF*:

January 2010 Newsletter

*The newsletter requires Adobe Reader, or a similar program, to read. You can download it here.

You can download the questionnaire here Brochure Questionnaire Final… if you don’t know an answer to a question, feel free to just leave it blank, we’ll take anything we can get!

A potluck is where everyone brings a dish so you end up with a billion different foods to try out. Come join us at Jefferson 26 (J26) on 26th St. between Rio Grande and Nueces St on April 8th at 10PM! If you can, it’d be cool if you brought a food that represents your country, but if you can’t just bring a food that you’re good at making to share with everyone! Or if you are a terrible cook, grab a bag of chips or some drinks to share. I hope some of y’all are good cooks because I am not having a mountain of Doritos, HEB brand cakes, cokes, and beer for dinner. Actually that doesn’t sound that bad. Nevermind, that actually sounds horrible.

We’ll be in the event room by the pool if they let us use it, or just out by the pool if they don’t. The pool is right in the middle of the complex so it’s easy to find! Come in the door on 26th street closest to Nueces, it’s never locked, and call one of us if you have trouble!

Eat, drink and be merry!

James: 972-697-6965

• When: Sunday March 28th 2010

• Where: Pease Park (off Lamar)

• Time: 1:00 pm

• Sport Description: An intense mix of soccer and baseball… don’t worry we’ll teach you how to play!

Some people will be driving so meet at 26th and Rio Grande, otherwise get some exercise and walk!!

Our first softball game starts at 5:00 at the IM Fields on Field 5 so come out and cheer us on afterwards!

What’s a hullabaloo? Don’t worry about it. It’s gonna be huge.

See you there!

Complete the one-page application (print off the link below), and bring it to next week’s meeting (April 27th). Also be prepared to make a 1-2 minutes speech about why you are a good candidate for the position(s) you are running for. There is a limit of 2 positions for which you can run! We will announce the new Fall 2011 officer board at the meeting after that, also the last meeting, on 5/4.

Anyone is encouraged to run regardless of your length of involvement in PL. One of the coolest things about this organization is upward mobility! If you don’t plan on running, we hope you’ll come to vote!

If you have any questions, or can’t find the application online in the next couple of days, feel free to email me or Liana at liana.depew@gmail.com.

Download Here: Planet Longhorn Officer Application

Doug and Paul here to remind everyone that the Distinguished Visionary Scholarship applications are due on April 1st! I know we’ve been a little disorganized with having the applications available, so we’ll actually accept applications all the way through this Sunday… as Maria said today… its your typical Planet Longhorn deadline… not a deadline at all! But yaa just email the file below to Paul and I by Sunday night by 11PM, and it will be no problem. The finished file should be sent to yacek.d@gmail.com and paul.mccloud@gmail.com.

Remember… you don’t NEED to have been a major contributor to the organization already, but you should plan to be of course! We’re looking forward to reading the apps and getting some great ideas about PL in the future!

Here is a link to the file: Scholarship Application Form

Here’s to free money!

Doug + Paul

We know you’re beautiful. You know you’re beautiful. All these poor Texans walking around 6th St. in their old t-shirts and jeans just don’t stand a chance. That’s why Planet Longhorn is throwing a masquerade ball, a chance for everyone to dress up in their best clothes, look even better than before, and have a classy evening out on the town… at least until the party ends, then the classiness is up to you. But since you’re already so good looking, we’re making it a masquerade ball so everyone else on 6th St. doesn’t get sad about how bad they look and go home early.

We’ve rented out the entire second level at Aces Lounge on 6th St. for the ball! It starts at 8:15 PM SHARP and will go until 10:30 PM or whenever you want to leave! Prices are as follows:

Over 21: $25, includes food, cover, and 4 drink tickets to be used before 10:30

Age 18-20: $15, includes food, cover, and unlimited nonalcoholic drinks

PLEASE RSVP and pay ahead of time so we can make sure to have enough food! We will be collecting money at the Starbucks on 24th and San Antonio (near the Castilian) on:

Sunday, Feb. 28 from 2-5:00 pm

Lucy in Disguise down on South Congress (A really fun Austin-y shopping area to go to anyways) has a great collection of masks, decorate your own, or have an artistic friend paint one on with facepaint!

We look forward to seeing you! Even if we don’t recognize you behind your mask, we’ll still pretend we recognize you until like 20 minutes later when we finally figure it out!